We want our young people to flourish: High expectations are important, but at what expense?

For people who know and have worked with me as an educator, they know that my passion for engaging the young people in our schools (and their teachers) in learning that is relevant, engaging, sparks curiosity and is relational drives how I operate. If I cannot operate in this way, and empower others to do so, then, I feel somewhat hamstrung and obsolete. This is what keeps me engaged with and President of Adolescent Success (The Association dedicated exclusively to the education, development and growth of young adolescents) and continues to fuel my desire to work with leaders and teachers in schools, to learn, to research and to write.

One of my previous articles then - Learning to pass a test? No, let's focus on curiosity and engagement in learning - in essence is the important precursor, to this follow up piece, which has been sparked by the multitude of articles relating to the state of play for education, teachers and students in our schools, and most recently posts and interactions on Facebook, not just by me, but by thousands of educators who appear quite disillusioned with this current situation for education and schooling in Australia.

The current conversation

Two particular posts by Rebecca Sparrow - ONE and TWO are focused on a number of key elements to the overall conversation around 'schooling' at present: the expectations placed upon young people in schools and particularly, secondary schools, the state of play in education, and the impact that this is having on student and teacher wellbeing. This conversation has certainly attracted a great deal of attention, with many thousands of comments from parents and teachers alike, with the majority agreeing that we have most likely gone too far in placing [perhaps] exceedingly high expectations on our learners (and I add, our teachers too). It highlights and challenges, amongst other things, that those expectations placed on our young people may not necessarily match the reality of the multiple pathways available for them, highlighting that university is not the only end goal, but in many cases high achievement, high ATAR scores, etc may be THE benchmarks for "winning at school"! This ongoing and continuing conversation reinforces that the pressure placed on students, and particularly "on the high achieving/diligent workers is breaking their mental health". I am inclined to agree that this is the case in many instances.

Not only am I an advocate for high expectations (we most certainly don't want a low bar), I am a fierce advocate for learning experiences that are relevant, engaging, provoke curiosity, creativity and critical thinking, provide students a voice in their learning and at all costs, must not be assessment driven. As my previous article discussed, performance and assessment driven learning sends a message to our young people that all that is important is scoring highly on a test, but engaging learners and inspiring in them a love of learning amongst other things is (in my humble opinion) far more important. In their lives beyond school, learning will continue, and exams and tests will not be the most prevalent ways that they will be held to account!

Sadly, in many secondary schools assessment drives key decisions that are being made about learning, with leaders arguing that curriculum, and learning and teaching in the junior years needs to mirror more closely the demands of senior schooling. Often, as students begin in Year 7 the learning approach is modelled on senior schooling, with minimal focus on this unique developmental phase and the needs of young adolescents during their middle years. The Alice Springs Declaration (Mparntwe) outlines in detail ways that we need to work within the middle years. It states

"that the middle years are an important period of individual growth and learning when a balanced set of cognitive, social and emotional skills are developed. Students are finding a sense of self and require investment in their emotional wellbeing and a voice in and influence over their learning. This is also a time when they are at the greatest risk of disengagement from learning. Through directly addressing each student’s range of needs, schools must focus on enhancing motivation and engagement...Real-world learning that applies discipline knowledge and supports emotional learning" (p.8).

I fear that there may be schools that do not take this into consideration at all, when planning at their leadership table.

My own quick qualitative research - the picture broadens

Not to shy away from speaking my mind and sharing by views, I posted my perspective when I shared Rebecca's posts on my own Facebook feed, there were comments and I was contacted directly by some, in particular, a past student who had finished her senior year in 2007. She now has young girls of her own, had read my words and Rebecca's post, and expressed her concern to me. She told me that she had just had one of her daughter's "prep" parent teacher interviews, and was shocked at the expectations they were discussing for kids at that age. She said that she is dreading the coming years, and feels that she is going to have to put in "way more effort with her daughter's education" (her words). She implied that one of her daughters does not fall into the category of being able to "win at school" and may require assistance; she is already stressed as a parent not only about the demands of prep, but where that might go into the future.

I have also had conversations with previous work colleagues about where education is heading, how some schools are approaching learning and teaching, and am hearing remarks that reinforce that we need to begin to change our approaches. Statements such as "Even though the talk (from leaders) is about students succeeding in their studies, it really comes down to scores in NAPLAN and ATARS! ... that is what they call improvement! And the kids are caught in the middle... It's more about how the school appears in public" seem to be a common theme.

A colleague shared with me that she "was moved just last week by a very teary and inconsolable Year 7 student, who said, the only subject she likes is Art and doesn't want to be at school". In fact, (she said), "my whole Year 7 class has said similar, and, I have still managed to teach them things!!" This year 7 student, who has been at high school for one short term, and is experiencing (and enduring) one of the most difficult transition periods into secondary that could occur, is at breaking point already! But, clearly, this is a teacher who knows that we can both engage and inspire our young people in the learning and curriculum, and keep expectations high, without simply covering the content ready for an exam.

As if exasperated, this colleague asked "Are there any schools out there where their aim is to make learning engaging? Where that is valued? I can see the fun is disappearing from our curriculum - no time for it". I know there are many schools doing wonderful things, not only through my connections with Adolescent Success, but through my work in schools in Queensland, and through my connections with educators throughout Australia and New Zealand, so was able to reply that there are schools focused on engagement in learning, sparking curiosity and pedagogies that inspire students to want to be there. It certainly is happening.

Enacting change - two examples

So, the talk continues to be very much focused on how we must change the way our education system operates, but let's face it, this talk has been happening for a long time. There are pockets of change around the world, and as timely as it ever could be, the work and words of the late Sir Ken Robinson can be revisited. Just yesterday, Sir Ken's new short film, 'A Future for Us All' became available (and yes, it was just yesterday). It highlights, as his work always did, that we have "moved far beyond the need for an education system that looks like the Industrial Model, that driving people through tests, output and data-driven hurdles" is not what is needed in society now. He highlights the huge difference between learning, education and school, stating that "learning is a natural process; people are curious, highly creative and collaborative, but so many [people] don't like school and education". It is HOW we do it that is the problem. He too supports and suggests real social change is needed, and from the ground up, "as our politicians will not be able to show us the way" - they certainly haven't thus far!

Fundamentally, we know that teachers want to engage their learners in real life experiences, to pique their curiosity, to create independent learners and nurture their wellbeing. I wonder of the scope for that in some senior classrooms, and sadly now in many junior/middle years classrooms and it seems maybe even from prep. We hear the frustration of teachers and of parents, more and more. Following from Rebecca's Facebook conversations, she with Madonna King has launched a website entitled Testing Times , inviting parents, teachers, students and wellbeing experts to comment on the High School Experience (as stage 1). The aim - to enact change.

Learners who can flourish

We do need to have high expectations, that is necessary, but we need to refine our systems and schools to ensure that we are engaging learners, relating to and with them, connecting, communicating and collaborating and allowing our young people to be creative and curious and to flourish. As Sir Ken said, this "will take compassionate collaboration, bravery and imagination", but it will be worth it.