Modern elementary education

As a teacher, I am constantly reflecting on what my students and I are doing to determine what works and what needs to change in order to move forward. As I reflected, I realized there was a larger obstacle working against any effort to build a growth-oriented, self-regulating, creative thinker: the school system itself. The entire structure of our education system is performance-based, which means it does not value effort and growth at all, but rather only places value on the final outcome in the form of content-based grades.

So, I began to ask myself some questions: What motivation is there for a child to take on a challenge that may result in failure, if the effort and learning experience count for nothing and only the end result matters? Are content grades as important as effort and personal growth at the elementary school level? If our goal is to have “21stCentury Learners” and “College and Career Ready” students, don’t their internal qualities matter just as much, if not more, than their content knowledge (which can be easily accessed through technology)?

My belief is we need to educate children to be creative, adaptive problem-solvers that can innovate and continue to change and grow to meet new needs. These character-building, intrinsic qualities are what we should value most in our education system, especially at the elementary school level. It is from this perspective that I approach my daily teaching. Students that leave my class being curious, asking "why" and "how" questions, and loving to learn is the greatest sign of success in my eyes.