Kid tested, ED approved

Monday was my first day of orientation as a reading mentor at Brent Museum Magnet School. Earlier in the month, I signed up to be a part of a mentor program that runs throughout Washington. Emails had been sent to all ED employees and, as I found out later, to all federal employees.

Having spent only three weeks at ED, I have already come to learn that the disconnect that some employees have talked about between the Department and the fruits of their labor is legitimate. Every day, people are processing information with the hopes that it will help someone somewhere. But it’s just that. The people they are working to help are far removed, and frankly, I am impressed by how they can stay so invested in the development of these ambiguous masses of students.

Now, my supervisor has taken strides to try and overcome these effects. Every two months a new art exhibit is displayed at the LBJ building, featuring art from different schools throughout the United States. This past exhibit featured Maryland’s high schools. These are an opportunity for ED employees to have a connection with the students they’re working for and see how their work has taken effect.

But I decided to go one step further. Working with kids, in some way shape or form, has been a part of my life for many years. I wanted to continue this while I am staying in D.C., because I believe that it’s all too easy to be able to slip out of a habit of service to others. Once you stop, you fill that time with other things, and soon you begin to believe you don’t have time for it. In signing up for Everybody Wins! DC, I will be reading with/to an elementary-aged kid once a week during lunch. This won’t be a big commitment, but enough to stay in touch with the reality of what ED is hoping to accomplish.

During my summer as a VISTA, I journaled my experiences and thoughts throughout the process. I worked in a variety of different settings, with kids from different backgrounds and in different roles. I wrote about what worked, what didn’t, what got kids excited, and what helped motivate a kid that was a bit on the rebellious side. In doing this, I hoped to retain some of the experience-tested strategies and knowledge gained, so as to avoid thinking too theoretically. As much as a journal will help because I will be able to go back and reference it, to stop working with kids, at any point, would make it too easy for me to slip away from experience-based ideas for reform.

And in reading Dewey’s Experience and Education, I am solidified in my belief that experiences that lead to understanding and solutions will lead the way to education reform in the future. Because we all recognize that many public schools are failing and that many students are struggling to get value out of their education. Today, Waiting for Superman comes out. It is a documentary about America’s failing public school system. I hope that it adds some constructive proposals, but if it is anything like past discussions, the conclusion will be that schools are doing poorly. Now, I’m not discrediting the recognition of failure ― that is the first step. What I do want, are proposals that are based not in theory, but in kid-tested experiences.