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Resisting Standardization
December 4, 2012
The more healthy relationships a child has, the more likely he will be to recover from trauma and thrive. Relationships are the agents of change and the most powerful therapy is human love.
-Dr. Bruce Perry
-Dr. Bruce Perry
"If you planted carrot, zucchini, lettuce, and pumpkin seeds in your garden, you wouldn't provide care for all the seeds in exactly the same way. Each type needs varying amounts of space, for example. And, you wouldn't expect to harvest a crop of only pumpkins since four different kinds of seeds were planted. And, yet our education system often demands that all children grow at the same time in the same way so they will yield the same type of 'crop'....
"First and foremost, our job as heart-centered educators must be to understand the potential of each 'seed' we are nurturing. The great Spanish cellist Pablo Casals said it well: 'The child must know that he (or she) is a miracle, that since the beginning of the world there hasn't been, and until the end of the world there will not be, another child like him (or her).' Supporting the miracle of each child's uniqueness does not lend itself to standardization. It is not 'convenient.' It may seem easier to find a one-size-fits-all way of delivering and assessing learning, but if we pay attention, the natural world will help us realize the futility of trying to do so. Nothing in nature, including human beings, can be completely 'standardized.'"
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Comments (2)
Displaying All 2 CommentsSpirit Child Yoga and ECE
Aurora, ON, Canada
Nature gives us lessons and examples everyday that we can use in teaching and in nurturing our children. We would all do better to pay attention. Bio-diversity is essential to human survival. Our playrooms and classrooms need to nurture the diverse needs of the children too, as we strive for optimal outcomes for all.
Consultant/Professor
Newtown, CT, United States
A truly effective teacher will understand the appropriate use of standards and adjust to the unique needs of individual children in teaching and assessment. Perhaps it is time to stop fueling the flames of controversy over standards, and instead direct our efforts toward differentiation in teaching so every child has the best chance of meeting them. To suggest that we should "teach from the heart" without a framework of standards is to embark on a journey with no destination in mind. It is the journey that must be unique to each child - the road map and vehicles chosen based on individual needs and preferences.
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