By Kristin
Surprise! China is kicking our butts in testing. The article on Shanghai's dominance in the test scores of 15-year olds can be read here, in The New York Times.
But I don't want to talk about testing, or even Shanghai. I want to talk about my kitchen sink.
I want to talk about my kitchen sink because fixing it was a momumental ordeal. I thought I could switch out my leaky faucet and ended up spending almost the entire day dismantling and then reinstalling the whole sink.
It involved screwdrivers – both types – in tight spaces. It involved vice grips. It involved plumber's putty, the internet, a beer, and my husband taking the children to the zoo.
Far from being a simple switch, I had to learn to navigate the cramped area beneath my sink, figure out what the previous owners had done when they put the sink in, and grapple with taking the garbage disposal off, something I've never done and never thought I'd have to do.
I did it, and now our leaky, splitting, inconvenient faucet is replaced by something that works, fits, and fills me with pleasure.
Being able to independently problem solve is something I learned in public schools. When I had a conflict on the playground? "Work it out." When I couldn't solve the math problem? "See what you can do on your own for awhile, then come see me." When I couldn't find the book in the library? "Try, Kristin. Try first, then I'll help you."
Try. Don't be afraid to fail. There's no such thing as a dumb question. Do your best. Guess and check. Ask three before me. Help your seatmate.
How many times did I hear those things? So, when I climbed under my sink and realized the previous owners had installed the faucet before installing the sink, and I'd therefore have to pull the sink out to switch the faucet, I wasn't too flustered. Frustrated, but not flustered. I examined the situation, got some different tools, sent my husband to turn off the power to the disposal, checked out a little tutorial on the internet, and got to work.
I wonder if kids in Shanghai are learning to be resilient enough, creative enough to tackle the unexpected hurdle?
According to Jiang Xuequin, they're not. In the opinion piece of his referenced in the Times, Mr. Jiang states that, "The failings of a rote-memorization system are well-known: lack of social and practical skills, absence of self-discipline and imagination, loss of curiosity and passion for learning. Chinese students burn themselves out testing into university, where many of them spend their time playing World of Warcraft."
There's nothing like a generation addicted to World of Warcraft to cause a government to panic, is there? Mr. Jiang goes on to say that China is so concerned about this test-successful generation that "Reform is on the horizon. This year the Chinese government released a 10-year plan including greater experimentation."
Which I think is kind of funny, given what's happening here in the United States.
Personally, I've never thought our low test scores were the biggest problem. I'm more concerned with the growing gap between rich and poor, the institutional racism in public education, and kids dropping out or existing in a state of truancy for five years of high school and never earning a diploma.
I'm in favor of testing because at the end of the day, I'm not really here to raise someone else's children, I'm here to teach them to read and write. I'm okay with someone checking to see whether or not I'm doing that effectively.
But as I prepare my students for their big test this spring, I also prepare them to problem solve independently. I make them figure it out. I make them try. I make them experience frustration, failure, and the hardship of perseverance once enthusiasm is gone. I make them deal with the terror of uncharted intellectual territory, because I think uncharted territory is why we have an intellect.
As we solve the current problems in American education, as we work to better serve the kids we're failing, I hope we can hang on to our strengths. My goal is that all our students graduate educated adults. And when they do, I want us to have created graduates who aren't flummoxed by replacing a kitchen faucet.
Great reflection on the value of public education. My own experiences with private schools, both as a student and now as a teacher, have consisted of far less independent problem-solving, far more hands-on doing it for the kids. Which has its benefits, especially for high-needs students, but I wonder sometimes about the untapped potential of “Try first, then ask me.” So funny that this cool expediency–the simple lack of time to devote to answering every question right away as a teacher in a classroom of 35–facilitates one of the strongest lessons we take from public school.
Thanks, as always, for your positive perspective and action-oriented reflections.
Jason, with all due respect, do you really think that calling someone’s ideas “idiotic” is the best way to pursue a discussion?
I think there’s a legitimate case to be made on both sides of every issue we discuss on this blog. It’s very possible, and far preferable, to engage in a spirited debate without resorting to insults.
Jason, it seems China is starting to figure that out, too. It is idiotic to think rote memorization is the only way to reliably demonstrate mastery, but I fear that if test scores are seen as more important than anything else, as appears to have happened in Shanghai, then teachers might turn to rote memorization to ensure test success. I would hate to see that happen here, partly because I don’t think test score are the biggest weaknesses in American education. My biggest concern is for the kids who don’t even show up for the test.
Everybody for years was willing to say that problem solving was important. But few people were willing to admit that information is important too.
The idea that a successful test score at the end of the year comes solely through rote memorization is idiotic. It’s just as idiotic to claim that a successful learning experience involves ignoring content knowledge and only learning decontextualized skills.
I grew up in New York state. You didn’t graduate without passing many regents. The idea that kids who passed those tests could only do so through straight memorization is ridiculous. Come visit any New York state high school classroom.
Kristin,
I completely agree. The best part of of learning is figuring out how to do something. My younger son’s passion is music and he’s figured out all the parts and pieces of a basement recording studio and is completing his third album. The process carries through to everything else – he’s not afraid to tackle anything.
And good on you for doing the plumbing. Under the sink is where real character is born.
Great post, Kristin. I completely agree. What we do here in the US is entirely different from what happens in China. It’s not perfect, but let’s work on making it better, not replacing it with rote learning.