It is hard not to like Yoda quotes. The reversal of sentence order captures your attention as much as the pinched voice of the pointy-eared, green-toned little Jedi. More importantly, the wisdom of Yoda cuts through much of the blather of oblong thinking.
Yoda said, “If once you start down the dark path, forever will it dominate your destiny. Consume you, it will…”. And, with those words, the threat the pandemic and pandemic politics poses for the future of public education is called out for what it is – a dark path.
While Yoda struggled against a dark path that led to an evil galactic empire, we struggle against a dark path that erodes our optimism and belief in a better future. There is a narcissism down our threatening dark path. Its use of manipulation, distortion of information, and denial of criticism is anathema to public education.
The dark side is doom-sided thinking of negativity characterized by the following statements.
- The future is bleak and will not be as good as the past.
- Some people get all the breaks and some people get none.
- Anger trumps all emotions and arguments.
- Leaders at all levels fail to understand and meet the needs of the public.
- All data but my data is suspect.
- Self-interest is the only interest that matters.
- Rules only are important when you want them to be.
As educators, our schools are at ground zero of much of the angst. School boards are under attack for closing or opening schools for in-person learning, providing a remote learning that appeals to some children and is rejected by others, and masking or unmasking of students and staff in school. On each of these three topics, boards face angry parents and community no matter what the board decides. Adding to the difficulty of having any kind of school day, student achievement across all grades and subjects displays pandemic gapping. Academic achievement has fallen. Fine arts programs that require personal, in-person teaching are stymied by remote education, quarantining, and masking. Theater and concerts are performed to empty houses and shared virtually. Athletics are constantly interrupted by quarantines, positive tests of players and coaches, and cancelled contests. Two years of pandemic and counting and the difficulty faced by teachers and school leaders only grows.
The high ground of school that keeps the dark path at bay was, is, and will continue to be built upon the aggregate of these statements.
- Education is a human necessity.
- Public education is a community’s obligation to its children.
- Education opens opportunities and reveals future options.
- Content knowledge, academic skills, critical thinking, collaboration, socialization, and intellectual curiosity are the six enduring outcomes of public education.
- Teaching changes lives.
- Public schools require the trust of parents and conversely parents require the stability of public schools.
- Public education is the pillar of our society that stands the test of time. When it fails, our society will fail.
The brightest image of our high ground is the face of a child. Innately, children want to learn. Every child has a curiosity to understand the sounds and sights of their world. A brain never stops processing what a child experiences and school learning provides tools for understanding. I once cringed at the person in a school meeting years ago who would throw down the conversation-ending line, “Well, I am here for the children.” As if to say, no one else stood on the side of children. Today, “I am here for the children, and we provide each and every child with an education for their future” are words we need to say over and over again. These words do not end conversation. They open discussion of new possibilities and future options. I am here for the education of children is a high ground that defeats the adult-centered dark path.