Equal Doesn't Mean the Same

“We hold these truths to be self-evident, that all men are created equal, that they are endowed by their Creator with certain unalienable Rights, that among these are Life, Liberty and the pursuit of Happiness.—” Declaration of Independence

Are We Equal?

In my 38 years in the schoolhouse, I served thousands of students. Some with unique and profound gifts, some impoverished, some with means, some who loved school, some who saw school as a waste of time, some with learning deficits, and others with brains attuned to excellence in school. The opportunity in school was never equal.

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All students learn.

All my anecdotal experience as a learner and educator has brought me to one universal conclusion: All students learn. Their instinct for survival brings them to inquire about their environments, social, personal, and material, to seek some end their various neurons and dendrites promote for living. Educators have never been clever enough to exploit the natural curiosity that has a different perspective on achievement.

The Premise of that Age

I have been contemplating the Declaration of Independence lately. Especially the sentence above. It derives from the intellectual premise of the Enlightenment that all humans should be free to pursue their own posterity with no interference from organizational hierarchies who might wield their material advantages like a cudgel.

In my experience with children, I have concluded that every one of them is unique. There are similarities in ways of thinking, physical capacity, and social practices, but in the end, all have a singular experience and interaction with the world around them.

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In addressing the needs of students, I have had to navigate those hierarchies that confuse

standards of excellence with compliance toward expected outcomes.

In addressing the needs of students, I have had to navigate those hierarchies that confuse standards of excellence with compliance toward expected outcomes. Various school districts and state departments of education mandate curricular orthodoxy that often ignores the individual realities that impede understanding. If we are all created equal, then that equality is not defined by uniformity of thought and infinite capacity.

No Child is Normative

One of the frustrations I experienced through the standards movement of the past four decades was the use of norm based outcomes to judge student achievement. The flawed perspective that if one child answered a series of questions in a manner like another child, then their strengths and weaknesses were the same. Data by itself is not the sole indicator of ability. Variable conditions have a profound impact on potential and contributions to society that cannot be identified through algorithm.

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Our planet is occupied by some seven to eight billion universes.

Our planet is occupied by some seven to eight billion universes. Yes, we have similar experiences and often get comparable results, but this only provides generalized outcomes that ignore different perspectives that bring about distinct results.

How does this apply to an Education?

Because every child is unique, we must move beyond general expectations and provide experiences that not only celebrate independent thought but allow inquiry to build potential. For example, reading and math are important, but they are tools for understanding, not learning. Children are motivated by experiences that mean something to them. Their learning environment should connect personal interest with collective need. This philosophy was prevalent in the work of educators like John Dewey and Maria Montesory.

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There is a canon for specific content, but that should not limit inquiry to accepted dogma.

There is a canon for specific content, but that should not limit inquiry to accepted dogma. Everything from multiplication facts and specific events in history should be revealed, but building blocks that bring students to conclusions should allow for socialization and experimentation that makes specific content meaningful.

The Importance of Fundamentals

While teaching, I also coached sports. One of the tools I used to teach an athlete to excel was drills that emphasized specific movements. For example, to enhance ball handling in basketball, I would have students take a ball and deliver it to both hands through the legs, behind the back, and over the head. This was done without teammates. Once we then moved to team activities and offensive patterns, the individual drill allowed competitors to instinctively execute plays with others more effectively.

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In reading, storytelling and verbal communication establish the code

that develops into written language.

In math children first learn the relationship between physical objects that create patterns which bring them to numerical conclusions. In reading, storytelling and verbal communication establish the code that develops into written language. When I taught drawing, I would have students begin with simple line studies of observed objects that would start the fine motor development needed for rendering.

An Aspiration

Conclusions that establish mastery must begin with rudimentary activity that is relational to student experience. In this regard we are not created equal because of material or genetic predispositions providing advantages for some and roadblocks for others. The Declaration of Independence is as relevant today as in 1776. It aspires to what we could become, not what we are. The “unalienable rights” that allow “the pursuit of life,, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness” means schools should establish opportunity for students to use individual gifts for a “more perfect” union.