thinking about school for all

An excellent reminder on the eve of a very difficult school year ahead, shared by a recently tenured professor at one of the country's leading music schools. I have been thinking about a recent NY Times article about in-person school maybe not working for every child. I have read countless discussions of people both vehemently for and against the option of homeschooling and small school pods. This is a strange but fascinating time in discussions about education. 

Thoughts from an excellent professor:

But what if the kids fall behind the arbitrary yard sticks of academic achievement that we all made up so that we could justify having yard sticks of academic achievement? What then?

Throwing out decades of old files today. Seeing many painful reminders, specifically in academic transcripts, jury forms, some evaluations, old term papers that I saved, etc., that I was almost thirty before I figured how to be good at "school". The reasons are many, but this is a reminder to any of you who follow your own interests, and who don't quite fit the rubric - socially, academically, or otherwise, to keep trying. It's a damned miracle that I am a professor, tenured no less, at a fine music school and university and that things have worked out the way they have, but I'll take it, and hopefully, change it so others don't have to turn themselves into something they are not along the way.

I’ve posted many tributes to my dad across the years, but there is always something else to say, as he was of course, very dear to me. One memory that comes to mind and which explains a lot about how I turned out, were the late night talks.

Dad would come home very late on Fridays from whatever job he was working at the time, which varied between construction worker, rig driver, chauffeur, cook, mechanic, handy man, etc., and would sit down with me in the living room to talk. He’d light his cigarette and the discussion would begin. Everything was fair game, politics, religion, school, science ... and his job was to disagree with me so that I would learn to think and defend myself. “Why do you think that? What else could it be? Have you thought of ...” I grew up arguing and voicing my opinion. My dad saw it as a sacred duty, because he had experienced the opposite in Cuba and had paid the price. It still gets me in trouble sometimes, but no one has thrown me in jail yet. Thanks, dad.

My dad was a conservative-leaning libertarian with deep skepticism about the role that government should play in people’s lives, and was wicked smart, but not in a “formal education” sense. He was also tough as nails, had a beautiful singing voice, and carried the sadness and trauma of being a political agitator and prisoner for the rest of his too short life. We often disagreed, but he loved me and protected me and helped to sharpen my intellect. He also taught me not to wait for anything or anyone to take care of me. “You’ll die waiting. Don’t make excuses and be grateful that we are here. The streets aren’t made of gold, but now you have a chance at some kind of good life, don’t blow it.”

After our talks, dad would sometimes show me his hands, which were often filled with dirt and oil, due to the kind of work he did. He would tell me that his dream in life was to see me with clean hands, away from manual labor, successful, and with a family of my own. Sometimes I wish he would have let me get a little dirtier, but I appreciated his point.

I love you, dad. I think you would be proud of me, and that you would be head over heels over your granddaughter. We would probably still argue about politics and religion, but I know we’d hug it out and be ok at the end, because we were always ok. Thank you for all you sacrificed to give me a good life. I hope you know somehow, that it was all worth it.

I think I need to clarify something I posted yesterday. I do not equate intelligence, character, or effort with being good at school. Although you can certainly be good at school and have those qualities. My most influential professor, a brilliant man who has had a significant influence on thousands of people, published hundreds of articles, dozens of books, and is one of the wisest, kindest, and most respected people I know, is dyslexic, was near last in his class in college, and is clear about his disbelief in grades. There is a distinct difference between being educated and being schooled.

I was never that great at school not because I wasn't intellectually curious, capable, or understood what was going on, it's because I was often interested in other things, was completely unmotivated by grades (they never have and still don't matter to me), and had to work to support my family. Also, I come from a family of poor, working-class immigrants. While bright and hard working people, they did not have the time to teach me to study, did not understand the ins-and-outs of the public school system, and were often dealing with life and death issues. I was on my own.

To be clear, I respected and admired my teachers, and was grateful to receive an education, but I had zero interest in "fitting in" or in doing things the way I was taught. Sometimes, I would skip school to go to the library and spend the day reading, go to interesting concerts, or to talks and events. Once, I skipped school to hear Elie Wiesel give a talk. I read Night in middle school and thought this would be a good use of my time.

Eventually, I learned that I needed to get certain grades in order to go to college, and had to actually show up to class, so I adapted. Without my parents' knowledge, I paid for and took the SAT, filled out a FAFSA, applied for three colleges, and hitched rides to auditions. The day I left for college, I stood outside the restaurant my mom was waitressing at, and she came outside, in tears, to give me a hug goodbye. I remember her saying that she didn't actually understand what was going on. Was I really leaving? She had been mostly unaware of what was happening. 70-hour work weeks to survive on tips will do that to you.

I suppose my disposition makes me a weird fit for academia, and maybe a poor role model for some. On the other hand, I do my utmost to make my classes interesting, useful, and to treat my students as individuals with their own aspirations, strengths, and ways of learning. Do I want them to turn in assignments and demonstrate certain competencies, of course. Do I think there are numerous ways of being a good musician, teacher, thinker, scholar, etc. that don't show up on grades, writing assignments, juries, etc., you bet.

In the end, I think the best that schools can do is help cultivate a lifelong love of learning, some comfort with ambiguity, and a set of fundamental principles that will help them make sense of the world, and adapt as necessary. Specific skills can be learned in school but also in life, apprenticeships, on the job, etc.