The Answer - A blog about Education, Preparation, and Commitment.

The goal of school is not to become good at school

March 29, 2011 by Jeremy Jones

 "The goal of school is to not become good at school."

– Jay McTighe, Author of Understanding by Design

This weekend at the ASCD conference was an outstanding shot to the arm of what great researchers are saying make up great schools. The quote above came in a session from Jay McTighe linking the UBD framework with the latest in neuroscience. It resonated with me because although so much of what we do pushes beyond the typical schools there is still so much we can do to ensure all students will be fully equipped in the multitudinous ways they need to be successful in the 21st Century. It starts by recognizing and continuing to embrace that our students’ success goes so much beyond what we do for them in the classroom. It’s the connections and relationships we are building for them and empowering for them to be able to build and make for themselves. It’s the conversations we are having with students with how to connect what they are learning to their lives. Relevance is the vehicle to achieving rigor and if students cannot see the point of what they are doing beyond our walls we are not maximizing our time with them. Within the next few weeks there will be many opportunities for one on one student support and guidance as we push every student for maximal success on the TAKS and CAs in May. But so much of how of our students perform will be based on the connections they can make with what they are trying to master and with the relationships they have with their teachers in doing so.

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