Essential Education

I have found myself asking the following 3 questions in every professional development program I have facilitated in schools the past year.

- What is essential to teaching and learning?

- What is your most important task as an educator?

- What is your greatest hope for your students?

The answers that I have received consistently lift my spirit.

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The question of what is essential... receives answers like, respect, responsibility, healthy relationships, passion, compassion, joy of learning, trust, social skills, confidence and creativity.

When I ask educators what they think is their most important task, their responses are overwhelmingly mentioned “My primary task is to keep students socially and emotionally safe.”  “I want to inspire my students to be the best they can be.”

The thousands of educators that I am blessed to speak with report that their greatest hope for their students is to love learning, be kind and compassionate and be of service to our world.

Interestingly, when I ask parents the same questions, their responses are exactly the same.

Based on my unsophisticated research, educators, parents and students all agree.  It is time to recommit schools to teach to the needs of the whole child.  Academics must be integrated with Social Emotional Learning.  We must take back the time we have wasted on standardized tests and return to letting teachers teach and learners learn.