Going into education for all the wrong reasons

Like many young people, I struggled with direction about my career path during college. As I finished the general education requirements and the pressure to choose a major was mounting, I was still uncertain of what I was supposed to do. Before it was over, I considered business, law school, and even the Marine Corps, but in the end I decided on education.

And although I have no regrets about that decision, I really went into education for the wrong reasons. You see I didn't really have a passion for making a difference in the lives of students (I know that sounds really selfish, but that's the truth). I wasn't passionate about teaching and didn't long to see young learners have that "aha moment." I wasn't even really that crazy about school when I did my first tour of duty as a student for 12+ years.

So why in the world did I choose education? Where else can you make that kind of money and have three months off in the summer? Just kidding obviously. However, I did have a distant relative make comments like that to me. He did not respect educators.

The actual reason I chose to be an educator was I loved basketball. That was my passion. And as much as I loved playing basketball, it just made sense for me to want to coach basketball. So I majored in English with a minor in History with the intent to find a teaching position where I could also coach.

To be clear, there were some other reasons for my decision. My parents both valued learning and loved me, and several family members had been successful teachers. My dad would talk about teachers who made an impact on his life and that always got my attention. And, I had some teachers who really made all the difference for me, that really helped set me on a better path. One of my coaches, who I wrote about in an earlier post, was especially inspiring.

But the main reason for my decision was I loved basketball. So maybe that's not the worst reason ever to become an educator (doing is for money, prestige, or fame are definitely worse reasons). But it's also not the best. The best reason to become an educator is because it's a calling, because you feel that it's your life purpose to make an impact on the lives of students and help them be successful. That's truly the only great reason to become a teacher, because you love students and love teaching.

Now my story doesn't end there. I followed my basketball dreams, and it was a good thing. I learned a lot. And as my career story continued to unfold I began to find a passion for teaching and for creating the best learning opportunities possible for students. There really is something to be said for doing something your very best and watching as your passion follows that commitment. Over time I became a passionate educator. And I still love basketball too.

What is critical thinking?

It seems we are constantly having conversations--and for good reason--about the importance of critical thinking and discussing ways to increase the critical thinking for our students. We all just seem to readily accept that we understand what we mean when we use the term, yet if you stop to think about how to define what critical thinking is, it's kind of hard to do. It's much easier to give examples of critical thinking skills. We understand what it means to infer, to compare, or to classify for example.

But let's try to identify what critical thinking is without going to exemplars. First, critical thinking is a mental act. We cannot just look at a product a student creates and determine if critical thinking occurred. Since there is a mental act underlying the product, we must ask questions of the student to learn the thinking behind what they have created or developed.

Another important aspect of critical thinking is revealed in the meaning of the word critical, indicating that it is a type of thinking, or a type of mental act, that is of high importance to knowing or understanding. There are lots of mental acts that are rote or automatic to the extent they can't be considered a critical thought. For instance, 2+2=4 or Jefferson City is the capital of Missouri. But critical thinking allows us to make judgments about the truth or reality of new knowledge against a convergence of knowing that is widely accepted as what is true or real.

Next, critical thinking is not limited to a content area or learning discipline. Critical thinking can be generalized across all disciplines. This characteristic is one of the reasons critical thinking is so important to our students. Whereas content specific knowledge is requisite to understanding a subject, critical thinking can help us to understand all subjects.

And finally, critical thinking can be developed through practice and through quality instruction. Some educators seem to believe, if not outwardly expressed, that students' abilities to think critically are just a part of intelligence that is fixed. Clearly, this is not the case. As we have learned from Carol Dweck, critical thinking and intelligence can be developed through practice and hard work.

Center for Critical Thinking (1996c). Three definitions of critical thinking [On-line]. Available HTTP: http://www.criticalthinking.org/University/univlibrary/library.nclk

Why AP courses aren't superior to dual credit

I just filled out another survey for a magazine creating a national "Best High Schools" list. This one
was for Newsweek, but every year we also see the same type of thing from U.S. News. I'm not sure why I take time out of my day to even complete the survey given the fact that they are using the information for profit, and I don't have faith in the metrics they use to determine the best schools.

The measure that is the most frustrating, and one these magazines use heavily to determine the best schools, is the participation rate and completion rate on Advanced Placement courses. We don't offer any AP courses at Bolivar High School, but we do offer 19 dual credit courses in partnership with Southwest Baptist University and Missouri State University, and it's not uncommon for our students to graduate from high school with 30 plus college hours complete.

It's not that I'm against AP courses in general. No doubt these courses are rigorous and help prepare students for college, but so does our dual credit program. Our teachers are qualified to teach college level coursework, and overall the dual credit route better meets the needs of our students. Instead of one test (AP exam) to determine if a student has successfully completed the advanced program, our students are able to earn the college credit each semester without everything riding on one exam.

Moreover, we've found the dual credit classes are generally better accepted for college credit at universities than AP courses. For our students, it just makes sense to for them to want to take dual credit courses over AP.

As we think about what's next for our dual credit program, we would like to add additional courses and perhaps the ability for students to complete an associate's degree while in high school. That would require approximately 60 hours of college credit during the high school years. While the goal would be for these students to continue their studies beyond the associate's degree, it would provide a target for students wanting to demonstrate academic acceleration through high school.

We would also like to greatly expand the opportunities for under-resourced students to take dual credit courses at a reduced cost or for free. We are considering the creation of a dual credit "Bright Futures" scholarship fund that could be used to help students with potential who might not have the current financial means to take dual credit courses.