There are a lot of problems in our systems—education in particular. Problems that are complex, intertwined, and developed over decades. Problems that ebb and flow with politics and the economy. Problems that aren’t solved overnight or with a silver bullet.
I have heard—and used the phrase myself—that we can’t boil the ocean when it comes to solving problems. Which is true. Problems usually aren’t fully resolved with a buckshot approach. And, yet, sometimes we just need to do something—anything—to get the momentum going.
Enter what has become one of my oft used words of recent—holistic. What changes can be made that impact the WHOLE situation for the better? What are small changes that can have significant and POSITIVE impact in the greater scheme of things?
I have found that often solutions are implemented without thinking holistically and while well-intentioned they often have negative overall impacts. If only a small amount of thinking went into considering the whole—the unintended outcomes—the worst-case scenario—the system holistically.
In education, we need to figure out this delicate balance. No—we can’t solve all of the problems at once. We also can’t continue to use that as an excuse for inaction. We need to identify the small changes we can make that have a positive impact---and that is likely not in the form of the adoption of another program or curriculum or ed-tech platform that promises miracles (i.e. silver bullet). We need to see the whole picture and address those root causes. Human resources is one of those in my opinion. We don’t have a steady pipeline; we don’t provide adequate training; we don’t pay well; we don’t provide them support; we don’t provide much of a work-life balance for healthy well-being; we don’t have a plan. Related, is instructional practices. We don’t prepare education majors appropriately or in sound practices and learning science. We don’t provide them enough time in “apprentice” or “internship” style learning to equip them to lead a classroom on their own. We don’t provide ongoing, relevant, professional learning that keeps them engaged and growing throughout their career.
Recognizing the intricate tapestry of issues at hand is crucial. While we cannot 'boil the ocean', we must resist the urge to oversimplify our approach, or to be paralyzed by the scale of the challenge. Instead, our lens should be focused on holistic solutions that address the core and intertwined aspects of the system. By being discerning and focusing on foundational elements like human resources and instructional practices, we can start to make meaningful changes. Small, thoughtfully chosen steps can lead to substantial positive ripples throughout the educational landscape. It's about time we looked at the bigger picture, pivoted away from short-lived fixes, and championed sustainable, holistic solutions for the future of education.
#EducationReform #HolisticApproach #SystemicChange #NoSilverBullets #RootCauses #HumanResourcesInEdu #InstructionalPractices #EducationChallenges #ThinkBigger #SustainableSolutions
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