© copyright 2013 Betsy L. Angert. BeThink
In the minutes, hours, and days after a "natural" disaster, such as the Oklahoma tornado or the recent Hurricane Sandy storm, we "assess" the damage. No one thinks that someone or ones must be held "accountable." Our hearts and minds are open to discovery. We are able to embrace the unexpected and learn from it. We suspend disbelief and see countless causal relationships, each of which might help us assess. This more thorough look at life, at the causes and effects does not lead us to draw spurious conclusions. Those come as a result of evaluations, a construct that is pervasive in today's education conversation. You might think the analogy a stretch, but please stay with me for at least another moment.
In our communities, parents have come to accept the narrative; we are in the eye of the storm. There is an education crisis. Schools are a disaster. Students and Teachers are failing. The question is do we assess the damage and learn how to improve or instead, do we lay blame? Do we consider the countless possible causes and effects or do we arbitrarily anchor on correlations? Immediately after a catastrophe, typically, we look around and assess the situation. This is being done in Moore, Oklahoma this evening. It is only after calm has returned, or once we become comfortable in the new normal do we do as was done in education, evaluate, evaluate, evaluate. Rarely if ever do we acknowledge that all we are doing is seeking affirmation for our beliefs and expectations,
Enter "accountability." In America policymakers and the people say, schools, Teachers, and students too must be held accountable. Even Educators articulate the meme, "take responsibility." Do what is right. The question is how do we determine what is "right" and by whose standards? Opinions vary. Such is the nature of evaluations.
Evaluations quantify what occurs. When we evaluate, we measure. We count and calculate numbers. Look at the statistics and ultimately see little beyond gains or losses. How many people died? How many times has Moore been hit? How fast were the winds moving? What about the expanse and/or intensity? Can we actually gauge the force or fury felt when our loved one is killed or injured? Is there a scale that weighs our heart or the joy we feel when we find a treasure we feared lost buried in the wreckage? Few of us can put a price on personal pain and pleasure. We cannot begin to imagine what another might experience. Consider two persons in the same storm. If my home is in ruins and yours' remains standing will we assess the damage differently? Who will be the judge or jury that evaluates our claims?
Scientists will try. Statisticians too will look at the data. Each will offer evidence and either could claim to be correct. Certainly, we see this in education. As a nation, we attempt to quantify learning, a concept so amorphic that it is invisible to the eye.
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