Book Nook: We're Doing It Wrong: 25 Ideas in Education That Just Don't Work – And How to Fix Them

I'm a teacher who has taught in public, charter, private, and parochial schools; face to face and online; for grades K-8. I've seen a lot of initiatives - and I've only been teaching 15 years! The best ideas have come from other teachers who are in the trenches instead of mandated by politicians or people who have been out of the classroom for years. That's why I was happy to review We're Doing It Wrong: 25 Ideas in Education That Just Don't Work – And How to Fix Them.

David Michael Slater is an author and full-time teacher who takes his experience in the classroom to look at 25 different common ideas in education. The first one, age-based learning, would admittedly shake up education completely, but he makes a good case for it, and even if it's not terribly realistic, it does encourage readers to think of ways to get outside the box for education.

Some of the ideas he brings up definitely don't work at all. Others work, but the danger happens when it gets taken too far. For each of these ideas, he proposes rational solutions - sometimes it's a tweak, sometimes it's just a caution, and sometimes it's a completely different way of teaching. I appreciated his viewpoint, and think it's a great book for anyone who makes or influences decisions in education, even if it's just as a thought-provoking start.

You can get involved - visit We're Doing it Wrong to join the conversation.

I had a chance to interview him to learn more.

Why did you decide to write the book?

We're Doing It Wrong is my first work of non-fiction. It began uncertainly as a list of my thoughts about how many bad ideas teachers are forced to contend with. I wasn't sure it would lead to much, but when I began sharing it with colleagues, they were immediately enthusiastic about seeing ideas in writing that expressed many of their opinions. When I shared it with experts, I was thrilled they found it concise, articulate, and a much needed injection of common sense into the public discourse about education. Finally, I was excited to find that non-teachers who read it felt that it finally gave them an accessible account of what's really wrong with public education that wasn't based on soundbites or talking points. When I realized the book could  speak to such diverse readers, I knew it had potential to make a difference. 

 

What leads to the institution of ideas that don't work well in education?

WDIW lays out four ideas that cause bad ideas to reach our nation's classrooms, then shares 25 prime examples, with solutions. In brief these are the ideas: 1) Virtually no one who makes policy decisions regarding public education has any experience in pubic education; 2) Politics force teachers to pretend things are true that simply aren't (for example, they can educate everyone to the highest standards, regardless of how many students are in their classrooms or what differences they have in motivation and ability); 3) Teaching is now viewed primarily as a science rather than the art it actually (mostly) is; 4) Teachers have no time to implement even the good ideas that trickle down to them.

 

Why do bad ideas stick around in schools?

Bad ideas get entrenched and we do things because we've always done them. For example, there is no justifiable pedagogical reason that students move through school grouped by age. Ending that practice would radically transform public education for the better. Also, because we see teaching as a science we view teachers, essentially, as factory workers who simply must follow precise instructions to produce desired results. And so if we find something works in one situation, we assume it must work everywhere. So everyone is forced to conform. And so a good idea in one place becomes a bad idea in many others.

 

How can parents make sure their schools are using effective strategies?

Parents should simply be involved. They should connect with their children's teachers and ask questions about each class until they are satisfied with what's happening in it. They should make sure the teachers in their children's schools are given the freedom to teach from their passion and not required to "teach" from scripts designed primarily to help students pass corporate-designed standardized tests. 

 

How can teachers push back against administrative decisions that don't work?

 

 Renowned educator Rafe Esquith notes that we are relying on educators who “qui­etly rebel against the current trends of standardization and uniformity." So teachers need to do what they know is right to the degree they can, even if that means not being a "team player." When that becomes impossible, they should seek out other schools where teachers are treated as the professionals they are. 

 

David Michael Slater is an acclaimed author of books for children, teens, and adults. His work for children includes the picture books Cheese Louise!, The Bored Book, The Boy & the Book, the early chapter book series, Mysterious Monsters, and the teen series, Forbidden Books, which is being developed for film by a former producer of The Lion King. David's work for adults includes the hilarious comic-drama, Fun & Games, which The New York Review of Books called “Hilarious,” and the non-fiction title, 25 Ideas in Education That Just Don't Work -- And How to Fix Them. David teaches middle school in Nevada, where he lives with his wife and son. You can learn more about David and his work at www.davidmichaelslater.com.