March Madness, a Changed Life, and a Question

What exactly is the end outcome that we want from the public education process as our students leave our schools and school systems?

I have railed against standardized testing until I am blue in the face. It is a process which is miserably failing our students. It is robbing them of rich learning experiences. I have yet to hear a single student say they were really thankful for standardized assessments. But I have heard them thank teachers, family, and peers. I have heard them recall countless experiences which taught them content and which taught them lessons which shaped them into who they are today.

So, what do we actually want our students to say when they complete their years in our schools? I think the following words might properly suffice…

“Coming into Knoxville,” Zeigler said, “I didn’t have any expectations for anything like that. All I did was ask Coach Barnes for a chance and he gave it to me. The mark that they left on me and my family, they changed our lives, really. 

“I’m just so thankful for each and every person that’s a part of Vol Nation. I’m so thankful for the coaches, so thankful for my teammates, so thankful for everybody that’s part of Tennessee as a whole. I couldn’t do anything like that without my teammates. I couldn’t do anything like that without my coaches.” Zakai Zeigler/Volquest

They left their mark on me and my family. They changed my life. It has been the best four years of my life.

Yep. There it is. THAT is exactly what we want to hear our students say as they leave our schools.

Zakai Zeigler and his senior teammates took the University of Basketball team to three Sweet Sixteens and two Elite 8s. His jersey will someday hang in the rafters of Thompson Boling. In his remarks, he thanks the people who changed his life. He doesn’t thank a standardized assessment or a benchmark assessment or a data conference. The gritty New York City(Long Island) native talks about the experiences and people who have shaped his life for the better while at the University of Tennessee.

Education should offer life changing opportunities which are grounded in life changing experiences.

Maybe we should remember that.

ProTip: Take a few minutes and watch these…Watch the first one all they way through. It describes what happened to Zeigler’s family after his Mom’s place in New York burned down. Start the second one at the 8:55 mark.