Learning to Learn

I was listening to a podcast recently, and Ann Hornaday was being interviewed. Ms. Hornaday is the chief film critic of the Washington Post. She was asked if this was something she aspired to when she was younger. Like many of us, myself included, her path to her current position was not a straight line. 

Ms. Hornaday talked about how in the 1980s, she was a freelance journalist when the beginnings of pop culture outlets were just starting, and she was hired by the New York Times in the Arts and Leisure section doing features, not reviews. She did some book reviews for The Times but had yet to have the opportunity to do a review of a film. Several years later, she was hired by the Austin American-Statesman and had her first opportunity to write critically about the movie "To Die For." 

Ms. Hornaday connected with David Friedman, then a TV critic for Philadelphia Daily News, as someone who had also moved from being a general assignment reporter to a critic. Mr. Friedman gave her the advice that helped her start her career. "I'm going to give you the same advice someone gave me when I started, which is, anytime you do a review, ask yourself three questions. What was the artist trying to achieve? Did they achieve it? Was it worth doing?" Those three questions helped launch Ms. Hornaday's career, which includes the Baltimore Sun and, since 2002, The Washington Post. 

In reflecting on her start as a critic, she also mentioned the following, which I absolutely loved: "One of my great gifts in life was, not only my college education but my high school, was learning how to learn. If you don't know something, if you're not an expert in something, go find out how to do it, or ask the right people..." That resonated with me on many levels, as a person and as a superintendent. We want our students to learn how to learn and to understand that it is a process that takes place far beyond the walls of our schools and well beyond the years of formal education. 

Yes, there are RICAS scores. Yes, there are SAT scores. Yes, we grade and evaluate assignments. But there is so much more to learning than just the outcome. 

Sure, we have the internet, and you can use Google to ask how I can become a movie critic. While the first four hits are all ads, there is a step-by-step process outlined. There are images of famous movie critics and website hits that will take you to film schools, indeed.com, and writing colleges and universities worldwide. I'm sure that some of them are valuable and will put you on the path to becoming a film critic, and still, there is so much to be gained in the process of learning that goes well beyond Google (or your favorite internet search engine). 

We place too much emphasis on the grade/outcome/score and not enough on the process of learning itself. And this is not just in East Greenwich. It happened to me. In high school, it took me three tries to break 1000 on the SAT, which was back in the late 80s when there were only two sections. My college counselor told me that I ought to rethink the six colleges I was applying to as, given my SAT scores, I probably would not get into them. I did get into all six, and as I look back on my life, my SAT scores are merely a blip on the radar, the actual score I don't even remember. 

We want students to get good grades to get into a good college. We want students to get good college grades and a good job. Then what happens at their job? Do we want them to do well only for the job performance rating? I don't do my work as a Superintendent solely for the evaluation by the School Committee. And I can proudly say that in twenty years in leadership, I've never looked beyond validating a transcript when considering a potential employee. For example, I've not once looked at a potential employee's grades in an undergraduate or graduate school subject to evaluate whether or not they're the right person for a position. I want to know if the transcript is legitimate, and that is all. 

When hiring someone, I want a team player who will collaborate on problem-solving, have strong interpersonal skills, and above all, grow and learn with us. I want someone who will put students first and collaborate with others in the building. I want someone who will be honest about shortcomings and humble about strengths. I want someone with the professional confidence necessary to be a part of the East Greenwich Public Schools and open to growth. 

I want lifelong learners. Our students, our adults, and our community. We are all still learning. 

Photo courtesy of www.gettingsmart.com