What are the sacred cows of American schooling?

This year, 180 Studio joined forces with ATTN and Education Reimagined to produce a four-part video series challenging mainstream thinking about some of the “sacred cows” of American schooling.

Our goal was to spark reflection on two fundamental questions: How should we continue to think about the structure and purpose of public education? And which rituals and habits from our collective past should we hold onto — and which should we let go of, in order to reimagine teaching and learning for a rapidly changing world? 

As of today, I’m pleased to say that more than five million of you have watched, shared, and/or commented on our examinations of 1) our love of letter grades, 2) our overreliance on rote memorization, 3) our dependence on classrooms, and 4) our habit of grouping kids based solely on their age.

If you missed an episode, here’s how to watch and learn more.

Episode 1: Memorization

Episode 2: Classrooms

Episode 3: Ages

Episode 4: Grades

And if we do additional episodes, and tackle additional sacred cows, which ones would you most want us to explore?

13 thoughts on “What are the sacred cows of American schooling?”

  • Why 180 days in a School year? Does this number correlate to educational success? Is it for the convenience of adults? How much time in a school day is actually dedicated to learning? And is there some connection to school day start times, which are all mixed up developmentally. School schedules make no sense!

  • Gisele Huff says:

    I don’t know whether this is too much in the weeds but the fundamental problem is Carnegie Units and its evil twin, seat time. These were established by the Committee of Ten in 1893. They are so far removed from what learning should be in the 21st century that they are literally insane. Why should it matter that it takes Johnny five weeks to learn fractions and Susan, one week? Why can’t our education system accommodate that?

  • Labels like “gifted” or even “special needs” or “learning differences.” Anytime we make distinctions like that we are implying the primacy of an unspoken sense of “normal.” Every human being brings a unique constellation of strengths and labeling like this sends the message that some of what people bring to the table is more valuable than what other people bring.

    Courses/discrete subject areas as the focus of school/classes/transcripts – knowledge is interconnected and the creation of “subjects” was a construct that allowed for efficiency of delivery NOT efficiency of learning. Doing away with our obsessive need to pull ideas apart will not only make learning more engaging it will help create young people who can think in complex and nuanced ways about complex and nuanced things.

  • It could be interesting to tackle the ABCs and 123s—I think some parents are concerned about educational innovation getting in the way of literacy and numeracy. Would love to hear how Deeper Learning is built on a foundation of literacy and numeracy, among other things like confidence, creativity, and computational thinking.

    I had a theater director in high school who absolutely hated bells and class periods, he often repeated that students were people and not cattle. I know there are tons of schools that skip bells or use alternatives (like music that students have produced). This could relate to school practices that student-centered and trust and respect young people’s role in their education.

    Also summer vacation! I think it’s absurd and outdated and that the world would be a better place if kids went to school all year round. When schools are the primary places where children have access to food and climate controlled space, it really hits home for me as a matter of equity.

  • Here’s a question worth exploring: Why is school funding so dependent on local property taxes?

  • More sacred cows!
    – adults choosing the focus of study
    – adults creating and implementing the discipline structure
    – where direct instruction comes from
    – homework
    – grades

  • Seems to me that the “Sacred Cows” sometimes could be considered the adult expectations… How about turning that over and asking what should students be able to expect from their learning experiences?… I’d be intrigued to see what you could develop in reference to the “10 Expectations” that Elliot Washor and Charlie Mojkowski described in “Leaving to Learn” – https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=K96c-TGnSf4

  • Why are we obsessed with reading with our eyes when we can also read with our ears (via computers/tech/others). The invention of the written word and ultimately the printing press no doubt transformed human ability to pass on knowledge in a way never imagined before. However, 1:5 people struggle to read efficiently with their eyes (dyslexia, sight impairments…) but can effectively read by listening to text. However, to this day we prize reading with our eyes over our ears and in schools spend hours and years teaching eye reading. Why is that? What would the world look like if we shared and taught both strategies without a value judgement of one being superior to another? Might we even become better listeners if we taught ear reading and could that have positive effects in other areas of learning?

  • Pamela McVeagh-Lally says:

    As some in this chain of comments have suggested: we set teachers up for failure. Teacher preparation (and administrator preparation) for the most part, is astonishingly narrow. The social, emotional and academic development of children, and a teacher’s ability to support all aspects of a child’s development, should be equally addressed in teacher prep. Countless teachers share that they experienced no formal training in creating a positive, equitable learning climate, supporting students’ social and emotional skill building from a strengths perspective (that DOESN’T mean giving tokens or using clip charts), or managing an inclusive and productive classroom. They sometimes eventually learn these things: from veteran teachers; by receiving fly-by professional learning which they are left to figure out how to implement themselves; by searching for resources online and trial and error; or they never learn these essential elements of teaching and leave the profession. Further, the secondary trauma experienced by so many educators as a result of working day in and day out with students who have experienced adverse childhood experiences needed addressed. Teachers need to be coached from day one of their prep programs to manage that crushing stress. For those who argue that counselors should be the ones dealing with these topics, please check out the counselor to student ratio in most of the schools in our country. In sum: Teacher prep needs a do over – it would fundamentally change our schools. The administrator job issue is another rant for another day but many similar challenges apply.

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