Not so long ago, things were so simple.  Breakfast was breakfast.  It was bacon and eggs or French toast and sausage.  Lunch was soup and sandwich, dinner was meat, potatoes and a veggie.  Life was so simple

Now we’re doing strange things.  Burritos with salsa for breakfast.  Power bars for lunch.  Breakfast for dinner.  What the heck is going on?  There are so many options now, nothing is homogeneous, anything goes.  Eclectic is the new thing and those who are not following the trend are, well, behind the times.

Not so long ago, education was simple, or so it seemed.  Children were separated like breakfast, lunch and dinner, sometimes by race, sometimes by disability, sometimes by behavior.  Children who didn’t fit the mold were isolated in other classrooms or sent to other schools leaving homogenous groups that could be managed in the regular classroom.  But just like our food is an amalgamation of different cultures and ingredients, some more spicy than others, our classrooms are now full of the same.

No longer conveniently separated to make things simple or keep things comfortable, our children are lumped together, different cultures, more special needs, various behavioral issues, 25-30 distinct little (or big) personalities with different backgrounds and needs, all demanding our attention at the same time and yet our well meaning system of education is still trying to put a square peg into a round hole.

The public school system isn’t broken, it isn’t full of uncaring, unqualified teachers, and kids haven’t changed.  The same ingredients that were always there are still there, we’re just mixing things up a little by having burritos and salsa for breakfast and breakfast for dinner.  And just like it takes opening your mind and stomach to new combinations, it is going to take open minds and hearts to reconfigure our schools.  It’s going to take a different thought process to prepare our teachers.  It’s going to take less testing, less rigid curriculum, and more relationship building. In an age where information is at a child’s fingertips, it will be more important than ever to teach kids how to learn, to think for themselves and outside the box.

Are private or charter schools the answer?  Perhaps, if we want to keep things simple. The truth is, parents have the right to choose what they believe is best for their children.  However, these schools can continue to separate children based on things children have no control over  Public schools on the other hand, are public schools because we believe EVERY child, no matter who they are, where they come from, what they or their families believe or what their income is, has the right to a great education.  The diversity we see in public education today is the spice added to what in the past was pretty bland eats,

While there are some days when it’s been a struggle at school and I wish things could be more simple, I think of those great kids who bring a different culture into my classroom, the kids who struggle with behaviors who then turn around and ask for hugs, the kids who struggle in their classroom academics but flourish in the arts because we’re a public school and we offer those things.  Then I think, perhaps I should continue to open up my mind and heart just a little more and enjoy something a little more spicy on my educational plate.