sense of loss. Following Peter's lead, I am sharing what I wrote for my
school newsletter (and blog) Thursday night after learning of Sizer's
passing:
*Losing Another Lion: Ted Sizer, 1932-2009*
When we marked Ted Kennedy=92s passing recently, we called him the =93Lion =
of
the Senate;=94 it is hard now not to see parallels in the loss of another 7=
7
year old Ted, a similarly great man who deserves to be viewed himself as a
Lion of Educational Reform.
It is hard to be succinct about Theodore =93Ted=94 Sizer=92s accomplishment=
s and
contributions, but among many other things he was the Headmaster of Phillip=
s
(Andover) Academy, the Dean of the Education School at Harvard, the Chair o=
f
the Education Department at Brown, and most importantly, the founder
of the Coalition
of Essential Schools <http://www.essentialschools.org/>.
Sizer wrote many books, including the incredibly influential =93Horace=94
trilogy, and the wonderfully named *The Students are Watching*. Let=92s ne=
ver
forget that indeed, the students are watching everything we do, and
ultimately we are accountable to them; borrowing from Sizer, it is cannot b=
e
forgotten that though we may feel in the short run accountable to parents,
and accountable to testing, there is no doubt in the long run it is the
students who will judge our results, our impact, our legacy.
Six Sizer books sit on my shelves; *Horace=92s School* was the first book I
reviewed for publication in 1992, and thus launched my educational writing
sideline which this blog now perpetuates. When I first studied education
closely, as a graduate student in divinity school, *Horace=92s Compromise *=
was
the singularly defining influence upon my emerging educational philosophy.
Sizer=92s legacy may equal that of John Dewey in the influence he has had, =
and
will have, over education; the content of this legacy is best captured in
the ten common principles<http://www.essentialschools.org/pub/ces_docs/abou=
t/phil/10cps/10cps.html>of
the Coalition of Essential Schools. I have pasted the principles into
the
body of this post at bottom.
The beauty of the Sizerian principles for me is the way they bridge two
disparate slices or sectors of quality education.
They look backwards to borrow from the best traditions of independent
schools, going back a century or more, drawing upon Sizer=92s experience as=
an
independent school head at Andover. But they also, when published in the
mid-eighties, look forward to the best elements of what we now call
twentyfirst century education.
Drawing upon the shared culture of independent schools, he emphasizes
educational principles such as (#4) *Personalization*, where we ensure
teachers really connect, mentor, and care for students by having student
loads no greater than 80 in high school, no more than 20 in a class.
Another, (#7), calls for schools to adopt *a tone of decency and trust*,
where
=93the school should explicitly and self-consciously stress values of
unanxious expectation (=93I won=92t threaten you but I expect much of you=
=94), of
trust (until abused) and of decency (the values of fairness, generosity and
tolerance).=94
Other principles beautifully speak to what we now see as contemporary best
practice. Now, I know I am a fierce proponent of 21st century education,
but my vision of this does not ever intend to suggest that these educationa=
l
ideas are brand new to this century. Rather, I argue that they are now
more important than ever, and that we are seeing some convergence among wha=
t
the economy calls for, what best practice educational research supports, an=
d
what innovator educators are practicing. 21st century education is deeply
indebted to Ted Sizer and the Coalition of Essential Schools, and today, of
all days, is the day to say that loudest.
From his principles we can see great influence for today=92s best approache=
s
and strategies. #1 =93*learning to use one=92s mind wel*l=94 should be th=
e focus
of school; #2 *Less is more, depth over coverage*: =93The school=92s goals
should be simple: that each student* master a limited number of essential
skills and areas of knowledge*;=94 and #5, =93The governing practical metap=
hor
of the school should be *student-as-worker,* rather than the more familiar
metaphor of teacher-as-deliverer-of-instructional-services. Accordingly, a
prominent *pedagogy will be coaching,* to provoke students to learn how to
learn and thus to teach themselves.=94
It is a great loss for all of us that Ted Sizer the man has died. But, I
can say confidently that his spirit, his ideas, and his legacy lives on: in
21st century best practices education, in the work of many of his students
and followers, and daily in the classrooms of St. Gregory College
Preparatory School and literally hundreds, thousands of other schools in th=
e
US and the world.
--=20
Jonathan E. Martin
Head of School
St. Gregory College Preparatory School
Tucson, Arizona
www.stgregoryschool.org
www.21k12blog.net
Twitter:@JonathanEMartin
520-327-6395
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