Robert Fulghum's 1986 best-seller distills life's biggest truths into simple, everyday behaviors that people are taught in kindergarten. These behaviors create the conditions that lay the groundwork for academic success (and success in life in general).
- Share and be kind
- Play fair
- Clean up your own mess
- Say you’re sorry
- Wash your hands (and take care of yourself)
- Live a balanced life
- Be aware of wonder
- Hold hands and stick together
- Keep learning
- Remember the basics still apply
Take just one of Robert Fulghum's truths, "Live a balanced life," which he explains as, "Learn some and think some and draw and paint and sing and dance and play and work every day some." Teachers should strive for whole-child development, not just academics.
While teachers teach these behaviors, if you read the teachers' manuals, you'll learn more about the theories behind why this is important. Professional teachers take "Keep learning" to heart and study Social Emotional Learning (SEL); Diversity, Equity, Inclusion (DEI); Critical Race Theory (CRT); Sexual Orientation and Gender Identity (SOGI); Comprehensive Sexuality Education (CSE); etc. Understanding these topics and using them to inform teaching methods can make a teacher more effective in overcoming the barriers that prevent children from achieving academic success.
That brings me to Euan Blackman. He doesn't share my beliefs. He's running for Richardson ISD Board of Trustees. He also happens to be listed on the leadership team of "Innovative Teachers of Texas". His title is "Regional Director for Dallas." In ITTexas's own words:
ITTexas Stands For
Liberating Educators
An educator's job is to teach students. ITTexas believes educators should be liberated from any responsibility not related to academic success including, but not limited to, topics such as Social Emotional Learning (SEL), Comprehensive Sexuality Education (CSE), Diversity, Equity, Inclusion (DEI), Critical Race Theory (CRT), Sexual Orientation and Gender Identity (SOGI), etc.
Source: ITTexas.
I see no wisdom in "liberating" teachers from teaching children the skills that Robert Fulghum promotes. Those skills are pre-requisites for academic success. The need for them doesn't disappear in first grade or second or third. The need deepens as children get older. Bullying, racism, misogyny, homophobia, etc., continue to be barriers to academic success from pre-K to high school and beyond. Teachers ought to teach these topics using age-appropriate methods and materials at all stages in education. Blackman helps lead an organization that believes teachers ought to be "liberated" from doing this. That's a dealbreaker for me.
"Sharing" and "fairness"
progress across grade levels,
deepening wisdom."
—h/t ChatGPT
On a Facebook share of this post, Euan Blackman commented, in part: "True 'balanced life' learning happens best when schools excel at academics first. Students who master foundational skills gain confidence, resilience, and real opportunities. When classrooms become battlegrounds for contested social theories, it often undermines the very environment needed for healthy social development."
ReplyDeleteI fundamentally disagree. Teaching "academics first" in a climate of uncontrolled bullying, racism, sexism, homophobia, etc., is a futile exercise. Instead, building a supportive classroom culture is a prerequisite for effective academic outcomes. Where I agree with Euan is that turning classrooms into battlegrounds is counter-productive. Better outcomes would result if parents supported teachers instead of fought with them.