My bride and I are huge fans of cooking shows. One of our favorites is Chopped on the Food Network. If you aren't familiar with the show, each episode consists of four chefs competing in a three-round contest, where they attempt to incorporate unusual combinations of ingredients into dishes that are later evaluated by a panel of three judges. The show is so binge-worthy because where else can you watch a group of people try to make an edible desert out of turkey ice cream cake, mashed potato candy, cranberry salsa, and green bean ice pops and then get evaluated on the presentation of the dish and whether or not it hit the palate in the right way? The overall concept of the show is great because trained chefs are able to make something out of nothing and put together a dish that highlights their skills and creativity. When I watch the show, however, I sometimes am left wondering how it might look if the focus of the show was education instead of food.
Imagine being asked to come on a show as an educator where the mystery basket is a student profile and you are given a specific amount of time to come up with a plan on how you are going to educate them. The profile you receive is a student with ADHD, is on the spectrum, has anger issues, and has an 80% attendance rate. The outcome of this specific round would be to put a plan together that would ensure the student is proficient on the state exam by the end of the school year. Sounds doable, right? Oh, I forgot to mention that if you don't achieve that outcome, you will be on the chopping block at the end of the round. That is realistic, right? Also, you will have 25 other mystery baskets presented to you at the same time and you need to develop plans for those students as well and still have the same type of outcomes. That sounds like a recipe for failure if you ask me.
Unfortunately, for many people outside of the world of education, this is what the expectation for educators is and it is wrong on so many levels. Teachers are given not just one mystery basket, but 30 for each class they teach. There is no rhyme or reason to the ingredients that make up the class, but the expectation is that all them need to be highlighted and be proficient at the end of the predetermined time that you had them. Teachers then get judged by their product when it is nearly impossible to meet the standards of others. Instead, they put the time, effort, and energy they have into putting out the best product they can in hopes that it shows progress has been made.
Let's get real on what our expectations should be for educators and not hold them to the same standards a television cooking show competition. The two are apples and oranges and should be treated as such. Instead of putting teachers on the chopping block, let's celebrate the work they do and cornucopia of students they help achieve success. Let's give them thanks for even attempting to do the impossible and provide them grace when things come up short. After all, no one is perfect and we aren't on a cooking show.
#OwnYourEpic #Connect
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