Perspective

Sue Swaim

Time for Serious Problem Solving

Admittedly, I can't seem to find the time to read thought-provoking professional articles as often as I would like. Recently, however, my attention was drawn to an article written by Margaret Wheatley and Geoff Crinean entitled "Solving, Not Attacking, Complex Problems: A Five-State Approach Based on an Ancient Practice." While I'm not sure I'm ready to embrace everything the authors suggest, they provided me with some food for thought. You can read the article on the Internet at www.margaretwheatley.com/articles/solvingnotattacking.html.

The authors caught my attention immediately with their discussion of the words we often use to describe problem solving:

We "attack the problem," "wrestle it to the ground," "get on top of it." If colleagues argue with us, we complain that they "shot down my idea," "took pot shots at me," "used me for target practice," or that "I got killed." In the face of opposition, we "back down," "retreat," or "regroup."

While I have entered many meetings bracing for an "uphill battle," I've never felt as if I were going into a war zone. Still, this article caused me to reflect on that concept in light of today's challenges and opportunities in middle level education.

Policymakers, parents, and educators would like to find a quick and simple answer to the challenges, but educating young adolescents is a complex undertaking with no single-strategy answer.

NMSA's This We Believe: Successful Schools for Young Adolescents and its companion book, Research and Resources in Support of This We Believe, succinctly delineate the multi-faceted issues we must address if we are to implement schools that truly focus on the academic growth and well-being of all our students.

The Council of Chief State School Officers' Policy on Student Health, released in July 2004, reinforces these issues as it calls on the education community to recognize the enormous impact health has on academic achievement.

Research also demonstrates the many aspects of ensuring that all adolescents have the opportunity to learn and achieve, such as the importance of positive parental involvement, teacher quality, differentiated instruction, and educational leadership.

The complexity of middle level challenges and opportunities is obvious. Unfortunately, this time of year seems to bring our focus to a single issue: paper and pencil tests and the impact test results will have on the direction of our schools. No one argues the importance of accountability in our schools and classrooms, nor do they dispute the fact that, when appropriately developed and implemented, tests are important tools for evaluating schools' progress in achieving academic excellence.

Today, however, school success is too often defined solely by the results of high-stakes tests. This is a mistake. When considered by themselves, test scores are an inadequate yardstick by which to measure a person's education or a school's success. We must acknowledge the serious limitations of standardized tests in evaluating the adequacy of an individual's education and the competency of a faculty.

Middle school accountability must be based on a broader database. As John Lounsbury, one of middle level education's founders, observes, "Education, particularly in a democracy, has to involve heart as well as head, attitude as well as information, spirit as well as scholarship, and conscience as well as competence."

We should consider his words as we advocate for the full implementation of the middle school concept, moving us well beyond the initial organizational changes and focusing on significant changes in curriculum and teacher-student interaction. Research shows that when middle schools implement our knowledge of learning and human development, students make measurable gains in academic achievement.

Yes, we need to engage in creative and positive problem solving. But to reach long-lasting solutions—ones our students need and deserve—the "war zone" mentality must give way to a more patient and inclusive process that represents the current diversity of perspectives. Most important, our middle level voice (individual and collective) must be heard in this process; we're the ones who live with the impact of decisions made "around us" rather than "with us" every day.

Together, we can make a difference by calling for high-performing middle level schools that focus on the learning and healthy growth of every student. Accountability must be an ongoing process based on a broad database.

The potential misuse of high-stakes testing should become the focus of some serious problem solving. As Lounsbury warns, "Unless middle schools are supported in fulfilling their inescapable responsibilities for developing well-educated adults who are also healthy, ethical, and productive citizens, we could find ourselves in the position of winning the battle to improve test scores, but losing the war to build a better America."

Sue Swaim is executive director of National Middle School Association.