How to recognize persistent problems
And how to resist the urge to "solve" them once and for all, and the consquences of that approach...
The other day I was getting into our wonderful Honda Odyssey that does such a great job of shepherding around our wonderful little family of four. Whilst getting in I had a thought about the persistent problem of vehicle trash. Every time I get in and out of the van, I look in the doors, cupholders, and seats to find all the garbage that is in the van in order to take it out. It's a process undergone every time I get in and out of the van—here are the snack wrappers, the cups, the napkins and wipes, the.. I’m not sure what that is?!?
What does garbage have to do with leading dialogue? It struck me that this is a concrete example of a persistent problem—we're always going to have garbage in the van—and it reminded me of Kennedy's 2016 paper entitled “Parsing the practice of teaching.” Let's examine the five persistent problems presented in this groundbreaking paper.
The first is containing behavior, which calls to mind the behavior management responsibilities of educators at schools. Educators must endeavor to manage or contain the behavior of the learners in our classrooms for the sake of learning. The second is exposing thinking, which reminds me of assessment, both summative and formative. How are we making visible the thoughts inside the heads of the learners in our classrooms so that we can diagnose their needs, and direct them more closely to where we would like for them to be?
The third persistent problem Kennedy outlines is portraying the curriculum. Educators have materials, books, tasks, topics, content, and otherwise. Teachers perpetually navigate the challenge of bringing to life those different materials for learners. Teachers must bring them to life today, in first period, in third period, tomorrow, next year, and beyond. It's a never-ending, persistent challenge in teaching.
The fourth is enlisting student participation. Teachers oftentimes endeavor to enlist the participation of all their students, to engage them thoughtfully in the learning process. Finally, the fifth is accommodating personal needs, which calls to mind differentiating or individualizing instruction. Teachers must perpetually diagnose needs at the individual level in order to make provisions for and respond to those needs. Kennedy outlines these five as persistent problems in teaching and learning.
It's valuable to recognize persistent problems in education which can't be solved with a single "silver bullet" solution. Adam Lefstein's book "Better Than Best Practice" argues educators ought to focus on dilemmas rather than solutions, as there are multiple responses to particular challenges depending on the context, the situation and myriad other variables. This is similar to the garbage problem we began with—the only way to definitively “solve” the garbage-in-the-van problem would be to.. no longer use the van. Schooling no longer isn’t a viable “solution” to persistent problems in teaching and learning.
Educators will continue to face challenges in managing student behavior, assessing learning, teaching the curriculum, enlisting student participation, and accommodating personal needs. It's helpful to accept that these problems will persist, and that ought to focus on managing them rather than solving them. Trying to find a single solution or best practice that works for every classroom or situation can create an antagonistic environment when silver bullets inevitably fall short.
Educational leaders should keep the framework of persistent problems in mind and adopt an approach that acknowledges their ongoing presence. This helps us focus on managing these challenges rather than taking moon shots to solve them. This approach can be liberating and empowering for leaders—to relinquish to some extent the impetus to control and solve. Let's embrace the dilemmas of education and find within them opportunities to grow and improve.