As Nena and I were watching the new Harry Potter movie last night (the best one so far), Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry started to look very familiar. Mr. Fudge is the school committee, who is more interested in holding on to his power than seeing the problems (Voldemort). The administrator who is out for a power grab is played by Dolores Umbridge. Once she becomes headmistress school becomes “by the book”, and she uses intimidation and pain as teaching tools. As a students asks in the Dark Arts class, “When can we learn real magic we will need in the real world”. Because the students are not learning the real skills they will need, they turn to Harry to teach them.
Are the leaders at the national, state, and local level more interested in power and getting reelected than looking at the real problems in education? Are school leaders more interested in looking good for their peers or solving real problems. The students are telling us they want to learn real skills for the real world. Maybe if we listen to the students we will learn together.
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