One of the chief motivators for young people to perform
tasks and services assigned to them by their elders is the desire to earn the
respect of their elders. It follows
then, that one of the chief fears young people have today is that their
successes will not be accompanied by respect from the adult population. All too often, this fear is justified in
today’s society. The successes of our
youth are often devalued or ignored.
Formal occasions in which our youth might be granted the respect they
have earned through repeated success have become mere exercises in custom, with
little or no real value placed upon them, and no real respect granted. There are numerous reasons for this shift,
including a decline in overall parental involvement, the prolonged stage of
adolescence we have previously discussed, and the rising belief that providing
our youth with tangible items and rewards somehow makes up for providing them
with guidance and respect.1 One of the
biggest reasons, however, is that the adults of today’s society are so
preoccupied with gaining respect from their own successes that they are
ignoring the accomplishments of the next generation. This stems from the fact
that these adults were never formally initiated into the world of adulthood
themselves. As Don Pinnock of Conflict
Resolution Center International puts it:
Western cultures have largely lost
what most pre-industrialized cultures knew: adulthood does not gain full
expression by itself-- initiation and ritual guidance are required.2
We must find better ways of acknowledging the successes of
our youth, and granting them the respect that these successes have earned. We must find better ways to bring young
people into adulthood, and this starts with recognizing successes for what they
are.
In the
past, ancient cultures recognized the successes of their youth through
established rituals. These rituals
played a combination of roles. They
indicated in front of all who had succeeded at their tests. They honored those
who had succeeded by proclaiming them adults and ready to take their place in
society. Perhaps most importantly, they granted those who had succeeded the
respect that went with becoming a contributing member of society. With the respect granted by society came a
level of self-respect that could be gained only through earning the respect of
others. It may be argued that these
rituals still exist today, in the form of graduations, bar mitzvahs,
confirmations, and the like. While we
will examine each of these rituals in depth later, it is safe to say that most
experts agree that each of these rituals has become a ‘watered down’ exercise,
and that none of them carry the meaning they once held. Almost before these
rituals end, we see a return to ‘life as usual’, in which no real change has
taken place. The child is still a child,
or at most an adolescent, even after the ritual ends.
In the
past, those who succeeded at their tests were first given the respect of
becoming an adult and then asked to fill a role in society. Today we have it exactly backwards. Uninitiated adolescents are asked to find
their role in society, and only after doing so are they considered adults. Filling a role in society once meant
contributing to the overall health of the society. As people in these societies began to
contribute and take responsibility for the well being of others, they earned
the respect of those others. A sense of
Social Responsibility was fostered and maintained with each succeeding
generation’s initiation into adulthood. As formal initiation into adulthood
began to fade, so too faded the levels of respect granted to each successive
generation. A never-ending search for
that respect began to replace the search for ways in which to contribute. A
focus on self-accomplishments supplanted the focus on Social
Responsibility. This becomes a vicious
cycle, as each succeeding generation desires respect to a greater degree, but
receives it less from elders who are still searching for respect themselves. We
must find a way to break this cycle. A good test, then, must provide a vehicle
for formal recognition of success. A complete test will include some meaningful
ritual in which the test taker who succeeds is not only formally recognized,
but is granted a new level of respect, and in turn is initiated into a new
circle in which a new level of status is confirmed.
Test Results Reflect Social Status
In
addition to respect, social status is highly sought after, not only by the
young, but by adults as well. It is
often the case in society that social status is directly linked with factors
such as popularity among peers, looks, physical prowess, or the amount of money
one makes, but this was not always as prevalent as it is today. At one time, social status was more closely
linked to the results of the tests administered by the society. Mental, physical, and spiritual roles in
societies were clearly defined, and those that excelled in any of these three
areas reached levels of social status accordingly. Spiritual leaders, teachers, craftsmen, and
warriors all had a role to play, and all had a corresponding level of social
status. The results of one’s tests
within any of these groups were tied to an individual’s place, or status,
within that group. Within the caste of craftsmen, proficiency with the tools of
the trade, ability to work across different media, and understanding of
aesthetics were all indicators of the status of individual craftsmen. Within
the warrior caste, proficiency with different weapons, battle prowess, and the
ability to lead were all indicators of the rank a warrior would achieve, and
that rank was an indicator of status.
Teachers and philosophers were tested through their thoughts and
writings, and through the advancement of their students. All of these were reflections of the status
accorded to these teachers.
Today we have lost something of
this link. While it is true that on the
average, those who succeed in school or in their places of employment will earn
higher salaries and achieve more respected levels of status in society than
those who do not, there is still a decidedly skewed view of social status in
our society. In their formative years,
those who achieve academic successes and excellence are often belittled and
made the object of taunts, or worse, physical bullying. Those who achieve spiritual successes are
often ignored, while those who reach new levels of depravity and spiritual
corruption gain accolades and power.
Physical prowess and beauty is seemingly valued above all else. Those who look good reach higher
levels of status than those who do good. If we are to survive as a
healthy society, this too must change. Our tests must once again be given some
value in the larger society. The results of a good test should be linked
directly to status within the group of test takers. The results of a complete
test will be linked to status not only within the small group of test takers,
but within the larger society as well.
We must become more aware of how and on whom we bestow social
status. Those who achieve status in a
society become the role models of future generations, and without good models,
we can never truly have good tests.
Testers Must Serve as Models
It has
been said that a paramount concern of today’s young people is to gain respect
from their elders. Respect however, is a
two way street. A young person will not
crave or desire the respect of an adult whom he or she does not respect in
return. Adults must earn the respect of
children and adolescents before they can hope that these children and
adolescents will want their respect in return.
One of the surest ways for an adult to gain respect from the younger
generation is by serving as a model for appropriate action and behavior. Models must first show the way, and there is
only one way to do this. The testers
must be willing to go through, or must have already been through, any test they
are giving. They must have ‘been there,’
and they must have ‘done that.’ Only
then can they point out where mistakes are made and how to get back on track.
According to Greta Nagel:
The power of modeling has been
demonstrated over and over again in various educational settings.
The parent or classroom teacher who
is intent upon showing rather than just telling will enhance academic recall
and deepen understandings of real life.3
When serving as models, we must be able to show that we
have done what we are asking of our youth, and that if called upon to do so, we
can still do it today. This level of
modeling serves several important purposes.
First, it builds a foundation of trust between the model and the student,
by showing that models will not ask anything more of the students than they are
willing to do themselves. This is an
extremely powerful way to both earn respect and build up confidence. Second, this level of modeling indicates the
need for ongoing learning. By showing
that as models, we are willing to continue and maintain our own learning, we
stress how important it is to our students, not only now, but later in life as
well. Finally, this level of modeling illustrates our respect for and
confidence in the next generation. We
are effectively telling them we believe in them, and we believe they are
capable of doing the same things we can do.
Any models
that demand more of their students or children than they have done in the past
or are willing to do today are doing a disservice to those children. Children are not stupid, and contrary to what
some may believe, they are not easily duped.
They will know whether their teachers and parents have done what is
being asked of them. When models have not shared these experiences, children
will begin to lose respect for them due to their hypocrisy. A good test, then, will not include any
question or action that the tester has not answered or undertaken in the
past. The complete test, however, will
not include any question or action that the tester is not willing to answer or
undertake now. Those who serve as testers must also serve as models, and
they must understand that their own abilities and proficiencies are being
constantly questioned and monitored by those who are taking the tests. The results of those tests then, will tell us
not only about the abilities of students, but will also illustrate something
about the abilities and proficiencies of the teachers.
Tests are one of the most
powerful indicators we have of the abilities and competencies of our
youth. Good and complete tests are also
one of the most powerful tools we have to judge the competency and
proficiencies of our teachers. As we
reflect on the status of our society as a whole, we must look not only to the
problems of young people, but also to the status of their guides along the path
to adulthood. We must ask whether the
models to which we are exposing our youth are prepared for the task that faces
them. Responsible adult members of society
must look at the content and results of administered tests to determine whether
they demonstrate an appropriate level of teacher proficiency.
Teachers
may be proficient in any number of educational areas, but if they cannot
produce consistent results over time, and do not make valid decisions based on
test results, they will never be truly proficient teachers. The results of tests will tell us as much
about the abilities of our teachers as they do about the abilities of our
students, if only we know where to look.
Complete tests will incorporate the ideas of reliability and validity in
their design. In so doing, they will
help us to form an accurate picture of the status of various subsets of our
society, including our teachers. Only once we have this picture can we decide
where the deficiencies are located and what must be changed in the future.
Kick. Punch. Easy Stuff.
1.
Kohn, Punished By Rewards,
pp.229-239.
2.
Pinnock, “Gangs, Guns, and Rites of
Passage,” p. 7.
3.
Nagel, The Tao of Teaching, p.
69.
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