"Some men see things as they are and say, 'Why'? I dream of things that never were and say, 'Why not'?"

                                                                                                                         -       Robert Kennedy

Among my greatest fears as an educator in the age of a misguided, high stakes, over intrusive, external accountability system is having to look back and wonder about the “things that never were and say, Why not’?”  What a travesty it would be if teachers and administrators hunkered down, provided reams of data to prove who was defective, and lost sight of the mission and vision of public schools in America.  Adopting the habits of mind that will serve our children well will never be found on any measuring device –no matter how finely tuned.

This week I sat down with high school students as they began to draft the terms of an agreement to use digital devices to further their learning.  They became the authors of a constitution of sorts outlining both the rights and responsibilities associated with access anytime, anywhere to a universe of ideas and information.  Their teachers guided, modeled, and coached them as they unpacked the concepts of digital citizenship.  So far, this was the best part of my week as an educator.

I believe this to be purposeful work that will have a profound impact not only on the students directly involved, but also upon the legacy that they will leave behind for other students who follow.  There are countless examples of real work and learning that are derived within every school house, work that attends to valuable content, vital skills, and durable understandings.  In the present climate, we risk losing the time, energy, and resources needed to insure that educators can be trusted enough to make determinations locally about what is important.

Work like this—important work—will get squeezed out as practitioners look over their shoulders, confront the brutal facts of point allocations, and step away from creating a vigorous environment to learn and grow in the name of doing things right instead of doing the right thing.  We must study kids as much as we study results; we must listen to our hearts as much as we listen to the experts; and we must speak about what we risk losing by not “dreaming of things that never were and say, Why not’?” as much as we speak about our ranking in the metrics of accountability.