The tension between the written and unwritten curriculum

Dr. Stringfellow and I were invited by social studies teacher, Roe Colao, to come and discuss our philosophies on education with her Public Issues class. The class had forwarded us a list 17 questions they had gleaned following a text-based discussion from an article by David Orr. The class asked us to respond to thought-provoking quotes such as, “it is not education, but education of a certain kind, that will save you.” and “much of the current debate about educational standards and reforms is driven by the belief that we must prepare the young only to compete effectively in the global economy”, and “indoor classes create the illusion that learning only occurs inside four walls, isolated from what students call, without apparent irony, the ‘real world.’” I think the discussion went pretty well and I’m sure it was a welcome respite for Dr. Stringfellow from the world of budget in which she is embroiled. The discussion re-affirmed for me the disconnect we have in public schools between what we say we believe and the embedded limitations of the institutional structures we work within in high schools. I have been struggling with that tension recently as the juniors prepare for their SKPades production this weekend.

For those of you who are unfamiliar, SKPades is an annual event at SKHS where the junior class creates a variety show, spoofing life at SKHS, poking fun at students (mostly seniors), administrators, teachers and school initiatives. There are skits, dance routines and video clips, all written, produced and acted by that year’s junior class. The material is topical to SKHS and borrows heavily from current fads and trends, for instance popular movies and TV shows. Much of the class participates, and for many, it is the highlight of their high school experience. Friendships are created and deepened as part of the process. Students who were never leaders in their class become leaders as writers, actors and videographers. The event is also a major moneymaker for the class and the success of the event provides momentum for junior prom and their senior year. As they get closer to show time, the time commitment moves from after-school meetings to extended rehearsal sessions where kids are working until 10 or 11 at night. For many juniors, they are torn in multiple directions during the run-up to SKPades. Homework and other after school activities take a back seat. SKPades is intentionally scheduled in between the winter and spring sports seasons but practice has started and coaches must make accommodations for juniors; athletes miss practices and scrimmages. Most teachers of juniors delay or scale back any major assessments which would require more intensive studying, recognizing the priorities of the juniors. The two faculty advisors of SKPades, despite providing plenty of time for students to write and produce skits (beginning the process months in advance), want to produce a show which is polished and entertaining, which requires intensive time commitment, especially the two weeks leading up to opening night.

There is no question SKPades is a unique community-building event but when I hear a student say to a teacher, “you can’t expect me to get that work done, I’m here at school until 10:00 working on SKPades,” it reinforces that tension between the idea of building community that I discussed with the Public Issues students and the concurrent vision we have here to improve student achievement. How can we honor and make time for such major events without compromising the expectation that students need to be in class, learning what we are expected to teach kids? Is it fair to have a schedule where the two ideals are almost mutally exclusive? In talking to some seniors today, they told me it was very difficult a year ago at this time to focus in class because of the excitement/anticipation/requirements of SKPades. There are skills and experiences that SKPades provides which are hard to find in any academic class; SKPades is that “education of a certain kind” that Mr.Orr talks about in his article. Can we justify the experience if it means that other types of learning cease? It is my job as a principal, to try to answer those questions that were posed by Roe’s class, in a way that we create opportunities for kids to have those experiences that are part of the unwritten curriculum while having fidelity to our school’s – and our state’s – mission of increasing student achievement through the articulated curriculum. Both are valuable but can they effectively coexist together within our present, inflexible institutional structure?