School Motto

After being a leader in the Boy Scouts for a few years now, I see the power in a MEANINGFUL motto.  The Boy Scout motto is "Be Prepared."  Very simple, very elegant.  In two words, the motto captures much of what it means to be a boy scout.  The motto is often quoted to remind all members of the scouting community of how we should focus our attention (be prepared).

As an educator, I have been thinking about what kind of motto I would find as focused but encapsulating as the Boy Scout Motto but for a school.  (Being one of my first entries, my one or two readers may not know many of my views, so let me sum up my opinion of what is normally viewed as "school" in a simple Mark Twain quote, "Never let school get in the way of your education.")  In our day of (misguided) standards, I believe I have found a motto that I believe would encapsulate a school's vision.

Before I get to the actual motto, I must confess some strong opinions about "standards."  I believe we must have standards and those standards need to set targets for what students are to do.  However, these "standards" that I am referring are not the typical state standards that are so incredibly long and content specific that it is ludicrous to believe that all students can (and should) be proficient in all of them.  I refer more to the "standards" often eluded to by Ted Sizer (see Horace's Compromise) and many other educators such as Mel Levine, M.D. (see Ready or Not, Here Comes Life), Mihály Csíkszentmihályi (see Becoming Adult: How Teenagers Prepare for the World of Work).  These educators realize the "standards" are defining what it means to be competent, productive adults and citizens, which includes habits of both mind and work.  

Understanding a broader definition of "standards" (or actually more focused in my opinion), then my motto will make much more sense.  My motto (which has recurrred in my mind for at least two years now) is, "SET THE STANDARD."  Tony Robbins (yes, that famous or infamous guru of self-help) said, "We can't live on yesterday's standards and expect to be successful today."  He gives the example of Roger Banister running a mile in four minutes (a remarkable feat--when it happened), but now "kids in high school are running four minute miles."

Each performance or project has standards that measure its worth.  The real "standard" that is the focus of education is to improve oneself.  Therefore, by instilling the need to push beyond the criteria of today and "setting the standard," we are really moving to the type of school (and world) I hope to see.  I am sure I'll return to this idea at a later time...enjoy life!