By Mindy Farry, School Improvement Representative
I have had the honor and privilege to attend nearly 100 commencement ceremonies in my 48 years in education…watching my students cross the stage…speaking at graduation ceremonies as a principal…handing diplomas to young adults as they cross into their next chapter…watching my own children begin their adult chapters…and now, attending commencement exercises for our BCHF schools.
In professional development trainings, I often ask teachers what their “ideal” graduate looks like. Whether twelve years in the future or next week, what qualities and knowledge do the adults want the ideal graduates to possess by the time they cross that stage? Without exception, teachers list qualities such as creativity; willingness to take risks; collaboration skills; problem-solving; growth mindset; discernment in this age of social media information. Adults know those qualities well. These qualities have served adults well in the world of work. The information avalanche is moving so quickly that we can no longer teach stagnant information; we need to teach students how to learn and discern the quality of the information they are receiving. We are preparing students for jobs that do not even exist yet.
So as we watch the Class of 2025 walk across the stage, we educators (whether a kindergarten teacher or the senior class advisor) must ask ourselves what we did, as educators, to help develop those qualities we said were so important. Did we make learning relevant and challenging? Did we teach collaboration skills and put students in positions where they had to solve complex problems with no “right” answers? Did we teach them how to discern fact from fiction? Did we allow them to fail so that they could learn how to pick themselves up and try again? We know what lies ahead of our graduates: triumph, heartbreak, successes, failures, and many near failures. We wish we could protect them from the heartbreak and stand beside them in the triumphs, but if we’ve done our jobs as parents and teachers—they will fly away.
For next year’s Class of 2026 and all future graduates, we need to rethink education. We cannot continue to teach as we were taught because the world is nothing like it was when we were students. Information sharing needs to be relevant and challenging for students at all academic levels. Today’s verified online sources eliminate the need to memorize the periodic table of the elements or the capitals of the fifty states. Higher expectations lead to higher results for every student. The classroom must become a place of student-led instruction; intelligent discourse (yes, even in first grade); and teacher as facilitator.
So as we congratulate this year’s new alumni, it is a time for reflection about how we will re-invent our classrooms and schools to better reflect the skills our future graduates will need.