For those of you that follow this blog, this topic of “madness” among educators is one that I’ve commented on frequently outside of this blog.  Thus those that follow me in academia will know of this subject: The propensity of “mad” tendencies, aka insanity, among educators.

Carroll’s “Mad Hatter” character was so aptly nicknamed for the general ailment that afflicted those in the hat making profession–”mad as a hatter.”  Due to the hat makers constant handling of mercury, more often than not, these professionals tended to drift into insanity from the ”on-the-job” poisoning over many years.  While I’m not purporting that educators are insane, I am saying something to that affect.  And, just so all the chips are on the table, I am an educator too… thus, it takes one to know one.

The definition of “madness”/insanity I am using is none other than Einstein’s famous phrase that insanity is “doing the same thing over and over and expecting different results.”

Well, we are quite guilty of Einstein’s charge of insanity in the field of education.  We’ve resurrected Block Scheduling a few times.  Open classrooms make their annual 15-20 year visit to the circle of fads.  Standards have been raised from the grave over and over since President Dwight Eisenhower — thank you LBJ’s “Great Society”, Reagan’s “A National At Risk”, Clinton’s “Goals 2000″; and Bush’s “NCLB.”  If one were to study each Act of Congress they would find the following — a return to standards in the form of greater regulation in each one.

For fun, let’s examine informally the amount of research money spent on studies to figure out how to improve education.  A recent study I was involved in examined student motivation towards learning.  What did it find?  That students are motivate to learn the things/subjects that they enjoy…. duh!  Or this study that attempts to examine how to improve transitioning to college by looking at AP courses, International credit, and Dual credit.   Let me offer the results from a researcher standpoint… All of those lead to better college transitioning!  What about the students that are in the remedial areas an need to move to community college before the big time?  Well, the study doesn’t examine those students.

Standards, Curricula, Methods, and Policy all have a short life cycle in education and all rotate into popularity about every 15-20 years.  What’s on the horizon next?  Smaller schools and class sizes.  Yup, like figuring out how to accomplish that hasn’t been tried many times.  Might I suggest that we educators start making the complaining about fads, the next fad.  Besides, maybe that fad will stick around long enough to become measureable in its outcomes.

Maybe oh maybe, our propensity towards insanity is actually caused by spending years immersed in insanity.  Therefore, the assylum guards eventually become indistinguishable from the inmates.  I know that would explain not only myself, but many of my fellow educators too!  Thoughts anyone?

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