Columnist Bill Hanlon: No method replaces work, study

Bill Hanlon

Saturday, Jan. 11, 1997 | 11:59 a.m.

ARE we making education more complicated than it really is?

We might learn a lesson from former first lady Nancy Reagan. Remember a few years ago, when she was being roundly criticized for her beliefs on how to stem the use of drugs? Her response was simplistic: "Just say no." She was called naive. As it turns out, the "Just Say No" campaign was very successful.

In education, we might be better served by telling students what works is work. That hard work and perseverance are keys to success.

We are spending too much time, effort and energy trying to get out of what we know we should be doing than if we just did the job right in the first place. In the last five or six years, we have seen more educational reform movements cropping up than you can shake a stick at. They include the developmental appropriateness of material being taught at specific grades, self-esteem, eliminating grades, Whole Language, the de-emphasis of memorization, a concerted push for technology in the classroom, modified scheduling, class-size reduction, the misinterpretation of the NCTM standards leaving students without basic skills, teaching across the curriculum and teaching through thematic units. All in the name of best practices and increasing student achievement.

With the proliferation of so many movements, which in so many ways challenged accepted practices to the extent there were calls for new forms of more appropriate assessment (testing), nobody wanted to be seen as a Neanderthal, clinging to the old ways.

Frankly, it was more stylish to be on the cutting edge of the educational reform movement. Many educators felt compelled to get on the train or risk being run down. That's the price often paid to be stylish.

One of the movements that was a very powerful locomotive in the reform drive was the idea of site-based management. Site-based management weakened central control, allowing all these reforms to engage without contacting the dispatcher. The consequences of this free-for-all were not studied before implementation.

In this climate, preparing for the 21st century, fundamentals were sacrificed. When test scores began falling, some educators were undaunted. The tests were not measuring what they were teaching was the typical response. Parents were so pleased with the new ways, they embraced and supported their schools' low test scores. After all, the idea of developmental appropriateness, the need to build self-esteem, along with technology, would take care of what the parents and teachers knew the kids didn't know. Oral and written classroom drills were quickly becoming something to look down on. Parents who were already not reading to their children now didn't feel compelled to help their own memorize their spelling words or arithmetic facts.

Clearly, some schools were failing to prepare kids. But they were not preparing them in style and felt good about it.

Changes and reforms were being made rapidly to make sure that we were ready to compete in the next century. Some may have forgotten about the fundamentals and a simple law, "Failing to prepare is the same as preparing to fail."

Something called common sense has grabbed hold of this runaway train. The early childhood people have come out with a new philosophy. Whereas before they were the vanguard for the developmentally appropriate thinkers, they now say that kids not only learn by discovering through play, but drill should also take place. A breakthrough!

How these people, or any others, could think learning could take place without drill in the first place is beyond me. I can't count the number of times I pointed to my nose, eyes, ears and mouth, while saying the words, to teach my babies those parts of their bodies. Or holding up my fingers and counting, looking at pictures of dogs, cats, cows and birds in books, or repeatedly saying, "I'm Daddy," while pointing to myself. As parents, we know that's how kids learn. It's also called "drill." And it doesn't kill.

There is no shortcut to success. The only time success comes before work is in the dictionary. Success comes from not only working hard, but working smart. That means setting goals, having plans to reach those goals, and timelines to guide your progress. Gratification is not immediate.

There is no substitute for teaching fundamentals. The calculator does not replace our need to be able to compute nor does the spell check on our word processors replace our need to spell, and self-esteem is earned through accomplishment.

While learning can be fun, learning is also work. It takes time and effort, it takes perseverance. The notion, "If at first you don't succeed, try, try again," has to be reintroduced and reinforced with our kids.

While toil and sweat may not be stylish, it gets the job done. What works is work. Learning a lesson from Nancy Reagan's simple message, educators might want to adopt the slogan "Just study."