Foxfire 6. [antikvár]

INTRODUCTIONIconstantly find myself in awkward situations. Anniong the most uncomfortable are those in which I have accepted an invitation to work as a consultant for a day or two in a public school. Suddenly there I am, standing in front of a group of teachers who have every reason to expect me to tell them either that they are doing something wrong, or that they should be doing something else in addition to the heavy load they're already carrying. Why else would I be there? And this, given the fact that I have never seen any of them at work with their students, have no idea how they operate, or what specific daily problems they face. You see why it's an awkward situation. . . .Such visits have given me the chance, however, to see firsthand a number of other public schools besides the one in which I teach. They've helped me grow. Sometimes Tve developed lasting friendships with colleagues in those schools. And always we trade notes which of us has the better principal, lunchroom, or working conditionsand combat stories.Sometimes, on these visits, I'm asked for advice. I usually refuse, simply because I don't know the situation well enough (and wouldn't if I stayed a month). But recently, over coffee, a new friend and I sat down and half in jest, half seriously, posed the following:Accept for the moment the fact that because there are too many variables at work, public schools will never be perfect learning environments. Accept also the fact that despite all the voices raised against them, and despite all the financial chaos, they are here to stay.Now draw up a list of observations or principles or truthssay, five or sixthat could be used as yardsticks to measure how any given public school is doing, or how far it has to go, given the potentials and limitations that exist within that institutional framework.