James A. Garfield, president of the United States for 200 days in 1881, reportedly said, "The ideal college is Mark Hopkins on one end of a log and a student on the other." Mark Hopkins, in case you are wondering, was the (apparently well respected) president of Williams College from 1836 to 1872.
As with most quotes floating around the Internet, it's hard to prove the veracity of this statement. But what we do know is that variations on the log-as-best-school metaphor have been traveling pixel-land far and wide, morphing into a more generalized version: "The best school is a log with a teacher at one end and a student at the other."
Ted Sizer, in his new and final book, The New American High School, supports this view. He essentially argues that school needs to be as local as possible, borne out in the dynamics of a single relationship between teacher and student. In other words, the independent school model at its core. But of course, such a scenario is never simple — especially in an anxious nation like ours where the aspirations of the child, the wishes of parents, the needs of the community, the political and ideological leanings of the nation's leaders, and the hopes of teachers badly entangle log life.
So we take a good metaphor and complicate the hell out of it. Is there an ideal log? How far apart should student and teacher sit? How long should they sit? What does the teacher need to know about child development, about psychology, about pedagogy? Has anyone done a background check on the teacher? If the log is in northern climates, what do they do when the log is buried beneath two feet of snow? In coastal areas, what happens if the log washes away in a hurricane? Should we worry about mosquitoes? What happens when the teacher is sick for a week? Should the teacher bring along a blanket for the colder days? Umbrellas for rain? Should he or she bring lunch to share with the child? If a hedgehog should waddle by, should they stop their conversation and consider the hedgehog? Can the student bring a friend? Can another teacher share his or her perspective? How much time does the teacher need away from the log to study up on teaching or to just pursue his or her own interests — to renew?
And, of course, there are the questions of assessment. How does the teacher know the child is learning? How can the teacher relay that knowledge to the child's parents? Is the child on track for the college log? Is the teacher accountable to the state and nation regarding what happens on the log? If not, how do we assure American greatness? You know I could go on here — as could you.
When it comes to the latter questions of assessment — the focus of this issue — we've gone around the world and back with theories, questions, programs, and opinions. I have my opinions, of course. But mostly, I'm grateful for the conversation. For it seems to me we still have a ways to go before we get it right.