Beliefs and Values

You've probably experienced this before: While checking out at a local store, the clerk asks if you would like to donate $1 to an important cause or organization. With others in line, you feel a sense of urgency along with a bit of guilt while making a decision.

Recently, I have countered this request with a question of my own:

"Does (insert name of franchise) match my donation?" Every time I have asked, I get one of two responses: "No" or a look of confusion. For the latter, more than once the sales representative has commented that if their store does not, maybe they should.

Our beliefs and our values in schools and districts are too often two different things. For example, schools post their mission and vision in the hallway about offering the best education for all students. Yet they fail to adequately support our most marginalized students. Policies and procedures are developed that cluster low SES students in specific areas. Scripted, one-size-fits-all programs are purchased at once instead of investing in ongoing and embedded professional learning. Classroom libraries and school librarians are viewed as ancillary instead of the essential resources that they are.

Source: FlickrOf course, no school or district is going to proclaim that, due to limited funding and support, not all students may have access to the same high-quality education. Yet is that what is truly stopping us? If we are finding distance between our beliefs (what we say we agree upon) and our values (how we live out our beliefs daily), I have found it helpful to have real conversations and ask honest questions about the current reality. If everyone involved is invited to the table and is allowed to speak candidly about the issues, this can only lead to the start of a better learning culture for our students, staff, and families.