Really? That's it? That's the
whole definition of "status quo"? Five tiny little words? And you can tell that the dictionary tried to "spiff-ify" the definition, too! Why then, is it so extremely difficult to go against the "Status Quo"?
Lessons in "Status Quo"
I can remember my first "lesson" in status quo. It was the very first year of my teaching career and I taught at a school in an extremely rough part of Los Angeles. I had a student who was creative, quiet, and "quirky" (which actually meant ADHD at a time when it was considered to be the student's problem not the school's). I really liked Kevin. Yes, he had a VERY difficult time getting his work done. He struggled with reading and math, but he drew the most wonderful pictures and his smile was glorious. One day I discovered Kevin under his desk with his shoes off. I was just about to make him to get up and put his shoes back on when I noticed that he was actually working! So, I left him alone. The next day during Math, Kevin was again under his desk and shoeless. And again, Kevin was working so I allowed him to continue. About a week later, a veteran teacher came into my room and saw Kevin under his desk without shoes and she asked me why. As I proudly explained what I discovered about Kevin, her face crinkled up and she said loudly, "This is NOT how we do things here. Get that child up off the floor!" That was Status Quo lesson #1.
Lesson #2 came the next year. I was walking with one of my students down the hallway and another teacher stopped us and began to yell and berate my student about his clothes and his attitude. I just stood there watching this whole demeaning episode and I said NOTHING! In my defense, I was brand new and I felt like this teacher knew more than I did. But, again the lesson in status quo was "loud and clear"...different was not acceptable.
Another story, again from early in my career; I was on the Leadership Committee and my principal was discussing whether we should add a "Warning Bell" and have the students line up 5 minutes early so that they were inside and learning by the official start of the school day. I, along with the other teachers on the committee agreed. After this new bell routine was announced, a veteran teacher lectured me about how I had jeopardized all that the "old-timers" had worked for and that I had just given away teachers' before school prep time. Status quo lesson #3...don't change anything because "it's always been done this way."
Lesson #2 came the next year. I was walking with one of my students down the hallway and another teacher stopped us and began to yell and berate my student about his clothes and his attitude. I just stood there watching this whole demeaning episode and I said NOTHING! In my defense, I was brand new and I felt like this teacher knew more than I did. But, again the lesson in status quo was "loud and clear"...different was not acceptable.
Another story, again from early in my career; I was on the Leadership Committee and my principal was discussing whether we should add a "Warning Bell" and have the students line up 5 minutes early so that they were inside and learning by the official start of the school day. I, along with the other teachers on the committee agreed. After this new bell routine was announced, a veteran teacher lectured me about how I had jeopardized all that the "old-timers" had worked for and that I had just given away teachers' before school prep time. Status quo lesson #3...don't change anything because "it's always been done this way."
Needless to say, because of these (and many other) lessons, I very quickly learned to keep my mouth and my door shut and keep the "Status Quo". For years I buried many of my beliefs and pedagogies about how a classroom should work because my ideas were so different from everyone else's. "Status Quo" had its grip on me and I succumbed to its power and became silent.
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Then something wonderful happened. Something that has completely changed the way I teach. Something that has given me the confidence to kick "Status Quo" to the curb! Last year my district went to 1:1 devices and along with Common Core Standards, and a supportive administration; I swear to you, I am now more excited than ever to get to work! When we got our netbooks, an exciting world opened up not only for me but for my students! We began to learn in ways that I've never before experienced! I began to share the wonderful little things that my students were doing with my district's Director of Tech and I found an unexpected "cheerleader", a kindred soul. I was constantly emailing him and saying, "look what my students did today!" and he would always answer back with "...just imagine what they will do tomorrow."
That Amazing Thing That Is Twitter...
I was perusing that wonderful place that is Twitter one day and I came across this quote tweeted by @Justintarte and it really made me stop and think.
That quote was just what I needed to take a deep breath and kick "Status Quo" in the ass! I am no longer under the crushing thumb of "Status Quo"! I am proud that I am different and that my ideas are crazy! I have revived that rebellious spirit that was always inside of me and it now roams freely! At the beginning of this school year, I threw out ALL of my student desks. My room looks more like a comfy coffee shop than a classroom and we all LOVE it!
I have a bulletin board covered in bright green fabric for making greenscreen videos. We have a Graffiti Wall. My homework is optional and parents know this! From the first day of school, my students understood that THIS year will be different! From an impromptu learning session about Katydids because one flew into our classroom, learning about audience by writing in student blogs, to student-led parent conferences; my students have been on a vastly different learning path this year. For the first time in many years, I am proud and excited to be an educator!
Join me...
Here is my plea...Join me! All of you rebellious, non-conformist, wild and crazy march-to-your-own-drum, wonderfully innovative people; join me and tell "Status Quo" to kiss your ass! Let's find each other somehow and form a giant "Anti-Status Quo" conga line grabbing people along the way so that our dancing becomes so infectious that people can't help but think and reflect on how schools should work! Let's nurture each other's ideas! Instead of saying "I wish we could...?" let's ask, "How can we make this happen?". After all, has anyone ever done anything truly great by keeping the "Status Quo"? I think not.