The Self-Evident Awards

The Ig Nobel Prizes are annual awards given by Harvard University for "achievements that first make people laugh, and then make them think."  One category that often appears is one I would define as "did we really need a study to prove this?" An example from the 2013 winners:

PSYCHOLOGY PRIZE
REFERENCE: “‘Beauty Is in the Eye of the Beer Holder’: People Who Think They Are Drunk Also Think They Are Attractive,” Laurent Bègue, Brad J. Bushman, Oulmann Zerhouni, Baptiste Subra, Medhi Ourabah, British Journal of Psychology, epub May 15, 2012.

Were there IgNobels for Education, what might the titles of these self-evident studies be:

• "Students do better academically when emotionally engaged"
• "Students who have stable, caring families do better in school"
• "Children who eat less junk food and get exercise have fewer health problems"
• "Classrooms that use gaming principles are ranked more positively by students"
• "Schools that de-emphasis test scores are scored higher on measures of positive climate by parents and students."
• "Students who have access to materials of personal interest read more and read better"
• "Students with access to good school libraries have access to more materials of personal interest"
• "Teachers who use technology in interactive activites are ranked higher by students"

I suspect you can easily come up with a dozen or more "Stating the Obvious" Awards from your own educational experience.

In Encouraging Educator Courage (Education Week, September 16, 2013), Alfie Kohn writes:

Education research doesn’t always get the respect it deserves, but let’s be honest: There’s already enough of it to help us decide what to do (or stop doing) on many critical issues. Likewise, there are plenty of examples of outstanding classrooms and schools in which that research is being put into practice. What’s lacking is sufficient courage for those examples to be widely followed.

It pains me to say this, but professionals in our field often seem content to work within the constraints of traditional policies and accepted assumptions—even when they don’t make sense. Conversely, too many educators seem to have lost their capacity to be outraged by outrageous things. Handed foolish and destructive mandates, they respond only by requesting guidance on how to implement them.

The Cowardly Lion was able to admit that he lacked what made the muskrat guard his musk. Cowardly humans are more likely just to change the subject. Propose something that makes a meaningful difference, and you’ll hear, “But we’ve always ...,” “But the parents will never ...,” “But we can’t be the only school in the area to ...”

What, then, do truly courageous educators do? They dig deeper, they take responsibility, and they share power.

We have plenty of evidence. All of us, myself included, just need more courage.

Comments

[Kenn Gorman]

I totally agree with this post, but firmly believe that many teachers do not "dig deeper, they take responsibility, and they share power" as they are fearful for their jobs.

If, as a teacher, I knew that I would be supported for being creative, make changes, and working with others I would be at the top of the heap.

Unfortunately my personal experience has been that when you try to tell others to throw their net on the other side of the boat most believe that you are asking them to tip over the ship.

[Doug Johnson]

Hi Kenn,

I am afraid you are right. But I always liked Ambrose Redmoon's observation that "Courage is not the absence of fear, but rather the judgment that something else is more important than fear." I also think a lot of educators believe this.

Good to hear from you,

Doug