On schooling...

According to the old Webster's Shorter School Dictionary (1933) that has been passed down through my family, the definition for school can be a noun or a verb. As a noun, school is "a place for instruction." As a verb, to school is "To educate in a school." It is also "to discipline; train." I am interested in how the verb is commonly used today; according to SlangSite.com, to school is "To teach one a lesson. To beat one into submission." We've all heard school being used that way: "Dude, you just got totally schooled." I've been thinking about being schooled lately, and how school is so frequently a place where both students and teachers are schooled into submission. I vote we take back the word and use it in another sense, that as defined by Thesaurus.com: "a group of close friends, associates" with the synonyms of mafia, assembly, bunch, class, companions, club, group, intimates, party, posse, ring, set, society...

I have recently been schooled. I was lucky enough to be nominated and accepted into the Boise State Writing Project, an affiliate of the National Writing Project. For those unfamiliar with the basic principles of the NWP, they are:

• Teachers themselves should be the agents of reform;
• Writing should be taught at ever grade level. Professional development should support teachers across the grade levels and curricula in order to understand how to teach writing;
• Professional development should provide frequent and ongoing opportunities for teachers to write, study and practice;
• While there is not one correct approach in teaching writing, a reflective and informed community of practice is the best way to develop writing programs;
• Well-trained teacher leaders are the best trainers of other teachers.

I have been schooled: I have been accepted into an amazing group of teacher-leaders. As a 2010 fellow, I have just returned from a retreat in McCall, Idaho, where we assembled on the idyllic shores of Payette Lake, and were given leave to be creative, to reveal ourselves to each other, and to examine the possibilities of education. It was exhilarating, and I am still riding high from the experience. To laugh, to cry (often): to be moved to tears or euphoria by the words of my fellow teachers has reawakened in me the passion and power of teaching. That is the potential of schooling: to create a family of learners who embolden and encourage each other to learn. I have been schooled, and I can't wait to get back in August to school my colleagues and students.