Listening to This American Life episode, “The Ten Commandments,” I thought about what our ten commandments of modern schooling might be. Wouldn’t it be interesting to engage in a faculty exercise of recording ten such expectations, one each on a Post-it note, and affinity mapping the commonality and differences among a school’s tribe of practitioners? Shouldn’t we have some level of agreement about the ten most fundamental expectations for schooling in our modern era? Do we?
In the comments section, I hope you might record one or more of your suggested commandments for modern schooling. Sharing our thinking might make for some interesting conversation.
it's about learning 
Bo, I thought of you when I read this article today in Psychology Today. Though there are aspects of this opinion piece that I am wondering about and would debate, I agree with its mastery, autonomy, drive approach…and, of course, “jazz.”
Oops. Hit “send” too quickly. Here is the link:
http://www.psychologytoday.com/blog/memory-medic/201204/what-all-teachers-should-learn-jazz-band-teachers-1
Thanks, Laura. I love this article, and I really appreciate the author’s suggested 10 commandments at the end of the piece. I think the author left out a key piece: musicians know the full context and application of what they are practicing and rehearsing for. Do math students? Do science students? Do they ever really get to put all the pieces together and perform the WHOLE in context and application?
Thou shalt be Authentic.
Related blog post from Grant Lichtman, at The Learning Pond: http://learningpond.wordpress.com/2012/04/29/operationalizing-innovation/
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My top commandment would be that modern schooling MUST make a real difference to the life chances of the individual learner.
My second commandment would be that all learners must be encouraged to use what they have learned to make a significant difference to the world in which they live.
You know all of mine, but make a note: this is a good new game of its own; makes the statement of “essential qualities of a graduate” an operational discussion rather than a philosophical one.
Thou shalt see oneself principally as the architect and choreographer of student learning experiences.