It Sounds Like the Hunger Games, Mom

I learn things every day by being the mother of two middle school boys. The most recent thing they have introduced me to have been the Hunger Games movies. Up until a few weeks ago, I had not seen any of the three movies. But, when my husband and I agreed to a marathon catch-up session on the first two so that we could go to the theatre to see the third with our boys, we instantly became hooked.  These are not the types of movies that I am typically drawn to, as I'm more of a comedy kind of girl. Watching dysfunctional society such as Panem can be a bit unsettling, reminding us not to take for granted the country we live in.  Perhaps that is why I was so surprised when my son, after overhearing my husband and I discuss the events of the last week's Indiana State Board of Education meeting made the statement, "It sounds like the Hunger Games, Mom." At first consideration I thought that my son had lost his mind. We were discussing a meeting that took place in Indianapolis, Indiana, not some fictional movie set.  There was no killing or no battle to feed the people back home. How was our discussion of this meeting reminding a middle school boy of the Hunger Games? 

After hearing his explanation, it was obvious that he first made this connection based on the vocabulary I was using. He heard words like "district" and "capitol", words that were used throughout the Hunger Games movies. This triggered my son, a child that knows nothing about our educational system, to make this analogy.  He explained that Dr. McCormick and I were like the tributes in the movie. We traveled to the capitol to represent our district. From our discussion he inferred that we were at risk of losing our ability to provide the citizens of our district with something we feel they need: eLearning opportunities. As a result, the children of our district were not going to get fed information when they really need it. Deep stuff for a middle school kid, huh? He went on to say that he bets even the kids in the Hunger Games can participate in eLearning days, since the movies take place "not in the old days". Ouch! 

As a mom, I was impressed that a child would come up with this. As an educator, I was saddened. Even a middle school student can see that there is something wrong with a system that is fighting over proper learning environments for students, rather than letting them be made by the people who know the students best, namely their teachers and administrators. Even a middle school student recognizes that districts should be trusted to decide if they are capable of providing this type of learning for their students. District leaders know and acknowledge our limits. We have to, as we work within them every day, whether folks in the capitol are choosing to pay attention or not. After all, it is the districts that are ultimately accountable for making sure the students learn, and that learning is evident on the standardized tests that they are required to take on predetermined dates. An eLearning option is the best way for Yorktown schools to provide this to our students, if circumstances arise that do not allow us to be in school all of the days we are supposed to prior to these test dates. 

The two tributes from Yorktown had to leave last week's ISBOE meeting and head back to our district before I was able to speak about the system we have for providing eLearning opportunities for students kindergarten through 12th grade, and how our teachers and students create and access digital content CONSISTENTLY both in class and at home. The two tributes from Yorktown had to leave last week's ISBOE meeting and head back to our district before Dr. McCormick could share the greater impact eLearning has on our district other than on snow make-up days, and how there is much at stake if we lose the ability to provide these services in a digital format. Rather, the two tributes from Yorktown listened to the proceedings on the ride home. Sickened by the fact that so many teachers, administrators and parents weren't even aware of the dysfunction of the system they entrust to make decisions on behalf of what is best for Indiana students. Instead, those involved seemed to be dealing one another Nightlock berries, as President Snow did to Seneca Cane. You Hunger Games fans understand what that means.  

So now we wait on those who are making decisions from the capitol, just like the members of the districts in the movie. We wait to see if we will be allowed to run our district educational system based on what is the best for our learners and our community. We wait to see if those of us who have be recognized at the national level for being Future Ready districts, are allowed to develop and execute innovative practice. We hope that our students do not continue to equate the educational system that is responsible for preparing them for the future to a movie about a dysfunctional society.  

While we wait, we sing...