Yesterday morning we were sent a list of students that would be invited to attend Saturday school to try and make up for days missed previously in the year. This is an interesting idea, akin to coming in to work on an evening or a weekend after being out with illness or even on vacation. After all, there’s work to be done, right?
Here’s the problem: it’s based on the archaic notion that showing up is the same as being present. It (falsely) correlates a student’s ability to sit in a chair with their desire to learn and do great work. If a student has access to the curriculum, class discussions, and more through the Internet, do they really need to sit in a seat in a classroom with 29 others? If the school wants their money, they had better. This helps to explain why a school would use Saturday school in the first place.
But we do that too, don’t we?
We think that “showing up” is the same as “being present.” As if just our physical presence in a place is enough for a difference to be made. We think that sitting in a chair for 8 or 10 or 12 hours a day means that we are really working hard. Clearly, if you were at your workplace for 60 hours a week, you must have accomplished 50% more than the person who left after just 40 hours, right? How many, out of 60 hours, were you really present? How many hours were you 100% engaged?
Or were you phoning it in, while sitting at your desk?
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Greg Garner 