'Pull harder for a new vision'

Phi Delta Kappa International

In a recent blog post for Phi Delta Kappan, Jack Schneider, assistant professor of education at the College of the Holy Cross, used the metaphor of environmental conservation in order to discuss the state of contemporary education. To that end, Schneider lamented an education system that is not living up to its fullest potential, and called for a sustainable educational future.

Drawing upon his own relationship with the land surrounding Middlesex Fells Reservation, Schneider expanded his thinking to include the greater scheme of education. Following this line of thought, he said, “Education [lacks] a conservation ethos.” He then continued his argument, saying, “To extend the analogy, schools are in a constant and unrelenting state of transformation.”

Later in the article, Schneider clarified that he is not proposing for school systems to go unchanged but rather to transform in intelligent, productive, diverse, and inspiring ways. “What I am proposing is a new way of thinking about education—framing schools as conservation lands,” he said. “That means working slowly on caring for the soil, planting native seeds, thinking about all parts of the ecosystem, and acting with the greatest humility in the hope that what we care for will endure,” he continued.

This ‘Holy Cross in the News’ item by David Cotrone ’13.