Originally published in the Moultrie News.
The principal at my daughter’s elementary school decided that all the kids have to go straight to class in the morning now. They used to have time to play on the playground, but that’s gone because, apparently, there were “too many fights.” So instead of dealing with the guilty kids, they punish all of them. Every child loses their playtime because a few kids couldn’t behave? Is that fair?
No, and it’s a common administrative mistake: eliminating a problem instead of solving it.
They aren’t the same. If your phone won't stop making noises, fixing it solves the problem. Chucking it into the ocean eliminates the problem — with a few troublesome repercussions.
Eliminating a problem is like mowing over a weed. Solving a problem is digging it out at the roots. But digging takes time and gets you dirty, so many leaders avoid it.
Eliminating and solving a problem both make it “go away,” but elimination usually triggers a cascade of worse problems. At your school, the principal’s shortcut will likely damage teacher prep and morale. It’s also unfair to kids, who need time to mix, mingle, and play more rambunctiously than a classroom allows.
Education excels at problem elimination. It’s the cause of most school-directed academic fraud. Too many kids failing? You can easily eliminate the problem with minimum grades, test retakes, “credit recovery,” and dumbed-down expectations. Voila! No more failures.
But the weeds eventually rise from the dead: Students complete tasks, but don't learn. They grow lazy and apathetic. They’re passed on without a firm foundation, compounding the trouble. Solving the problem would be much better, but it takes critical thinking and commitment, so eliminating it is more appealing.
Parents fall into the same trap. If a child gets a bad grade or finds himself in trouble, parents quickly blame the teacher, demand a new schedule, and abracadabra — the problem vanishes.
Of course, that causes even worse problems. Kids learn that walking away from a difficult situation (or, worse, begging mom to rescue them) is the easiest way to deal with it. They never learn to correct their own actions. Later in life, ignorance of that skill can wreck careers and marriages.
If your child doesn't focus in class, popping a pill can eliminate the problem, but it may cause an altered personality, sleep difficulties, mood swings, or dependency. Likewise, indulging a whiny child eliminates the whine (temporarily), but down the road, you'll be living with a spoiled adult. Indulge now, pay later.
A (fabricated) problem in today's schools is suspension rates. Some worry that the misbehaving child can’t learn very well if he isn’t in class. No worries! Just stop suspending students. Now the disruptive child gets to stay in class. Problem solved!
Or not. We've simply mowed over a weed. Growing at the root, even faster than before, is the killer kudzu that threatens the entire educational system: Misbehaving kids, managed with impunity, misbehave all the more. Their negative influence spreads to more students. Kids who come to school to learn in peace cannot do it. Teachers, discouraged and mistreated, walk away. Schools devolve into chaos centers.
We’ve eliminated the problem of suspension, while failing to solve the true problem of the student’s misbehavior. Digging it out involves consequences, counseling, and parental engagement. Who has the energy for that?
Eliminating problems is reckless, short-sighted, and self-indulgent. Solving problems is the craftwork of true leadership — but it requires collaboration, creativity, and commitment. Moving from one toward the other in today’s climate of effortless gratification is a problem in itself to be solved.
Or we can just eliminate it by ignoring it. The bill won't come until later.
Jody Stallings has been an award-winning teacher in Charleston since 1992 and is director of the Charleston Teacher Alliance. To submit a question, order his books, or follow him on social media, please visit JodyStallings.com.