What If We Only Trained Pediatricians?

In recent years, it hasn't been uncommon for educators to hear about applying "the medical model" to schools. Generally, this refers to efforts at improving teacher quality. Similar to teaching hospitals, some schools have worked to develop teaching systems that involve mentorship and increasing responsibility. Though less successful to this point, some schools have also worked to "depersonalize" conversations about education. How can we talk about our teaching failures in a way that does not imply that our teachers are failures? Doctors often learn from situations in which patients die; however, teachers rarely are given a formalized opportunity to learn from the situations when students do not succeed. In applying the medical model, some educators are trying to address this challenge.

Taking  a step back, it's interesting to look at the entire system. Can we continue the medical analogy? I believe we can. For a long time, we have focused educational resources on early childhood education, elementary schools, and middle schools. High school students have been held accountable for their own success or failure. If we produce "healthy learners" by middle school, then we expect the students to achieve in high school. In the medical field, it seems that this begs the question: What if we only trained pediatricians?

Ideally, we would have healthier children than ever before. With such strong resources for pediatric medicine, we would expect better health indicators for young people. Healthy children are probably more likely to become healthier adults. However, we would never consider training only pediatricians. We recognize that issues must be addressed differently at different stages of the life cycle. Additionally, there are some issues that only become present after childhood. Yet, for some reason, we offer only "educational triage" to high school students.

Reach provides a new course of treatment for academic skills gaps present upon entry to high school. While many high schools simply serve a sorting function (kids with significant gaps are referred to GED programs, job skills programs, or classes outside the college track), we believe that every high school students can achieve highly. Like a doctor faced with a challenging disease, we must use our knowledge and act aggressively. Regardless of how bad the prognosis is when we encounter a high school student, the right approach can lead to healthy outcomes.

Thanks, as always, for reading.

Mark