Education is too important to take seriously. When people take anything too seriously, they put on blinders which cause them to miss the important aspects of what is going on around them. They develop “tunnel vision” which limits and distorts their perception of reality. Education is too important to be limited by those who have chosen to wear blinders1 and develop tunnel vision.
I believe the accountability movement has encouraged many educators to take education too seriously. When we take education too seriously, we put standardized test scores above children, we put lesson plans above teachers, and we put on our blinders, only to see a rather small segment of the child—that segment that can be measured easy—rather than looking at the child as a whole. By looking at the whole student, we can get a sense of whether that student enjoys learning is functioning well with others, and feels good about himself.