Sam Walton famously crafted a mission statement for his first store promising, "The lowest prices anytime, anywhere." And while Walmart may promise to have almost anything for low prices, it does not promise to have specialized products. Sam Walton’s story is an entrepreneurial feat considering Walmart is, by many measures, the most successful retailer in the world. The public probably shops there more than any other retailer. So, is there anything that public school administrators can learn from Walmart?
At Walmart, prices are low and products are of good-enough quality. For many, “average” products are fine. But sometimes average just won’t work for a customer. Consider a customer looking to purchase golf clubs. If that customer is looking for inexpensive golf clubs, Walmart is a great place to find them. However, there will be many golfers who feel that they need fitted golf clubs. “Average” might be too long, or too short. Right-handed clubs work very poorly for the 10% of golfers who are left-handed. I, myself, am a petite person, and can rarely find clothing that fits at Walmart, much less a set of adult golf clubs.
So, what exactly is Walmart teaching us about education? Historically, the public school system was built for the “average” student, a concept that is now considered a controversial one. Almost no students fit the original definition of “average” student. Due to this change, school systems tried to adapt. But they did not rethink the system, they merely adapted by trying to offer more instruction tailored to individual student needs. There is nothing wrong with offering tailored instruction. But asking teachers to continue the work and curriculum they are already using while also offering specialized curriculum is asking the impossible. Even Walmart knows that it can’t be everything to everyone. Don’t ask a Walmart employee which bicycle to buy to train for a triathlon.
Schools have struggled with the need to offer appropriate individualized education for a long time, and this problem in schools has been even further exacerbated this year. Teach gifted students, teach special-ed students, teach online students, (some without advanced tech at home) and teach in-classroom students, how are these teachers supposed to juggle so many different types of students? And this description only touches on the pressure they are under. The truth is they are asked also to make sure their students are fed and mentally stable, etc.
A recent NYT article, described the teacher perspective this way:
Almost universally, [teachers] described a crippling emotional cost. Teachers have become impromptu social workers, directing students to food banks or acting as grief counselors for those who have lost family members. They help pupils work through their feelings of anxiety, depression and isolation.
“If we keep this up, you’re going to lose an entire generation of not only students but also teachers,” said Shea Martin, an education scholar and facilitator who works with public schools on issues of equity and justice.
Amanda Kaupp, a high school psychology teacher in St. Louis, said: “Three years ago, we started to learn how to run from armed intruders. Last year we learned how to pack bullet wounds. This year, we’re trying to figure out how to bring back learning in a pandemic.”
When people are asked to be good at everything, it is likely they feel inadequate at almost everything. Teachers, who care deeply about their subjects and their students, are now forced to offer clunky, difficult-to-wield versions of learning. They are working their brains out, and they’re also probably frustrated with what they are offering.
But here’s the thing, our education system is not really like Walmart. If parents are dissatisfied with their children’s’ learning, most cannot do anything about it. They must take the mediocre golf clubs they are offered whether they fit their needs or not. And unlike Walmart, the education system as it stands now actively seeks to shut down alternatives that are trying to do just a few things really well. Walmart does not try to outlaw golf pro shops. Walmart offers low prices and good-enough service, and let’s the customer make his or her choice. Customers can still pick average golf clubs, and Walmart still makes plenty of money selling them.
In the same vein, schools can’t be everything to everybody, and we should not promote a system that asks them to be. It’s not fair to the students, and it’s especially not fair to the teachers. This year, give your teachers excellent teacher gifts, and consider the ways we should rethink this broken system.