Does the SAT really matter?

So, it’s that time of year again. School is back in session, football season has started, and the college board has released the results of last year’s SAT.

It’s odd, really, what stories find their way to the front page of big city papers. Somehow, the SAT story always seems to be considered newsworthy.

This year was no different, as news outlets everywhere published the highlights of the College Board report and took their usual swipes at the American education system.

On one level, the “they went down again” attitude toward the SAT scores is concerning. Why is it that America’s schools are not able to prepare students to perform more ably on the most common of standardized assessments? What has happened in our schools that our students don’t seem to compare with students from the other industrialized countries around the globe?

But, as an educator and a parent, I don’t really worry too much about these reports. Ultimately, I side with those who tend to agree that, while the SAT has its place in the education world, it is not necessarily the best indicator of how our kids are actually doing. I generally agree with those studies that suggest that the SAT is a great way to find out which students are skilled at taking standardized tests – but not such a great tool for measuring their true academic ability or potential.

Many parents have expectations for their children’s education that stretch far beyond their scores on a standardized test. I happen to be one of them.

Yes, I recognize that my kids will have to jump through the SAT hoop if they want to get into one of the ever dwindling list of colleges that place a great deal of emphasis on the SAT scores in their admission requirements. And, yes, I respect that fact that, at this point, the College Board is part if the education establishment in the United States.

However, I can’t seem to let myself fall victim to the “what did you get on your SAT?” trap. Quite frankly, I’d much rather see my children do well on a variety of other indicators on their way to college and beyond. Are they inquisitive and persistent enough to find alternate solutions to problems? Can they communicate their thoughts and ideas to others? Can they work well with a team of humans of differing abilities? Are they generous? Do they care as much (or more!) about contributing as consuming?

These are the questions I have about how ready my children are for life outside of our family home. Yes, I love to hear that my daughter scored well on a math test. And yes, I smile when my son’s spelling test has 100% on the top. But I care a great deal more about the process they went through to achieve those scores than the actual result. Did they prepare properly? Were they ready for a range of possible questions? Were they respectful when they approached their teacher for help?

The problems and issues our children will face in their futures have not even been imagined yet. I expect that, as adults, they will be called on to be far more flexible and adaptive than we have ever needed to be. And while I appreciate that the SAT can measure a finite set of skills and knowledge, I don’t believe that it measures readiness for the unknown.

Somewhere along the line, the College Board decided that my son will be judged for years to come by the results of working alone -- and in silence -- for a few hours on a Saturday during his junior year in high school.

I can appreciate their intentions. I just don’t happen to agree.

Presented at the Unitarian Universalist Congregation of York (PA)
April 29, 2007


My Journey to Spirituality.

Reni set today up and I am so grateful to be a part of this. Reni was great at getting us prepared – she contacted us early on, then as the date approached she sent a note reminding us of the 29th and, I love this part, she sent this e-mail with seven or eight beautifully focused questions about spirituality. Challenging – thought provoking questions. *How do you connect with Spirit?* How do you define “Spirituality”?
What was your first encounter with “Religion?”
And you have 5 minutes!
Thank you Reni. Thank you Molly. Thank you Rev. Bob for leading a congregation that has opportunities to take over the pulpit once in a while and play with all the cool things up here.

Thank you all. Spirituality. Know it or not -- Like it or not --You all have been part of my spiritual journey over the past four years. I’ve sat in these chairs and faced my existence head on. I’ve explored my spirituality. I’ve questioned my beliefs. I’ve taken stock of what I stand for. And though we didn’t speak much, some days barely said hello, I’ve felt your presence. I knew you were there. And it’s always better when you don’t have to face these questions alone.

So, with that in mind, I thought I should share some of what I’ve been thinking over these four years. I’ve arranged my thoughts into three main categories for today:

1. Spirituality vs. Religion
2. Where I started my spiritual journey
3. How we might apply spirituality to our lives today

Item 1: Spirituality vs. Religion

For me, spirituality is the search for an understanding of our existence. A recognition of the presence of “the soul” in our lives.

Asking, seeking, searching. Being in touch with our creator. Being in a dialogue with our creator. Some of the activities of spirituality – in my life – are thinking, pausing, reflecting, being still, reading, writing.

I sense the spiritual when I’m sitting beneath the night sky looking up at the stars and considering our place in the universe.

Or when I’m watching my children as they sleep – looking at their beautiful, innocent faces and considering all the miraculous things that had to line up just right to make their existence possible.

Or when I’m listening to the voice that whispers into my consciousness -- guiding me and offering me direction. Finding ways to be open to and available for that voice. Through stillness. And calm, silent, openness.

Spirituality, to me, is walking in the woods -- hearing the music of birds, the brushing of the leaves in the trees caused by the invisible wind, kneeling down to watch a butterfly land on a flower. I might as well be genuflecting.

Religion as Obstacle:

So, in many cases Religion can be a wonderful gateway to spirituality.

My personal experience is such.

But I also recognize that Religion can be an enormous obstacle to spirituality.

How many of us in this room find ourselves here today because some religious organization made us feel rotten or inferior or inadequate or – God forbid – divorced!

Religion. The very institution that is purported to promote God all things good. Our salvation. Our…life everlasting!


The other big problem I’ve had with brand name religion is “The Question”.

The Jesus question.

My wife Nicole hates when I do this. We’ll be with a group of people – at a dinner party or cookout – and I’ll ask “Do you think Jesus was really the son of God?”

This always changes the tone of the party!

And while I enjoy the intellectual debate around that question -- I don’t like that your response to that question places you squarely into one of two distinct camps… and often brings the conversation to a screeching halt. (We don’t get many dinner invitations anymore…)

So, “Religion” is not always an entry point on the path to understanding. It often serves, instead, to render us isolated and uncertain about who we are and who we want to be.

BRIGHTER SIDE OF RELIGION

But there is a brighter side of religion…

Religion can be a gateway to something meaningful.

Religion can be a welcoming pathway toward spirituality. And our spirituality -- it turns out -- has a far more forgiving set of ground rules. We can make mistakes. We can speak out. We can test alternative possibilities.

We can question what we believe!!

We can participate in the exploration of meaning. No strings attached. No dirty looks. No collection baskets.

That is the sort of spiritual activity that seems most necessary in my life.

I imagine a bumper sticker:

“Religion leads to war – spirituality leads to peace”

Item 2: Where did I find spirituality?

All of that said, I must credit Religion with leading me toward spirituality.
My experience as a young Catholic opened my eyes – and my mind – to the idea of seeking knowledge and comfort in the spiritual.

My first encounters with religion were in grade school. Going to church. The sacraments. The teachings. The experience of being an alter boy. (Somehow, putting on a dress and holding the wine for a seventy year old man in a nicer dress at 7:30 in the morning can help you on this path to spirituality…Don’t ask me to explain it…)

Early on, the conversations in my catholic school about the soul mattered to me.
I was also fascinated with the concept of the mysterious spark of life that science couldn’t explain and humans couldn’t imitate.

And I LOVED the The Holy Spirit™!

The Holy Spirit was always my favorite part of the trinity. The father and the son images were sort of predictable, I thought.

But the holy spirit – that was cool. A little flame. A floating essence. Even the priests and nuns couldn’t really explain it. It reminded me of the soul – mysterious and untouchable -- and it intrigued me far more than the image of the old white-bearded god and his carpenter son.

So, that’s probably where the spiritual journey started for me.

And I first talked to the spirit – my spirit – somewhere around age 9 or 10. My parents were big drinkers. I dreaded their nightly encounters. I used to leave my house at 2, 3, even 4 in the morning and run with my dog to the school yard a few blocks from my home.

I’d find a place to lie back and let myself drift away. To escape. To get away from the pain and the sounds of this earth. Looking to the stars – I’d contemplate my life – try to make sense of it – and I’d ask questions. I spoke out loud to the spirit. I spoke to what I knew was out there even though I could not identify or name it. I spoke to my creator and ask for guidance.

I still hear that voice. I can’t say that it is “God”. But I have been blessed with a terrific life, full of opportunity, and I have to believe that there is some greater power to thank for that. That spirit has kept me alive. That spirit has kept me moving forward.


Item 3: How can we apply our spirituality to our modern lives?

Columbine. September 11th, The War on Terror, The Amish School House, Virginia Tech, The electronic age, consumerism, materialism.

Do we need spirituality in our lives today?

Turn off the TV. Put away the cell phone.

Go outside and look at the night sky. Feel the enormity of the universe. I am confident you will begin to sense the fragility and the beauty of our existence.

In this context, humans are united – tiny parts of a much greater existence. An existence we will never fully understand or comprehend – but an existence that is so worthy of our reverence.

Laurie Lears, the great teacher and writer, and a colleague for whom I have deep respect and admiration – said recently that she has come to realize that spirituality is something we may never actually achieve.

We participate in it, but we may never reach a point where we can say – “oh yeah, I’ve got a handle on that one. I know exactly where I stand.”

No, it seems the journey is the point. The participation. The search, the seeking, the wondering, the wandering – perhaps THAT is spirituality. Perhaps that is what we are called on to do. To seek. And search. And help others along the way. And ask questions. And take what we need. And give what we can

We seek…knowing we will never find everything. But knowing that if we are willing to seek – we have already found everything we need.

May you, and your family, be blessed.