Opinion
School Climate & Safety Letter to the Editor

Education ‘Product’ and ‘Process’ Are Linked, Yet Separate

June 03, 2014 1 min read
  • Save to favorites
  • Print

To the Editor:

Often concepts come as complements to each other, where the word is defined as “something that completes or makes perfect.” The classic example are the concepts “being” and “becoming.” The educational philosopher Maxine Greene once told me: “I am what I not yet am,” and I think this is as good an explanation of complements as we could wish for.

Marc Prensky’s Commentary “The Goal of Education Is Becoming,” brought this to mind again. For the child, education is a huge part of her or his “becoming.” It struck me that when thinking about education, or cooking, or many other things, the process has a complement: the product. The delight of complements is that they offer two ways of describing the same thing, two different lenses, so to speak. It makes good sense to use both.

Mr. Prensky imagines how many different personas a child can “become” besides ready for college or career; I imagine how many processes schools might employ to achieve the products that match those becomings. I think both he and I are equally discouraged to find that policy is so fixated on the products, rather than the process, that students are simply numbers related to tests that may be related only to academic capacity. We can only understand education when we broaden our conceptual structures to include becomings and processes.

George Stranahan

Founder and Chairman Emeritus, Manaus Fund

Senior Adviser, Valley Settlement Project

Carbondale, Colo.

A version of this article appeared in the June 04, 2014 edition of Education Week as Education ‘Product’ and ‘Process’ Are Linked, Yet Separate

Events

Student Well-Being K-12 Essentials Forum Social-Emotional Learning 2025: Examining Priorities and Practices
Join this free virtual event to learn about SEL strategies, skills, and to hear from experts on the use and expansion of SEL programs.
This content is provided by our sponsor. It is not written by and does not necessarily reflect the views of Education Week's editorial staff.
Sponsor
Professional Development Webinar
Inside PLCs: Proven Strategies from K-12 Leaders
Join an expert panel to explore strategies for building collaborative PLCs, overcoming common challenges, and using data effectively.
Content provided by Otus
Teaching Profession Key Insights to Elevate and Inspire Today’s Teachers
Join this free half day virtual event to energize your teaching and cultivate a positive learning experience for students.

EdWeek Top School Jobs

Teacher Jobs
Search over ten thousand teaching jobs nationwide — elementary, middle, high school and more.
View Jobs
Principal Jobs
Find hundreds of jobs for principals, assistant principals, and other school leadership roles.
View Jobs
Administrator Jobs
Over a thousand district-level jobs: superintendents, directors, more.
View Jobs
Support Staff Jobs
Search thousands of jobs, from paraprofessionals to counselors and more.
View Jobs

Read Next

School Climate & Safety Leader To Learn From One Leader’s Plan to Cut Chronic Absenteeism—One Student at a Time
Naomi Tolentino helps educators in Kansas City, Kan., support strong school attendance.
9 min read
Naomi Tolentino Miranda leads a meeting on student attendance at J.C. Harmon High School on Jan. 16, 2025 in Kansas City, Kansas. Tolentino Miranda showed school administrators recent data reflecting positive progress in combating chronic absenteeism.
Naomi Tolentino leads a meeting on student attendance at J.C. Harmon High School on Jan. 16, 2025 in Kansas City, Kansas. Tolentino showed school administrators recent data reflecting positive progress in combating chronic absenteeism.
Erin Woodiel for Education Week
School Climate & Safety Opinion Schools Can’t Just ‘Return to Normal’ After a Climate Disaster
This is what’s missing when education leaders urge schools to return to normalcy too soon after crises or disasters.
Jaleel R. Howard & Sam Blanchard
5 min read
A jungle gym melted and destroyed by the Eaton Fire is seen at a school, Jan. 15, 2025, in Altadena, Calif.
The Easton Fire melted a jungle gym outside a school in Altadena, Calif.
John Locher/AP
School Climate & Safety Tracker School Shootings This Year: How Many and Where
Education Week is tracking K-12 school shootings in 2025 with injuries or deaths. See the number of incidents and where they occurred.
3 min read
Sign indicating school zone.
iStock/Getty
School Climate & Safety As Wildfires Devastate Los Angeles, Educators Offer Help and Refuge
As wildfires rip through the region, educators band together for support as they work to help students and families.
9 min read
The Palisades Fire ravages a neighborhood amid high winds in the Pacific Palisades neighborhood of Los Angeles, Tuesday, Jan. 7, 2025.
The Palisades Fire ravages a neighborhood amid high winds in the Pacific Palisades neighborhood of Los Angeles on Jan. 7, 2025.
Ethan Swope/AP