As educators, we are all familiar with permanent records in schools.
According to a Poe.com, a permanent record is:
“a collection of student’s academic and personal information, such as grades, attendance, disciplinary actions and other details that are kept on file by the school. The purpose of these records is to provide a comprehensive history of the student’s educational experience, which can be used for a variety of purposes, such as college applications, job references or other academic opportunities.”
I have always been curious as to why we call these records “permanent” because don’t we want students to learn, grow, change, evolve and move forward on their path in life, academically and personally?
It also flies a little in the face of my linguistic and etymological sense of the word as well as my spiritual belief about nothing being permanent.
The word permanent is from the Latin word permanentem, meaning “enduring, unchanging, lasting indefinitely”.
The learning journey of a student seems to me like it should change, grow and continue throughout a lifetime.
Learning is not a one-and-done thing.
Don’t we talk about creating “lifelong learners” in education all the time?!
So, why, again, would we call these permanent records?
Let’s look at the word record.
For record (noun), I think of an LP album which is round and turns around and around in circles.
Is this like a learning cycle or like when content is spiraled throughout the learning journey?
When we look at the verb form to record (different pronunciation – ah, English!), it comes from the French word recorder, which means “to tell, repeat or recite”.
Well that seems about right in education!
Teachers do a lot of telling, students do a lot of repeating and reciting…not the best practices, for sure!
Words are powerful, and can be interpreted in many ways.
Again, one part of the lens through which I see the world and my place in it!
I strongly feel that we need to change the name of folder with a “student’s academic and personal information” throughout their K-12 learning journey to something that aligns more with what we are really envisioning for students…in other words, the true purpose of an education.
Some schools have come to call this a student’s “cumulative folder”.
Basically, the same thing, just with a different name.
However, the word “cumulative” seems to be less harsh than being “permanent” and indicate that there has been change, growth and learning that has been accumulated over the years, like a collection of knowledge and accomplishments.
The word “folder” too brings forth a more positive and empowering image of a place to store knowledge, information and a history of research and findings driven by curiosity and discovery. On the other hand, the word record can be associated with more negative contexts like criminal or bad driving…record.
Maybe I have given this way too much thought, energy and brain power, but it really has all stemmed from my heart (through the Vagus Nerve!)
Neither of these terms land well in my gut, so I have had many mental musings about what we should call this.
What would align more with what the learning journey through school and even beyond into our lifelong learning be until the day we die (which is when the learning opportunities stop for all of us!)
Maybe “learning portfolio”?
The etymology of portfolio is from Italian portafoglio meaning “a movable receptacle or case for carrying detached papers”.
With every experience, both in and out of the classroom, we learn something that we carry with us throughout the rest of our journey in life.
The path, the life, the success or outcome of a student’s life cannot be determined solely by the academic or personal information or experiences that they have had.
Lives can be turned around.
Different choices can be made and different contexts pursued.
We always have the power to change the course of our path in life.
As Henry David Thoreau once said:
“Go confidently in the direction of your dreams! Live the life you have imagined”.
Nothing is permanent.
Nothing is set in stone.
No-“thing” can stand in your way and block your path forward.
There is no permanent record to our lives!
Only a learning portfolio that we can carry with us and that will help us to continue on our path through a lifetime of learning.
Photo credit: https://unsplash.com/@craftedbygc
