Learning isn't easy. It takes a lot of work. All too often, the process that leads to learning is oversimplified, underappreciated and undervalued in our society. Too often, when asked what they do for a living, I've heard people say “I'm just a teacher.” Actually, I've said it myself when I was a teacher.

In reality, there are few professions that should command a more prominent role in a progressive, civilized society. In fact, you could make a strong case that the level of respect and prominence that a society bestows upon the education of its children is a key indicator of the general health and future potential of that society. What could be more important than teaching young people how to learn?

Not to memorize names and dates, not to reproduce old information, but to be problem-solvers, innovators, visionaries.

If the necessary shift occurs that serves to transfer school from a place that replicates and perpetuates that which was already done to a place that delves into the unknown, the unsolved, the not yet perfected components of our society, we will go a long way in accomplishing that goal.

To meet the challenges of a world that is “Flat, Warm and Crowded” as the author Thomas Friedman suggests in his most recent book, we must raise the art and science of learning to a new level. In the past decade, a dramatic shift in the understanding of how we learn has come to light.

Learning, as it turns out, is a complicated and highly involved process. It is not something that just happens, not a process that just anyone can facilitate.

No, in 2008, with never-before-seen levels of competition in the global business arena, tumultuous upheaval in the worldwide economy and the instantaneous ability to transfer and communicate information, learning in America is serious business. Education, much like international business, communication and even sporting or recreational endeavors, is a constantly evolving process. That means that as professional educators we've had to “up our game” to keep pace with the competition.

In Port Byron schools, we've decided to implement a comprehensive district-wide professional development initiative, through an organization called Learning Focused Solutions, that uncovers a framework for best practice that converts years of educational research into the science of learning.

Through this multi-year initiative, we will ensure that our teachers are knowledgeable and well versed in all of the critical components of their craft: instructional proficiency, an understanding of how to best prioritize and sequence curriculum and how to assess student progress and utilize that information to inform future instruction.

With this consistent and pervasive approach to teaching, student learning will be maximized.

This research-based approach to education has led to several cultural shifts in the general approach to education. A shift in focus from teaching to learning, from planning lessons in isolation to collective interdisciplinary planning, from coverage of material to mastery of concepts and skills.

As a community of professionals, we have decided that we should set the standard for understanding the science of learning. We can't afford not to. We take pride in setting a professional standard that will make our students and their parents proud to belong to our school. Why should we settle for anything less?

It is our goal that when asked what we do for a living, the word “teacher” will be spoken with pride. When that becomes the prevailing response from all educators, we can be confident that our society has regained its health, that it has increased its prospects for a future as bright as it's past. The choice is ours.

Shawn Bissetta is principal of Dana L. West High School in Port Byron