Columns
Public Education Must Open Up and Innovate
June 29, 2012
“The first step in winning the future is encouraging American innovation.”
– President Barack ObamaOur schools would be a good place to start.
Far too many of our public schools are insular, siloed, and inbred to be creative, or innovative as the change agent required to help our state and country prosper in the second decade of the 21st century global, knowledge economy.
When the world was more traditional, children followed their parents from farm houses to the fields, then from Main Street to the factory floors. The sameness of education mirrored society’s needs. The world has changed and too many of our schools operate as if nothing has changed, when in fact, everything has changed.
An article by Jonah Lehrer,”Imagine: How Creativity Works,” in the Wall Street Journal reawakened this “ah ha” moment most recently for me. (Jonah Lehrer is author of the best selling book: Imagine)
With few exceptions, perhaps not since the fall of the “Evil Empire”, aka Soviet Union, has there been a more insulated, self-perpetuating, public institution left on the face of the planet, than our public schools. There is more change outside our schools than what is needed within them.
In school buildings and central offices, most personnel have a teaching certificate, a master’ degree in education, EdD, or PhD in an educational field. Many have spent their entire careers in the same district if not the same building. So much for diversity of thought.
For the most part, if you did not decide to be a phys ed, English, social studies, or math teacher before exiting high school, the likelihood of your being in a position of decision making in what is often termed the biggest “business” in many towns, is minimal.
Don’t Get Mad – Think and Reflect
The natural tendency in the education community reading this essay may well be to deny, become defensive or dismissive.Take a deep breath, be the reflective educator you are and ponder the possibilities of changing the educational paradigm. What would our educational systems look like if there were multiple professional paths to teaching and learning? Ask yourself, if you were able to start from scratch, would you create the educational system we operate under today?
Regress for a moment to the inquisitive state of a two year old and ask, “Why?” Why is the system structured the way it is? How can we enhance teaching and learning?
When learning and knowledge is available 24/7, 365 days a year why is schooling relegated to the 180 days or less of instruction, 6 hours of a school day, 4 walls of a building and the 2 bindings of a book?
A New WAY
We need to be more open to new learning models like the W-A-Y Program, (Widening Advancement For Youth), a project-based, blended e-learning model of education.WAY turns the educational model on its head offering a personalized blended learning experience. The WAY Program encourages self-esteem, creativity, independence, and the development of 21st century skills to prepare students for our hyper-competitive, knowledge economy.
Every student of WAY is provided an iMac workstation and Internet connection within their homes. WAY combines personalized, project-based, online learning experiences with face-to-face interaction. The learning environment is set up to allow learning 24/7, 365 days a year.
Students are called “researchers” and are active drivers of a relevant, rigorous, relationship-driven, learning experiences. Teachers are able to serve as the professional experts and learning coaches they were prepared to be.
We need to innovate to educate if we wish to remain relevant on the world stage. As long as people seek to contain and control creative change progress is limited, if not impossible.
We need to move from a educational system that has grown far too focused on power, control, politics and adults to one that focuses on TLC –Teaching, Learning and Children.
An Educational Kaleidoscope
This essay is meant to stimulate thought and discussion, not be a final pronouncement on the subject. Yet, we need more people within and without the system to challenge the status quo.Do we reward creativity or conformity in public education? Is the prize given to those who lead change or manage their careers? Are we seeking educational pioneers or settlers?
People with similar backgrounds and experiences tend to have similar thoughts and seldom challenge the status quo. As my first boss told me, “If both of us think alike, one of us is not necessary.”
Today, the most successful, creative and innovative organizations seek out and populate their institutions with a diversity of backgrounds, degrees and experiences.
Yet, in public education, the individual who does not have a teaching certificate, a master’s degree in a “leadership” curriculum or a specialized academic subject area, is the odd ball. Most public school staffs are clones from the equivalent of the educational Hatfield or McCoy’s. Meet my colleague Darrel and my other colleague Darrel.
Jonah Lehrer, a Rhodes Scholar, American author and journalist who writes on the topics of psychology, neuroscience and the relationship between science and humanities, points out new research that demonstrates the best way to approach the thorniest problems is to cross-pollinate organizations with people from various fields.
He states, “We tend to assume that experts are the creative geniuses in their own fields. But big breakthroughs often depend on the naive daring of outsiders. For prompting creativity, few things are as important as time devoted to cross-pollination with fields outside our areas of expertise.”
Does this sound like your school building or district?
How many professional employees in your school district have degrees outside of education? How many years of experience outside of the educational field exists within your organization? How many of your employees have held a professional job outside your district? When you look at the numbers, does it appear a bit inbred to you?
This is not to say there are not some very bright, capable, creative, innovative people in public education, because there are. Yet, far too many educators are cut out of the same cloth making it is the exception, not the rule.
Lehrer goes on to say, “If you’re trying to be more creative, one of the most important things you can do is increase the volume and diversity of the information to which you are exposed.”
The most innovative enterprises in the public and private sectors encourage their employees to develop diverse networks, interacting with colleagues in totally unrelated fields.
As Jonah Lehrer explains, Apple’s Steve Jobs believed that the best inventors seek out “diverse experiences,” collecting lots of dots that they later link together. Instead of developing a narrow specialization, they study, say, calligraphy (as Mr. Jobs famously did) or hang out with friends in different fields. This tends to generate creativity, new ideas, different ways of solving problems and innovative breakthroughs because creatives don’t have a predetermined, programmed answer. They are willing to seek the answer in unfamiliar places.
Recent research by Martin Ruef, a Princeton Professor and Director of Graduate Studies in sociology found that those entrepreneurs with the most diverse friendships scored three times higher on a metric of innovation. His research demonstrates that rather than “getting stuck in the rut of conformity, they were able to translate their expansive social circle into profitable new concepts.”
We now live in a hyper-competitive, transformational, technologically-driven, knowledge economy where ideas and job can and do move around the world effortlessly. To collaborate and compete on the global stage we need to educate more and more of our students to higher and higher levels. A child without a quality education today will become an adult in a community or state without much of a future.
How are we going to prepare our students for this diverse world with one of the most insular institutions on the planet?
We need a sense of restlessness, imagination and curiosity coupled with a fear that we are slipping behind the world in producing enough talent to collaborate and compete on the global stage. This will compel us to re-imagine learning with a great sense of urgency.
Act Like A Two Year Old, Ask WHY?
We need to challenge the educational orthodoxy at every turn.Professor Yong Zhao was a “Distinguished Professor” at MSU until 2011 when he departed to become Presidential Chair and Associate Dean for Global Education, College of Education at the University of Oregon. He is a full professor in the Department of Educational Measurement, Policy and Leadership.
Dr. Zhou can be reached at: http://zhaolearning.com
Dr. Yong Zhao was and is one of the best minds in education today and making an impact on the global stage. Yet Michigan let him slip away.
In 2009, he wrote a must read book “Catching Up or Leading the Way”.
We are moving to an educational system that is more rigid, standardized, and test-driven when what is needed is a system of learning that is genuine, personalized, project-based and taps the unique interests and skills of each child. Dr. Zhao challenges this direction.
There is a major national push for “Common Core Standards”. Dr Zhao believes that this move will make American’s education system, most likely, worse off than we are today. And that is frightening!
Dr. Zhao fears what we will accomplish is most of our nation’s schools will be teaching to the common tests aligned with the Common Core. This will result in a further narrowing of the curriculum and lack of true learning experiences.
Doing more of the wrong thing will not produce better results for our students.
While we claim we want creative, innovative and entrepreneurial students, we may well standardize and test these traits completely out of the learning experience.
What will be left is a nation of students, teachers, and schools who are compliant with the Common Core Standards, in essence dumbing down our nation and stripping students of experiences and skills necessary to thrive in the 21st century.
His new book, “World Class Learners: Educating Creative and Entrepreneurial Students” should also be read and better still, absorbed and acted upon across America. This new book is about cultivating global, creative, and entrepreneurial talents in schools and why the current trends in reform are taking us down the wrong path.
Dr. Zhao articulates three elements of an excellent education: personalized learning/student autonomy, product-oriented learning, and the globe as the campus.
How many school districts, school buildings or classrooms around our state and nation measure up to the world-class educational model Dr. Zhao espouses? Sadly, the answer is not many.
Professor Zhao firmly believes if we continue on the same path of our so-called “education reform”, the American educational system will remain broken and become obsolete.
As a state and nation we must understand that while we dither, other states and nations are moving forward.
Insanity is often described as doing the same thing over and over again, in the exact same manner and expecting a different result.
Are we crazy, Michigan?
True Statue of Liberty
A true supporter of our public education system must embrace and lead change. I value our public schools, believing that even with the world’s challenges, they remain the true Statue of Liberty in our great country.Our schools still take the tired, hungry, poor, those who speak English as a second language, and those with disabilities and provide hope and opportunity. Our great teachers are the torches lighting the way for us all.
I raise these issues to awaken us all to reflect on our creative potential. How can we improve and make our systems of learning the brain banks of the world where everyone wants to come for deposits and withdrawals?
Educators need to lead change and not be bunkers for the status quo if we are going to be the innovation nation moving forward.
On June 12, 1987, President Ronald Reagan, with these words, started the first domino falling and the beginning of the end of the Cold War, “Mr. Gorbachev, tear down this wall!”
We need to tear down the silos of educational conformity that stagnates our learning with traditional education –think if we wish to do more than merely survive.
We need to thrive moving forward. It is impossible to become the Innovation Nation with a conformity mentality in our places of learning. Public education needs to open up – or die.
There is no better place to begin the change process – than with yourself.
Reports on Real Change For Schools:
EXPLORING E-LEARNING REFORMS FOR MICHIGAN: The New Education (R)evolution 2005 report: www.inacol.org/research/docs/e-learningreport.pdfStructural funding Problems Facing Michigan Schools in the 21st Century: michigan.gov/documents/michiganschoolfunding_110803_7.pdf
34 responses so far ↓
1 delia stafford // Jun 28, 2012 at 7:00 pm
Dr.Martin Haberman ,distinguished professor, Emeritus, UWM,( 1932-2012) once stated,” If the American education community does not step up and educate the masses at all cost, America will be the next third world country”.
Dr.Watkins, in his own prolific written word, is providing the same warning.
I say, in the words of a song, “when will we ever learn, when will we ever learn”! Delia Stafford
2 Jon Madian // Jun 28, 2012 at 7:17 pm
Those of us who have spent our lives working to improve public education understand the validity of what Mr. Watkins presents. We also know that programs like The Way are demonstrating the value of other, more open approaches, which make us hopeful. It is a sad fact that while we all trust in the intelligence & sensitivity of our children, once we turn our children over to our schools, we know that their sensitivities and individuality will not be respected or protected. How an institution like the schools reinvents itself is one of the most important questions our society must respond to. Technology offers a potential Trojan Horse or Golden Loom. Opening our schools to the talent in our communities is a means, but this requires we break-down the silos that now exist among various stake holders. Mr. Watkins knows the problem as does Dr. Zhao. I wonder if they can advise us on how to change our sensitivity to our students, the potential beauty of learning and the proper role of accountability.
3 Joe Nathan // Jun 28, 2012 at 8:55 pm
Lots of individual teachers and some principals willing to innovate. System does not encourage this. That’s why we need more charter public school options. And if Michigan and other states would learn from Boston’s Pilot Schools, there would be more strong within district options.
4 KP CHEN // Jun 29, 2012 at 4:01 am
“An understanding heart is everything in a teacher, and cannot be esteemed highly enough. One looks back with appreciation to the brilliant teachers, but with gratitude to those who touched our human feelings. ”
“The creation of something new is not accomplished by the intellect but by the play instinct acting from inner necessity. The creative mind plays with the objects it loves.”
“The least of things with a meaning is worth more in life than the greatest of things without it. ” – Carl Jung -
Three quotes on Jung, hope that shed some lights … Teachers and educators, in ancient China, are in the rank of:
Heaven; Earth; Emperor; Parents; Teachers.
Cheers.
5 David Britten // Jun 29, 2012 at 8:18 am
One of your better articles, Tom. You’re doing more to offer solutions instead of just ripping at the problems. But just looking at innovative programs is not enough. State and federal regulations and restrictions that discourage courageous leadership and wholesale restructuring of public education have to be eliminated or at least made user friendly. We need to knock down the barriers and structures of the industrial era model but at every turn, something we want to try either violates state law, state policy or is so complicated by the waiver process that inertia to make the change is lost. Help open up the innovative process in local public school districts by convincing Lansing to cut the excessive rules.
6 Tom W // Jun 29, 2012 at 8:36 am
David, thanks. As state sup I constantly asked educators to provided specific rules, laws and regulations that get in the way in “helping teachers teach –and children learn. If it does not help our teachers teach and kids learn— we ought to eliminate. Too much focus is on power,control, politics and adults—not enough on TLC–Teaching, Learning and Children!
7 Education Values Landing // Jun 29, 2012 at 9:02 am
[...] landing vs. bounding continues to become a lens for which I see things, Tom Watkins’ “Public Education Must Open Up and Innovate” came across my desk this morning and speaks to the heart of [...]
8 Suzy // Jun 29, 2012 at 9:42 am
Schools are now all about sameness and common core standards. We even state the CC standard on every paper put in front of students. Conformity is the norm so all 8th graders get a common experience. We have spent thousands of dollars creating a local curriculum that tells teachers what and how to teach, and every one of the 32 students sitting in front of me must fit into that mold. Government has created this monster and made working conditions such that the best and the brightest would never want to be a teacher. I wish I could go back 38 years and start all over again in the political field. I would have never let this happen.
9 Chuck Fellows // Jun 29, 2012 at 9:50 am
I disagree with only one word in this very thoughtful and meaningful essay, and that word is “disabilities”
Children do not have disabilities, they have “different abilities”, ones we “normals” are unable to recognize.
Thank you Tom for this essay. I hope may will share and heed what you have said.
10 Tim Shelton // Jun 29, 2012 at 10:56 am
We have to get our of comfort zone when it comes to teaching and learning.
Our schools are the only place that if someone were to take a time capsule from the past 100 years ago to the future– -that would feel right at home.
The author is right– we need both change and progress.
11 Janice Messer // Jun 29, 2012 at 1:43 pm
An old adage is, “necessity is the mother of invention.” Of necessity, then ‘the schools’ will adapt; would that individual people were as flexible. Teaching is one of the highest pressure jobs around, and requires one, now-a-days, to be to be quite stress resistant. My hat is off to any teacher who lasts more than three years in the public school system.
12 Bob Balwinski // Jun 29, 2012 at 3:36 pm
The MI legislature passed a bill, signed by the governor, that school couldn’t start before Labor Day because businesses were losing their workers right before a big tourist/vacation weekend in MI because some “uppity” districts, trying to be a bit innovative, decided to start their school year a few weeks before Labor Day.
When the gov’t squashes even this minimal innovative idea, how is one to go forward. MDE is itself more of a barrier to innovation than a helping hand……at least that is my opinion from spending almost 9 years there. Great people but crazy rules and regs.
13 Mark Francis // Jun 29, 2012 at 5:03 pm
Tom again hits it on the head. Einstein once said that insanity is doing the same thing over and over again but expecting differant results.
As an educator for the last 30 years it is so apparent that education needs a major overhaul. We continue to hold onto an old system that has shown that it no longer meets the needs of our society.
Unions and management need to understand that they need to value the customer, the child. Decisions need to be child centered and not adult centered.
Education and educators need to be valued and no be a pawn in the politician’s gamesmanship. How dumb is it to say we value education yet we set up rules to stop schools from opening up before Labor Day so we can get the tourist dollars. That is short term thinking.
The fact that many districts across the country don’t even offer 180 days now is so out of date. When was the last time 95% of us ever had to work the farms during the summer.
I like Delia’s reference that if we continue to use this as a political battleground, we will work our way to being irrelevant.
So much work needs to be done. Education is not political and not a religous thing, it is a survival thing for the US.
14 Daniel // Jun 29, 2012 at 5:34 pm
Wait, why?
Is e-blended learning or whatever more effective than that taught in normal classrooms? Or is it just more expensive and flashy? It would perhaps be useful if public schools were actually high tech innovators, but forcing all public schools to use more technology just means they’ll sign on to whatever flash in the pan thing tech companies are hawking last month.
15 Public Education Must Open Up and Innovate – Or Die | The Haberman International Policy Institute in Education // Jun 29, 2012 at 8:00 pm
[...] Public Education Must Open Up and Innovate – Or Die | DomeMagazine.com. Posted in Global Education News [...]
16 Kevin Kobelsky // Jun 29, 2012 at 8:21 pm
*Schools need to have report cards.*
The deep challenge that I’d be interested in hearing your thoughts on, is how you monitor performance when you move away from standardized tests?
While I agree with many of the things you’ve written for those who are above the median, what about the kids stuck at the bottom tail? This may be because they are stuck in bad schools with bad teachers. The horrific failures of some schools needed to be addressed and an objective statewide measurement system coupled with state funding made this more feasible. My hat is off to this.
Further, if a child in grade 3 can’t meet the basics required in a standardized test, it seems obvious that teachers SHOULD teach to the test. The tests focus on low level skills. If you don’t have these, you can’t move to higher level skills.
Moreover, for obvious reasons people need/want some sort of scorecard/performance metric, whether they are a legislator allocating $, policy maker, or parent deciding where to live or how to interact with your child’s school or the district board.
Now that we have some basis for comparison of schools, we won’t give it up, and with good reason, despite the dysfunctional behavior it leads to. It seems the lesser of evils.
I haven’t heard (though I’m not listening carefully) of any proposals for how to measure the effectiveness/ quality across schools.
Have you?
17 Madelne Black // Jun 29, 2012 at 11:05 pm
Tom Watkins’ article reminds me of a soldier’s battle cry. It is time to make a change and not to just talk about it. It will take banded together, politicians, educators, business, and the entire community to demand change and create it. Students need to learn to be thinkers and not just trainees; following directions and finding answers in the back of the book.
When thinking back to my textbooks in elementary and high school, I remember always being intrigued by the extension activities; however, we rarely got to do those. We were assigned to answer the multiple choice and discussion questions.
Michigan, let’s follow Tom’s battle cry! Let’s support programs like WAY. Programs that dare to assign the extension activities, embrace project-based and other learning innovations that will lead to Michigan graduating students prepared to lead their families, local, state, national and global communities to heights yet to be imagined.
18 Bob Sornson // Jun 30, 2012 at 6:02 pm
Far too many of our public schools are insular, siloed, and inbred to be
creative, or innovative as the change agent required to help our state and
country prosper in the second decade of the 21st century.
Well said indeed. The potential of our people and our country is enormous if we can refine our institutions and become aligned to the values Tom defines in this terrific article.
19 Robin Dale // Jul 1, 2012 at 9:14 am
I have lived over half of my 64 years in the Greater China Region (Taiwan, Hong Kong, China) and had a mixed British and American education. My brother is also retired from the Michigan public schools system as a lifetime teacher and later as a Superintendent of a public school. I hope that Michigan is listening to Tom Watkins who is exceptionally aware of what is going on in both the East and West. America has changed the fortunes of people from every nation in the world over the past 200 years. It’s time to do it again. Reinvent yourself America. YOU CAN DO IT – and by the way Happy Birthday USA – 4th of July on Wednesday!
20 Ric Visingardi // Jul 1, 2012 at 9:09 pm
Nice job presentig a great model (from the “30,000 ft to 0 ft”. “Teaching” kids how to learn, think and take command of their learning is now as essential as the “Three Rs”’. That is also the essence of “real” self-esteem rather than just words.
21 Sara Jones // Jul 2, 2012 at 2:50 am
I love the focus of this article! It is right on target! We need to reinvent our focus on education to be pragmatic and looking ahead… not backwards!
22 trudy f. // Jul 2, 2012 at 2:52 am
…. the best question: if we were starting an education system today — would it look at all like it does today? the answer — no. Let’s not settle for the WAy IT Way! Let’s move on as Tom so rightly points out!!!!
23 Elliott Z> // Jul 2, 2012 at 11:07 am
Look at the recent data that was released last week by the MI Dept of Ed— it tells you clearly that we are moving in the wrong direction.
As the President and author say– we need to innovate to educate.
24 Jon // Jul 2, 2012 at 11:22 am
A good article Tom. However, you won’t get any help from the Republicans on this. They don’t want to invest in education, they want to close down publice schools to bring in the Charter schools whose sole purpose is making a profit, and if you can’t afford it that is your problem. The way program sounds nice for rich districts and families, but everyone knows the republicans would never spend a dime on the inner city children for computer base learning.
25 Nat Pernick // Jul 3, 2012 at 7:01 am
Thanks Tom for another great article.
I see it a little differently. There are two main problems with public education. First, public institutions require public involvement, which is missing from our challenged schools and districts. For these students / districts, the issue is how we get parents and the community more involved in the public schools, regardless of what is taught. Active parents are needed not just to push their kids to excel, but to push the teachers, principals and school board members. They are also important to do the work of the myriad groups present in excellent schools (cupcake sales, book sales, teacher assistance, PTA, school events, etc.) In Detroit, Roy Roberts said this a different way – to find an excellent school, see how busy the parking lot is when there is a school event.
The second issue is poor leadership, particularly in the business community and government. Unfortunately, it seems like the Big 3 in the Detroit area (and perhaps others as well) are ego, cronyism and greed. I particularly liked the example of the Detroit area business leader who said he was forced to give a bribe to get a city contract. Did it ever occur to him that perhaps he should find other contracts rather than break the law? Probably not. Although there are obviously exceptions, many public policy pronouncements seems to be directed at helping the policy proponent, his/her friends, or his/her political supporters. Tom Friedman had a good article this weekend about the solution – “taking one for for the country”, see http://www.nytimes.com/2012/07/01/opinion/sunday/taking-one-for-the-country.html.
26 Ann Crow // Jul 3, 2012 at 11:36 am
need more quality choices in education– technology and leadership do matter!
27 Tom W // Jul 3, 2012 at 3:29 pm
Jon— above— it should be noted that most of these free/public school programs serve under-served communities. It is also interesting to note that “bright” kids, “slow” kids– all kids benefit from learning environments that are set up to put teaching, learning and children– above– power, control, politics and adults. We must get to a point in the education debate that the ONLY adjective that matters before “school” is Quality! We need an educational transformation.
28 Dr. Lisa // Jul 3, 2012 at 7:24 pm
The right educational leaders – ethical and skillful, who are active, seeking learners to advance change matter a lot. The wrong people are incredibly destructive and offer a bad example that get’s imitated ( therefore multiplied). Most importantly they discard and oppress talent…while creating a fearful, untrusting and dysfunctional culture. Among these…Control matters far more than progress. BC has had little progress – tons of control. I think the most vital task we can serve is the right people in the right work…. enthusiastically support them in practical ways. Then, hold them accountable. Real talent never avoids accountability – they welcome expectations with responsibility. This is true for education and its true for plenty of areas essential to community development.
29 Chuck Fellows // Jul 6, 2012 at 8:44 am
I urge all to view the YouTube videos presented by the AFT on their visit to Finland. Pay close attention to the distribution of work for the teachers day and the degree of collaboration and attention to each individual student. I’m not endorsing Finland, just suggesting food for thought.
How to evaluate? It starts at the bottom, not the top. several loose leaf sheets of paper, a pencil, eraser and a binder to put the sheets in.
Those charged with evaluating can have no more than 12 direct reports. Those evaluating must place the names of each employee they are responsible for on one of the sheets. Every day those evaluating must look at the sheet for each of their direct reports and enter what comes to mind (No more than fifteen minutes EACH day). Individual employees can review their sheets with notice and provide comments if they wish.
When it comes time to evaluate performance you get a real time look full of real observations. It also compels a dialogue between and among employees.
Want to evaluate an individuals or a schools performance? Review the contents of the binder, every binder at a school.
Minimum amount of training required but coaching, mentoring and collaboration are required on an ongoing basis (see Finland).
This is only a beginning of a system wide process of evaluating. It must start at the bottom.
Who wants to start?
30 Suzy // Jul 6, 2012 at 9:38 am
Oh, yeah! Another paycut this year, no step raise, and I get to pay 20% of my salary for health care, have a large deductible and increased office visit payments, have to pay 3% toward for retirement health care, and will have over 30 students in each of my classes. I’m so motivated to try harder and spend extra time after an exhausting day having discussions on making education better.
Come into my school and shadow me one day…a thank you from a parent is nice, but where’s the “thank you” money in my paycheck?
The governor has sent no new money to my district in the 12-13 budget, and $3.5 million must be cut. Each administrator evaluates 36 teachers. People are out of touch with reality and suggesting changes with no money to hire staff is fever dreaming.
This governor does not support education or he would support teachers and improvements with cash in hand.
31 Carol Kent // Jul 6, 2012 at 10:15 am
This essay should be required reading fro the Governor, Leg, School Bds, Superintendents, parents and anyone else that truly cares what happens to the billions we send to our school each year — with dismal results.
We need to think outside the box and uses new tools to help produce better results.
32 john telford // Jul 7, 2012 at 4:12 am
Tom, the Detroit school board just voted to make me the interim superintendent, which will happen when the board of canvassers stops stalling and follows the three judges’ order to put the challenge to Prop. 4 on the ballot. The Detroit school board has directed me to head up a committee to select candidates to be my successor. Would you care to throw your hat in the ring?
33 Bill Schroer // Jul 9, 2012 at 8:47 am
Battle Creek Education Research
“Public Education Must Open Up and Innovate”
Comment and Implications
Tom Watkins article serves as a clarion call for education reform that is clear, compelling and provides a rationale that resonates. In fact the number of articles and publications which serve as calls to education reform are growing with increasing volume and frequency.
Realizing change was unlikely to come from within outside “encouragement” to change in the form of legislation authorizing “schools of choice” and charter schools has not generated the kind of internal change or even reflection sponsors of the schools of choice/charter school legislation had hoped. And, while some oblique progress has occurred through at least the freeing of parents to vote with their feet when faced with an intransigent or unresponsive school district most schools seem not to have gotten (or ignored)the point.
Watkins goes on to suggest “We need to tear down the walls of educational conformity…” and suggests that we each take on the responsibility for initiating that change process.
For throughout Tom Watkins article, while the clarity of the need for change is apparent, the strategy for “how to” take on that personal responsibility to mount a genuine change effort is not. The Battle Creek Education Research project is such an effort. The background here is the community may believe educational outcomes here are better than what they actually are…and, if the community were made aware of the actual outcomes may be concerned enough to become involved in a reform effort. The concept suggests community leaders, legislators and citizens with a vested interest in an issue like public education will express their feelings when they have the information needed to act.
Many in leadership in this country have agreed schools need to change. What is not agreed is how to make that happen. We have the opportunity to demonstrate a strategy for change that if successful, is both exportable and does not require the destruction of the system…simply bringing to the table stakeholders driven by a common level of dissatisfaction with a service they pay for and for which they have a right to expect a set of satisfactory results.
34 Matt // Sep 9, 2012 at 9:18 am
Concepts to toss in the trash:
K thru 12th grades
School year (summer vacation!)
School districts
Equivalent high school degrees
Between the educational establishment , the teacher’s unions and the high school sports crowd – good luck! We’ll continue spending at the top of the international scale producing results at the bottom.
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