Monthly Archives: November 2012

Change and the Inconvenience of Listening

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I finally put an inscription in my copy of my own book. It’s a reminder to do my best to advance change. Its advice I have tried to follow ever since observing the state of my own community’s schools and coming to the realization that we have a systemic problem. So, since 1999, I’ve been scraping my way up the education food chain trying to improve the public education system. Progress? Not yet.

As happenstance would have it, in reference to the second Obama term, Secretary of Education Duncan has recently stated that “Our basic theory of action is not going to change.” Personally, I feel like I’ve been knocked down again! I believe the American people deserve at least a chance at changing the direction of “reform.” Where’s that conversation? Anyone listening? And what the hell did Secretary Duncan mean by “theory of action”?

I explained one theory of action in chapter 3 (page 24) of The Crucial Voice of the People. I used the National Science Resource Center Theory of Action model. It is based on knowledge of research-based practices. The action part is a theory but its basis is proven best practices. It is not action based on theory. It is action based on science – using knowledge to guide change.

“The truth is that promoting science isn’t just about providing resources—it’s about protecting free and open inquiry,” President-elect Obama said. “It’s about ensuring that facts and evidence are never twisted or obscured by politics or ideology. It’s about listening to what our scientists have to say, even when it’s inconvenient—especially when it’s inconvenient. Because the highest purpose of science is the search for knowledge, truth and a greater understanding of the world around us. That will be my goal as President of the United States—and I could not have a better team to guide me in this work.” December, 2008.

You got a couple of things right back then, Mr. President; it’s about listening. And, we need to search for a greater understanding.

Changing the theory of action upon which we base education reform would be inconvenient; but it’s the right thing to do if we wish to reach our goal.

How Devoted Are You?

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Wake up! We sent the same lawmakers back and expect different results. Well, maybe you are right. It can happen; it must happen. The question is: How do we expect it to happen?

Do we expect “the system” to fix itself? Hum. I personally have never seen it but it does happen in other places in the country and the world; so, yes, it could happen. But I don’t think it will unless we push the issues.

Have we had the conversations we need to have had to get the ball rolling? I haven’t heard them but I’m not in the “in” crowd. I can only hope that the influential have a clue and are listening.

Can we see we are at a crossroads and that it means making choices? I’m not sure that others do understand. And that really is a problem because it is the power of ordinary people coming together devoted to a cause that will bring about the systemic change we need.

You say you want solutions? But how devoted are you to looking for them?

 

Reform: Do Not Pass Go

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Missing something? Then, do not pass go. Instead, step back. Do an assessment of the state of education —a local, state, or nation level assessment.

Now ask yourself; to realistically evaluate and set the direction of reform, why are we looking to and at the same people with the same mindset that created the status quo? How will they create change? Will it be real education reform if it is based on the same principles that led to the same policy types and practices that have failed to show real and lasting progress on the “education reform” front?

It is insane to keep repeating the same mistakes. But it is part of our reality; face it. And face the fact that we must change the nation’s guiding principles of reform.

In Idaho, voters rejected education “reform” laws that lawmakers put in place…. But we sent the same lawmakers back for another round. Face the fact; we need new leaders.

Nationally, we saw congressional obstructionism lead to a downgrade of our national credit rating and overall the nation sent most of those same lawmakers back to face the same issues,… again.

People, there is only one way out — a plan that is Specific, Measurable, Achievable, Relevant, and Targeted — a SMART plan. And it is essential that it has NOT ONLY the consent of the people, but it MUST BE PUSHED by the people. DO NOT PASS GO; let’s push a plan that measures what matters most to us.

Our participation in governing is the only thing that can stop the insanity.

Get involved. Learn more about reform.

Reform: Where to Begin?

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It would seem obvious, you begin where you are. But to really know where you are with education reform, you do need some assessments—these assessments are not what you might think. To really assess where you are, you have to step back to get a wider view of what is happening and what has happened that contributed to producing what now exists as your reality.

Unfortunately, this first step appears to be where the first mistakes are made. We need to spend more time at this point because our assessment of our current state of affairs, the status quo, will play a huge role in determining the beliefs and assumptions that will guide our actions.

Whether you are looking at the local level with school improvement or at state and national levels with education reform law, you must have a very clear and accurate picture of the conditions that need changing and how they were created.

So my advice on where to begin is to assess not just the students’ scores on tests but to proceed with assessing where teachers, parents, and the business community believe we can improve. That input should then narrow the choices for further assessment tools that can be used. For every aspect of reform that you may be concerned about, there’s an assessment for that!

Then with our principles firmly cemented in our hearts and our assessments in hand, we are there – where we begin.

Reforms Should Honor Our Principles

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Here’s a little story about how reforms should honor our principles.

In a conversation with a young nurse the other day, she proceeded to tell me what she thought about public schools. She had been a school nurse while her children were in a regular public school and felt it gave her a different perspective. She then went on to volunteer the information that her children were now in the “charter system.” O.K., there’s a hook I couldn’t resist.

The conversation ran along these lines;

Me: “What did you see as the problem?”

Her: “There is so much waste.” (She didn’t elaborate and I didn’t press it.)

Me: “You see a big difference between the charter school and the regular public?”

Her: “Oh, yes. The kids are so much more respectful at the charter school. The behavior was terrible in the public school and the teachers had this idea that there was nothing they could do about it. And the parents were just as bad as their kids!”

…and the conversation drifted to sports and more bad behaviors. But her points were made; they have been made before.

People want public schools to be places of civility. Respect is a basic principle of real education reform. emmylou-harris-musician-quote-as-citizens-we-have-to-be-more

People want OUR government institutions to be as thrifty with our tax dollars as we working-class people must be with our own.

Reforms should honor our principles.

The policies and practices of education reform must be based on the fundamental truths and doctrines we believe in. So my advise is for us to consider that civility and thriftiness are good starting points for lawmakers as well as schools.