I was recently asked to join a panel of local professionals and offer my ideas and opinions on the education reform movement in US public schools. Sir Ken Robinson, who I discovered through his groundbreaking TED Talk from 2006, and his new book, Creative Schools: The Grassroots Revolution That’s Transforming Education will be the bedrock for the panel’s discussion. I am honored to have been asked to join the dialogue and I am excited to share my thoughts with readers.
First, some context- It’s been almost two years since I had the chance to pollinate public discourse related to educational reform in our nation’s schools. Remember that guy at the mike in the suit and tie? I’m not sure I ever thought I’d be weighing in on this stuff publicly ever again. After six long years of parents and politics, my last start-up project had left me bloody and broken. In order to heal, I had to consciously check out of the public ed world and think about some other stuff for a while. After founding and leading one of Southwestern Colorado’s most successful public, charter high schools and then helping pour the foundation for a new, progressive elementary school in Durango, it was time to step back and let others fight the good fight for a bit.
Taking a break proved very healthy and has allowed me to refine and recharge my own ideas on reform. Moving forward, unaffiliated and unafraid, I’ve embraced a renewed fidelity to speaking the truth regarding my own experiences and concerning the scary realities confronting public school teachers, students and their families in 2016.
I want to thank and appreciate Yvonna Graham, for the opportunity to share my thoughts on the questions below. In orchestrating this event, Graham has pulled together a diverse and dynamic group of panelists that are sure to push on the public’s consciousness of critical issues.
Having been provided an outlet to share my aggressive and sometimes controversial strategies for public ed reform feels good. To be frank, this exercise was downright therapeutic for me. And who knows, I may just say something that makes sense to people. Enjoy and please share your thoughts!
Questions for the Panel
by Yvonna Graham
Questions generated from Creative Schools,
by Ken Robinson
Question 1- Robinson argues that public education in the US and England is based on a need to train workers during the industrial revolution and that the entire approach needs to change from standardization to individualization. He says we don’t need to reform the system but rather transform it. Comment on what a move from standardization to individualization would mean for schools. (page xxvi)
I totally agree with Ken Robinson. The public education system in the US is broken, antiquated and continues to fail the majority of America’s students.
Moving from standardization to individualization is not something to fear. It’s not a progressive jump into the future. It’s actually a return to embracing the pedagogical strategies first espoused by Socrates and at one time employed in one room school houses found all over our country. Once upon a time, teachers were expected to teach a small group of multi-aged, multi-ability learners in the same environment. Embracing differentiation in the classroom, encouraging student self-direction and employing individualized instructional approaches were the hallmarks of this era. We need to go back to the future on this one and recommit to the truth that all students learn differently. We need to tailor instruction to our students’ individual learning styles and adjust for diverse rates of maturation and intellectual development.
Question 2- Robinson thinks that most public schools implicitly communicate that testable skills, such as reading comprehension and math, have value, whereas hands-on skills such as art, journalism, public speaking, photography, camping, or metal work are for second rate students who can’t handle the academics. Do you agree that there’s an academic vs vocational “caste system” in schools? If so, is it necessary, in light of the push to do college prep? (pp. 17-19)
I love this question because art, journalism, public speaking, photography, and camping are all key parts of my professional experience! So of course I believe there is a divide between the academic and vocational classes in this country. Unfortunately, a Bachelors Degree is the new High School Diploma- it is now the bare minimum required to play in the professional “real world.”
This push to make our students "college ready" has come at the expense of the arts- vocational and otherwise. This pendulum has swung too far and programs that once offered hands on skills and deep, experiential dives into valuable and necessary content have been clobbered by the college prep back swing.
And the result?
Many students are lost, lacking passion for anything and going through well-rehearsed motions in a script we’ve already written for them! It’s time for parents and policy makers to wake up. We’ve got a multitude of learners disenfranchised by the worthlessness of their undergraduate diplomas. These students are saddled with obscene amounts of student debt for degrees both finished and unfinished. Many have no clue how they got here- for they were just following the prescribed path we laid out for them.
In the end, most students will re-calibrate their paths to adjust to our modern day reality. They have not found the world they were told and trained to prepare for. They are probably bitter and off put by the bill of goods we collectively sold them.
I’m always ashamed when an alumnus shares, “I wish I became a ….________________(fill in the blank).” It’s like I failed that student and I question why I didn’t champion a more personalized path for them. Was ACT prep really that important to this student’s path? Did the norms of a college going culture I fostered, scare or push this student away from their true calling? Why didn’t I honor their path?
Our students should be encouraged to do what they love and seek to love what they do!
I wish I’d had more woodworking and less Latin. I wish I played and sang and created more and memorized, drafted and diagrammed less.
Why then did I support a push to dissuade students from their true path? Is there really a way to develop competence while honoring voice and choice? Sure there is.
I have seen great promise in Project Based Learning environments where talented teachers blur the lines between academic and vocational skill sets. It’s magic to see a student learn history through play writing and gain competence in physics via welding and metal work. However, our community and communities around the US have lost many valuable programs due to a college ready panic that only continues to increase the divide between classes and castes.
Question 3- Robinson says our school schedules are like conveyor belts. “Think about applying the approach to the business world. If every 40 or so minutes the whole workforce had to stop what it was doing, move to different rooms, do something else entirely, and rinse and repeat six times a day, the business would rapidly grind to a halt and it would probably be bankrupt within a few months.” (p. 90-91) Do you agree that the scheduled structure of the school day negatively impacts ability to learn? Would you like to change this aspect of public schools? If so, how?
I have crazy ADHD. I choose to treat my ADHD non-medicinally. For many years, I’ve subscribed to Dr. Ned Hallowells' template for managing the ever creative, impulsive, dynamic world that exists in my mind. And I’m always moving… so Hallowells' prescription of Structure, Motivation and Discipline has always been my medicine of choice.
How it works for me…
I must have structure to stay focused on a given task. I need discipline to stay committed to that structure. I must be motivated to stay disciplined and continue operating within the structure I’ve created for myself. But what’s terrific is this cycle generates a positive feed back loop!
If I give myself structure, I experience success. If I stay disciplined, I experience more success. Success motivates me to achieve more success. Therefore, I rely on this cycle again and again in all areas and aspects of my life. So yes, I see structure as a very positive boundary and strong motivator for many students.
BUT the reality is we are not very smart with our use of structure.
We fail to educate our students at the right times of day and for the appropriate amounts of time per day. For example, why do we wake our high school students up during their most critical hours of sleep and expect them to come to school and perform for us on a 8am math test? And tell me again why our students are sitting in 90 minute classes? Remember, these are children who have grown up with the internet, smart devices, sound bytes, social media, digital marketing, etc….As an educator, you’re competing against an incredible amount of stimuli and background noise. You’ve got limited bandwidth to turn students on before they tune you out!
Our timing is off and that’s throwing off the value and efficacy of the current structure. Having structured chunks of time in the school day for instruction, blended with periods of exercise, guided inquiry, creative thought, culture building, personal action and reflection plus a little unstructured free/down time is what I’ve seen work best for my students.
Question 4- Dr. Peter Gray, author of Free to Learn, laments the lack of time for free play in our schools, especially elementary. He states that lack of free play “kills the spirit and stunts mental growth.” Many child development scholars have noted that free play is essential to learning and flourishing for children (p. 94-96) Should free play be a greater part of elementary school, or should the children just play at home?
Yes, unquestionably free play is needed more. The Juniper School has got this one right. I defer the remainder of my time here to some much more eloquent and articulate propaganda on the Power of Play at The Juniper School!
Question 5- Teacher morale is low in many schools and loss of teachers from the field is high. Discuss reasons and possible cures for this. (p. 97-109)
Another fantastic prompt and an area of ed reform that resonates deeply within me!
As a teacher, I always believed I could close the classroom door and all would be right in my world. Behind the door it was just my students, our shared journey and me. But the policies and perspectives outside the classroom can and does wear our teachers down. I blame parents and politicians for disrupting the fine art of education. I’m rankled by the voices that are telling the artists how they should develop their masterpieces. We need more partners, not more critics.
Why is education the one sector most laypeople feel they can do a better job at than the professionals?
I find this thinking skewed.
I continue to encounter folks who believe they know best. Their logic being, because they went to school themselves, that they know what good schooling should look like. Or because they run a solid widget business in the “real world”, that they have better ways of increasing efficiency, execution and outcomes. They believe a wholesale import of their tactics and techniques will translate well into the world of education.
However, the truth is that this type of thinking does not work. It’s often apples to oranges and it’s these attitudes and assertions that contribute to poor morale.
You see, I’ve flown a lot in this lifetime but you don’t see me telling the pilot how to land my next flight, right? I’ve been sick in the hospital before but I’d never have the gall to tell the doctor how to treat me on my next visit.
Why then is it acceptable for everyone to have a whack at ed reform? Do you really have the requisite experience and skill set to right this ship? Do you remember that old saying about opinions?
Disempowering and disrespecting the efforts being made by competent professionals contributes to poor morale. Think about that before the next student/teacher conference, PTO meeting or NCLB/Common Core debate you want to pipe in on!
Teachers live and breathe their craft. As an administrator of many years, I was constantly protecting my teachers from anything I felt would take the wind out of their sails. I let the artists work. That’s not to say they weren’t held accountable. To the contrary! We continually shared constructive feedback and pushed each other to be the best possible educators we could be. My teachers were held to incredibly high standards and this approach naturally benefited our students and our school. You don’t need to impress upon a teacher the importance of their work. They realize the high stakes in play when working in the field of human development.
Empower our Educators! This approach will work anywhere but you’ve got to have leaders willing to fight for their team. Running block will take its toll on anyone. Remember, the job of any Jedi leader is to serve their teachers and their students. Administrators, principals, superintendents, and boards of directors only exist because there is a community of learners to serve. There is a staff to honor and support. The staff only exists because there are children to honor and educate. Leaders exist to serve-it should never be the other way around!
In my experience, a school leader’s job is to deflect negativity and tell people “No” at a rate they can digest. You end up doing the job long enough and eventually the collective heartburn from naysayers will gurgle up and upset you. This is how school leaders “burn out” and suffer from low morale.
And this the unfortunate reality educators face. So often we forget we’re all on the same team when it comes to a child’s future.
Question 6- Robinson suggests that if teachers were allowed to do away with grades and focus on interesting ways to teach it would relieve both teacher and student stress and allow for deeper, happier learning. Please comment on the use of grades as an educational tool. (p.170-172)
It is clear that we’ve let school get in the way of our children’s education. We’ve also scared generations of inspirational educators into submission or sent them kicking and screaming from the profession.
There exists a set of competencies and shard ethics that foster happiness, security and success in the modern world. But I’ve always discovered and practiced those elements outside the four walls of the classroom. I’ve come to understand and embrace these important concepts through natural consequences, survival, challenge, choice, adversity, failure and experience.
Experience is our greatest teacher.
Experience cultivates growth, wisdom and understanding.
Life is performance based and life’s lessons are never graded.
I don’t see many headstones etched with GPAs.
Question 7- Do you think alternatives to standard public education, such as charter schools, private schools, and home schooling improve education by providing diversity, or weaken it by removing the most involved parents from the public schools? (pp. 29 -31)
Wow- there’s a lot to consider here but some quick, albeit biased thoughts. I’ll focus on brevity and clarity here because I could tackle this answer for hours…
Alternatives to public education, whether charter, magnet, private, parochial, home school, etc. work for some students. But these programs will never work for all students.
Some additional context- The first time I ever stepped into a public school was when I taught in one. After attending thirteen years of private, parochial college prep and boarding schools, I feel confident in my assessment of these elite islands of education.
My athletic ability made up for my ADHD and academic underachievement. And my ability to procure sports scholarships also made a private education attainable and affordable for my family. But to be clear, my experience was atypical.
I could have only gotten away with being such an abysmal student in a private school setting. After all, it’s really difficulty to suspend the captain of the soccer team for his behavioral shenanigans and sub-par academic performance when the big game against the school’s long time rival is on the horizon. I got a pass as educators looked the other way and failed to hold me accountable. I was not served well by this approach. But we one the league trophy over Phillips Exeter and that’s what counts, right?
Private Schools
Private school is a privilege that only a select few will enjoy. It is a way for the haves to ensure their offspring will not become have-nots. It also remains a way for poor athletes and disadvantaged scholars to find a route to college. I am a product of this path so I recognize the privilege and opportunity private schooling afforded me. But again, this option is not the norm.
Charter Schools
Charter Schools are an interesting experiment. I originally believed in charter’s promise as laboratories of innovation; places where progressive instructional and culture building strategies could be refined for ultimate implementation into the greater educational system. A rising tide lifts all boats, right?
Alas, many charters have been co-opted by special interests. Many have lost the purity of vision they were designed to manifest. Some charter schools are now funded by elite groups of well-connected parents. Some charters are run by nationally established, for profit corporations. Charter schools that lose sight of their responsibility to the public have become de-facto islands of segregation. In Colorado, charter schools have become pseudo-private schools built with the public’s dime!
In many inner cities in the US, students and families who are denied admission to charter schools feel left behind- a la Waiting for Superman. In rural suburbs like Durango, I’ve watched charters become life rafts for the elite.
(A quick comment for clarity- I don’t mean to dismiss or discount the large number of “regular” kids and families that are served by our local charters each day. I’m very proud of these students and the teachers at our local charter schools. But I wasn't asked to regurgitate a party line. I aspire to share my experience with the truth. And the truth about the charter school movement is ugly. There’s also a big difference in how charters are facilitated based on what state and region of the country you live in- so my comments represent a broad brush stroke that may paint outside the lines a bit.)
Locally, I’m disgusted by the parent who whispers in my ear, “if Jonny wasn’t attending the charter school, we’d pay for him to attend private school.” I’m disappointed by families who use enrollment at our charter schools as a pseudo private school experience, preferring to keep their offspring away from “those public school kids” I’m also embarrassed that I personally took large amounts of money and accepted the expectations from many special interests when I was a charter school leader. It’s troubling to look back now and see how private a public school I actually could run.
Intense competition between privately run charter schools and their local districts of residence does not raise all boats. Charters sink a lot of ships and indirectly eliminate many safe harbors for students and their families.
Yet, I remain a fan of district authorized charter schools. This is where I still believe the laboratory concept is harder (but not impossible) to corrupt. I’m also hopeful public colleges will start opening charter schools on higher ed campuses. The resources and environment that would be available to our public charter students would be incredible. These higher ed sponsored and hosted schools would also serve as laboratories for the development of best practices by college education majors and provide both developing and veteran educators a place for training, experience, observation and research.
Formerly, I believed that utilizing the entrepreneurial and enterprising vision and nimbleness of the private sector in reforming our educational system was a solid strategy for dismantling business as usual in our public schools. But my personal experience in the world of charter schools does not reflect success implementing this premise.
Funding the privatization of education with the public’s dime is anathema to the dream of a free, appropriate and equitable education for all. I understand the charter model is working here in Durango but let’s not pretend the tide is raising all boats. When I peek behind that curtain, I don’t see a full cast of characters. I see hand selected actors who were already going to be the stars of their own performances. I also see the local school district eliminating programs to keep up with the latest charter school offerings. As a result, I see many students and teachers being left behind.
Other Alternative Programs (Alternative meaning different than mainstream ed options- not just pull out programs for “bad kids”)
As long as these programs are developed within the public school system and are open to all (appropriate & eligible) students, I believe alternative programs have a place in the reform and refinement of the public school system in the US.
Parochial/Homeschool/Online Programs
Well, we all make choices. I’m glad freedom loving people have the right to choose their own path.
But I question the quality of these academic experiences. Leaving your child in an echo chamber limits their worldview and inhibits a student’s ability to develop their own, unique path. Likewise, these insular programs rarely offer the culture, community, diversity, perspectives and resources afforded through a public school education. Parents, please choose wisely here.
Question 8- Many of us, myself included, would love to support our schools, teachers, students, and principals in ways that would improve education for all students, but we don’t know any practical way to make a difference. What suggestions do you have for concerned citizens? (pp.214 - 222)
Stop supporting the status quo! Public ed is broke and the heroes working to change the current system have an almost insurmountable task in front of them. We need to think differently. We need to vote differently. We need to fund schools differently. Colorado is well positioned to host these efforts and lead the ultimate disassembly and rebuild of our nation’s public schools.
We need to support and honor effective, longtime educators while ensuring a new breed of inspired teachers and leaders are ready to forge a better future for our children. Support educators who believe they can do things differently! Push for this change in our community!
We also need to collectively honor the role educators play in our lives and treat those who are called to the profession with reverence and respect. And yes, that probably means increasing salaries and providing incentives for those who are getting results.
Always remember to thank public educators for their service- just like you would a veteran, a firefighter, a politician, etc…Just don’t do this when they’re in a rush to bring dinner home to their family and you run into your child’s teacher in City Market!
Question 9- Who should control curriculum, assessment, and scheduling in public schools — federal government, state government, district school boards, or the principal of each school? (pp.58 - 62)
I firmly believe that teachers and building leaders should develop curriculum at their own schools. Curriculum should embody 21st century skills and foster a culture of personal empowerment and individual excellence. A well-developed curriculum will naturally account for state standards in most places outside of Texas.
Let’s allow educational professionals the freedom to design curriculum backwards, by design! I’m confident their efforts will hit the mark. If our local educational professionals deem federal and state standards and mandates erroneous and out-of-touch, those benchmarks should be jettisoned and replaced by curricula and standards that matter!
Assessment (also developed by building staff) should be used to promote growth and to refine instruction to better facilitate student learning in the future. A school’s schedule should respect age appropriate circadian rhythms, support curriculum and assessment needs and afford a balance for both structured and non-structured learning opportunities.
Question 10- Robinson comes down hard on standardized testing. He points out that increased standardized testing has not improved literacy or numeracy even though that’s what is being tested and instruction is now keyed to the tests. Do you agree with Robinson? Please describe your vision for what assessment should look like. (pp. 167-181)
Forget the tests. Let’s start facilitating authentic conversations about student growth and development.
We need to ask…Are students able to think, create, perform, adapt, design, plan and pursue their dreams? Are alumni afforded an array of opportunity upon graduation? Are our graduates competent and capable of navigating the modern world? Are we setting our students up for success or are they destined for failure? Are we developing happy, ethical and responsible citizens ensuring the success and sustainability of this great country? Are we helping individuals discover their own, unique path?
These are the key questions we should be asking of public education. These are the essential queries needed to authentically assess our students prospects and potential. The benchmarks of the past will not give us a clear view of the future. Undoubtedly, we must adopt new ways of assessing our students that do not include annual, standardized snapshots. Rather, we need to view assessment as an ongoing, holistic inventory of where our students are now, where they’ve been and where they are going!
Must Watch Video
Sir Ken Robinson - Changing Education Paradigms
