Posts from — January 2007

In a very early post to this blog I wrote about the hierarchic organizational model and how model is out of sync with the current environment the education system finds itself a part of.

One of the best arguments for reinventing public education is that it is still very much the same as it was when it was designed and it is out of touch with the current world – what to say of the world of tomorrow. The public school system was designed to produce factory workers (as stated previously).

In a recent interview with Edutopia Alvin Toffler explains his point of view about what might need to be done with the public school system. In the article he says, in answer to the question, How does that system fit into a world where assembly lines have gone away?

It doesn’t. The public school system is designed to produce a workforce for an economy that will not be there. And therefore, with all the best intentions in the world, we’re stealing the kids’ future.

In the article he poses several questions

Do I have all the answers for how to replace it? No. But it seems to me that before we can get serious about creating an appropriate education system for the world that’s coming and that these kids will have to operate within, we have to ask some really fundamental questions. And some of these questions are scary. For example: Should education be compulsory? And, if so, for who? Why does everybody have to start at age five? Maybe some kids should start at age eight and work fast. Or vice versa. Why is everything massified in the system, rather than individualized in the system? New technologies make possible customization in a way that the old system — everybody reading the same textbook at the same time — did not offer.

Some of the answers to these questions might lead us to a system that is customized for each individual and where there is No One Right Answer for public education. In the article he also espouses several ideas I’ve discussed and will discuss further in future posts – integrating ’school’ into life and the community.

To read the entire interview, click here…

This time it’s on the teacher side. So now we have School Districts paying teachers to improve the test scores of their students, School Districts paying students to come to school, and parents paying students to get better grades. Does anyone see a train wreck coming?

This will spiral to a system that is so distorted and has absolutely nothing to do with learning.

Mixed feelings over bonus pay
On Tuesday, the Houston Independent School District began giving out the first of its $14 million set-aside for performance pay to those teachers who raise student test scores. Some teachers are concerned that the pay will create rifts among those teachers who reap bonuses averaging $1,800 and those who get nothing. Houston Chronicle (1/24)

If it isn’t already obvious, a person that is motivated by extrinsic rewards must continue to get greater and greater rewards or they will become disappointed and lose interest.

Many years ago I attended a workshop on continual improvement in education. In that workshop, David Langford made a poignant point when he asked us to consider the trajectory the current educational model is on when it comes to making mistakes, getting the wrong answer, discipline, etc. He suggested the only likely end point is killing people (literally).

If we make a similar extrapolation about the prevailing education system and how many educators use competition and external rewards as motivators it would make sense that educators would at some point pay people to not only attend school but also pay them for doing well on tests.

Both of these things are happening now. Here’s the latest:

Ohio District Tests Performance Pay—for Students
Geralyn Raach, a teacher at Central Elementary School, has a favorite slogan for motivating her 3rd graders to put in their best effort, but it’s not what you would expect. Borrowing a line from the movie “Jerry Maguire,”the veteran teacher likes to call out, “Show me the money!”

And here is an older article on parents paying their children for grades:

Parents Offer Kids Pay for Good Grades
Sat Aug 12, 2006 10:13 AM EDT
Ben Feller, AP Education Writer

WASHINGTON — Sure, learning is its own reward. But some kids respond best to cash. Andrew Waller’s grades soared when his parents started offering $5 for A’s and $4 for B’s. Now he pockets about $25 each report card, saving it for video games and summer camp.

As I read through this post I realized that there are some people that might feel this is a good idea – motivating young people to ’stay in school’ or ‘do good in school.’ Isn’t it obvious that schools in themselves are creating the need for this kind of behavior (on the part of the school districts, on the part of the parents, and on the part of the young people)?

If schools were designed as places of learning, where there was discovery and intrigue and mystery and curiosity – and god forbid, fun – young people would be naturally motivated not only to go there but on their own accord to continue to want more!

This could be a very significant change in the way books are written – if it works. To date, almost all books have been written by one person or several people collaborating on an effort. A few books have been written as compilations of individual author’s essays.

MIT and Wharton are experimenting with having up to a million people write a book on how community process influences and changes business. What’s amazing about this so far is that people participating are not only writing the book but they are changing the software being used to write the book.

This process could significantly change many creative endeavors.

If you would like to contribute to this book go to We are Smarter than Me.