Posts from — February 2007

For the past decade, Education Week has published a report called Quality Counts. The past reports have tracked state policies for improving K-12 education. This year’s report is called Quality Counts 2007, From Cradle to Career and focuses on a number of different factors that states are trying in order to create a seamless education system. In this report there are ratings for every state on the chances a young person will have being successful if they go to school in that state.

I appreciate the intense effort and thinking that has gone into this report – and I feel the findings expressed in this report should generate some very valuable conversations in communities and states around the US.

My concern about a report like this – and the discussions that might follow – is that many people may decide that what is needed in order to improve education is to do what we are doing now – accept more, harder, faster or longer. My opinion about doing more of what we are doing now in the public education system is that results will only get worse.

Here’s an example of a school system thinking that doing the same thing they are doing now, just more of it, will keep young people from quiting school. I think they will find, if they do this, they will only cause more young people to quit.

Durham: Keep kids in school to 18
With more teens quitting school, a debate reignites over whether North Carolina should boost its mandatory attendance age.

Here’s a completely different example of a state thinking about limiting the options young people have to force them to stay in school.

Lawmakers could limit jobs for high schoolers
Data suggests that 150,000 students drop out of California’s schools every year. To curb that trend, state lawmakers are looking into legislative options on such things as limiting the number of jobs for high schoolers or adding after-school tutoring. Hearings on those proposals and others will continue through March 14. The Sacramento Bee (Calif.) (free registration) (2/20)

So here’s more along the same lines. President Bush (or someone on his staff) wants to create more money for teacher incentives (merit pay) for teachers that improve student achievement. How come student achievement is measured by scores on standardized tests and not on whether a young person can survive and thrive in the world?

Bush wants more money for merit pay
The Bush administration wants $199 million to put in its year-old Teacher Incentive Fund, a system that would extend merit pay to teachers who improve student achievement in low-income schools. Last year, the government awarded 16 grants totaling $40 million. The Washington Times (2/11)

In the few posts I’ve made about the difference between intrinsic and extrinsic motivation I completely forgot that the public education system is a mandatory and forced education system. Back in the late 1800’s young people were forced to go to public school by gun point. So today, since we can’t force people to go to school by gun point we have to find other ways to do it.

So here’s a school district that wants to charge parents money every day their child misses school.

Scotts Valley parents asked to pay $36.13 if their kid skips school
By Matt King MediaNews
SCOTTS VALLEY – Parents whose kids take a day off from school will be asked to open their wallets. That will be $36.13, please.

Does the US have a process or a method to redesign the US Education System? I was remembering that the old Goals 2000 program in which there was a new corporation set up to manage the Research and Development process for ‘new schools.’ There was a lot of fanfare and proposals were submitted for funding (heck, my colleagues and I even submitted a proposal). These proposals were for funding ‘experiments’ that could then be tested – and possibly scaled up – to help the rest of the system.

That seemed like a good idea at the time. That was 1992.

I just looked to see if that corporation was around. The New American Schools Development Corporation has merged with the American Institutes for Research (which means it is no longer around). I couldn’t find any thing about them. Maybe it’s there I just didn’t see it.

So what is the US doing to insure that young people are prepared and can thrive in the 21st Century? No Child Left Behind! Get young people to pass high stakes tests every few years and other kinds of tests every year and walla! Presto, Chango! Magic happens and a new system emerges!

I get more concerned every day about the state of the education system in the US. Here is a few comments that give me hope – but I can say, even though people might know what to do, actually doing it is a lot harder (especially within the system as it currently exists).

We have to not think of education as the sole province of schools, but, rather, begin to create what we at the institute call smart education systems. And I want to make it clear I didn’t say smart school systems. We need to develop a range of cognitive abilities, social skills, and communication skills. There’s considerable work that students have to do inside the schools, but they also have to have support in applying that knowledge to real-world problems.

Which means they have to do a considerable amount of engaged learning in their family and community settings. We have to think about how to build a smart education system that integrates the assets of municipal agencies such as housing departments, parks and recreation departments, or cultural-affairs departments so that, particularly in disadvantaged communities, students and their families begin to get the supports they need to hone higher-level skills.

You can read the whole article here if you have interest: Apostle of Change

Here’s an interesting talk by John Seely Brown – about the impact the internet could have on learning.

Relearning Learning-Applying the Long Tail to Learning
The challenge of 21st century education will be leveraging the abundant resources of the web – this very long tail of interests – into a “circle of knowledge-building and sharing.” Perhaps, Brown proposes, the formal curriculum of schools will encompass both a minimal core “that gets at the essence of critical thinking,” paired with “passion-based learning,” where kids connect to niche communities on the web, deeply exploring certain subjects. Brown envisions education becoming “an act of re-creation and productive inquiry,” that will form the basis for a new culture of learning.

So here’s another example of theory in use in public education. On the one hand, we’re creating high stakes testing for young people at an early age and continuing that through their lives – punishing young people with greater and greater punishments. On the other hand there are school districts and schools that are resorting to creating incentives and paying young people to attend or to get good grades – with greater and greater extrinsic motivators. And now, a bill has been introduced in the Texas legislature that would fine parents $500 if they miss meetings with their children’s teacher.

Bill proposes fining parents who miss teacher meetings
A bill introduced in the Texas Legislature would impose a $500 fine on parents who miss conferences with their child’s teachers. The representative who filed the bill said it was designed to encourage parents to be more involved with their child’s education. CNN/Associated Press (2/1)

I’ve written in a previous post about how the education system is based on a model of compliance. One of the results of a compliance type environment is these acts of desperation – to force compliance where voluntary compliance isn’t taking place.

Instead we should be spending our resources creating a system that instills intrinsic motivation and enthusiasm for learning with voluntary participation from everyone involved – young people and parents and teachers and community members.

Here’s another example of the desperate attempts to get young people to come to school or keep them from skipping school:

Truancy attacked with iPods, food
Schools throughout the nation are enticing students with everything from breakfast to iPods to keep them in school. Attacks on truancy help boost academic performance, administrators say.