What's Become Clear

During a conversation about school change an individual made the comment that we’d be fine if, “The kids would just bear down and be responsible like they used to be!” Interesting thought. This individual went on to say that students from foreign countries, especially emerging countries, come to America and kick our kids butts in school.

As you might guess, I have a different point of view on this. I think that if our kids got their drinking water from a hole next to their house they would be equally motivated to do what ever it takes to change their station in life. Fortunately this isn’t the case.

In an affluent society such as ours we are never going to return to the student behaviors of the past. It’s incumbent upon us as educators to create a system that meets the needs of society in such a way that it also engages our students as they’ve never been engaged before.

The other day while speaking at the University of Kansas to a group of teachers in the process of obtaining their certification to become building level administrators, I was asked if there has ever been a time in our history that our students were authentically engaged on a regular basis. The answer obviously, is no. But it didn’t matter. Our students were being prepared for a completely different society than we have today.

In fact, that’s part of our problem. We are still preparing students for a world of factories and mass production. A world where the most important skill was compliance. If you want to succeed in today’s schools, be very compliant, and act like you care. Guaranteed success.

Unfortunately, graduating from that system doesn’t guarantee success in life. In fact being compliant is the path to a job that has, low pay, high potential for being outsourced, or automated using technology.

The school change we need to make needs to be a thoughtful transformation to schools that prepare kids for their future in the 21st century. For us to attempt to make our kids adapt to our schools is utter nonsense! – Steve Wyckoff

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I just finished Richard Florida’s book Flight Of The Created Class. It’s a compelling book, along with his other book Rise Of The Creative Class, they are a must read for educators. Compelling evidence of the need for school change.

But I was disturbed …  okay I know, that’s nothing new …  that it entirely ignored the role of public education. It completely focused on the need to attract immigrants of all types, but especially immigrants in the creative class. It mentioned education in passing but it’s almost as if Dr. Florida has written off public education. In fact, rarely do I read a book today about society in the 21st century that there isn’t a discussion about overcoming the effects of education received in America.

From Dr. Florida’s viewpoint why would anyone assume that public education could produce students equipped for the creative class. Our entire focus is on raising standardized test scores, and our strategies almost completely ignore any practice that would foster and nurture creativity and innovation.

If public school educators don’t get their heads out we will become completely irrelevant in terms of preparing our students for their life in the 21st century.

And, in a state like Kansas, if we don’t figure out how to dramatically increase the percentage of our residents who are members of the creative class we, as a state, we will be relegated to second-class status. School change wouldn’t be just nice, it’s an imperative. –  Steve Wyckoff

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Perhaps it’s a change in leadership or the level of dissatisfaction with public education within the ranks or educators and policy makers may indeed be reaching the tipping point of school change. Our commissioner of education, Dr. Diane DeBacker, is either demonstrating a level of leadership not seen for over two decades, or all of the stars are beginning to line up.

I personally believe she is the right person, at the right time in history. But regardless over the last two months there have been three events that have caught my attention. The first occurred in April when the KSBE voting unanimously to not pursue the next round of Race To The Top, or as I like to call it the march to mediocrity, funds.

The second occurred at the May KSBE meeting where the state Board of Education voted unanimously to create an educational commission to:

On May 13, 2010, the Kansas State Board of Education authorized the formation of the Kansas Education Commission to examine the framework for reauthorization of the Elementary and Secondary Education Act (ESEA). Reauthorization of ESEA, as outlined in the Blueprint for Reform released in March 2010, will set the direction for education in the United States for years to come. The Kansas Education Commission is the state’s strategic approach to reauthorization and educational change.

The third event occurred  in early June when the governor of Kansas signed an executive order creating a panel called The Kansas Commission On Graduation And Droppedout Prevention And Recovery. Interestingly, the governor took this action without knowledge of the Kansas State Board of Education.

So if you’re connecting the dots it appears that policymakers and political leaders may be serious about school change. In the spirit of open disclosure I have been appointed to KSBEs Education Commission. I am truly excited about the opportunity. I will be very disappointed if this is an exercise, as the politicians say, in putting lipstick on a pig. –  Steve Wyckoff

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As I think about school change I’m always searching the current literature on the 21st century for theories of how the world works. I recently read the book, The Power of Pull by John Hagel, John Seely Brown, and Lang Davison. Fascinating stuff. They do a great job of describing the world that is emerging and comparing it to the world we are leaving.

The world we are leaving is a push platform. According to the authors,

“’Push’ describes a method and means of organizing activities and actions. Push operates on a key assumption, that it is possible to forecast or anticipate demand. Based on this assumption which works mightily to ensure that the right people and resources are delivered to the right place at the right time to serve the anticipated demand.”

“Push approaches are typified by what we might call “programs” or “routines,” tightly scripted the specifications of activities designed to be invoked by known parties in predetermined contexts.”

If that doesn’t describe education today, I don’t know what does! Here’s more from the book…  “summarizing the philosophy of push, we might tally the following instincts, assumptions, and beliefs:”

• There’s not enough go around
• Elites do the deciding
• Organizations must be hierarchical
• People must be molded
• Bigger is better
• Demand can be forecast
• Resources can be allocated centrally
• Demand can be met

So what is pull?  “Pull is the ability to draw out people and resources needed to address opportunities and challenges. Pull gives us unprecedented access to what we need, when we need it, even if we’re not quite sure what “it” is. Pull allows us to harness and unleash the forces of attraction, influence, and serendipity.”

Pull has three levels. The first level is access, which has been growing over the last three decades. The advancements in technology have given us, all of us including students, unprecedented access. The second level of pull is attract. We now have the ability to attract people of like interests and passions. We can connect with people all over the world based on the things we are most passionate about and interested in knowing and doing. The third level of pull is achieve. We aren’t there yet but the first two waves are already sweeping over us.

I’ve written many times about the accomplishments of Erie high school. Their project-based learning is an example of a pull platform. Their students use access differently, more efficiently, and more effectively than any other school in the state. They design their own projects, and create their own knowledge.

They are beginning to attract like-minded adults to the projects that they develop. It is only a matter of time until they start attracting students from around the world to their projects based on interest and passion. They currently identify, contact, and engage their own mentors based on a common passion that they possess with their mentors.

And even early on they are starting to achieve things in their school that are unheard of in high schools. The cloning of cattle, the conversion of vehicles to run on hydrogen, the making of precision musical instruments, are only a few examples. And you can be sure in the coming years there will be many many many more examples.

I hope that Erie high school is just the beginning of the transformation of schools from push platforms to pull platforms. That will be real school change. – Steve Wyckoff

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Maybe school change can happen. In May the Kansas State Board of Education authorized the formation of the Kansas Education Commission to examine the framework for reauthorization of the Elementary and Secondary Education Act (ESEA). I have the honor, at least I think it’s an honor, of having been selected to serve on the commission.

Since my invitation I have given a lot of thought to my personal approach to the commission and I’m ready to put some of it in writing to see how it looks and sounds. I’m trying to clarify in my own mind what I think the state of Kansas should be thinking about in the redesign of schools. So here we go…

1. I believe that schools need to move from a push platform to a pull platform. If you haven’t read The Power of Pull by John Hagel, John Seely Brown, and Lang Davison it’s a must-read. They do a remarkable job of describing how the world is changing. How we are moving away from centrally controlled and organized systems to empowered individuals, connected to others with similar interests and desires, creating our own knowledge and achievement as we go.

2. The core curriculum, that curriculum mandated by the Kansas Board of Regents, has always been the “main dish” of education. It’s time that the core curriculum be relegated to a side dish. The main dish of the system needs to be the inspiration of every student to discover what it is that they are so passionate about that they begin the journey to becoming remarkable at it.

3. We also must recognize that our system was designed to prepare large numbers of students in basically the same way, for the same work experience in their lives. Today instead of large numbers of students being prepared for a few work experiences, we must prepare small groups of students for vast numbers of work experiences. The “mass production” of students in a “factory model” school is simply intolerable in the 21st century.

4. I believe with all my heart that if a state like Kansas creates a 21st-century school system, even begins intentionally moving towards a 21st-century school system, individuals and businesses from around the world will flock to Kansas to join the movement.

5. As a state we need to minimize as much as possible the impact of the federal government on our system. The perverse focus on standardized tests and national standards is crippling us, and our students. We need to do the minimum to comply, and hope to do as little damage to our students as possible.

So do I think the Kansas education commission will lead to real school change? I think it has a chance, but I remain skeptical. I’m not sure this situation is desperate enough… yet! I remain hopeful. – Steve Wyckoff

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Recently, I was at a social gathering and three sets of parents were engaged in a conversation about their kids attending community colleges. One of the students after graduating from community college was attending a technical college for training in a healthcare field.

This isn’t my first conversation with either parents or students about community colleges. I’ve become aware that there are really two sides to community colleges. One side is made up of very traditional, liberal arts, gen ed courses. Students typically pursue this educational opportunity for one of two reasons, to get the first two years of a four-year degree, or because they’ve been told you have to go to college to get a good job.

The other side of the community college is dedicated to job training with a core of gen ed courses. Students pursue this educational opportunity for specific job training.

There are two reasons for attending postsecondary institutions in the minds of Americans. One is to become a well-rounded citizen, and the others to get a better job.

When I think of the experiences that our students get when they attended a community college I would grade in this way:

If the student is pursuing a liberal arts education in order to be that “well-rounded citizen” I would give the community colleges a letter grade of “D.” It is my opinion that, for the most part, students in the traditional liberal arts classes approach them exactly like they did the core curriculum in K-12. They attend (usually), participate minimally, and do enough to get their desired grade, and move on. In addition they have done little, if anything, to enhance their career opportunities.

If on the other hand, the student is pursuing a specific career training program, I would give the community colleges a letter grade of at least a “B” if not an “A.” While the student may not have covered the material to become that mythical “well-rounded individual”, they have dramatically enhanced their career opportunities.

So if you are contemplating if your child to a community college, I would suggest that you strongly consider a specific training program. Your child will still meet the criteria for admission into a four-year university if they choose, and at the same time will have many more opportunities for jobs. By pursuing this option a student could avoid attending a community college and then finding it necessary to attend a technical college to receive training to actually get a job. – Steve Wyckoff

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Real school change will only happen when the “main dish” of education is a student centered, learning by doing experience. When our 115-year-old core curriculum is relegated to a  “side dish.” There is such a school, Erie High School in Erie Kansas. At Erie high school students have the option to be in a project based curriculum. I have said it before and I’ll say it again, I believe that students at Erie high school who are in the project-based learning curriculum, are the best prepared students in the state of Kansas to face their lives in the 21st century.

Yesterday I had the pleasure of visiting with school leaders in the Erie school district. We had a very engaging and ebergetic discussion about many aspects, and affects, of project-based learning. About their journey to create a school that strives to help every student become remarkable. And not on standardized tests.

But as good as the conversation was the highlight of my day was to tour their new school that will open in the fall of 2010. Over the last 40 years I have been in many, many new school buildings. But this one was different. Oh, there were many of the same features you would see in any school. But what you won’t see in any school is a learning space specifically designed to enable and enhance student learning in a project based environment.

From the state-of-the-art natural lighting, to the large open aesthetically pleasing spaces that will house the individual student workstations, the new facility is amazing. And it’s not just the aesthetics, architect Allan Milbradt, and Superintendent John Wyrick, took the time to show me all of this state-of-the-art green technologies that are designed to enhance learning, reduce cost, and not do damage to the environment.

I only hope that visitors to the school will pay as much attention to the way that students are learning as they do the beautiful facility. The educators in Erie are making tremendous strides towards creating a learning experience that truly prepares every student for their life in the 21st century. This is rural school change! – Steve Wyckoff

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Maybe it’s because I felt vindicated, but I think the people that organized and ran the  I Connect I Learn conference in Colby Kansas this week were remarkable! Diana Wieland, Ginger Luman, Theresa Morgan, Kevin Honeycutt, with assistance from many, many others, did a magnificent job. These are the people who will lead real school change if it’s going to happen.

In a time when finances are very thin this remarkable team was able to attract about 150 educators to a conference pretty much in the middle of nowhere. No offense Colby, but you guys are a long way from anything! And many of the people who attended were paying their own way.

The best part of the conference? I didn’t hear one conversation about raising test scores! What a relief! What a breath of fresh air! The discussions I heard were about engaging kids, and helping kids become successful, about making learning fun, about empowering kids.

So why do I feel vindicated? I’ve written several times that we need to turn schools and teachers lose to do what they do best. And we need to give parents the power to choose their kids’ schools based on the kind of education they want for their kids. I’ve also written that we need to inspire our educators so that they are passionate and remarkable. Educators whose mission is to inspire kids to identify what it is that they are so passionate about, that they will begin the journey to becoming remarkable at it.

Well the educators at the icil 2010 were remarkable! In my heart I know that if these educators had the autonomy, and the charge to inspire every student to identify their passions, and start the journey to becoming remarkable; and were accountable to parents, not bureaucrats, they would do unbelievable things!

I’m absolutely convinced that that we can avoid the looming educational meltdown we are heading towards if we would do two simple things; empower our educators, and make them accountable to parents, not bureaucrats. The educators I was with this week proved to me. –  Steve Wyckoff

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