Sunday, June 30, 2013
Perspective
"I'd Like a Side of Perspective, Please"
In a conversation with a friend, I understand that the back and forth is still hot and heavy on social media sites. I would have thought that with the summer there would be a diminution of this type of activity but apparently not. Perhaps one thing that is lacking here is perspective. Having stepped back a bit, allow me to offer some now.
I am going to use one simple measure to make my point. The ability to read is one of the most fundamental human abilities and marks our ascent as a species for the last 15,000 years. Our ability to absorb, retain and transmit knowledge is directly related to our ability to read.
So the average world literacy rate is 84% of people 15 years and older. The United States has a average national rate of 99%. Think about that for a second; almost our entire adult population can read proficiently. We are 15% better at this that the world average. There are 65 countries below the world average. There are another 105 below the US average. That means there is a total of 170 that have the ability to read less favorably than the United States. Most of these countries are in the developing world but that number also included China and India the two most populous countries on earth. Think again about this; nearly three quarters of the worlds population does not read as well as we do in the United States.
Now you would think that this fact proves what a great job we are doing and how well the current system is working. Unfortunate, that is not the case. Time to break out a few more numbers. The United States is 55th in the world on spend for education as a percent of GNP (Gross National Product). We spend 5.5% as opposed to say Cuba that spends twice that amount. And what do we get for our money. We are 14th in the world in reading, 25th in the world in math and 17th in the world in science. South Korea, Japan, Finland, Canada, New Zealand Australia, Belgium, Norway, Poland, The Netherlands, Switzerland and Iceland all perform consistently better across all measures then the US. Germany, France, Ireland, the UK, Sweden and Denmark also perform better in some categories than the United States. All these countries actually spend less of GNP then the US.
So let's take a specific example. How does Finland which spend approximately $10 billion annually have the highest literacy rate (100%), highest math score (548) and highest science score (563) in the world? Could it be that Finland knows something that we don't? Do they work together as a single nation to put education first?
Compare that to the US which spend more ($807 billion) then the next 10 nations combined to come out somewhere in the middle. We have a very literate population which speaks to a culture that values something about education but we spend billions more then many others for only average results. What are we doing wrong compared to the Finland's of the world?
Here's what I take away from all these numbers. We used to be a nation that put more then money into education, we put our best minds and efforts into it. The entire society saw value and was invested in the educational system especially from a family perspective on up the chain. We didn't have to throw money at a problem 60 years ago because we approached it like many problems in the country; we got together, rolled up our sleeves and got to work solving the issue.
And it worked, we created a system that was the envy of the world. A system the turned out a great product at regular intervals for a national and global which we dominated. Then we sat back and said our work was done. We watched as the world changed around us and more disturbingly as our social values changed. The one thing that needed to change and didn't was our educational system. And as we now seem to do, rather then look at fundamental, systemic change based on working models around the world; we decide to throw money at the problem without a coherent plan or unified approach. So we have a system now that is run on inertia. Like a chicken with it's head cut off, our system is running around flapping while it dies.
There is hope though. If we can just reach back a little to a time when parents worked together, took responsibility for the education of their child, emphasized that education over everything else and were the change agents themselves; then perhaps the systemic changes being proposed now would find greater traction and have better results.
Or we could continue to bicker amongst ourselves about minutia while the rest of the world passes us by. The day a kid in a third world country with a stub pencil and a supportive family and burning desire to learn as a better chance at a prosperous life then our kids do will be (is) a sad day.
Just sayin'
:)
Tuesday, June 11, 2013
The Days of Our Lives
And on the next episode of "The Days of Our Lives"......
So the RSU#18 soap opera continues with the splashy headline of a board member resigning because customized learning is damaging her health. Apparently the hyperbole of "it makes me sick at heart" is translated into health concerns. I find two things odd here:
1. Now We Become Sick....
There apparently was no sickness or ill effect for the last several years with multiple controversial issues before the board. There was no upset when the Vision and implementation/communication strategy was announced. There were no heart palpitations during the budget meetings and multiple votes.
However as parents got emotional, angry and energized, the vapors seemed to come on and finally overcome this individual. Interesting timing.
Who am I to judge though? This person sounds like and seems to be an individual of self-sacrifice and community service. They could very well have spent their life in service to others and be a person of conscience My only question would be, why this gesture and why now?
Just say'n
2. Selling Knives at the Knife Fight...
The media coverage on this issue impresses me as the type of coverage designed to stir controversy and thereby sell more coverage (papers, ad time etc.). Morning Sentinel articles especially seem to be of the tone designed to inflame emotion rather then emphasis consensus building. I get a visual of a guy standing on the side lines saying to each combatant, "Are you gonn'a take that from him" and then making money off the pain and suffering (real or imagined) of others.
Just say'n
And now for one more observation:
Regardless of where any individuals stands on the issue of proficiency based measurement and customized learning, we (the collective we) have now spent more time, energy, ill-will, emotion and general tom foolery then we have on the last five issues (budget included) combined. I am astounded at the amount of time currently spent on even the smallest aspect of this situation. There is one individual that stated they spend 30 hours a week on this issue. That is 10 short of a full work week. This has become a job, a profession to a handful of individuals.
And where does this insanity stop? When is enough, enough? This will all end, one way or another, but no one seems to be able to see beyond the end of their nose to the possible ends of this business. As Brutus said:
So the RSU#18 soap opera continues with the splashy headline of a board member resigning because customized learning is damaging her health. Apparently the hyperbole of "it makes me sick at heart" is translated into health concerns. I find two things odd here:
1. Now We Become Sick....
There apparently was no sickness or ill effect for the last several years with multiple controversial issues before the board. There was no upset when the Vision and implementation/communication strategy was announced. There were no heart palpitations during the budget meetings and multiple votes.
However as parents got emotional, angry and energized, the vapors seemed to come on and finally overcome this individual. Interesting timing.
Who am I to judge though? This person sounds like and seems to be an individual of self-sacrifice and community service. They could very well have spent their life in service to others and be a person of conscience My only question would be, why this gesture and why now?
Just say'n
2. Selling Knives at the Knife Fight...
The media coverage on this issue impresses me as the type of coverage designed to stir controversy and thereby sell more coverage (papers, ad time etc.). Morning Sentinel articles especially seem to be of the tone designed to inflame emotion rather then emphasis consensus building. I get a visual of a guy standing on the side lines saying to each combatant, "Are you gonn'a take that from him" and then making money off the pain and suffering (real or imagined) of others.
Just say'n
And now for one more observation:
Regardless of where any individuals stands on the issue of proficiency based measurement and customized learning, we (the collective we) have now spent more time, energy, ill-will, emotion and general tom foolery then we have on the last five issues (budget included) combined. I am astounded at the amount of time currently spent on even the smallest aspect of this situation. There is one individual that stated they spend 30 hours a week on this issue. That is 10 short of a full work week. This has become a job, a profession to a handful of individuals.
And where does this insanity stop? When is enough, enough? This will all end, one way or another, but no one seems to be able to see beyond the end of their nose to the possible ends of this business. As Brutus said:
"Why then, lead on. Oh, that a man might know
The end of this day’s business ere it come!
But it sufficeth that the day will end,
And then the end is known.—Come, ho! Away!"
The true sadness here is that damage that is being done and will be done. Not just to the system but to the kids and just as sadly to the parents and relationships. What was once a close knit community of caring friends and neighbors now resembles the North and South. And again, unfortunately, we have not learned and appear to be unwilling to learn the lessons of history.
And the most salient lesson here? In this type of ego invested fight, no body wins, everybody loses something. So while some of us wait and hope for a ray of rationality and sanity to appear, most of us are just grabbing our popcorn and waiting for the next episode of "The Days of Our Lives...RSU 18 Edition"
And so it goes...:)
To H1B or Not To H1B....That is The Question
I have been following the immigration reform debate, jobs and the American economy debate and educational reform debate and I have come to a conclusion....I'm mentally exhausted. I did notice that all three have a number of common threads that I would like to try to untangle here.
1. H1B Visa
The humble HIB Visa has been gaining some popularity over the last few years. Trend analysis on the every increasing cap for issued visas is a source of contention. One interpretation is that the year over year increase for the last decade is a clear indication of the shortage of technical skill sets in the American labor market. Another interpretation is that it is a mask for corporate welfare, that there is no shortage of qualified American candidates, just a shortage of companies willing to pay market rates for that labor. For those who don't know, HIB visas are temporary visas issued to foreign nationals to fill high need technical positions when a company can not find a qualified citizen applicant. Regardless of the hither and yond in this exchange the simple fact is that tech companies (Microsoft, Apple, Cisco etc.) have consistently demanded and consistently gotten H1B cap increases every year for the past five years running. I will come back to my assessment of this situation in a minute.
2. You Want Fries With That?
While the debate about visas and it's cousin the US labor market continue; jobs in this country still go unfilled. What could be the reason for this? Once you clear away the smoke and mirrors it boils down to two basic conditions; either there are not enough qualified applicants for a given job or the job is considers too "menial" for a large available labor pool. I personally think that both forces are acting at the same time. We have a native born citizen labor pool that is either over qualified or under qualified for a wide array of employment opportunities. Someone that has just spend $100K on a college degree does not want to flip burgers for a living. Someone that has an Associates degree in Information Technology does not have the credit hours or experience to be a Senior Software Engineer. So what do most employers in the country do? Hire immigrant labor either legal or illegal. What do I use to support this assertion. The news and actual practical experience. When Alabama enacted it's strict immigration law, the labor pool for the agricultural sector dried up over night. Farmer after farmer complained that they either couldn't find enough people to do the work or that the legal citizen were not willing or able to do the work. One farmer noted that half his replacement work force quite the first day after lunch noting that the work was "too hard". My practical experience comes from five years as an IT team manager. I have consistently had to resort to contract resources to fill programmer position because there register of candidates was either unfilled or did not have any qualified candidates. Approximately half my team is contract labor consisting of foreign nationals in the path to legal permanent residence or citizenship. And each one of those individuals came to me via H1B visas. What does this all have to do with education?
3. If It Ain't Broke......
The top ten jobs and most sought after skill sets did not exit twenty years ago. The United States is inextricably integrated into the global trade market importing 50% of it's consumer goods and export 30% of its produced goods. The United States has an 8.5% global trade deficit with China, South Korea, the EU and OPEC leading the way. The world is an economically, culturally and geo-politically very different place than is was twenty or thirty years ago. The US has ceded it's position as a technological, economic, educational and political world power. How did this happen? In my opinion (and the opinion of better minds than mine) the United States stood still while the rest of the world passed us. And at the core of this stagnation was and is an educational delivery system built for the 1950s and still run like it was the 1970s. What does this have to do with H1B and the US labor market? Everything! We have been using the same model to turn out the same quality and level of individual into a labor market that they have been less and less qualified for. We however have been very good at instilling vast amounts of confidence in the abilities of every student we release from this inadequate system. The result is that when asked how they did, US students rate themselves at or near the top of every category while empirical studies put them at no better than 20th. So we have greater numbers of "educated" individuals who can't fill ever more demanding skills sets but with an entitled sense of self-worth that precludes them from considering skilled, semi-skilled and unskilled labor positions.
What does this all mean? I believe that the rise in the need to import skilled labor is a direct result of a broken education delivery system. I believe this has adversely affect the US labor market with shortages in key areas and overages in other areas. I believe that if this country ever wants to reclaim a more realistic global leadership position (and not one in our own minds), we need to move to truly and deeply re-think how we deliver and measure knowledge transmission, retention and evaluation to produce a citizen more capable of competing in a national and global labor market.
And this transformation needs to start here and now. :)
1. H1B Visa
The humble HIB Visa has been gaining some popularity over the last few years. Trend analysis on the every increasing cap for issued visas is a source of contention. One interpretation is that the year over year increase for the last decade is a clear indication of the shortage of technical skill sets in the American labor market. Another interpretation is that it is a mask for corporate welfare, that there is no shortage of qualified American candidates, just a shortage of companies willing to pay market rates for that labor. For those who don't know, HIB visas are temporary visas issued to foreign nationals to fill high need technical positions when a company can not find a qualified citizen applicant. Regardless of the hither and yond in this exchange the simple fact is that tech companies (Microsoft, Apple, Cisco etc.) have consistently demanded and consistently gotten H1B cap increases every year for the past five years running. I will come back to my assessment of this situation in a minute.
2. You Want Fries With That?
While the debate about visas and it's cousin the US labor market continue; jobs in this country still go unfilled. What could be the reason for this? Once you clear away the smoke and mirrors it boils down to two basic conditions; either there are not enough qualified applicants for a given job or the job is considers too "menial" for a large available labor pool. I personally think that both forces are acting at the same time. We have a native born citizen labor pool that is either over qualified or under qualified for a wide array of employment opportunities. Someone that has just spend $100K on a college degree does not want to flip burgers for a living. Someone that has an Associates degree in Information Technology does not have the credit hours or experience to be a Senior Software Engineer. So what do most employers in the country do? Hire immigrant labor either legal or illegal. What do I use to support this assertion. The news and actual practical experience. When Alabama enacted it's strict immigration law, the labor pool for the agricultural sector dried up over night. Farmer after farmer complained that they either couldn't find enough people to do the work or that the legal citizen were not willing or able to do the work. One farmer noted that half his replacement work force quite the first day after lunch noting that the work was "too hard". My practical experience comes from five years as an IT team manager. I have consistently had to resort to contract resources to fill programmer position because there register of candidates was either unfilled or did not have any qualified candidates. Approximately half my team is contract labor consisting of foreign nationals in the path to legal permanent residence or citizenship. And each one of those individuals came to me via H1B visas. What does this all have to do with education?
3. If It Ain't Broke......
The top ten jobs and most sought after skill sets did not exit twenty years ago. The United States is inextricably integrated into the global trade market importing 50% of it's consumer goods and export 30% of its produced goods. The United States has an 8.5% global trade deficit with China, South Korea, the EU and OPEC leading the way. The world is an economically, culturally and geo-politically very different place than is was twenty or thirty years ago. The US has ceded it's position as a technological, economic, educational and political world power. How did this happen? In my opinion (and the opinion of better minds than mine) the United States stood still while the rest of the world passed us. And at the core of this stagnation was and is an educational delivery system built for the 1950s and still run like it was the 1970s. What does this have to do with H1B and the US labor market? Everything! We have been using the same model to turn out the same quality and level of individual into a labor market that they have been less and less qualified for. We however have been very good at instilling vast amounts of confidence in the abilities of every student we release from this inadequate system. The result is that when asked how they did, US students rate themselves at or near the top of every category while empirical studies put them at no better than 20th. So we have greater numbers of "educated" individuals who can't fill ever more demanding skills sets but with an entitled sense of self-worth that precludes them from considering skilled, semi-skilled and unskilled labor positions.
What does this all mean? I believe that the rise in the need to import skilled labor is a direct result of a broken education delivery system. I believe this has adversely affect the US labor market with shortages in key areas and overages in other areas. I believe that if this country ever wants to reclaim a more realistic global leadership position (and not one in our own minds), we need to move to truly and deeply re-think how we deliver and measure knowledge transmission, retention and evaluation to produce a citizen more capable of competing in a national and global labor market.
And this transformation needs to start here and now. :)
Monday, June 10, 2013
And Now...The News
Well only one thing left, my birthday. Made through graduation, made it through Project Grad, made it through my anniversary and we decided not to attend my nieces graduation as it was just one activity to many in a short period (besides they are coming up for Father's Day weekend).
Didn't cry at graduation (Sarah did a little) but was very proud of Alex. He is now a graduate and headed for more education in the fall. Vey well done, son.
We had a very low key anniversary which was fine by me. After many anniversaries where my plans don't always turn out as expected, I was just has happy to have a nice meal at the new Japanese steakhouse and a quite night at home.
Wish my "Weasle" (Michelle) a happy graduation and was very impressed by the theater award she earned. Well done, honey.
Completed a number of errands today and feel like I actually accomplished something.
Tomorrow, rain and lots of on line time.
Sorry this wasn't informative or contraversial, I promise there are more of those to follow.
And so it goes.....
Didn't cry at graduation (Sarah did a little) but was very proud of Alex. He is now a graduate and headed for more education in the fall. Vey well done, son.
We had a very low key anniversary which was fine by me. After many anniversaries where my plans don't always turn out as expected, I was just has happy to have a nice meal at the new Japanese steakhouse and a quite night at home.
Wish my "Weasle" (Michelle) a happy graduation and was very impressed by the theater award she earned. Well done, honey.
Completed a number of errands today and feel like I actually accomplished something.
Tomorrow, rain and lots of on line time.
Sorry this wasn't informative or contraversial, I promise there are more of those to follow.
And so it goes.....
Wednesday, June 5, 2013
Is A Balanced Budget Really On My Back
OK this is for the record:
Whew! OK having gotten that off my chest, anyone reading this post should now have a basic idea of where I stand (at which point I will change my position and opinion just to mess you up :))
A friend of mine sent me the following. I have chosen not to include his assessment of this email which was sent to union members (I am not a union member, long story for later) via the state email system. Suffice it to say, he was not impressed.
- I am a state employee
- I fiscally conservative/socially moderate
- I have read and understand the whole Constitution including the Bill of Rights
- I dislike unions, or more accurately what unions have transformed into
- I have read, understood and liked the writings of Ayn Rand (for the most part)
- I am sick to death of emotional brinksmanship in the current political climate
Whew! OK having gotten that off my chest, anyone reading this post should now have a basic idea of where I stand (at which point I will change my position and opinion just to mess you up :))
A friend of mine sent me the following. I have chosen not to include his assessment of this email which was sent to union members (I am not a union member, long story for later) via the state email system. Suffice it to say, he was not impressed.
Dear MSEA-SEIU member,
Members of the Maine Legislature’s Appropriations Committee are expected to vote this week on Gov. LePage’s budget. Join us for an interfaith vigil Thursday, June 6, at the State House as we call on our legislators to show leadership by treating the next state budget as moral document that strengthens the common good of Maine.
Meet at 4:30 p.m. Thursday, June 6, at the State House Welcome Center. The vigil starts at 5 p.m. on the second floor of the State House. Register here - http://bit.ly/June7Vigil
The Governor’s budget freezes merit pay, eliminates longevity pay and underfunds the State Employee Health Plan for another two years. It undermines the lives, dignity and rights of low-wage earners, the elderly and people with disabilities by cutting funding for programs like Drugs for the Elderly, General Assistance, Supplemental Security Income for legal immigrants and Head Start. It unfairly places new burdens on working and middle class Mainers to the benefit of the wealthy few. Register here - http://bit.ly/June7Vigil
We ask our elected officials to do all in their power to ensure that Maine supports its hardworking middle class while also safeguarding Maine’s most vulnerable citizens. We ask our leaders to adopt a fair budget that raises revenue the revenue necessary to ensure Maine’s public structures and stops balancing the budget on the backs of the Maine’s workers, retired workers and middle class and Maine’s most vulnerable citizens. Register here - http://bit.ly/June7Vigil
The vigil is sponsored by organizations that are part of the Fair Share Now Coalition and Maine Can Do Better. For more information: http://www.fairsharemaine.org/solution
In Solidarity,
Ginette Rivard
President, MSEA-SEIU Local 1989
And here was my observation/reply:
OK, here is what I need to know:
- Please explain how a legislative document is a “moral” document? Is it the Bible, Koran, Talmud? I need to understand the magical content here.
- Exactly who are the “wealth few” that I should be justifiably mad at? Can I have a list of names please?
- Merit pay was already frozen, longevity pay already gone; even though that kind of sucks, should I be getting “re-mad”?
- Exactly how does having a job undermine lives, dignity and rights? Employment is violating what rights? Getting paid is undignified?
- Can I have a list of the “new burdens” being placed on me, I don’t see them yet?
- I need a little clarity on how taking more money (“raises revenues” = taxes) from the hard working middle class helps the hardworking middle class.
- I also need to understand how paying benefits for other citizen (benefits I either can’t afford or have to pay myself) helps me.
- I assume that when there is a reference made to “elected official” this implies that ALL officials are to act responsibly to the benefit of ALL citizen not just select officials and selected citizens.
Once I have a better understanding of the above then perhaps I can participate in said vigil………NOT!!!!!!!
If my observations/position/opinion offend somebody on the....TOUGH! It's my blog and I'll cry if I want too!!
Bottom line - I just want to do my job to the best of my ability, be reasonably compensated for it and otherwise be left alone. I am not and despise being used as an emotional tool for either position in this redonkulous junior high lunch room exercise.
Just say'n .... :)
Rite of Passage
Well, the next few days will present a 'perfect storm' of signal events in the life of the DeWitt family. Our oldest son (Alex) will graduate from high school on the June 6th. Sarah and I foolishly volunteered for all night chaperon duties at Project Graduation immediately following. The next day (7th) will be spent recovering and refinancing (debt/mortgage consolidation paperwork). Saturday (8th) will be our 22nd anniversary and Sunday the 9th will be my niece Michelle's graduation from Windham. Monday the 10th is a rest day followed by my birthday on the 11th (51).
I feel oddly detached from all these goings on as if I've used up all my RAM and am now showing "The Blue Screen of Death" (computer geeks will get that reference). I should feel more excited, engaged, melancholy but somehow, I don't.
Yes I am extremely proud of Alex. He has gone from a struggling high school student to a focused, self-directed man charting, what I thing, is a good path ahead. But I don't have that weepy, melancholy feeling I guess I am supposed to have. It probably won't hit me until I see him walk across the stage.
I'm also not that pumped about my anniversary or birthday. I have some kind of a "meh" attitude at the moment. Is this just a sign of aging or just too much joy at one time? I have decided not to force it or fake it and let the days come and whatever emotions surface to come with them.
No worries, man, just let it come. :)
I feel oddly detached from all these goings on as if I've used up all my RAM and am now showing "The Blue Screen of Death" (computer geeks will get that reference). I should feel more excited, engaged, melancholy but somehow, I don't.
Yes I am extremely proud of Alex. He has gone from a struggling high school student to a focused, self-directed man charting, what I thing, is a good path ahead. But I don't have that weepy, melancholy feeling I guess I am supposed to have. It probably won't hit me until I see him walk across the stage.
I'm also not that pumped about my anniversary or birthday. I have some kind of a "meh" attitude at the moment. Is this just a sign of aging or just too much joy at one time? I have decided not to force it or fake it and let the days come and whatever emotions surface to come with them.
No worries, man, just let it come. :)
Monday, June 3, 2013
Jerry Springer Comes To Town
Well it's official; RSU #18 has now enter the reality TV zone. What was once a mildly entertaining farce with a minority of individuals and a majority of emotional rhetoric; has now become a cause celeb for Central Maine with no end in sight. Gone is any pretense of working for a mutually agreeable solution. Gone is the pretense of civility. Gone is the thin veneer of care and concern for fellow parents, teachers, board members, administrators and especially students. All of this has now been replaced with yelling, tears, outrage, "anonymous letters", conspiracy theories and more ego centric, uncivilized behavior then has been seen in these parts for some time.
And what is the source of all this "strum und drang"? Why educational change of course. As has often occurred with the two hundred year march of education in this country, a new methodology of education is being proposed. There are some salient differences in this present incarnation than what has been proposed in the past. Methods of data presentation and retention have final found a willing partner in technology. With advances in the study of meta-cognition (learning how to learn) and wide spread access to large amounts of knowledge through the internet, old methods of transmitting knowledge that could only be applied on a small local level can now be offered to a much larger audience. The one room school house has now been scaled up, gone digital and global.
This would seem to be the next logical progression in education improvement and even at the most cursory glance would seem to be worth a second and even a third look. Unfortunately, this approach is seen as assailing a one hundred year old monolith that is safe, comfortable, familiar and unmovable. We have innovated and improved on every other aspect of human endeavor except in the one area where it would do the most good, education.
In spite of the efforts of some innovate educational thinkers and some truly gifted and motivated education professionals, a fractured, entrenched, broken system of education continues to thwart even the most minor attempts at modernization. And who are the greatest allies in this battle of past verse present? Overwhelmed administrators, sub-pare educators, bloated teachers unions, and well intentioned but woefully uninformed parents. Spice this dysfunctional stew with political rhetoric, schizophrenic application of measurement data and poorly conceived attachment of funding to bad methodology, stir and viola, an education system that actually fails to educate and a set of professional standards that dis-incentivized innovation, risk taking and professional achievement.
Now bring the farcical road show to sleepy central Maine, release into the wild and watch the sparks fly. There have been missteps on all sides from the beginning and now a well intentioned and potentially valuable educational realignment that could really reach almost every student in the district and improve not just test scores but actual learning, knowledge acquisition, retention and demonstration is in very real danger of falling apart.
How did this happen, you ask? That is a very good question. Here is my observation. There was a very clear and well thought out articulation of the vision and goals. There was a great amount of good energy and good intentions. However there was a fatally slow communication plan and an even more fatal rapid initial implementation without great community buy in or opt out options. Now is the time for full disclosure. I was on the Leadership Team that was developing these plans and implementation strategies and was all for charging ahead. That was before I realized or understood the real lack of diffusion of information into the district communities or the depth of opposition no matter how small that would occur. In truth, I left the Team, unable to fulfill my obligations but confident that the communication plan would be fully realize very soon and a clear and detailed path forward would be clearly articulated and widely disseminated in a short while.
Neither occurred District administrators and board members were far too busy trying to craft a budget to allow the district to continue to provide just the necessary services. While they were fighting just to try to maintain the status quo, vital time was lost on the communications front and when there was finally room to breath, it was too late. The damage had been done and parents that simply needed the slightest excuse to do something with their spare time decided to interpret the broken communication as a deliberate attempt at stonewalling and some forced agenda. That they didn't understand the context of the situation was immaterial. These ego maniacal individuals had no desire to understand. Their comfortable little cocoon appeared to be (incorrectly) in jeopardy and like a pack of white blood cells they attacked.
So here we find ourselves; three years into an implementation that is facing greater opposition from emotion driven parents with a plethora of individual, personal agendas, cherry picking "facts" from dubious sources, engaging in thinly veiled innuendo and personal attacks, feigned "outrage" at a "betrayal of trust" of elected officials, inflating and misinterpreting data presented to them as it suites their purposes and all done in the spot light of social and mainstream media.
And why is any of this a problem? Well again social media is, as it has increasingly become, one of "the usual suspect". The joy of instant communication of thought is also the curse. There was a time when face to face or verbal communication was not only necessary, it was the best way to convey information. Because of the time delayed nature of this type of communication, there was an opportunity for reflection and thought. The value of this can not be overstated. Instead of instantly transmitting every single random thought that passes through our heads, the lack of social media required us to think, evaluate, filter ourselves. What was truly important and needed to be conveyed in the limited time available in conversations became the considered focus of these interactions. Social media has paradoxically removed the social aspect of personal communication. Social mores that were once more studiously followed in personal interaction are now gone, replaced by the comfortable semi-anonymity of the internet.
What could have been a civil, valuable exchange of information, ideas, options and alternatives has now degenerated into a giant sandbox fight with "adults" (supposedly) playing the parts of five year olds. And sadly, as all to often happens, the kids are the ones left holding the bag. There is no knowing (at this point) how this Shakespearian tragedy will play out. One can only hope that something good can be salvaged from this self-inflicted debacle. The ray of hope for any rational individual is continued, constructive interaction between teachers, students and parents with all of these stakeholders working together toward a common goal of true knowledge and a future of limitless opportunities.
We can only hope....and laugh :)
And what is the source of all this "strum und drang"? Why educational change of course. As has often occurred with the two hundred year march of education in this country, a new methodology of education is being proposed. There are some salient differences in this present incarnation than what has been proposed in the past. Methods of data presentation and retention have final found a willing partner in technology. With advances in the study of meta-cognition (learning how to learn) and wide spread access to large amounts of knowledge through the internet, old methods of transmitting knowledge that could only be applied on a small local level can now be offered to a much larger audience. The one room school house has now been scaled up, gone digital and global.
This would seem to be the next logical progression in education improvement and even at the most cursory glance would seem to be worth a second and even a third look. Unfortunately, this approach is seen as assailing a one hundred year old monolith that is safe, comfortable, familiar and unmovable. We have innovated and improved on every other aspect of human endeavor except in the one area where it would do the most good, education.
In spite of the efforts of some innovate educational thinkers and some truly gifted and motivated education professionals, a fractured, entrenched, broken system of education continues to thwart even the most minor attempts at modernization. And who are the greatest allies in this battle of past verse present? Overwhelmed administrators, sub-pare educators, bloated teachers unions, and well intentioned but woefully uninformed parents. Spice this dysfunctional stew with political rhetoric, schizophrenic application of measurement data and poorly conceived attachment of funding to bad methodology, stir and viola, an education system that actually fails to educate and a set of professional standards that dis-incentivized innovation, risk taking and professional achievement.
Now bring the farcical road show to sleepy central Maine, release into the wild and watch the sparks fly. There have been missteps on all sides from the beginning and now a well intentioned and potentially valuable educational realignment that could really reach almost every student in the district and improve not just test scores but actual learning, knowledge acquisition, retention and demonstration is in very real danger of falling apart.
How did this happen, you ask? That is a very good question. Here is my observation. There was a very clear and well thought out articulation of the vision and goals. There was a great amount of good energy and good intentions. However there was a fatally slow communication plan and an even more fatal rapid initial implementation without great community buy in or opt out options. Now is the time for full disclosure. I was on the Leadership Team that was developing these plans and implementation strategies and was all for charging ahead. That was before I realized or understood the real lack of diffusion of information into the district communities or the depth of opposition no matter how small that would occur. In truth, I left the Team, unable to fulfill my obligations but confident that the communication plan would be fully realize very soon and a clear and detailed path forward would be clearly articulated and widely disseminated in a short while.
Neither occurred District administrators and board members were far too busy trying to craft a budget to allow the district to continue to provide just the necessary services. While they were fighting just to try to maintain the status quo, vital time was lost on the communications front and when there was finally room to breath, it was too late. The damage had been done and parents that simply needed the slightest excuse to do something with their spare time decided to interpret the broken communication as a deliberate attempt at stonewalling and some forced agenda. That they didn't understand the context of the situation was immaterial. These ego maniacal individuals had no desire to understand. Their comfortable little cocoon appeared to be (incorrectly) in jeopardy and like a pack of white blood cells they attacked.
So here we find ourselves; three years into an implementation that is facing greater opposition from emotion driven parents with a plethora of individual, personal agendas, cherry picking "facts" from dubious sources, engaging in thinly veiled innuendo and personal attacks, feigned "outrage" at a "betrayal of trust" of elected officials, inflating and misinterpreting data presented to them as it suites their purposes and all done in the spot light of social and mainstream media.
And why is any of this a problem? Well again social media is, as it has increasingly become, one of "the usual suspect". The joy of instant communication of thought is also the curse. There was a time when face to face or verbal communication was not only necessary, it was the best way to convey information. Because of the time delayed nature of this type of communication, there was an opportunity for reflection and thought. The value of this can not be overstated. Instead of instantly transmitting every single random thought that passes through our heads, the lack of social media required us to think, evaluate, filter ourselves. What was truly important and needed to be conveyed in the limited time available in conversations became the considered focus of these interactions. Social media has paradoxically removed the social aspect of personal communication. Social mores that were once more studiously followed in personal interaction are now gone, replaced by the comfortable semi-anonymity of the internet.
What could have been a civil, valuable exchange of information, ideas, options and alternatives has now degenerated into a giant sandbox fight with "adults" (supposedly) playing the parts of five year olds. And sadly, as all to often happens, the kids are the ones left holding the bag. There is no knowing (at this point) how this Shakespearian tragedy will play out. One can only hope that something good can be salvaged from this self-inflicted debacle. The ray of hope for any rational individual is continued, constructive interaction between teachers, students and parents with all of these stakeholders working together toward a common goal of true knowledge and a future of limitless opportunities.
We can only hope....and laugh :)
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