Can we fundamentally reinvent schools or a school?
I listened to a podcast yesterday, part of a series called “4 Guys Talking”. I was drawn to it because I’ve been following Scott McLeod’s blog for some time and he’s got some interesting ideas. While he was reading The Game of School, for example, he posted thought-provoking quotes from the book. The “4 guys” talk about education, technology, K-12 schools, and higher education. The description is: “Four guys talking about education, technology, leadership, K-12 schools, and/or higher education. Drs. Scott McLeod (Iowa State U.), Jon Becker (Virginia Commonwealth U.), David Quinn (U. Florida), and Jayson Richardson (UNC-Wilmington).” What interested me was the question posed in the beginning by the host: Can we fundamentally reinvent schools or a school?
Interestingly, they seem to conclude that it ain’t gonna happen in any widespread way in current schools. They note that successful schools with new approaches tend to be charter schools, schools that started from the beginning with a focus (high tech school in Philly), public charter schools or magnet schools. The rest seem hopelessly locked into the old model.
They also observed that if leaders (boards, superintendents, principals, teacher leaders) don’t get it, it ain’t gonna happen. Additionally, teachers obviously have a choice to get on board or not, complicating and compromising rapid movement. If they choose not to, then principals have the task of getting them out of the way by helping them find different assignments—not an easy task. There are, after all, parents, teachers, and students that want worksheet schools and they should have them—just as we who want something more technological, problem-based, or project-based should have the freedom and encouragement to organize around what we see as important.
Their thinking has helped me conclude a little more firmly that change—necessary, quick, and fundamental—is not possible with current thinking. Many good and decent people have been at it a long time. Yet schools haven’t changed much. It looks easier to destroy the system and rebuild another more organic, loosely coupled, system of learning environments (formerly known as schools). And I’m increasingly ok with it, given the destruction to the human spirit that the current system causes.
You may want to check out the podcasts. The question upfront helps you decide if the broad cast is worthwhile, so it doesn’t have to be a time waster.
