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.

The notion that I as a teacher can be responsible for someone’s learning is absurd. Can I be responsible for another’s health, spiritual development or ethics? I think not. Kids do have a wonderful opportunity to learn, but they must crack the books, research on the internet or in the library, help one another with projects—in other words, the hard work of learning and mastering information and concepts.

This is not to say that teachers have no responsibility to practice the craft with firmness, intention, intelligence and creativity. Humor and encouragement is important as well. Yet, as a consuming society, we’ve made a commodity of learning—opining that we could “give” an education away like it was an apple. By taking the responsibility of the students (and families) away and putting responsibility on public schools and teachers, we’ve taken a fundamental element out of the learning equation. We now guarantee an education, accepting responsibility and accountability for what is not ours. What we are and should be responsible for is a place to learn that is comfortable, able adults to facilitate learning at every possible moment, and an information infrastructure to support learning.

Just as the price of the barrel of oil and the true cost of gasoline and food and transportation and medical care are jolting some pertinent questions, literally slapping us into reality,  it’s time to muster the courage to choose more realistic and respectful ideas about learning.