“Leadership is about vision. But leadership is equally about creating a climate where the truth is heard and the brutal facts confronted.” Jim Collins - Good to Great
Deborah Meier posits, “the question is not, is it possible to educate all children well? But rather, do we want to do it badly enough?” It is time we confront the real truths about public education if we expect to make radical change in our schools. Richard Elmore, observes that schools are protected by a “buffer” which perpetuates mediocrity and low academic achievement. In fact, the culture that exists in many under-achieving public high schools supports an unfounded premise that the unacceptable results are attributed solely to sub-par efforts of the students and a lack of parental support from their families. However, one will rarely hear educators accept that they are a major contributor in the educational malaise. Furthermore, examples of effective teaching is an anomaly. Nelson Mandela once said that, “education is the most powerful weapon which you can use to change the world.” Yet, public educational institutions remain resistant to radical change which exacerbates the poor academic results. In his book, Results Now, Mike Schmoker produced the results of a study which was based on 1,500 classroom observations [Learning 24/7. 2005]:
- classrooms in which there was evidence of a clear learning objective: 4 percent
- classrooms in which high-yield strategies were being used: 0.2 percent
- classrooms in which there was evidence of higher-order thinking: 3 percent
- classrooms in which students were either writing or using rubrics: 0 percent
- classrooms in which fewer than one-half of students were paying attention: 85 percent
- classrooms in which students were using worksheets (a bad sign): 52 percent
- classrooms in which non-instructional activities were occurring: 35 percent
Based upon the sobering statistics our society is in serious trouble and must look beyond the current national reform movement [NCLB] and explore radical options if we expect major improvements. The problem is that in the large comprehensive public high school, most educators function as independent contractors and not as a collective body of educators engaged in utilizing best practices. The effect of the “buffer” on the educational success of at-risk students and their teachers is phenomenal. There are cases where teachers have created rigorous classrooms where students’ academic success abounds yet, they were ridiculed by staff members for trying to make the other teachers “look bad.” However, the students see it quite differently, “The mark of a good teacher is that no matter how weird or boring you might think their subject is, their love for it is what pushes you to learn something. The fact that their eyes are glowing when they talk about it makes you want to know something about it.” Vance, “Fires in the Bathroom”, [Kathleen Cushman] Urban schools must become positive learning communities if we expect substantive change in the outcomes and test data. We must develop learning centers that presuppose “all children can learn” if we want to transform our urban schools into centers where inquiry and learning become the pedagogical norm we must redesign the culture to create conditions that support learning. The most challenging aspect of school reform are contributing factors that impede the transformation;
- People do not like change. For the most part many teachers are tired of being asked to reassess their teaching style.
- State/federal mandates confound the process. Many initiatives counter best practices and remain a challenge for teachers/administrators.
- Many educational leaders are confused about the best course of action to take.
- There is always a buffer which impedes the progress.
Acquiring consensus is a monumental hurdle school systems are unable to navigate. While, Michael Fullan observes that, “educational change is technically simple and socially complex” the reality is that there are myriad conflicts that hinder a seamless transition from a low-performing school to a high achieving academic center. Creating positive learning environments requires that we focus our resources and attention on developing centers that accentuate students’ creative imagination. With change there is opposition, which seems to be a natural occurrence when an accepted norm is challenged even if the norm is counter productive to the needs of the students. The those who lead the national educational reform movement posit test data reflects the success/failure of a school system which adds to the conundrum. The reality is we must redesign the paradigm and shift from a teacher-centered system to a learner-centered system which accepts that heterogeneous classes allow students with diverse learning styles to prosper in a supportive milieu. We can ill-afford to design schools that do not support the children we are charged to educate yet, society chastens when confronted with financing urban education for children who have historically been denied the opportunity of attending schools that provide a thorough and efficient education.
“The ethos, ritualized practices, and role models of any school are major determinants of the success or failure of students.” L. Janelle Dance, Tough Fronts; the impact of street culture on schooling.
