Blogaquarium

QWERTY

2012-02-19T06:23:00.002-08:00

In Jim Collins’ latest work, Great by Choice, he offers the following shift in innovation strategy: fire bullets first…then cannon balls. A warfare metaphor? Yes. But what does it mean?

Traditionally, military strategy has been to soften up an opponent’s defenses by lobbing in artillery first, before sending in men armed with weapons. Makes sense. Create a strategic advantage before committing lives. So how does this relate to innovation?

Successful organizations today are first and foremost inclined to throw most of its resources at new ideas that are most similar to its existing ways of operating, and then tweak the details after implementation has begun. Collins is saying, first use your guns to surgically aim and hit your innovation targets, then once you know you have found a worthy target that will actually help you break new ground and create new value….THEN you throw the bulk of your resources (the cannon balls) at it.

Consider the creation of the modern day keyboard. It was initially created in 1867 by Christopher Latham Sholes, a newspaper editor from Milwaukee. The problem he was trying to address in creating his personal type-setting machine or “type writer” was that once the typist started typing too fast, several keys would jam all at once together as they all tried to hit the surface of the paper at once. Why the QWERTY sequence? Sholes studied Amos Densmore’s letter-pair frequency research to determine what sequence of keys on the keyboard would most optimally prevent jamming.

By 1873 Sholes and Densmore successfully sold the manufacturing rights for their “Type-Writer” to the Remington company, who made several further adjustments to the keyboard sequence that created the QWERTY layout we know today. The layout gained popular acceptance with the success of the Remington No. 2 Type-Writer in 1878, which included both upper and lower case letters through the use of the shift key. THEN Remington began to throw its resources at marketing its product, and the rest (as they say) is history.

Innovation requires risk-taking. But that risk-taking should not be wide-open, throw-anything-against-the-wall-and-see-what-sticks haphazardness. Successful risk-taking is informed. Thoughtful. Fueled by questions that seek deeper probing and strategic planning. Lobbing “cannon balls” in the general direction of what we call “innovation” is not going to hit an effective target. Cannon balls are inaccurate and they cause a lot of residual damage in the process.

Why do we instinctively go for the heavy artillery first? It feels powerful. It looks impressive. It produces immediate results. The problem is, those results are typically not desirable. Going in first on reconnaissance and identifying the target that is most beneficial to you is more work and can often result in deciding not to pursue a target at all. But it’s a lot more responsible and effective way to learn about what is innovative and meaningful to you. In the short run there is no big hit, no big bang for your buck. But in the long run, your return on innovation, on creating new value in your work and in your life, is much greater.

So as you sit at your keyboard and look at the now familiar QWERTY layout, remind yourself every so often of Jim Collins’ truism: “fire bullets then cannon balls.” It is the key to success and happiness in this fast-paced, quickly-changing Information Age life.

Finite Pie

2012-02-05T07:00:00.001-08:00

We grew up in an age of finite pie. There was only one pie and it could be divided into only so many slices. Even our pie graphs represent the totality of the resources we have to work with. There’s only so much pie to go around. And the implications play out in how we think, act and define success. If you only have one finite pie, what flavor is it? How many people can it serve? How small can you make the slices? What does it mean if you simply don’t have enough?

All of this is a legacy of the Industrial Age, which was based on the availability of natural resources to feed growth. Empires were built for this purpose; gaining access to raw materials that could fuel their economic engines. You could not sustain industrial success on finite resources, so you kept expanding the size of your pie. Of course, this works well as long as there are new lands to acquire and new resources to consume. But in the physical world, there are always limits. Be it foreign lands or fossil fuels, everything runs out eventually.

This legacy of finite pie sticks with us today, especially if we’re over thirty years of age. Our grandparents were survivors of the Great Depression. Our parents grew up during the rations of the Second World War. We remember the gas lines of the early 1970s. No doubt about it, we had to think carefully about your resources. And even today, we want to make sure we have enough pie to last us. It makes sense. It’s understandable. In the physical world, the earth is one big pie with only so many slices to go around.

Enter the Information Age, where more and more of our information, interaction and entertainment is becoming digitized. This is where economic engines are thriving today. There is no finite pie in the virtual world; there are no limits of resources, time nor space. Instead of minerals, lumber and petroleum, online the valued resources are ideas, imagination and innovation. And there are no limits to these things. You can toss your pie right out your kitchen window, because bright young people all over the world are pushing the limits on what is meaningful and marketable in the twenty-first century.

The advantage for people thirty and younger is they did not grow up in an age of finite pie. They expect everything to be available at their finger tips, and they expect to expand their world through access to everything. Not only do they expect information to be communal, they define success by working in communities of common interests. The definition of the traditional hero as a rugged individual making a stand has become dated, not because we are losing our individual identities, but because there is no finite pie for which our old-time hero can fight. In an age where there are as many pies of varied sizes as one can imagine, our new hero is highly collaborative with none of the physical limitations of the past. The more connections we have, the larger our sphere of influence, the more possibilities we have to imagine and innovate, the more we are recognized today by our peers.

Here is the rub. Those of us older than thirty are having a hard time letting go of our finite-pie-thinking and transitioning to the Information Age. Sure, we’re all doing it to varying degrees. We hear the stories of baby boomers becoming statistically relevant online in a number of ways. But when it comes to being relevant today, of working effectively through real-time collaboration and communication, we are struggling. This too makes sense. Finite pie is a mindset that we have used throughout our lives and it has brought us success. Today’s leaders in education have gotten where they are by mastering the finite pie. So what do we do to adapt to the Information Age? We use the trappings of the Information Age, email and social media and videoconferencing, to continue to work in the finite pie paradigm. We still want to publish newsletters and hold conferences and offer one-size-fits-all workshops…we just deliver them online.

Why is this a problem? With the explosion of information flying past us every day, people are less and less likely to stop to read an entire email, let alone an entire newsletter. They are less likely to commit to an entire professional development event, let alone an hour webinar by a talking-head-guru. In the Information Age, people expect to be engaged, interacting, building common understandings that make a difference in their lives. We need to let go of our finite pie thinking and begin to serve others as connectors and facilitators of the endless possibilities for success.

Working with finite pie, we needed to have the answers. In a world of endless resources, we need to be helping to channel energy and ideas where they can meet those of others and create entirely new pies…pies we cannot even imagine yet.

Today, we need to have faith in the power of human creativity and innovation. We need to let go of the notion that we are limited by the resources we have in the physical world, because we are now operating in a virtual world. And if and when the time comes we realize we cannot let go of our finite pie, then we owe it to the next generation to step aside and let them show the way, otherwise they will simply work around us and leave us irrelevantly holding our empty pie tins.

Yes we are all struggling with letting go. Maybe we need a slogan…a call to action? How about “Infinite pies!” Or “To infini-pie and beyond!”? You get the idea. Make your own tag line and make it happen. To stay relevant today, you have to think beyond finite pie.

A Call to Action!

2012-01-16T08:00:00.000-08:00

The We the People initiative is the Obama administration’s effort to provide citizens with a new way to petition the administration to take action on a range of important issues facing our country. If a petition garners 25,000 signatures within 30 days, White House staff reviews it, sends it to the appropriate policy experts, and issues an official response. You can learn more and add your name to the petition at http://wh.gov/BVR.

ASCD is taking advantage of this initiative and petitioning the administration to make whole child education a national priority. Our effort begins this Thursday, January 19, 2012. We will petition the Obama administration to establish a President’s Council on the Whole Child to help students be healthy, safe, engaged, supported, and challenged, and we will need YOU to go to the petition when it goes live this Thursday to add your voice in support of this holistic and child-centered push for education at the executive office level.

Pending ESEA reauthorization bills in Congress continue the No Child Left Behind Act’s unfortunate legacy of elevating reading and math test scores above all other core academic subjects and above more comprehensive supports for students. The true measure of student success is much more than just a test score and such success requires support well beyond effective instruction. The demands of the 21st century require a new approach to education to fully prepare our nation’s youth for college, career, and citizenship. A whole child approach to education enhances learning by addressing each student’s social, emotional, physical, and academic needs through the shared contributions of schools, families, communities, and policymakers. A President’s Council on the Whole Child would focus attention on the broad array of factors influencing long-term success rather than short-term achievement.

The White House has a national security council, a council on environmental quality, the council of economic advisors, the council on women and girls, and the council on jobs and competitiveness. Education is just as important as the economy, the environment, or national security. And the president deserves similarly expert counsel to coordinate the education, health, and social service sectors in support of our nation’s youth.

A President’s Council comprising national leaders, state officials, educators, community members, and other experts would facilitate greater collaboration among the education, social, health, and safety agencies that support children and the coordination of programs at all levels to benefit families. Existing White House advisory councils, like the President’s Council on Fitness, Sports, and Nutrition, are too narrowly focused on individual aspects of child well-being. The Council could serve to interject the whole child approach into a host of issues where it has heretofore not been a priority , including Race to the Top competition, school turnaround strategies, and No Child Left Behind waivers and reauthorization proposals.

Strategically, a President’s Council on the Whole Child is an efficient way to oversee federal investments in children, streamline the government bureaucracy, and limit the federal footprint in state and local affairs. It would strategically consolidate and coordinate the range of programs and services for children that have been assembled in an ad hoc fashion over the decades, facilitating greater collaboration among the education, social, health, and safety agencies that support children. And most importantly, a President’s Council would focus national attention on children and highlight the importance of supporting the whole child as each child learns and grows and fulfills his or her potential

A call to action to all my readers and followers:

If you think a child’s worth is more than a test score, sign the petition to create a President’s Council on the Whole Child.

Your signature on the petition sends a message to Washington leaders to focus on what really matters―our children―by asking them to create a President’s Council on the Whole Child.

If you agree that educators alone can’t support students’ comprehensive needs, sign the petition to create a President’s Council on the Whole Child.

Join fellow educators asking the President to support the whole child today.

You know the whole child approach to education works, now tell the President. Sign ASCD’s petition today.

To ensure that each child in each classroom is healthy, safe, engaged, supported and challenged, we need the support of the President. Ask him to create a council today.

You know your child is more than a test score. To send this message to Washington leaders, sign the petition to create a President’s Council on the Whole Child.

Please join thousands of whole child supporters like yourself and sign the petition to create a President’s Council on the Whole Child at http://wh.gov/BVR. We will have 30 days to gather 25,000 signatures and then the White House will take up the proposal into consideration. Please ask everyone you know invested in children and the future of education to visit the petition and sign!

Thank you,

Walter

Two-Headed Dreamers

2012-01-09T09:16:00.000-08:00

You can’t be a two-headed dreamer. You can’t have it both ways. Two-headed dreamers don’t just talk out of both sides of their mouth….they talk from two completely different minds. Consider those passionate idealists who both want to make meaningful change in life, and at the same time are insistent that there is a menacing conspiracy keeping them from making change happen. It’s a contradiction in thinking…two different heads trying to direct the same body.

My working definition of a passionate idealist is someone who dreams dreams and lives their waking hours to realize them. They have a zeal for life and a belief that they have a moral obligation to make a difference through the life they live. I fancy myself to be a passionate idealist. I believe I make a difference every day by my attitude, choices and actions. Anything that I allow to shake that belief reduces my chances to be successful.

Having this orientation to the world is a sum of all my experiences from early on. Speaking up and asking questions, engaging others and building my own understanding from the discourse. Standing up for what I believe in and withstanding the push back of pessimism and conflicting agendas. Responding to others’ ideals and dreams and working together to make them that much closer to reality. Lending a helping hand when peers are struggling to accomplish their goals, and appreciating the satisfaction of watching them succeed.

But it’s more than that. Believing you can make the world a better place is a response to so many expressions of hope and faith in humanity. It’s laughing out loud to Forrest Gump and cheering during Braveheart. It’s singing along to One Tin Soldier at the top of your lungs and melting into memories when you hear the opening notes of What a Wonderful World. It’s being able to recite your favorite lines from your favorite movie without a second’s hesitation. It’s recalling everything in exact detail about the moment you met someone who dramatically changed you…both verbally and visually...believing everything happens for a reason...that love conquers all….

So how can people with such pure passion for leaving a lasting legacy reconcile that idealism with an unquestioned acceptance that some imposing evil holds our collective will captive and prevents us from making a difference?

Consider the prohibition movement of the early 1900s. Wayne Wheeler was a major player in the movement to pass theEighteenth Amendment. A central piece of his argument for outlawing alcohol was a claim that business leaders wanted to keep their workforce dependent on alcohol so that workers were unable to organize and insist on better working conditions. On the ground in the heat of the progressive era, would this have looked like a truly plausible conspiracy? Apparently so, because everyone from religious leaders to union leaders to politicians came together to pass a constitutional amendment against the manufacture, transportation and sale of alcohol in 1920. But what does it tell us that the Twenty-first Amendment repealed this law only thirteen years later? The well-intended movement to address alcohol abuse was hijacked by unfounded fears and conspiracies that spawned an entire new set of societal problems. It’s striking that a social issue this pervasive was relegated to a simplistic solution that didn’t address the true problem at all.

If we allow our idealistic selves to be two-headed, to embrace not only everything we celebrate about our life and times, but also react out of frustration to unfounded fears, then we undermine our potential to be both dreamers and doers. We surrender our ability to make a difference by conceding that some unseen overpowering force is pulling the strings and calling the tune. In short…it’s a cop-out.

If you really want to make a difference, be a single-minded dreamer and a tough-minded doer. Don’t concede that anything is blocking your ability to make a difference but your own thinking and attitude. The only thing that has ever made a difference in this life is unflappable determination and a willingness to do the hard work that needs to be done. Now…let’s get to it.

10 Truisms for 2012

2012-01-02T07:06:00.001-08:00

As we head into 2012, here are ten truisms to keep in mind:

The rules have changed

What worked 50 years ago does not apply today. If your current strategies are no longer getting you the results you need, it’s time to connect with those who see the world differently and can help you shake up your thinking.

You must be global

Whatever social media channels you use, if you don’t have connections with people from the six inhabited continents, you should. Branch out your network this year to include contacts from around the world.

Change starts from within

If you want to affect change, it starts from within yourself and working within the system. People who look to others to create change for them are forfeiting their own important role in the process.

There is no great conspiracy

The only thing that is holding us back from significantly changing our world for the better is our own personal agendas and self-interest. The sooner we all openly collaborate without fear or bias, the sooner things will improve.

Talk gets old; action speaks

Now that everyone has a virtual soapbox to speak their mind, talk is cheaper than ever. Make your case, build consensus, and then get out there and do what you have said needs to be done. Walk the talk.

Individualization is changing our world

Look at school children today. They have an expectation that everything be individualized so that content and experiences are delivered that meet their specific needs and interests. The age of mass marketing is all but dead.

Technology is not the answer

Stop touting technology as the solution to the world’s problems. The truth is, technology becomes more powerful the more seamlessly it is used. As long as you make it about the technology, you are robbing it of its potential.

Wireless power sources will free us

Batteries and power cords are holding us back from the complete transformation of how we learn, work, create, communicate and entertain. Once the technology is freely available to power our tools through the air, a new innovation explosion will take place.

By the time you retire, education will not look the same

We are in the middle of the transformation now, and still fairly early in the process, but by the time you finish your career, the way children receive their education will look completely different from the current model.

The power of story transforms us; write your own

The further we get into the Information Age, the more obvious it is that storytelling is as powerful as ever. Why let anyone else write your story for you? Think for yourself, write your own story, and live it out as only you can.

Here’s to a great year ahead for everyone!

Brass Elephants

2011-12-18T05:52:00.000-08:00

Last week we were asked to bring a personal artifact to a workshop. And after much hand-wringing over what item of personal significance to bring to a professional training, I opted for one of a pair of brass elephant sculptures given to me by Raj, a beloved colleague, several Christmases ago.

I had brought Raj to Arlington to build an Oracle team to salvage an unsuccessful implementation and put in place the processes and practices that would serve the school system well moving forward. He was young, skilled, highly professional and fully capable of the task. More noteworthy to me, Raj was thoughtful, reflective, humble and he had the “soft skills” - the people skills to lead the culture change necessary to successfully integrate Oracle into the existing work environment. From the first time I spoke to him on the phone, through the hiring process, the many long and difficult meetings successfully getting the work done, and even since leaving Arlington for bigger and better things, I have always admired and appreciated Raj, both personally and professionally.

The last Christmas I was in Arlington, Raj went home to India for a couple of weeks to see his family. And upon his return, he came to see me with a large gift bag in hand and a big smile on his face.

“Walter, I have brought you something from India.”

“Raj that is very thoughtful of you. You know you didn’t have to get me anything.”

“Yes but I wanted to.” He handed me the heavy bag. Inside were two large white boxes. I carefully removed one and then the other from the oversized bag, and opened the first box, packed with tissue. As I pulled sheet after sheet out from within, the crown of the head of one of the large brass elephant statues came into view. I removed the protective packing more quickly now, wanting to see exactly what this was. Raj smiled with anticipation as he watched me bring the elephant out into the natural light streaming in my office windows. It was an impressive sight. And as I stood there appreciating it, Raj explained to me its significance.

“Walter, in India this is the great Hindu God, Ganesh. He is highly revered and a symbol of kings.”

“Raj, I don’t know what to say,” I replied as I released the second elephant from its packaging.

“Ganesh is the remover of obstacles,” Raj continued to explain with a proud smile on his face. “I wanted you to have him.”

“Raj they are impressive,” I answered, thinking of how they could make substantial bookends.

“Walter, you have been my remover of obstacles. This is why I wanted to give these to you.”

Wow. That did it. Wake up call! Raj got me to understand the real significance of this gift. All this time I had thought of Raj as my go-to Oracle guy…my living Good-to-Great management role model…my best hire. And yet at the same time, simply by making sure he had my support and access to all the resources he needed to be successful, Raj saw me as his “remover of obstacles.” I was completely humbled by this realization.

Isn’t it amazing the things we attribute to others in our lives? The strengths we believe they bring to the relationship…the things we think they “give” to us…the qualities we see them bringing out in us…we truly empower other people by the ways we perceive them making a difference for us. And yet in reality, it is not about what others bring to us. The single greatest gift we may ever experience is to be an “obstacle remover” - to allow them to get past the impediments in their lives so that they can realize their full potential. Raj helped me to realize this: it is in freeing others from the things that may hold them back that we allow them to be a gift to us. Everyone wins. Everyone grows. Everyone succeeds.

Imagine the ways the world would change if we each became an “obstacle remover” for others? Instead of doing things or giving things, simply helping to ensure the path ahead is clear for them to fulfill their goals and dreams and potential as people? Think about it and realize the implications as we conclude another year of opportunities and challenges…and look to the new year ahead.

The gift Raj gave to me was not two brass elephant sculptures, but a new understanding of how I make a difference. I was already doing this obstacle removing, albeit unwittingly, but I did not appreciate the difference it made for the people working for me nor for the people in my personal life. Does “obstacle removing” ensure that those we work with and live with will immediately take advantage of the path clearing we create for them? Of course not. But for those who are ready, it is an incredibly liberating, empowering gift. And it requires a lot less spent energy and effort than doing things for others who are not ready to do for themselves.

Imagine a world free of humanly-created obstacles; the bottled-up potential that would be unleashed. Imagine a world where we are no longer limited by our self-imposed impediments, and answers to our most long-standing problems begin to become evident. Who wouldn’t want to be a part of that experience? What is keeping you and me from getting started on making this happen? Nothing that I can see…except self-interest and an inability to step back and appreciate the bigger picture. Want to improve your own life? Get the impediments out from under foot. Want to make the world a better place? Remove the obstacles holding us back.

I do hereby resolve, and I invite you to join me, to fill the coming year with obstacle removing: making sure not to create obstacles for others, and clearing paths wherever possible. It can make a difference far beyond our immediate capability to see…a gift that continues to pay itself forward…a gift of unlimited possibilities.

Thank you Raj.

Authenticity

2011-11-27T07:12:00.001-08:00

You’ve thought through 21^st century tools and 21^st century skills, but how are you set for 21^st century virtue? What do you mean “virtue” is a Victorian notion? Don’t you need a stance, a perspective, a context in which to make sense of these quickly-changing times? Think of virtue not as an unblemished character trait, but as a vantage point which gives you the ability to take action and make a difference. There may be a number of such virtues, but there is one that that comes before all others. Authenticity: the ability to impact your world as your genuine self.

The next great frontier turns out not to be the oceans or outer space, but human potential. Think about it. When you look at all the skills and tools touted as the hallmark of this century, what is the common denominator? Real-time, authentic, in-the-moment, interaction. No confinement by physical space and time. No limits to creativity, collaboration, productivity and building new understandings. Our minds are the ultimate frontier.

The irony of the 21^st century is that, because of its immediacy, people have become that much more cynical, and it limits our thinking. We just accept that media are not objective. We don't expect advertising to make sense. We create avatars that serve as caricatures of ourselves. Operating in a virtual world can be all at once very self-affirming and very artificial. Lines are blurred, anything goes and reality checks become optional.

Authenticity cuts through all of the superficiality and makes you well-grounded in reality.

People who operate with authenticity:

Know their values - they are clear on what is important to them

Are self-aware - they are conscious of who they are and what they are doing

Have internal focus - they have a strong sense of how they can make a difference

Are results oriented - they keep their eyes on the outcomes they want to achieve

Have affective intelligence - they combine thinking and intuition in their knowing

Seek deeper understanding - they are driven to go beyond initial answers

Generate real connections - they seek out and attract people and ideas of substance

Communicate with clarity - they speak and listen clearly, openly and receptively

Resist distractions - they operate in the moment regardless of multiple demands for their attention

See infinite possibilities - they view the world as more than one pie with only so many slices

Hey, if it were easy, everyone would already be doing it. What’s the incentive to develop your own authenticity? In a world of noisy, disruptive, quickly-changing reality, those who are well-grounded in themselves emerge as the thought leaders and achievers of this new age…the standard-bearers for where we are headed…as educators…as people…as members of a global society.

You know people who personify authenticity; you have already met some of them along the way. They immediately get your attention with their ideas and energy. Authenticity cuts through all that is unnecessary and gets to the point. And at the end of the day, we all respond to anyone and anything that gets to the point. No posturing. No style without substance. No smoke and mirrors. Just true, bona fide, indisputable, unadulterated gravitas.

People who are not in touch with their authentic selves resort to defensive posturing: making excuses for themselves, blaming others and seeing people conspire against them. These behaviors consume their energy giving them a false sense of purpose. You have met people like this too, making a lot of noise wanting your attention...but they don't resonate with reality. It’s important to see them for who they are…and that's hard to do until you are in touch with who you are.

When you operate with authenticity, you take charge of tools and skills and circumstances and generate new ideas, new possibilities, and new solutions. Doors open and opportunities make themselves available to you simply because you are no longer limiting yourself in your thinking. You don’t point to situations or people and blame them for your circumstances; you work to create the circumstances in which you want to live.

Yes, authenticity requires effort up front, to know your genuine self and get in the habit of being true to who you are. But the longterm pay-off is incredible…because you don’t have to be a big-name mover-and-shaker to make a difference in this world…you just have to be your genuine self…and all your potential to impact the future will emerge. It’s a journey…not a destination…and it happens by degrees.

So why not begin today…here and now…first by peeling off the thinking and habits that hold you back…and then replacing your old ways with authenticity? I am ready to make the journey with you...starting right here...starting right now.

What's Wrong with this Picture?

2011-11-20T06:09:00.001-08:00

Driving up to Toms River, NJ and back yesterday made me think, “You know….traffic is a true reflection of the challenges we face in society today."

Think about it. How many of these situations have you experienced?

Three traffic lanes are merging into one a mile ahead, and while most drivers are moving into the lane merge, here comes the guy flying down the soon-to-be-ended lane past everyone, fully expecting to ease in right up at the front of the merge…because obviously he is above all this merging nonsense.

You’re in the right lane preparing to get off at the next exit. Some speedster in his sports car comes flying up behind you with his brights on and tailgates you because he wants to get past all the traffic only going ten miles above the speed limit in the left lanes and you’re ruining his fun.

Traffic in the passing lane is backed-up 25 cars deep because someone decided to act out their need to have attention by moving into the fast lane and driving 5 miles below the speed limit.

You’re keeping a safe distance of a few car lengths from the guy ahead of you in heavy traffic when the guy in the next lane moves into your buffer space, cutting you off and leaving no room to avoid a chain reaction fender-bender if anyone suddenly hits their brakes.

Traffic is crawling bumper-to-bumper and the guy next to you puts on his directional and starts turning right into you to make a lane change, because once you turn on your signal you have the right of way and the fact that there’s no room to make the maneuver doesn’t matter…everyone is supposed to part for him like the Red Sea.

You are proceeding cautiously within the appropriate speed limit through an intersection and a pedestrian steps out right in front of you making you jolt in your seat and dig your nails into your steering wheel as you avoid hitting them and catch your breath and re-start your heart…because pedestrians have the right of way…right?

You’re coming to an off-ramp, decelerating to exit the interstate, when instead of allowing you to exit safely before he merges onto the highway behind you, some guy hits the gas to pass you on the ramp on your right and then merge into traffic in front of you, leaving you precious little room and time to safely make your exit.

You’re driving along on cruise control when a driver flies past you, moves into your lane in front of you, and slows down so that you have to come off of cruise, accelerate, and go around him again.

You are driving along in the right lane keeping a safe distance, when a driver in the far left lane suddenly cuts across two lanes in one maneuver, cuts you off and then flies onto the exit off-ramp when he obviously knew he should have gotten over a mile back, one-lane-at-a-time, and avoided causing an accident or a coronary.

You are sitting on a side street waiting for an oncoming car to pass so you can make a right onto the main road. At the last second the driver turns onto your side street without using his directional. Meanwhile a new pack of cars has come speeding up behind him and it will now be a longer wait until you are able to proceed.

I’m sure you can think of other situations that you have experienced while driving. Perhaps you have been on the short end of these experiences. Perhaps you have been the culprit. Either way. My point is this as we head into the holiday travel season and the 2012 election year: the way people behave in traffic is an allegory for the way people behave in other facets of their lives.

Much like wanting to safely get where we’re going on the highway, we all want a stronger economy, a transparent democracy, and a better life. But what are we willing to do to make it happen? And what are we willing to endure to reach that destination? No one is going to willingly sign up to be run off the road or participate in a seven car pile-up. Yet the things I describe above happen every day behind the wheel. Yes there are laws and unwritten rules of common courtesy and decency that are supposed to minimize these occurances, but they run rampant.

What’s wrong with this picture? And what does it tell us about the gap between what we say we want and how we really operate?

Burning Down the House

2011-11-13T14:08:00.001-08:00

A week ago I posted the following graphic and comment:

Me: “You know what's sad? This entire altruistic movement has no end goal...the world has spoken and it's still business as usual...SMH...”

The following discussion ensued:

Emma: “But you know what's cool? That a friend of mine who *doesn't* approve of this movement (per se) has called it altruistic, and has expressed frustration with things being "business as usual." So it gives me hope that people with different beliefs will talk to each other, and express frustration, and vote, and post things online that make others think. Even if they think differently than me!”

Susan: “Wow this impresses; all this in less than seven weeks from 1 city to 1700!!!”

Anita: “It's not up to them to find the solution - only to make the world aware of the problem.”

Me: “So...let me know who it's up to then?”

Anita: “Those that have the power to make changes...those of us who are working, teaching, making laws, etc. or we'll have a ‘French revolution’."

Susan: “This conversation - that's what’s shining a light on a huge problem we have not addressed.”

Me: “OK but you want to have it both ways...you want change but it's someone else's job. I thought this government was founded by the people, of the people, for the people?”

Anita: “First step is to elect people who will make changes, to boycott certain companies, to contact your congressman/congresswoman.”

Me: “But you were just preaching revolution...if you want complete change you have to be willing to do the work...”

Anita: “No, I'm not preaching revolution. That's a possible outcome if things don't get better. You don't throw the baby out with the bathwater. The basic premise of this government is sound.”

Me: “Sounds like we all need to think this out and come to the courage of our convictions...so far the whole movement is a lot of talk...and that frustrates me...I like to get things done...”

Anita: ‎”...but you're right. It’s of the people, by the people, for the people. And that has been forgotten by those who were elected.”

Me: “OK but enough finger pointing. If we're that fed up it's time to DO something.”

Anita: “Tuesday is a step.”

Me: “We'll see Anita...I would be delighted to see the election results Wednesday morning and think it actually starts the beginning of reform...”

Susan: “Yes but the government is not acting now so the people are exercising their rights of protest.”

Me: “Sure Susan and they have the right to do so. But is it just a feel good exercise? Where's the result of the protests?”

Susan: “The results of the protests are that eyes on this movement, that the media is sending people, that publications like Fast Company doing a surveyhttp://www.fastcompany.com/1789018/occupy-wall-street-demographics-statistics that unions of nurses, teachers, communication workers, lawyers are joining. It's now on the front burner and no longer the elephant in the room. People and politicians are paying attention, you can be sure.”

Me: “Can I?”

Watch out you might get what you're after.

Cool babies strange but not a stranger.

I'm an ordinary guy,burning down the house…

I celebrate Emma’s point at the outset of the thread: it is wonderful that we are able to discuss such critical issues openly and with respect for one another’s points of view. I honestly believe educators in general share the same values and perspectives…it’s a question of how to move forward that creates our differences. Tuesday’s elections are over; there was a general trend of Republicans being elected. Meanwhile the “occupy” movement continues…for all its ideals and all its problems…the message, the crime, the interlopers joining in with their own agendas. Right now as I write, those “occupying” Portland, Oregon are in a stand-off as police are ready to enforce an order for protesters to disperse.

Hold tight, wait till the party's over.

Hold tight, We're in for nasty weather.

There has got to be a way burning down the house…

And I’m wondering, when a city ends their local “occupy” movement, what will have been won by these protesters? Yes, I agree they have the right to assembly and free speech. Yes I’ll concede the protests have gotten media attention both positive and negative. But what is the goal? Not the “we have been heard” goal…the “we have affected change” goal. Are we so willing to accept the cleaned-up nostalgia of Forrest Gump fairy tales that we aren’t willing to see the real world work that needs to be done?

Here's your ticket pack your bag, time for jumpin' overboard;

The transportation is here.

Close enough but not too far, maybe you know where you are, fightin' fire with fire…

If the goal is to call attention to those slipping through society’s safety net during tough economic times…mission accomplished. If the goal is to put pressure on elected officials to “do something” about it…I’m not so sure. Taking the dialogue to the streets as a way of “fighting fire with fire” is a romantic but flawed notion. How does the “occupy” movement create any urgent impetus for elected officials to make necessary change? Being fed-up is an honest human emotion…but it doesn’t alleviate us of our responsibility to actively participate in making the world a better place.

All wet, hey you might need a raincoat.

Shakedown, dreams walking in broad daylight.

Three hundred-sixty-five degrees burning down the house…

When would the pressure be more on the “powers that be” than during the next year leading up to the 2012 elections? And what better way to make decision-makers implement change than working within the system, right here, right now? Instead of pointing fingers and demanding someone else fix the problem, we have to espouse a vision of what “winning” looks like…a concrete, inclusive, actionable plan that addresses the real issues…one that is in the best interests of the collective good.

It was once upon a place, sometimes I listen to myself;

Gonna come in first place.

People on their way to work, baby what did you except? Gonna burst into flame…

When these discussions become heated…and it doesn’t take much…the case is ultimately made for a “revolt of the common people against the oppressive system.” I can understand this comes out of a sense of frustration. Education is taking a lot of hits politically and economically. Change is truly needed. So what are we willing to do to help achieve it? Is our only option to burn down our own house? Of course not.

My house, out of the ordinary.

That's might. Don't want to hurt nobody.

Some things sure can sweep me off my feet burning down the house…

It is important to believe we can affect change. It is even more important to do a gut check to know what we are each willing to actually do…on the job professionally and at home personally…to contribute to making change take place. Nightly news sound bites, digital video clips and social media birds-of-a-feather pats-on-the-back may be reassuring to those all caught up in the discussions and protests…but the reality is “the revolution will not be televised.” (Gil Scott-Heron, 1970)

No visible means of support and you have not seen nothin' yet;

Everything's stuck together.

I don't know what you expect starring into the TV set fighting fire with fire…

My point is this: we need to find the courage of our convictions and implement a plan to make change happen. Because once the protests are done and the elections are over, nothing will have changed if we have not worked within the system to put our values as educators into legal, legislative action. Feeling good about discussing and protesting the issues is the equivalent of “a thousand people in the street singing songs and carrying signs, mostly say, ‘hooray for our side’…it's time we stop, hey, what's that sound? Everybody look what's going down…” (Stephen Stills,1966) If this is all we are willing to do to address the historic challenges we face as a society, we are kidding ourselves…we really just want to reserve the right to hear ourselves complain. I choose to believe educators want more than that; we just aren’t sure how and where to get started.

Burning Down the House composed by David Byrne performed by The Talking Heads. From the album Speaking in Tongues (1983).

For What It's Worth composed by Stephen Stills performed by Buffalo Springfield.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-cd-KKfMpsY

The Revolution will not be Televised composed and performed by by Gil Scott-Heron.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=sV3Y6rInV7E

Note: The above discussion thread has been edited for typing, grammatical and syntactic errors; also the names have been changed to protect the privacy of those who participated in the original discussion.

Onward & Upward

2011-11-06T05:41:00.001-08:00

Colleagues who have known me over the yeas ask, “Walter, what’s up? Why is ASCD supporting the Common Core State Standards?” as if we have gone over to the dark side. My initial answer is, “Standards are not evil!” followed by, “Besides, ASCD very thoughtfully and deliberately made the decision to get involved in this work. Common Core & Whole Child go hand in hand!”

The 5 strands of the Whole Child - healthy, safe, engaged, supported and challenged - are the centerpiece of everything we do at ASCD, and will be even moreso as we continue to move towards revolutionizing the ways we learn and work. But we need a way to determine how we know when we’ve met them…and what have we done to successfully address each one.

Enter the Common Core State Standards. Common Core measures outcomes in terms of access, delivery and expectations, promoting familiar ASCD themes of higher order thinking skills, habits of mind, quality content and essential skills. As ASCD Whole Child Managing Director Molly McCloskey emphasizes, it’s all about being inclusive in our thinking:

Each child, in each school, in each of our communities deserves to be healthy,safe, engaged, supported, and challenged. That’s what a whole child approach to learning, teaching, and community engagement is all about.

In concert with this philosophy, Common Core sets higher expectations for students. These standards are broad in scope, avoiding the narrow definitions we have become all too familiar with heretofore. Each state unpacks the standards and designs their implementation as it sees fit; they cannot be taught like traditional standards. The Common Core State Standards are both the answer and the higher level question, providing indicators of what we are doing broadly while forcing us to think more deeply about implementation.

Most importantly, and unlike previous iterations of standards, the Common Core creates the need to build structures so children can be successful. States cannot adopt the Common Core and successfully implement them without identifying the gaps in their current programs that have created points of failure for students in the past. If you are looking to transform education to meet the needs of every child, you must be a proponent of the Common Core State Standards.

ASCD supports the Common Core because we support challenging and improving education. Historically, we have always advocated for standards. So when the CCSSO presented the Common Core for adoption by states nationally, we assessed the soundness of the standards, examined them for pedagogical consistency with our commitment to the Whole Child, and decided it was a good match for the work we have always done. Since the Common Core movement takes on nationwide implications, we believe we need to be engaged in the discussion as a voice for excellence in instruction and development of quality materials. This is why we applied for and obtained a Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation grant to help lead the important work of implementing the standards on the ground in each state.

As we begin, we realize there is no endpoint to this work. Implementation is an ongoing process, and there are plenty of ways for educators at all levels to get involved. ASCD Policy Programs Director David Griffith advises, “The time to get involved is now. There is some tendency for people to want to wait until test items are developed. Don’t wait.” Now is the time to help develop Common Core implementation in your state.

How can you get started? Well, subscribe to the free ASCD Common Core newsletter and follow ASCD Common Core work on Twitter using the hashtags #ASCDpolicy and #CommonCore and #WholeChildAdv. You can also learn more about our Common Core work at http://www.ascd.org/public-policy/common-core.aspx and the Whole Child program athttp://www.wholechildeducation.org/ and be sure to keep up with our monthly themes on the Whole Child Blog at http://whatworks.wholechildeducation.org/blog/. And of course, peruse the official Common Core State Standards initiative site at http://www.corestandards.org/.

At whatever level of education you serve, teacher and administrator, find out what your state is doing by visiting your state department of education or office of public instruction website to learn more and find out how you can get involved. Be a voice. Be active. Help inform and define how this important movement in American public education will make a difference for your students. At this point 44 states have adopted the Common Core State Standards, so there may also be work you can do in your state to advocate for adoption if your state has yet to join the critical mass. However you choose to be involved, now is the time to do so.

Is the Common Core a panacea for all those issues that need to be addressed in transforming education into a responsive 21^st century institution? Of course not. But we have to start somewhere. And putting in place a single set of national standards by which all states work and teach is a laudable start. Come join us!

The New Compact
http://www.ascd.org/ASCD/pdf/Whole%20Child/WCC%20Poster.pdf

Whole Child Indicators
http://www.wholechildeducation.org/resources/wholechildindicators-all.pdf

Lead by Action

2011-10-30T07:23:00.000-07:00

This past Thursday morning on Facebook I caught President Leo Brehm posting a picture of Massachusetts Governor Deval Patrick from the MassCUE conference at Gillette Stadium in Foxborough. MassCUE is the Massachusetts Computer Using Educators, an affiliate of ISTE.

Me to Leo: “You got the Governor to make remarks?!”

Leo: “We did.”

Me: “I am so proud of you all! Makes all the ground work put in place the last decade seem even MORE worthwhile.”

Leo: “You laid the structure Walter.”

Me: “Thank you, Leo. But your Board is realizing the full potential of what is possible through your good work. I am humbled to see the strides you have made!”

This is an excellent example of ongoing organizational change. When I was invited to join the MassCUE board years back, I was fairly new coming back to my home state and honored to be asked. I remember that first board meeting I attended suffered under the exhaustion of a group of tired veteran members, many who had been serving in some capacity for ten, fifteen and even twenty years. There was no energy. These fine professionals had put in their time, served educational technology well for the commonwealth, and were ready to move on. As one of the founding members of the organization told me after the meeting, “We are hoping you can give us a shot in the arm.”

That year most of those veteran board members stepped down, realizing room needed to be made for new blood, fresh eyes and eager hands. Of course, there was a small segment who chose to stay on. These few veterans had served in supporting roles on the board up til now, and they saw this as their opportunity to move up into leadership positions. Unfortunately, as often happens in long-standing orgs, these aspiring leaders were locked into the existing practices of the board…the very practices that had worn out the majority of their colleagues. Everything from conference venue to bookkeeping to board representation around the state was met with the same response: “This is how we’ve always done it. There is no need to change.”

This is significant because the organization’s revenue and membership were both in steep decline. Conference attendance was down and even though board members were elected, it was assumed if you were invited to run for a seat you would be voted in because such a paltry number of people bothered to vote. For an organization with a proud tradition of promoting and supporting technology in education, these were bright red flags. No doubt about it…MassCUE needed that shot in the arm.

Of course, many of the new board members did not see the need to continue practices that no longer delivered the necessary value to the organization. With much resistance from those veterans remaining from the previous board, the new board began a transformation of MassCUE, from its bylaws to its web presence. We read Jim Collins’Good to Great and set up a Moodle environment on which to discuss it between meetings. We identified the need to become the voice of ed tech leadership in the state, and instituted an annual Tech Leadership Symposium to bring administrators together to connect and collaborate. We began building partnerships and alliances with other associations and organizations in Massachusetts. In short, we built capacity for MassCUE to broaden its influence and impact in education.

When I left to return to Arlington, Virginia Public Schools, MassCUE had great momentum in place and still lots more work to be done. I finished up my work on the board serving as President, and left the organization in good hands as I moved on. Still, you never know what will come of your work once you hand it on to others. As a leader, you have to be able to let go and trust that your successors will continue to do what is best for the organization. This is why it is important for leaders to move on after they have contributed their efforts; change is not only good, it is critical to longterm growth and success.

So when I saw Leo’s post this past Thursday morning, I was very gratified…not for myself but for MassCUE. The work we had done over the past decade was producing impressive results. The organization had partnered with the state superintendents’ association, giving it clout it had not had heretofore. It had moved its annual conference to the New England Patriots’ football stadium and increased attendance and membership in the process. And now the governor of the great state of Massachusetts was giving opening remarks at its conference. I am truly humbled.

What can I surmise from all of this? Well…for organizations in general…

Change is never easy. There were many tough decisions to be made along the way.

There are no sacred cows in acting in the best interests of an organization.

Organizations need to build a leadership pipeline that puts in place and then moves along talent on a regular basis.

Know when to move on. You may be the biggest impediment holding your organization back, and you don’t even realize it.

Today’s organizations cannot be led by an honorary listing of Who’s Who in the profession. Leadership needs to be active, engaged and hold one another accountable for moving the organization forward.

That firm, uncompromising vision and will that Collins speaks of in Good to Great is essential to make change happen.

The challenge for all organizations today is value creation: finding new ways to serve your clientele..because if you’re not serving them well...why are you still in existence?

Capacity-building is essential in moving any organization forward. You can’t aspire to evolve and expand if you still only have the means to conduct business as usual.

Once you have your organization back on track, opportunities will make themselves available to you that were never apparent before. Business gurus often refer to this as synergy. I call it the good fruits of hard work.

Never rest on your laurels. As far as you’ve come, there’s always more work to be done.

Personal Legends

2011-10-09T07:14:00.000-07:00

So things have settled down after several days of social media commiseration over the passing of Steve Jobs. When he stepped down at Apple I knew he wasn’t well, but I didn’t expect him to lose his life this quickly. All in all, however you assess Jobs in hindsight, it is obvious from the outpouring online that he affected many people just being the person he was. As Paulo Coelho writes in The Alchemist, he was living his personal legend...realizing his full potential in his life.

Mourning Jobs’ death reminds me of so many other very public deaths in my lifetime: Unitas, Shakur, John Paul II, Cobain, McAuliffe, Lennon, Piaget, Picasso, De Gaulle, King, RFK, Disney, Churchill, JFK. They come from all walks of life. And no matter the field in which they made their contribution, society stops to mark the moment and take account of a life that made a difference.

For me personally, public deaths are a different animal than our private, personal loss of loved ones. In my personal life, there are people who have affected me and changed me much more than any popular figure ever could. But personal loss lacks the dynamic of global grieving. What both have in common is the legacy left behind.

In each case, the true legacy of the person is how their personal legend impacts our lives moving forward. Kennedy’s vision for civil rights and space exploration. Lennon’s use of language in redefining how we think about ourselves and our values. Piaget’s observation of human cognitive development throughout childhood and its impact on education since. Their impact is felt long after their presence among us is gone.

Legacy is not a passive acceptance of what was…but a carrying on of what still is. It is John Paul IIs humanness in reaching out to people everywhere. It is Picasso’s interpretation of the world in unique, unaniticpated portrayals. It is King’s willingness to accept all the ramifications for speaking out for what is right. And for Jobs it is not accepting the status quo and pushing for innovation even when the technology to do so was not yet readily evident.

Regardless of the example, my point I this: if you want to honor the life, public or private, of someone who has passed on from this world, honor their personal legend by pursuing your own. None of the people who have gone before us were of super strength or magical ability. They were human beings just like us; no more, no less. Thy simply found and fulfilled their personal legend. You have every opportunity to realize yours, and in the process make the world a better place.

This is what makes life precious; the quick passing of time…and with it the diminishing chances for us to leave a mark on this world. In the final analysis, the legacy of each person is our optimal use of the time we have to make a difference. It is the opportunity afforded to us as we awaken every day to fulifll our personal legends.

Want to honor the passing of a great life? Do so by how you choose to live your own. Take risks. Push thinking. Make a difference. Find your own personal legend. Because when you do, the universe will conspire with you to realize your dreams. One day, perhaps sooner than you anticipate, those who know you will take stock of your life…how you have made a difference for others…for the greater good. Don’t cry too long for the loss of others...channel that immediate emotion into renewed conviction to make your own life worth honoring.

Walter’s blog archive: http://surfaquarium.com/blog.htm

The Alchemist: A Fable About Following Your Dream

Churchill & Burke

2011-10-02T07:30:00.001-07:00

This past weekend this quote appeared across my social media feeds, and it received great response as I shared it with friends and followers. It reminded me of an ongoing dialogue about education professionalism. There are times professionalism requires us to lead by example and there are times it requires us to speak out.

In the darkest, most dismal days of the last century, again and again, Winston Churchill’s voice consistently spoke up for what is good and right and decent in all of us, even as his contemporaries faded away and new unimaginable circumstances arose in front of him. By speaking loudly and clearly and with moral authority, Churchill gave strength to millions of people at home and around the world who shared his beliefs. Even as the twentieth century became recorded history, Churchill continued to speak out the rest of his life as the Lion of Britain. He knew he had a moral imperative to do so.

Unfortunately, what made Churchill’s roar so admirably distinctive was that, through transgression and atrocity, too many of us were willing to quietly look the other way and just muddle along and get along in our quiet lives. Historically these moments have occurred in reaction to emergencies: outbreaks of war, disease and natural disasters. Every generation is faced with challenges which they must either stand up and face or quietly look the other way. If everyone had vocalized Churchill’s sentiments, many more lives could have been spared over the last hundred years.

Churchill had to have been rattled to his core through two world wars, communist domination of eastern Europe, and the dawn of the nuclear age. There was much at stake in crisis after crisis…more life-and-death decisions than most of us will ever face in our lifetimes. But in the bleakest most exhausting moments of the Second World War, he boldly proclaimed to his countrymen that “This is their finest hour.” How could he espouse such words at a time when the second “war to end all wars” was playing itself out? He stuck to his principles, voiced them publicly, and in so doing displayed a courage and a vision that defied immediate threats.

Standing up for education is different. It’s not about reacting to an immediate crisis…it’s about advocating for the future. It doesn’t carry that immediate call to action to fend of an impending attack. Nonetheless, it requires those of us invested in the cause to speak up for what we know to be good and true and right about public education’s role in the future of our civilization. Yet most of us in education today have our heads down and are trying to quietly get along during difficult times. As one colleague remarked, “Educators know what’s at stake. But they’re scared to say or do anything about it.”

Fear is an understandably human emotion…one that can powerfully impact our motivations and actions. Each of us has a choice…and the choice we make has consequences. Will you speak up for what is good and right for public education, even as your leaders and colleagues continue to plod along with business-as-usual? Or will you settle for the status quo and allow the future of public education to be co-opted by political and commercial interests who do not have your insight and investment in the value of a free public education for all? Speaking out is a moral imperative...we need your voice...now.

Interconnect Ed

2011-09-25T07:57:00.001-07:00

The hallmark of this brave new Information Age is the interconnectedness of everything: ideas, information, people. Relationships are key. It’s no longer what you know or how much you know…it’s who you know and how to connect with them. Interactions are more immediate, fluid and dynamic.

On an individual basis it is happening as I write. But what about on an institutional scale? Don’t we eventually have to affect change in our public institutions so that they will morph from their successful Industrial Age mindset to this new way of living and working? This is the biggest challenge of making the shift: finding institutional incentive for becoming more interconnected, agile and responsive.

Public education is a prime example. In the Industrial Age education established itself by putting in place very deliberate policies and practices that require anyone engaging with the institution to meet established requirements, complete specified forms and tests, and move through its programs and services in prescribed, sequential steps. It is very hard to affect change in this kind of bureaucracy.

And the implications go beyond the internal workings of public education 1.0. The way public schools interact with other community agencies is also slow and cumbersome. By traditional definition, the mission of public education is effective instruction. Period. Physical, mental, social and emotional health are acknowledged as peripheral variables that can aid or interfere with that mission, but they are not an explicit components of what schools do. IN education 2.0, this is changing.

To successfully prepare students for their future, schools today have to be interconnected with other public institutions that can help them meet all the needs of each student…not just intellectual growth but personal, interpersonal, emotional, physical and mental health. Why? Because students no longer come to school from homes where we can assume all of these needs are being met. Families have changed…parenting has changed…and therefore students have changed in how they come to us.

This is more of a mind-shift than a resources-shift. The public institutions for community and personal health and well-being already exist. It’s just a matter of making them interconnect with education so that students can access whatever resources they need across their community’s support system. Schools can be the hub through which students and families access all these different health and social service agencies…without having to begin at square one with each. Imagine a coordinated single-point of access for students to receive everything they need to thrive without the bureaucracy and duplicative red tape of working with siloed agencies one at a time.

This is why The Whole Child approach to education makes so much sense. ASCD’s vision for education 2.0 is all-inclusive, providing for every dimension of a growing, thriving student preparing for their future:

Each student enters school healthy and learns about and practices a healthy lifestyle. More…
Each student learns in an intellectually challenging environment that is physically and emotionally safe for students and adults. More…
Each student is actively engaged in learning and is connected to the school and broader community. More..
Each student has access to personalized learning and is supported by qualified, caring adults. More…
Each graduate is challenged academically and prepared for success in college or further study and for employment in a global environment. More…

Want to know what The Whole Child is all about? Select "More..." following each bullet or see the entire set of indicators here. And then immerse yourself in the vision of interconnected ed...education seamlessly working with all other relevant public agencies to make sure that every child is healthy, safe, engaged supported and challenged. After all, if we’re going to reach The Whole Child…we’re going to need to integrate resources from the whole community. Interconnect ed…it’s what The Whole Child is all about.

That's Why They Play The Games...

2011-09-18T06:08:00.001-07:00

It’s all about the hype. The spin. The pundits. The experts. The talking heads. The facts. The data. The insight. The intangibles. The inside scoop. The interpretations. The trends. The analysis. The speculation. The predictions. The records. The historical contexts. The powers that be. The informed conclusions. Really? No…not really.

Every Saturday morning here in the states college football experts fill hours of airtime making the case for who will win the games on the weekend schedule. They look at conferences, rankings, previous performances, position-by-position match-ups, who plays better at home or on the road, injuries, benchings, weather, scandals, human interest stories…if there’s a way to make the case for why certain teams will win today, it is made…convincingly.

Then at high noon eastern time the games begin. And all the posing and posturing about the result of every game in the country goes out the window. Some favorites win. Some underdogs surprise. And while some general statements can be made about the power conferences, the football factories and the haves and have-nots, there is only so much rhyme and reason as to the outcomes when they are reported out on Sunday morning. All the talk means nothing. Any given team can beat any other team on any given day. That’s why they play the games.

What does this mean for education? Well, we have a lot of experts and data and powers that be putting their spin on what is happening and what is going to happen in classrooms. They have a lot of money, power and influence on their side...access to media and entertainment and corporate resources…it can certainly appear and sound like they know what they’re talking about. But where does the rubber meet the road in public education? In the classroom. All the politicians and philanthropists and administrators and data analysts may have their say, but at the end of the day it is the teacher and student who make it happen.

What can we infer from this?

People love the anticipation of the unknown…the adrenaline rush and the hype, but ultimately events play themselves out in the present moment.

Posing and posturing get a lot of attention, but in the final analysis it’s all about performance.

Money, knowledge and power provide advantages, but they do not control the outcomes.

People can manipulate perceptions, but in the end reality always bears itself out.

Teachers, more than anyone else, will determine the future of education.

You can prove all the experts wrong.

Make a difference in the moment. Right now. Nothing else matters. You have control over your oucome. No one else.

There’s a certain satisfaction with proving the soothsayers wrong. Truman defeating Dewey for the presidency. The Jets beating the Colts in Super Bowl III. Everyday citizens bringing down the Berlin Wall. It didn’t matter who had the perceived upper-hand or who predicted what…all that mattered was the outcome.

So…stop listening to the pundits. Get your game on, get back out there and give it everything you’ve got. Don’t let the voices on the sidelines get in your head. Sure they can have their say. But in the end, it’s up to you. You own the endgame.

Breaking the Cycle

2011-09-11T07:49:00.001-07:00

In America, success is defined by short-term business decisions…how quickly you can implement a plan that delivers a big monetary return. We are all familiar with those people who are revered for their ability to be able to do this: athletes, entertainers, entrepreneurs. Unfortunately for the rest of us, in each case it comes down to inherent talent that makes this possible. So how do we find worth in a society that reflects value in dollars? Some try to get-rich-quick playing the lottery and the market, while the majority of us work hard to achieve honest accomplishments that pay the bills.

Public education is the antithesis of what is valued in American culture. No no no don’t gasp or protest…I’m not saying it’s right…I’m just stating what we all know to be true. If American culture valued education, teachers would be paid well and students would be provided everything they need to be successful, as an investment in our future.

But look at the headlines over the past year:

Public education is being depleted of resources as governors work to balance budgets in tight times

Taxpayers resist further tax increases to fund education because the short-term gains are not appreciable

Teacher unions lose collective bargaining rights in key states because of the perception they have over-reached in the past and that they continue to be run by self-serving leadership

Educators are vilified as the problem with public education because the system pits student performance against teacher performance

Thousands of teachers lose their jobs across the country due to budget cuts, with profound long-term implications for our workforce while addressing short-term economic realities

It’s a three-cornered-conflict…three powerful forces pitted against one another:

Resources are shrinking, our culture continues to look for short-term wins, but our long-term prosperity depends on investments we make now.

My question to you is this: is American public education, by definition, doomed to be under-valued and under-resourced because of the culture in which it subsists? Or are there ways to re-think education that could produce short-term wins that add value that attracts new resources and then greater investment? I know this is hard to even conceive given our career-long experience as educators, but this is what the cycle would look like:

I’m not here to tout possible solutions. I’m simply asking the question. What if the equation is this quantifiable, rather than speculating on grand visions of sights yet unseen? If you could plug in one short-term investment to start kicking this cycle into motion, what would you come up with? It may be as simple as this.

Heart & Soul

2011-09-04T11:35:00.000-07:00

Discussions are taking place online that get at the core of the struggle to reclaim and reinvigorate the heart and soul of public education. Please read the following three short threads and consider how you can contribute to a new, common understanding of where we are headed as educators:

Thread 1: A discussion around Finland hiring teachers from the top 10% of its university graduates to teach in public education.

Link “Academic, security worries at Dunbar.”

Dunbar Senior High School is becoming an important test of reform efforts under an interim D.C. schools chancellor and a new incoming city administration. Concerns are rising about the school’s management, academic performance and security.http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/graphic/2010/12/14/GR2010121408292.html?sid=ST2010121500057

Colleague 1 This is an old story. So the kids progressed from throwing algebra textbooks to sexting and doing unspeakable things with technology. The care and feeding of kids in inner city situations is not something that can be met by boot camp teaching.

Colleague 2 Yes I knew you had some years in DC. I understand all this, and I appreciate the link, but there's a disconnect about the top 10% of university students teaching. The top 10% of college grads includes inner city kids who earn degrees, yes? Is there something I'm missing that the top 10% wouldn't include that demographic? I've also worked in urban schools with the kind of conditions you describe, so I do understand what you’re saying about the unique needs of inner city schools.

Colleague 1 The problem is that in the learning landscapes in which we are now, only those teachers are honored. Teachers who are as effective, but not Ivy League graduates are dissed. It is the subject of much discontent in the learning community.

Colleague 2 Yes but it seems to me that is a defensive backlash (Lord knows the profession has multiple reasons to be defensive) that paints us in a bad light. It is not the case that Ivy League teachers are the only ones being recognized. Instead of defensive posturing we would be better served by taking charge of the dialog and agreeing that "of course we want the highest caliber teachers in our profession." It doesn't mean that current teachers are any less high-caliber. It just means as new teachers come in we want the best and brightest...who wouldn't? With that point behind us we can get on with the REAL dialog, how to save public education before it is completely co-opted by private interests.

Colleague 1 Be realistic. Read the New York Times essay. I have experience. My cousin was one of the friends of Bedford. I reached out to Rhee, and she was brutal not wanting anyone who was not an Ivy League graduate. My cousin had NEVER taught school. He was however a friend of Bedford.

Colleague 2 I don’t mind being a voice of dissent in a profession where everyone points to Diane Ravitch and the NYT to hear what they want to hear. It's good to have voices that disagree and make everyone think. And it's ok to disagree. Keep fighting the good fight! I will do the same. :)

Colleague 1 I don't care about Diane Ravitch. She helped to create the situation. When we have more and more dropouts, and when the technology that kids use is for nothing, we have a problem. No one ever speaks of Margaret Spellings who did not want people to teach science. Here's the thing. We will lose most people interested in teaching because of the problems in the press. Teachers are being made the scapegoat. The real problem is society and class.

Colleague 2 You know we both agree on the problems. As a profession we need to get our house in order and agree on the solutions.

Colleague 1 Some of us had our house in order. My family begged me not to teach, but I did it with a passion. I believe that there are people who need to make change, but the people who make the decisions in education are NOT the teachers. I have been through those hoops.

Colleague 2 Not individually....collectively. There are too many pockets of innovation and equally as many pockets of self-interest. Too many agendas and not one single strong voice to lead. We've all been through these hoops. Time to completely reinvent public education. The old model has to go.

Colleague 1 If teachers are to blame for the state of education in the nation, who is responsible for a decade of neglect in science, math, engineering and technology? Those of us who tried to create possibilities for students and who broadened engagement, were mocked by those who preached NCLB, and who held the nation, in leadership. Teachers are at the bottom of the sphere of influence and are a small part of the learning landscape in that they report to school boards and administrators.

Colleague 2 The only difference between you and I is how we are interpreting the same set of facts. I refuse to see myself as a victim. I want to take responsibility for my part in the current state of education and I want to help take charge of transforming education into what it needs to be now and for the future.

Thread 2: A discussion of the role of technology in transforming education, and in education meeting the needs of society, in response to an eSchool News report on the cost of a 1:1 computing initiative in New Mexico.

Link “High-tech classrooms come at a high price”

New Mexico district’s experience shows the challenges in maintaining a mobile learning program. http://www.eschoolnews.com/2011/09/02/high-tech-classrooms-come-at-a-high-price/

Colleague 1 The model needs to be personal devices on a campus network....the higher ed model.

Colleague 2 Explain equity of access to me.

Colleague 1 The equity is in providing the network. Government does not owe everyone a personal computing device.

Colleague 2 Why do you allow government to provide personal sitting and writing devices then?

Colleague 1 If you follow that logic, the government might as well provide everything. Not that people don't love being given things, but philosophically where is the responsibility of families to provide their students with tools like technology that they will not only use in school but at home?

Colleague 2 It sounds like you're prepared to draw a line then. Where will that line be? If everyone went home to June and Ward Cleaver, it might be possible. That's not today's reality. There are over 2,000,000 people in prisons in your country. If education isn't the savior and the great cultural equalizer, what is?

Colleague 1 That must be the line....whether we are in the business of saving everyone or whether we are willing to offer a solid education opportunity in which people must engage themselves and turn into their personal success story. The prison example - they have computers in prison and inmates have the opportunity to learn skills. But to suggest they each deserve their own personal computing device goes beyond common sense. If we return to public education, schools cannot continue to try and bear the brunt of the cost of arming every student in every classroom with computers. Did you see the eSchool News story about the NM district losing thousands of dollars annually through its 1:1 initiative? It's a noble attempt to provide equity, but it is logistically unattainable if schools are also saddled with maintenance and upkeep. Families need to provide handheld devices the same way they provide calculators.

Colleague 2 If it was fiscally possible for all families, I would agree with you. I'm not sure that 1:1 is possible or even desirable. I firmly believe that we need to provide enough so that there is equitable opportunity for all the students in our charge. We haven't even begun to address the true costs which lie in the acquisition of software and the technical support needed along with the professional learning to make it all worthwhile. That's where school systems can step in and bring this in line through scale.

Colleague 1 I used to believe it was attainable. When I led tech departments with insufficient funding I kept thinking, "If I only had enough $ I would do it right!" Then I lead a school system's technology dept that had all the money you could want and guess what? They had the same problems as schools with inadequate funding.

Colleague 2 Regardless, you have to have your ideals and goals. Out sourcing a technology plan to parents is going to cause more problems than it solves. While you may not have achieved what you wanted with your budget, you have to be closer to moving along in a progressive direction than not to have it or not to spend it at all.

Colleague 1 Oh I have my ideals and goals. We're just having two different conversations.

Thread 3: A discussion around NCLB, Common Core standards, and the Finland model of public education.

Link "Vermont poised to seek waiver from education law"

Only 28 percent of Vermont schools met federal performance benchmarks in 2010, a result that some say begs more serious education reform and that others blame on unrealistic targets.http://www.burlingtonfreepress.com/article/20110825/NEWS03/108250307/Vermont-poised-seek-waiver-from-education-law?odyssey=nav|head

Colleague 1 - The Common Core seems to be the answer to improving school performance, I am trying to maintain a positive attitude about this. Let's hope that it promotes readiness for college and life after high school. The current testing situation with standardized tests, does not seem to be doing so.

Colleague 2 - I don't think it's a magic bullet for everything we know we need to do to transform education in the 21st century, but having common standards state-to-state will certainly make the dialog easier to have....

Colleague 3 - I still can't comprehend why we think every student should learn the same thing? Maybe it makes sense in courses like math. I always think that if I were teaching an intro biology course to bio majors in college, I would rather my students have a varied background. Some strong in ecological biology and others in molecular biology. Imagine asking a philosophical like question to a group of college students, what is the point if they all spit back the same answer. I may not be expressing myself well here, I just worry that next they will be telling us how to teach the common core as well. There are benefits to a varied education amongst our youth.

Colleague 1 - Other countries do not do a one size fits all approach and they are ahead of us by yards. Some allow for different types of exit requirements and more are completing their education than in the U.S. Perhaps to keep up we need to see where they are doing better and do something similar.

Colleague 2 - How about FInalnd? The biggest difference there from us are that teachers are recruited from the top 10% of university graduates, they are expected to do action research every year as they teach, and yes they are given flexibility to teach using their own professional judgment. ALSO, in Finland education is highly valued as a national priority and that is reflected in how education (and teachers) are compensated.

Colleague 3 - I was thinking yesterday that all the negative discussion about education in today's media can't help but rub off on students. If parents, public officials, and the news media do not respect teachers or public education then why should they? I haven't experience it from my students yet, but it makes you wonder. Would love to live in a society that values education...

Colleague 2 - I hear Finland is nice this time of year! :)

Colleague 1 - Just because someone is in the top 10% of their class doesn't mean they are the best teacher. The negative attitude is a problem for teachers, media doesn't help any and is busy following along with the what we are doing wrong in education rather than what is going right. This is what the parents and community members hear, pass along to their children, and is reflected in the classroom in student performance and behavior.

Colleague 2 - Doesn't being at the top of your class mean you are a "best student"?

Colleague 3 - Totally agree! Top ten certainly doesn't mean you will be a great teacher. I disagree that this means you are a great student too. I have seen many brilliant students that have ended up in the top ten that sadly never tapped into their full potential in all their courses.

Colleague 2 - So then...you reject Finland's model?

Colleague 3 - I think they are doing great things. I am not completely informed about everything they do so I can't accept or reject the model. Since they are successful and not using standardized tests I think we should consider what they are doing. I do think that we would lose a lot of great potential teachers by only accepting the top ten percent of college students. Personally I think there is a lot more to teaching than subject matter knowledge. No doubt it is important, but certainly not the only qualification our teachers need. Also, why duplicate when we could improve? I think their greatest accomplishment is the respect they have instilled in the entire population for education. Creating a community that truly values education could just be the silver bullet that standardized testing will never be...

Colleague 2 - Then let's not reject Finland's hiring teachers from the top 10% of their universities out of hand...

Colleague 3 - Are you saying someone who was not in the top ten percent of their college class cannot be a good teacher? Is everyone that is in the top ten percent definitely going to be a good teacher? Abilities demonstrated in a classroom are more important to me. I have found on numerous occasions that brilliance unfortunately does not equal quality teaching. I still believe that a culture that values education is more important.

Colleague 2 - What I am saying is the system needs to be redesigned so that people at the top of their profession will consider teaching as an option.

These discussions all took place in the last week on different social media channels. They stopped where they ended here, as they are too large for any one conversation.

We have all experienced the experiences shared in these threads. It is how we respond to our experiences that defines our filter. How would you add to these discussions to help identify a single, common, strong vision that resonates with and emanates from all educators, so that we can get on with the work of transforming education? Whether you post your ideas below or have the discussion offline with your colleagues, it is important to vet out these issues and come to agreement on how to proceed.

THIS Changes Everything?

2011-08-28T16:53:00.001-07:00

Are you a techno-constructivist? How do you envision and implement the use of technology? Scott Noon originally asked this question some ten years ago. Are you a techno-traditionalist? And should you be? I’m still asking the question today.

Techno-traditionalists use technology to complete tasks we have always done, but more efficiently and with more convenience. Crafting lesson plans, managing grades and sharing files are all good examples. It is couched in our Industrial-aged comfort zone; completing tasks at the knowledge, comprehension, application and analysis levels of Bloom’s taxonomy. Looking at the summer night sky, studying human body systems and playing a virtual guitar all on your tablet are techno-traditionalist tasks. These things are okay as interim steps, moving towards new ways of creating, producing and problem-solving…as long as we’re pushing the boundaries on technology use. We all begin the journey as techno-traditionalists, but there is a need to grow. We’re not tapping into the power and promise of technology if we are satisfied playing notes on a touch screen piano interface.

Techno-constructivists push boundaries to find new ways to work and play…ways in which we could not imagine innovating in the past. Like all constructivist theory it is based on acquiring and building new understandings at Bloom’s levels of synthesis and evaluation. But how do we begin to even imagine innovating in ways in which we have no experience? By pushing ourselves into wholly new experiences that over time lead to new understandings. It is unfamiliar, uncomfortable and altogether necessary. A paradigm shift is not a destination…it’s the process we work through to reach our destination. Too many of us offer lip service about making this paradigm shift while continuing to settle for being techno-traditionalists. If you want to be part of the future, look past your comfort zone and push yourself to prepare for a world we cannot yet fully see.

Moving from techno-traditionalism to techno-constructivism is a journey that never ends. Fifteen years ago being able to use technology to break down the boundaries of time and space was revolutionary, as students for the first time took virtual field trips and collaborated with partners online from around the world. But these things are now commonplace…and human aspiration is to always go above and beyond the status quo. This I not the only contradiction in which we find ourselves:

Consumers get caught up in technology’s coolness factor: “Look what I can do on my computing device that mimics what I used to have to do in more cumbersome, time-consuming ways!”

Private commercial interests need to continue to feed their bottom line, so they work to reinforce and meet consumer expectations rather than push their boundaries

Society is in freefall; our shifting paradigm will not allow us to go back to the Industrial Age but we have not fully-realized the promise of the Information Age

Many challenges. Many opportunities. Yet, while we are talking the talk of some brave new world, we are comfortably walking the walk of the world we know. We need to more thoughtfully, more strategically push the boundaries of educational technology use.

In a recent television commercial, a confident voice says, “Now we can watch a newspaper…listen to a magazine…curl up with a movie…and see a phone call. Now we can take a classroom anywhere…hold an entire bookstore...and touch the stars….because now there’s this…” as the ad closes with the logo of the product proudly touting itself as the path to these amazing claims. The accompanying images are inspiring and inviting. The background music is simple yet full of promise. This changes everything….right?

Educator Politics Transformed

2011-08-07T13:29:00.001-07:00

Reader's note: Walter is taking a vacation for the next two weeks. He will resume his Looking Ahead Blog the week of August 28, 2011.

Talking about transforming education…are you ready to be transformational in your politics?

What? You don’t do politics? Sure you do! Every time you advocate for your ideas, seek to improve your situation and work to influence those around you, you’re “doing” politics! In fact, one could argue from the moment we learn to manipulate our environment, we are political. So let’s not kid one another that we don’t “do” politics. Yes, this is being political on a very personal level; but that is the basis for politics at every other level.

What kind of politics do you practice? There’s many kinds. Yet how many of us deliberately choose how we operate politically? Too often we react to how we are treated or to what our immediate needs may be. This is dangerous, because if you operate out of immediate necessity, it is easy to cross lines that abrogate your responsibilities personally…professionally…ethically.

We can practice our politics in thoughtful and deliberate ways, through our

Thoughts Instead of assuming that the world view of our parents or grandparents still holds true, asking ourselves tough questions about what we observe happening and whether or not our current understandings hold up well in the world before us…then changing our understandings based on the new answers we think through.

Attitudes Letting go of longstanding expectations for ourselves and our students so that we can be open and receptive to alternate ways of looking at public education in this day and age…forgoing preconceived assumptions, long-held biases and reflex reactions that shut down the opportunity for honest, courageous discussion and decision-making.

Words Choosing to use words that reflect an openness and receptivity to others and their thinking…words that validate others’ worth as stakeholders…words that communicate equality and respect…words that set a tone of collegiality and cooperation…and avoiding words that imply negative values, judgments and lack of cooperation.

Actions Handling yourself in ways that connote confidence, competence and caring in the work that you do…advocating forthrightly for those things that promote education transformation…following through in ways that show that you are reliable and dependable…consistently representing what is in the best interests of education as a whole.

Choices Not only making choices that are appropriate and timely, but knowing when to choose not to respond or act because that is in the interests of the greater good…in an age of media hype and sensationalism, sometimes choosing not respond in the moment carries a louder message than anything you could do or say.

Practice and combine these five attributes and you will emerge practicing transformational politics.

Here’s an example. Yesterday (Aug 6 ‘11) on Google+ a post of mine generated discussion about Lee Crockett’s Finland's Educational Success? The Anti–Tiger Mother Approach. We discussed pedagogical and cultural differences that might account for Finland’s success and how it might apply to U.S. public education. Two educators revealed political biases that kept them from considering the full range of ideas in the discussion AND had the potential to emotionally charge the thread. One participant claimed the mainstream media was controlled by conservative political interests preventing the public from knowing the truth about public education. I responded, “Let's have the education discussion without the extreme political rhetoric…I respect your right to voice your opinions, but this is the kind of thing that polarizes people to the point that no one trusts anyone enough to get anything done.” We proceeded on with the exploration of ideas when another educator asserted that a war was taking place on the middle class preventing anything from being done to improve education. I immediately replied, “didn't you just finish commenting on another post of mine that you did not approve of politicizing the discussion on education and that people should not be pitting one camp against another? Look at how your last comment starts out!” Calling it for what it was saved the discussion from tail-spinning out of control. At its conclusion a third educator commented “Walter I like the way you are trying to keep these conversations civil, allowing multiple viewpoints to be heard without anger or rancor. Thanks.”

This was transformational politics in action. Did we solve the problems of the world in one discussion? No, but we all heard one another’s constructive ideas presented in a forum of respect and understanding. Was it easy? No. Was it worthwhile? Yes. The more we can advance all discussions about public education in this way, the faster we can move education transformation forward.

Currently the national dialog on public education is media-driven, divisive, polarized and gridlocked. This is not climate in which to get anything done. It has become an endless cycle that fuels itself. Once you are on the losing end of one of a high-stakes showdown, you become more and more committed to positioning yourself to win in the future. It’s only human to do so. Consider these four dynamics in this cycle; each is a continuum that goes from the most altruistic outcome to the least:

Accomplishing <----------------> Winning

Politics is the art of bringing people and resources together around common goals in the interest of moving everyone forward together. Ideally this means things get accomplished that are valued by (at least) a majority of those involved in the process. But all too often it becomes a game of being able to force your agenda at the expense of other stakeholders. Posturing kicks in as you try to put yourself in the best position to claim that you “win.”

Consensus-Building <----------------> Polarizing Opposites

In an open, honest discussion of what is best for all involved, the art of consensus-building is critical, bringing together people of varying backgrounds, ideas and experiences into a common alliance with a commitment to get the job done. If those involved have an agenda other than to vet out the best solution, the process stalemates. People dig in on opposing sides of ideological lines and become entrenched in an “us” versus “them” standoff.

Best Possible Solution <----------------> Political Expediency

Traditional politics operates on a continuum ranging from finding the best possible solution to settling for what is immediately politically expedient. While the ideal is a rigorous examination of quality information, there are often outside pressures that make it difficult to fully vet out the best ideas. Skilled leaders try to strike a balance between getting the hard work done and being sensitive to political realities. The key is to not sacrifice the one for the other.

Altruism <----------------> Self-Interest

We all start out in education full of idealism and energy, wanting to make a difference. As reality sets in, though, we become disillusioned. Study after study shows that over time educators move from altruism to self-interest in their careers. The challenge is, at whatever point we currently find ourselves in our career as educators, to re-kindle our idealism and break this ongoing cycle. Otherwise, we are part of the problem. Like it or not, this is the public perception of us today.

Is it just public education citizens are tired of? No…it’s the entire political culture:

This past January when Gabby Giffords was shot, liberals were insistent that it was a result of hate-speech from the conservatives that created climate ripe for such violence…yet a month later those same critics were protesting against conservative governors using hyperbole and pejoratives that were every bit as hate-filled. How quickly we forget.

Over the past year, our elected officials spending their time and energy in a finger-pointing contest which went down to the very last day they could wait to take action and raise the debt ceiling, resulting in a plan that defers tough decisions to a bipartisan committee sometime in the future, and the downgrading of the U.S. by a prominent credit rating agency.

This past week, when discussing the relationship educators should have with vendors in A Brief Note to K-12, the blogger advised “Don’t sell yourself short” suggesting that educators should get as much out of their vendor relationships as they are giving. I posted a comment in reply: nevermind selling yourself short…how about not selling yourself at all?

Business-as-usual politics is no longer working for us.

The good news is we’re only as stuck in this current reality as we allow our thinking to be. I appeal to your common sense and your altruism to practice a new kind of politics…transformational politics…that reflects the world changing before us…because this is our chance to change our profession.

What are the tenets of this new politics?

Be an open, receptive straight-shooter with no personal agenda Model the positive enthusiasm, energy and actions that are necessary to transform education

Define yourself as a leader in the field of education simply by your example The new change agents in this education revolution will not have a monopoly on anything but their own integrity

Always keep your eye on finding the best possible solutions for education as a whole Once you take your eye off the ball, you can be distracted

Push your thinking to be generative, sustainable and expandable Reforming our existing circumstances isn’t good enough…we need to revolutionize the ways we work and learn

Be inclusive, bringing together everyone who needs to be at the table Do not allow yourself or anyone else to marginalize stakeholders

Strive to build consensus among everyone involved in the process Honoring the diversity of stakeholder ideas is necessary for the best solutions to rise to the top

Refuse to engage in hyperbole, pejoratives and polarizing dialog And when you encounter it, call it for what it is, respectfully explain it is not helpful, and redirect the conversation back to constructive exchanges

Resist the lures of personal power and personal advancement They are counterintuitive to the way our emerging global society works collaboratively

Reject the cults of personality and ideology They replace leadership with personal agendas and groupthink

Never say never Persist in championing education transformation even when it seems the odds are against you

In short, stand up and proudly conduct politics the same way we conduct our classrooms…as incubators of human potential. If we are faithful to this ideal, we can revolutionize our profession and thereby transform the way society thinks about and supports public education.

Reader's note: Walter is taking a vacation for the next two weeks. He will resume his Looking Ahead Blog the week of August 28, 2011.

Revel, Rebel or Revolt?

2011-07-31T13:01:00.001-07:00

You say you want a revolution?

We all want to change the world.

You tell me that it's evolution;

We all want to change the world…

There are calls for revolution everywhere today; in education, economics, environment, law, government, international relations…and in many cases the call smacks of change for change’s sake. It has to be better than our current situation. Right?

Let’s think this through:

We can revel in the romance of the notion of change while continuing business as usual.

We can rebel against our current circumstances because they’re no longer acceptable.

Or we can revolt and initiate a complete change in how we think, learn, work, create and problem-solve.

Each has its own implications for our future and our children’s future.

“If you’re serious about leading a revolution, why not blow the lid off of this thing and let everyone do what they want? We’ll surely see innovation and learn new ways to do things!”

Really? Does revolution mean freedom…and does freedom mean everyone gets to do whatever they want? Based on the current education landscape, some people must think so. But that’s not what I’m talking about. Revolution - a complete change - requires informed choices, visionary strategy and thoughtful implementation. Public education is not in need of a coup de tat…and revolution is not anarchy.

Consider these examples of revolution from just the last 300 years:

American - April 1775: British forces march to Lexington and Concord looking for stockpiles of ammunition. When the first shot is fired, colonists run for cover and the British proceeded as planned. On the way back to Boston, colonists hide in the woods and take potshots picking off the redcoats one at a time. There was no way they could win the war this way; Washington trained them to fight the British face-to-face so that independence could be won.

French - July 1789: Parisian citizens storm the prison Bastille as a symbol of ruling class oppression, beginning the French Revolution. The resulting decade is characterized by social unrest and violent upheavals, ending with the founding of the Second French Republic; an era of autocratic emperors. In 1871 a presidency is established that has evolved today to work with a prime minister, senate and national assembly.

German - January 1871: the Franco-Prussian War begins as the two powers fight over who will ascend to the Spanish throne. As a political and military strategy, German princes proclaim Wilhelm of Prussia “Emperor Wilhelm of the German Empire,” forming the nation of Germany. Over the next 120 years the German state goes through successive revolts before democratic and communist Germany finally reunite in 1989.

Italian - July 1871: the onset of the Franco-Prussian war requires France to recall its troops home from protecting the Vatican. Rome is now occupied by pro-Italian unification forces and the modern state of Italy forms. For 75 years its national identity develops as the new nation undergoes several changes in government. In 1948 Italy becomes a modern republic with a president, a council of ministers and a parliament.

Russian - March 1917: The first Russian Revolution replaces the long-standing ruling Romanov family with a parliamentary government. However, civil unrest persists and the Bolsheviks lead a second revolt eight months later, ousting the existing provisional government and instituting a communist regime that holds power for 70 years until its dissolution in 1991. Russia continues to evolve today as the Russian Federation.

You say you got a real solution?

We'd all want to see the plan.

You ask me for a contribution;

We're all doing what we can…

In each case, revolution is not a call to anarchy, but to a new order in society that will move everyone forward. Yes anarchist ideology can be found threaded throughout the fabric of history as a call for extreme change…but the resulting upheaval never leads to anarchy as the end goal. Why? Change requires constants. Think about it. When you solve an algebraic equation for the variable, you have to work with the known values to solve the problem. Trying to solve x + y * z = n is wide open. Anyone can plug in the values they want…so there’s really no value at all.

Revolution is a necessary-yet-temporary state in the change process that leads to new order, and that new order is identified by commonly accepted values.

Values are key:

Once the American colonists won Independence from Great Britain, they built a new republic based on personal liberties, inclusion and openness.

Once the monarchy was brought down, the French people worked through a number of iterations of government before realizing the ideals of liberty, equality and fraternity.

The unification of both Germany and Italy may have occurred out of political and military necessity, but both peoples persevered in order to realize today’s valued republics.

Creating a revolution requires connecting to the values of the larger community in which you live…the people who will be served by your efforts…if those efforts are going to be successful and sustainable. Working in an isolated pocket of innovation is all fine and well, but it does not impact people outside your immediate sphere of influence. If you believe you have the answers to move education forward, come out of isolation and plant in your seeds in open fields in the light of day. Of course the climate is unpredictable and the soil can be unforgiving, but it is the only way to give your ideals a chance to take root, thrive and grow.

You say you'll change the constitution?

We'd all love to change your head.

You tell me it's the institution;

You better free your mind instead…

This past weekend the “Save Our Schools March and National Call to Action” took place in Washington DC, after months of planning and organizing. I have picked up snippets of information from blogs and web sites, but for all the organizer’s efforts to hold the event, it did not receive coverage from the mainstream media. While those who attended will no doubt feel invigorated and encouraged to continue their work, it is unfortunate that it did not get the attention of American citizens who vote and pay taxes. We can build consensus and work together within our ranks, but we need to connect to the larger community if we are going to change public education for the better.

Our choices are clear:

Revel - stay in our comfort zone, talk about change and do nothing

Rebel - stay in our comfort zone and complain about our circumstances

Revolt - break out of our comfort zone, change the ways we do business, reach out to education stakeholders everywhere, and make the necessary changes to transform education

What is the right choice? History shows us that when a society’s needs aren’t being met, revolution erupts from outside the existing system, because that system is perceived as the problem. Sound familiar?

With apologies to John Lennon:

Everybody’s talkin’ ‘bout…

Revolution, evolution, education,

Communication, cooperation, innovation,

Collaboration, transformation, congratulations!

All we are saying is give change a chance...

From Learner to Leader

2011-07-24T13:59:00.001-07:00

"The world is very different now...let the word go forth from this time and place...that the torch has been passed to a new generation...born in this century..."

President John Fitzgerald Kennedy, Inaugural Address, January 20, 1961. Accessed online July 24, 2011 at 4:15 PM at http://www.bartleby.com/124/pres56.html

This past week ASCD leaders from around the world gathered together here in Virginia for our Leader to Leader (L2L) conference, where we challenged one another to revolutionize the way we learn.

Why now? Society is shifting all around us. The meaning of what it means to be literate, let alone prepared and productive, is being redefined. If we don’t keep our footing and continue to advocate for educators at all levels, who will?

ASCD is unique in that it is not beholden to any one job-alike educator group or academic discipline. Its only agenda is a moral imperative to champion what is best for children. This is evident in its major initiatives: the Whole Child, Healthy School Communities, Educator Advocates, Emerging Leaders and the Outstanding Young Educator Award. I am proud to contribute to an organization that sets standards of excellence admired by educators everywhere.

How do we revolutionize the way we learn? We start with ourselves; revolutionizing the way we work. For the last two years ASCD has thoughtfully, deliberately studied and discussed what this means. From the first day I walked in the door, I have been challenged with new ways of thinking about education and association work. ASCD is a consummate learning organization!

The challenge is moving from our current successful ways of working to a new model that will allow us to better serve our constituents on this new education landscape. Picture an ornate sand castle fully fortified with sturdy walls and a moat surrounding it, proudly standing against the shoreline. As the tides of change wash around it, the value of its placement on the beach changes. We have two choices: convince ourselves we have value as an island, or move to new and higher ground.

At L2L, leaders from our worldwide affiliates, professional interest communities, connected communities, student chapters and ASCD initiatives gathered to begin this important work. There was music and dramatic role playing, brainstorming and questioning, chalk talks and gallery walks, envisioning and planning, and a call to action charging each of us to respond to this societal sea change…because until we transform ourselves, we cannot hope to successfully transform education.

There are significant challenges ahead:

maintaining momentum from an inspiring L2L event

consistently pushing ourselves to not return to our comfort zone

holding one another accountable for walking the walk, not just talking the talk

moving from understanding the challenge to actually carrying through with decisive action

holding onto those things that will serve us well moving forward while divesting ourselves of those things that no longer apply

transforming ourselves to meet the needs of educators well into the future

This is the most challenging, satisfying work I have done in a long, long time. I returned home yesterday from L2L exhausted mentally, emotionally and physically. There were moments during the conference that were so moving, so powerful, it transcended the meeting of minds and connecting with colleagues. Together we built new understandings of what it means to move from being transactional to transformational. L2L 2011 shows us possibilities for ASCD professional development in the future.

The revolution has already begun. It is hard work…rigorous work…and there is no going back. As we move forward, we will imagine and implement new and different ways to support educators everywhere in meeting the needs of every child…the Whole Child. I welcome you to contribute your energy, ideas and interests as we revolutionize the way we learn. Please join us!

Is thinking differently the new “wrong”?

2011-07-17T07:35:00.000-07:00

Yes I have my Google+ account and I’ve been slowly easing into it. I still have my Facebook account going strong. And Posterous and Plurk and Twitter and LinkedIn….each has their role based on design. LinkedIn is streamlined for career development. Twitter disperses significant information in bite-sized chunks. Plurk threads discussion visually and chronologically on a timeline. Posterous lets me microblog via email. Facebook is a waterfall of friends, families and colleagues washing down one of several very public walls. And Google+ offers more granularity and exclusivity in managing public and private connections.

This idea of funneling exclusive content from the free-flowing social media spigot is the latest trend touted in Web 2.0. Having the ability to siphon off specific streams is rather appealing. It should be more efficient, right? A time-saver…less effort and energy finding the flow of friends and ideas you value on the fly…an antidote for the inundation of information with which we have all been plagued.

So along comes Google+ with a new way of organizing your online life. The look and feel is actually very Facebook-like and familiar: the wall, the threads, the ability to indicate favorite posts and pics. But there’s more:

inviting and organizing friends into multiple exclusive circles

viewing and sharing content based on circles and interests

creating a hangout for private get-togethers that can utilize webcams for multi-user video chat

sharing YouTube videos with friends in real time

uploading photos and videos to a private cloud with the option to post publicly

In short, in an age of what’s-new-this-week gadgetry, Google+ is the latest entry in the ongoing quest to out-best the competition.

OK. Good. Now what? What is the point?

If the point is to become more managed and exclusive, I have concerns.

First off, it’s not about the tool; it’s about how we use it. Just since January of this year, we have witnessed the senseless shooting of a congresswoman, the slashing of state and federal budgets, and the beginning of the end of public unions. All significant, highly polarizing events. And on open channel social media, tolerance for differing points of view was hard to find. We live in an age where every situation is hyped and sensationalized, and everyone reacts by choosing an extreme response. There isn’t a lot of gray area; this holds true for the dialogue on public education, too. So why do we want to be more exclusive in our professional learning communities? Sure it’s easier to surround ourselves with people who agree with us. But is that the definition of a dynamic, thriving, generative PLN?

Wasn’t the whole point of social media to open things up, make connections and build a global community on common ground where we all can work together? I get the whole infoglut-getting-old-really-fast thing…there are days I certainly have to walk away and regroup. But I have made so many reconnections and new connections through the wide-open design of existing social media channels…it’s a net win. I need and value all points of view and ways of thinking. In adding Google+ to my repertoire, I plan to continue feeding this need. I am not leaving Facebook or Twitter or any of my other learning communities.

If the point is to finely tune our PLNs, we owe it to ourselves not to undermine our ability to openly vet our thinking with that of other’s…especially dissenting points of view. In an age where diversity of background and experience and ideas is highly valued, educator PLNs should not become safe harbor for safe thinking. Social media is so quick, so easy, so disposable, it’s easy to become intellectually lazy and not think about what we are thinking. I see this already happening to the point where people resist having their thinking pushed. So I have to ask: are we kidding ourselves that being surrounded with like-minded thinkers makes us “right”? Is thinking differently the new “wrong”?

Ask yourself this: what is a good working definition of what is “right”? While there’s comfort in consensus, isn’t the determinant in what is right and true found in outcomes? We may embrace a certain philosophy or pedagogy, but does it really matter if it doesn’t translate into real world results that are valued by the community at large? The false certainty that comes from talking only to people who agree with us can fall apart when our ideas are tested in the real world. Want your ideas to withstand rigorous reality checks? Factor in the entire range of thinking on the subject and find the reasonable center...somewhere therein lies the most possible, most effective solution. This requires a tolerance for differing voices in your PLN.

Right now early adopters are piling into Google+ to test it out and compare it with other platforms. I am friending a lot of familiar faces from existing virtual communities and meeting new faces through extended connections. What I am not doing is making use of more than three circles to organize my connections: family, friends and colleagues. As of this morning after a week on Google+, I have a small number of family members in one circle, a small number of friends in another, and an all-inclusive category of colleagues. Does this defeat the purpose of Google+? Should I be more selective and granular in how I connect with and organize fellow educators? Maybe. Maybe not. I’m open to figuring that out. There’s certainly enough built-in flexibility in Google+ to make changes if I decide to do so.

What I am sure of is this: the power of social media is its diversity of people and ideas unencumbered by traditional boundaries of time and space. Much like the natural world from which it springs, the virtual world thrives in the cross-pollination of experiences, ideas and opportunities. Interrupting this dynamic in the name of granularity and exclusivity has the potential to reduce communities to feel-good members-only clubs. There’s a lot of back-patting and self-congratulating happening on Google+ and it’s not because people have arrived at some ultimate destination. It’s because, at least for now, it’s become a lot easier to flock as birds of a feather without getting one’s plumage ruffled.

It will be interesting to see how this plays out.

Jigsaw Juts and Slots

2011-07-10T07:42:00.001-07:00

Consider these three pieces to the public education puzzle. How can they fit together?

The Parent:

_I have three children in our local public schools. My oldest is very successful and her teachers all love her. She is our “low maintenance” kid. My youngest is a handful…he is all about his friends and his gaming. We work hard to support him on homework and studying and he earns As, Bs and the occasional C. My Erik has the hardest time. After a very difficult time in elementary school he was finally diagnosed with Asperger’s in middle school. Since then it has been a long hard road fighting for the accommodations for him in the classroom. Especially as he has gotten into high school, the staff has been more and more resistant to supporting him. They say it’s all about him adapting to the real world. I disagree, and I’ve been in there so often fighting for Erik they now cringe seeing me walk in the front door….it’s all over their faces. It’s awkward because I used to be “Parent of the Year” material with all the work I did in the PTA, on advisory councils and as a room mom. But that’s ancient history. Now I’m one of “those parents” and it’s all gotten so adversarial the staff has circled the wagons and I’m handled at the front office instead of welcomed in the classroom. Getting him through the next three years to graduation may be the death of me, but no one is going to stand between me and the best interests of my kids.

The District Administrator:

_After teaching for five years I made the move into administration, first as a principal, then as the head of curriculum and now as superintendent. The team I have assembled is a proud collection of savvy public administrators who value the same things I do: implementing legally sound policy and protocol, acting as good stewards of public monies, and promoting all the good things going on in our classrooms…in short…accountability. When we report to our board and our citizens and our state department of education, we need to be able to substantiate everything we do; if it can’t be measured, it didn’t happen. Of course it’s all about the kids, but we can’t offer a world-class education to our students if we are not a strong, sound, well-managed school system. Our town government touts us as a feather in their cap because we work hard to meet their expectations as a municipal agency; strong schools are important in building a strong community. Minimizing complaints and controversy while increasing our rates of academic success makes the best case for new funding…and funding provides new educational opportunities. In all things we try to be student-centered, but in the final analysis we do what is best for the organization as a whole.

The Classroom Teacher:

_I always wanted to teach; to make a difference in the lives of my students. Seeing that light-bulb go on...having that major breakthrough for a student…makes it all worthwhile for me. While these are tough times for everyone, what especially makes it tough for me are the demands that have been piled upon me by my administration: testing, record-keeping, and being held accountable for every indicator of progress. The pressure is so intense, I end up feeling on the defensive. Nothing I do seems to be good enough, and anything that doesn’t measure up rolls downhill and lands on me. I love my students and I work hard for all of them. Doesn’t anyone see that? Expectations keep ratcheting up higher and higher while I’m keeping my eye on what’s important: my students…not dollars…not data. But when we try to refocus the discussion, we are accused of being more about our self-interest than student success. I didn’t get into this to spend my time on politics and public relations. I just want to teach and feel like I’m making a difference…but I’m being undermined. Who would sign up for this…and how long would anyone stay in this no-win situation? I am re-examining my career options and fighting for the best working conditions possible while I am still here.

If this were a jigsaw puzzle, we would scan the outer boundaries of each piece looking for possible juts and slots that (at least at first-glance) look like they could interlock with one another to help create the larger composite picture: educating all children to be successful adults contributing to society…

We have one vision for our public education system…but…

We have different priorities…

We have different realities…

And we have different measures of success.

So…do you see any juts and slots in the three pieces described above that would allow them to snap together...snugly...correctly...compatibly?

And if not…isn’t that the problem...?

Free Enterprise Education?

2011-07-02T06:35:00.000-07:00

On June 27^th I posted the following through my usual social media channels:

“#ISTE Challenge: have deep discussions about education WITHOUT the vendors and their money in the room. Good luck!”

A friend and employee of a major ed tech vendor replied to my posting: “Ouch!”

Me: “Nah its only an ouch if you find you are spending all your time with commercial interests....”

Her: “or if you are technically a vendor.”

Me: “That's a vendors job to talk to educators! I'm simply asking educators to make sure they are making time ASIDE from vendors!”

Commercial companies are no longer being sheepish about crossing the line...it's actually getting rather brazen...how dare I or anyone push back as they try to insert themselves further and deeper into our pockets? In an age of entitlement, even vendors feel entitled! Of COURSE they want to be in the room when you’re having substantive talks about education. It allows them to both assess our needs and push the discussion towards how they can get involved…not altruistically…not because the line is blurred between personal and professional contact…because it feeds their bottom line…ka-CHING! It's their job...it's why they're in business.

So what’s wrong with that? Nothing! God bless the free enterprise system! But there are different degrees of allowing commercial interests to engage you professionally. Consider these levels:

Commercial Loyalty - you love the products; they are high quality, reliable and last a long time…a good value…you get your money’s worth…so much so that you look to this certain company first and even work together to get pricing down so you can justify purchasing its product over competitors. When a better competitor’s product comes along, you are still willing to switch.

Commercial Empowerment - you participate in professional opportunities provided by a company including professional development, professional networking, company-created honors and awards, company endorsement of your work…because it takes you outside of your school-role silo and makes you feel connected to a larger community.

Commercial Influence - you accept benefits and perks from a company above and beyond brand loyalty and professional empowerment, including free products, airfare, lodging, meals, stipends and honoraria, free speaking opportunities, paid speaking opportunities, and/or working as a consultant to demonstrate and promote company products.

Commercial Investment - you partner with a company in planning and implementing educational policy and practice for your classroom, school or district, allowing them to have a seat at the table and a say in discussions about challenges, opportunities, priorities and decisions being made on behalf of your students and their education.

All these things are taking place daily between commercial interests and educators. It is insidious in how it attempts to permeate all our discussions, especially on social media where so many of our colleagues are acting as agents for commercial interests. Sometimes they fully disclose this and sometimes they don’t. Sometimes they’re not even being honest with themselves about it. It's time to be aware, open and honest with ourselves and each other...

Here’s my thinking: ethically, the free enterprise system has to stop at the schoolhouse door. We love our vendors and we need our vendors, but they do not belong within our sphere of professional responsibility as educators. We all know this, vendor and educator…we are not unwitting participants dancing in the dark…

So…given the four categories above…where do you draw your ethical line?

On June 29^th I posted the following follow-up on my usual social media channels:

“#ISTE11 challenge: in distilling your conference experience, what have you acquired that is meaningful and useful to transform education?”

It is my sincere hope ISTE attendee responses (and the responses of conference-goers everywhere) are not being driven by commercial interests…

We Want and Need Parents at the Table

2011-06-20T05:48:00.001-07:00

OK so you’ve got all the stakeholders at the table: the students, teachers, administrators, unions, lawmakers, state and federal education agencies, professional education associations, teacher preparation programs, education technology experts, visionary gurus….even the deep-pocketed philanthropists who want their say. Let’s throw a few more tables together...it’s getting crowded...and more chairs….we need elbow room...

But wait, there’s still something or someone missing. You would think with this many interests represented at the table we’d have it covered. Let’s see...we have everyone with a self-interest in seeing education move forward...no wait….no we don’t. There are no parents at the table.

What do you MEAN parents have no place at the table? What do you MEAN they are glad just to have childcare covered all day? What do you MEAN they have abrogated most of their child-rearing responsibilities and left you to pick them up piecemeal behind them? In an age of shifting paradigms, why haven’t we accepted the changing role of parents both in their children’s lives and in education?

The major issue? Parents as passive stakeholders. Regardless of how mothers and fathers choose to provide an education for their children, having their children prepared for life is a reality of parenting. Why does it seem like once their children are involved in public education, parents become disengaged? Is it really parental instinct to push their children out of the proverbial nest and not look back? What is the true dynamic that shifts parents from being their child’s primary educator to being a passive participant in their education in public schools? Somewhere, somehow the shift is made…parents receive the message that education is now the primary role of their child's school.

But what if parents didn’t shift in their role and insisted on being a major player in their child’s education? What does that mean? Providing structured homework time in the evenings? Attending PTA meetings? Being the homeroom parent for their child’s class? These are the ways parents are encouraged to be involved…but are these the roles of true stakeholders?

In an age of education transformation, assuming that parents simply want quality home-school communication and good seats at the annual school musical program is not only presumptuous…it is limiting their importance in educating their children, confining them to Industrial Age role stereotypes, and insulting them as education stakeholders. If we truly believe it is time to open the schoolhouse windows and doors to let the fresh air of change blow in, we need to allow everyone to enjoy the cool breeze on their skin, refreshing their perspective and awakening them to the possibilities for a new day in education. Does that mean these reawakened stakeholders will add to the shifts in power and control over how public education is run? Absolutely. But if they haven’t been engaged to do so already…what’s so public about public education? If the only thing that makes "public education" public today is the fact that its run by public agencies using public monies, then perhaps that is the crux of the problem and the reason why public education is in crisis. Stakeholders by birthright have been disenfranchised while keepers of the public law, public policy and public money have built-in incentive not to hand it back public education to the constituents for which it is named.

If we really want to transform public education and not let it be co-opted by politicians and private interests…bring in a whole lot of extra chairs…have a few of the other special interest groups push back away from the table to make room…and have parents pull up their seats and take an active role, knowing up-front they’re not going to fit into the traditional role that has marginalized them. So the real question is: are educators ready for a new role for parents, defined by today’s mothers and fathers and the times in which we live? Give them a seat at the table and enough elbow room to provide them some leverage, and they can be great allies in public education transformation.

2011 EGC - Education Gut Check

2011-06-11T10:38:00.000-07:00

Walter’s blog archive: http://surfaquarium.com/blog.htm

While I am on travel this week I am posting this list of ten gut check statements about education.

Agree? Disagree? It’s a gut check for both you and me!

The individual teacher makes the difference for a child.

It can be a breakthrough in learning…a connection that creates a sense of belonging…a modeling of attitudes and processes…there are so many ways teachers reach students and leave a lasting impression. Every other layer of support for the student is secondary to this.

The building principal determines a teacher’s level of success.

No matter how much talent or experience or training teachers have, a visionary building principal who serves as mentor, motivator and instructional leader takes their performance to the next level. Successful teachers thrive in a climate of high expectations, support and sharing.

Not all teachers are the same.

And it’s okay. Some teachers have expertise in content… others showcase specific methods; some lead quietly while others model by example. It works…not all children are the same either…learning to work with different teachers helps children prepare for work as adults.

Most citizens form their opinion of educators based on their own personal experience.

For all the discussion going on publicly about education today, most people’s opinion of educators is informed by their own direct personal experience with schools. A single powerful education experience for a child…positive or negative…can have lasting impact for a lifetime.

Every faculty knows their weakest link.

On any given faculty, teachers know who serves with a high level of professional commitment and who simply puts in time on the job. Our code of professional conduct prevents us from discussing this publicly, even though parents and students are aware of this, as well.

A successful school district leader is more than an administrator of public programs.

Sure you need to manage budgets, crunch numbers and file reports, but truly exemplary superintendents are first and foremost instructional leaders. They foster a culture of collaboration and innovation promoting high levels of success for both students and staff.

Education today is a changed profession, and there’s no going back.

The profession we entered at any time in the past has changed, and we need to change with it. Rather than trying to hold onto the past, why not turn this societal sea change into an opportunity to define education as it will exist in this new age? For us and our students?

Educators are their own biggest public relations problem.

Educators are experts in teaching and learning, not in politics and public relations. We need to be smarter about how we act and speak to our public. We need to espouse a single vision for public education and be very careful in selecting who speaks for us on our behalf.

Education has become the most politicized helping profession.

Politically-motivated non-educators are promoting their own agendas for public education that polarize public opinion for their political gain. We have been reacting to their agendas instead of proactively defining the national education debate in terms of the public good.

We are in jeopardy of losing the “public” in public education.

Private interests are inserting themselves into the national dialogue, making it more about money and influence than it is about teaching and learning. If we do not reclaim our profession, education will become privatized and the ideal of a free public education for everyone will cease to exist.

Well...what do you think? Feel free to respond, share, and push the discussion with colleagues! I will pop in and read and reply as I have time from the road.

Age of Irrelevance

2011-06-05T10:45:00.000-07:00

Walter’s blog archive: http://surfaquarium.com/blog.htm

"Two roads diverged in a yellow wood,

And sorry I could not travel both

And be one traveler..."

We are approaching the path to a new age...yes already...a new age: the Age of Irrelevance.

No longer the Industrial Age…nor the short-lived Information Age…but the Irrelevant Age. What? How? Why? It is a result of our own actions…the ways we are choosing to use all the information and communication tools we have at our disposal. Consider the choices we have in these two very different paths:

The Path to Irrelevance…	The Path to Empowerment…
Expect everyone in education to think the same and share the same values	Value the diversity of thought among colleagues just as you do among students
Enjoy your comfort zone	Push yourself to take risks and learn
Take things at face value	Question everything at first glance
Embrace what reinforces your thinking	Embrace what stretches your thinking
Do what you feel like doing, just because you can	Think deeply and act responsibly
Share information without verifying its accuracy	Share information after you have vetted its value
Post to the end of a discussion without reading the thread in its entirety	Read a discussion thoroughly before responding in a way that adds value
Place your personal agenda first	Make your professional obligation your priority
Ask and answer your own questions	Listen and respond to others’ queries
Insist on others agreeing with your viewpoints , values and beliefs	Engage others of differing viewpoints in discussion that expands your understanding
Treat everything as subjective opinion	Subject everything to rigorous examination of fact
React based on bias and assumptions	Respond based on what is verifiable as true
Feel entitled	Feel grateful
Be self-interested	Share a global vision
Allow commercial interests to purchase your favor	Inform commercial interests of their proper role
Interpret the trend towards individualization as the nullification of standards	Interpret the trend towards individualization as an opportunity to improve delivery of instruction
Celebrate new technologies as the focus of education transformation	Celebrate new ways to be successful as the focus of education transformation
Participate in media events to advocate for your beliefs	Participate in the political process and engage policymakers to advocate for your beliefs
Maintain the status quo	Be an agent of change
Fight for your share of a finite set of resources	Pursue the unlimited possibilities of transformation
Allow business interests to co-opt and privatize public education because of our inability to change	Revolutionize public education to meet the challenges of the global information economy

At first glance, this is a comparison of professional concerns. But the choices we make are deeply rooted in our personal habits, values and attitudes.

Can we stop it from happening? Yes…choose wisely…act professionally…and transform ourselves before we attempt to transform the profession…

On the other hand…you don’t have to do a thing…the decisions can be made without your participation.

Are you willing to settle for doing nothing? Because if we stay on the path we are on...the destination is clear...it is the path to irrelevance…

"I shall be telling this with a sigh

Somewhere ages and ages hence:

Two roads diverged in a wood, and I -

I took the one less traveled by,

And that has made all the difference...."

The Road Not Taken

Two roads diverged in a yellow wood,

And sorry I could not travel both

And be one traveler, long I stood

And looked down one as far as I couldTo where it bent in the undergrowth;

Then took the other, as just as fair,

And having perhaps the better claim,

Because it was grassy and wanted wear;

Though as for that the passing there

Had worn them really about the same,

And both that morning equally lay

In leaves no step had trodden black.

Oh, I kept the first for another day!

Yet knowing how way leads on to way,

I doubted if I should ever come back.

I shall be telling this with a sigh

Somewhere ages and ages hence:

Two roads diverged in a wood, and I -

I took the one less traveled by,

And that has made all the difference.

-Robert Frost

Accessed online at http://www.bartleby.com/119/1.html on June 5, 2011 at 11:25 a.m. e.t.

Imagine you're on the receiving end of this conversation...

2011-02-19T09:16:00.000-08:00

Good morning!

It’s six months into the academic year, and I’m here for your mid-year review. Think of it as a guided self-reflection on your year thus far. Not an assessment. We wouldn’t want anyone feeling all put-on-the-spot or being-made-accountable or anything…

So, where was I? Oh yes…the review. OK, so you’ve been working away since September…how’s it going? Yes I know you’re a professional. Yes I understand your budget has been cut and your salary has been frozen for the third year in a row. No I’m not aware of the rumors about RIFs coming before Spring break. Yes I do like the Sox' chances this year.

OK so seriously...we're half-way through the current school year...what have you accomplished thus far? Yes I know there’s a state prescribed set of standards. Yes I have seen the district curriculum and strategic plan. Good, I’m glad you have all that covered. But what have YOU accomplished YOURSELF as we head towards March?

Can you name three concrete things you have done to make a difference in children’s lives?
If you had to justify your job to a panel of community education stakeholders, what artifacts of your work would you share?
Do you have a professional learning community and how have you contributed to it?
How far have you gotten in fulfilling your personal learning plan? You do have a plan…don’t you?
What commitment have you made to leave things better than you found them?
What decisions have you made to change your status quo?
What risks have you taken to learn and grow? Personally? Professionally?
How have you taken your effectiveness to the next level? Not in the immediate here-and-now, but in making connections across the community that will benefit students and their families as they continue their education? And if you’re really thinking globally…how about the connections you’ve made for them world-wide?
Show me something new you have learned to accomplish using technology. Not a familiar old task that you now do digitally…a completely new task you’ve never tried before this year…
If you walked away from the job today, how would you be remembered?

Sorry…I seem to have caught you off-guard this morning! No worries. We can reschedule when you feel you are ready. I’ll work with your schedule...so…when might that be?

My 2011 Wishes for You

2010-12-30T05:37:00.000-08:00

2011 arrives this weekend and with it comes the aspirations for the New Year. While you may not be able to acquire or accomplish everything on my list of wishes for you, these are the ideals I hope you will claim as your own as we enter into the second decade of the 21st century.

In the New Year may you…

Let go of something that needs to be gone – you probably already know who or what it is. Promise yourself to cut loose and don’t look back. Feel the weight lifted from you and put that energy into new pursuits!
Choose to make a difference in a struggling child’s life – you decide the child and the commitment you can make. Your time, talents, hobbies, resources – whatever you can offer – will pass on a legacy of caring.
Learn a completely new skill or body of knowledge – make it outside of your typical interests….even outside of your comfort zone if you’re up for it. Remind yourself how exhilarating learning can be!
Awaken your inner-activist – learn everything you can about issues important to you and speak up online and face-to-face to make others aware, impassioned and involved. Be your own best advocate!
Turn a challenge into an opportunity – pick one obstacle with which you have struggled, find the allies and resources you need to help you overcome it, and find a door where you never saw one before!
Discover a new purpose in your work – get excited about an aspect of your job you have yet to tap into. Build on the good work you already do and be energized by your newfound perspective!
Choose to work for someone you respect – putting in time for someone who doesn’t deserve you? There are plenty of good jobs out there, even in this economy. Start looking and plan to make the move!
Schedule in daily me time – protect it selfishly by placing it right in your calendar. Make it time for you alone, be it quiet reflection, reading, going for a walk….whatever allows you to quietly restore balance!
Reconnect with an old acquaintance – someone you remember fondly but haven’t been in touch with for years. And may it rekindle memories and relationships that you had lost track of over time!
Attend at least one online professional development opportunity a month – it can be an hour chat, a webinar, a workshop, a meeting of your PLN, even a conference. They’re free and they’re everywhere!
Become platform independent – make your use of instructional technology open source; free of any specific product or platform. You’re not a NASCAR driver - refuse to be a walking advertisement for any vendor!
Go portable – bypass the desktop and the laptop and go directly to your very own smart phone. Do not stop for toys and trends. Do not settle for bells and whistles. Make that smart phone your communications central: phone, mail, text, web, even files!
Break away from email – condition yourself and your contacts to use text, instant messaging, social media, hashtags, voice - whatever works to keep you connected without adding to your Inbox!
Spend a minimum of 30 minutes a day social networking – it may not pay off in the first week or the first month, but it will pay off. Break out of thinking and working in isolation. Read, respond and connect!
Add a ripple in the transformation of education – and may our ripples come together to help turn the tide. Visit http://crste.org/det.html and get a copy of the decade of educational transformation logo to post on your site to spread the word and create awareness!
Pay yourself moving forward – make it as little as you have or as much as you can afford, but put away something into savings every paycheck. Make it a direct deposit up front. No excuses….you’ll be glad you did!
Visit somewhere you've never been before – sure it can be a planned vacation to somewhere far away, but it can also be a state park, a new community facility or your local historical society. Expand your perspective!
Recommit to personal integrity – stop taking those shortcuts that chip away at your sense of honor. Choose a new way to conduct yourself and practice sticking to it until it is habit. You’ll be glad you did!
Love and accept yourself – be good to yourself and know that at your core you’re exactly who you’re supposed to be. No shame, nor the fear that comes with it. The same courage that you find to love and accept yourself will be an incredibly powerful gift to share with someone else in your life. Pass it on!

Happy New year to you, your friends and your family! Together let's make 2011 a year not of just hope and promise, but of growth and transformation.

Mavericks, Martyrs & Canaries

2010-12-21T17:28:00.001-08:00

In response to my recent “What’s Your Price?” blog post http://goo.gl/I0wqx, a dedicated educator replied very genuinely, “I totally agree with everything you said. My only problem is sometime we have to play the game enough to NOT get fired. I am young and not in a position to rock the boat so hard I get myself thrown out…”

My response was just as heartfelt, explaining that I wasn't calling for anyone and everyone to fall on their swords: “No individual educator should do more than is reasonable and responsible, and certainly where we are in our careers factors into that professional judgment call. Unfortunately we are still at a place where the most conscientious among us respond to this call to action worrying if they are doing enough, while those who I would hope to prompt to action aren't even listening to the conversation. Wouldn't it be more comfortable if all of us were pushing the envelope just enough to make a difference, instead of some of us serving the role of change agents while others look the other way?”

I am not chiding my peers to “Get all mavericky” about education. Mavericks and martyrs are seldom the longterm solutions for change. Sure there are famous figures in history who bucked the system, even dying for the right to do so. But there are so many others whose names and deeds have been forgotten, who may or may not have made a difference. The question we are left asking ourselves is, “To what end? When is it worth it to sacrifice the quality of my life for the greater good?”

The truth is, at any point that I have to “think” about getting all mavericky, something isn’t right. I must already possess a level of certainty – of conviction – that I am in the position and in the moment where I can make a difference. Because once I assert myself, I know I am going to feel the squeeze of a push back from all directions. I have to know and believe that the juice is worth the squeeze.

In my final stint in public school administration, a colleague who knows me a good ten years, laughed over lunch, saying, “You are such a maverick!” We smiled and I sat back thinking, “That’s not a compliment.” It wasn’t that we were discussing some action I had taken or was about to take; it was simply her observation that my outlook on life is to question and learn. Those who know my 25 years in public education can tell you it wasn’t that I was out in front fighting the system. I was working within the system advocating for innovation and improvements. In all candor, the only way anyone could say I was getting all mavericky in my classroom or in my office or leading my department is that while I stood tall and certain about my work, others were not standing shoulder-to-shoulder with me. It’s much safer to step into the background to criticize or admire or simply wait to see what happens next. Don’t you think? At least…it seems safe...until one realizes their quality of life is suffering from standing in the background. This is where education finds itself today.

Kurt Vonnegut termed artists as the canaries in society’s coal mine, sensitive enough to detect toxic gas before it rose to such levels that it was dangerous to humans. When the canary stops singing and drops off its perch, it’s time to head for open air so that human life is protected. This has been the traditional role of change agents throughout the ebb and flow of human history. Unfortunately, as the waters of history settle back down into their seabed, the status quo resumes. Everyone prefers calm waters...and no one rocking a boat is going to disturb the entire tide.

What if instead of forcing our peers to stand like mavericks because we've stepped back...what if everyone just held their place in line? What if we all stood shoulder-to-shoulder, each of us tall and certain of our work, no one stepping into the background, our small efforts making movements in the water that ripple out and join with the efforts others are making, eventually making waves that will help to turn the tide? Would you be willing to do that? Could you simply stand still and not give in to the temptation to step back and make someone else your maverick? Especially if it will help you improve the quality of your life in the process?

This is the call to action I require of myself and I extend to colleagues everywhere. Today each of us will each encounter someone quietly creating a ripple. Instead of watching from a distance, I will create a second ripple. Not an attention-getting splash-about. Not a canary dive or a belly flop. Just a ripple of my own. If each of us does this in education daily…no mavericks…no martyrs…no canaries…our actions will eventually cause a tidal transformation. That's what I'm talking about.