Journals, message boards, books, conferences and so many other resources in the world of education are full of wonderful ideas for the future. Sometimes too many. Sometimes too simple (Finland is a helpful example but not the answer). There is no shortage of hope for improvement and energy to do better when given the resources. But what actually leads and allows schools, especially the larger systems, to make changes? I idealistically believe that schools should be leading the world but the reality often feels quite different. Coming across this article last spring helped underscore the reason:
Why a Revolution Is Needed in the Management of Education
I don’t have a lot of problems with the article itself. My frustration is that I’ve heard it all before. The ideas, images, even some of the very phrases (“sage on the stage”) used here have been spinning around the world of educators for years. Just watch Sir Ken Robinson on TED…from 2006! Some of the points are arguably even a bit cliche. But now they are in “Forbes.” Yes, the business magazine.
Is this the reality? Regardless of the expertise of educators, do we need to wait until ideas rise to the attention of our business leaders before we can get traction for change? The attitude of the article seemed to express its descriptions as new information and suddenly the most important consideration for the future of the country. Again, I don’t disagree. It’s just that so many of these ideas have been shouted from the rooftops by educators for years.
I also recognize this flow of information sometimes works the other way around. For good reason Jim Collins’ “Good to Great,” an oft-cited business classic, made a late, very popular and quite helpful arrival to the world of school leadership.
It’s often challenging to be in a profession where everyone was once a consumer. We all went to school. But experience is not expertise. I sympathize with doctors who increasingly find patients who have shown up with internet research and a determined self diagnosis. The research is helpful as long as the visit also comes with an open mind. And an article like this may be helpful now but it’s frustrating that it has taken so long to hear aligned voices between the world of teachers and the world of business. It will take both and many others to make change.
I hope we can all get on the same page at some point to really start making the changes and investing in the resources necessary to best help our kids and our future.