Education Reformation, or Transformation?

Even when school funding schemes are declared unconstitutional, it can take decades of ongoing litigation to get a major reallocation of resources.
--Linda Darling-Hammond, The Flat World and Education

This quote puts an image of some strange machine (US education system) with cogs and pieces catching and misfiring, steaming, spitting out screws and parts, going haywire.  Kaput!

As I read, what I really wanted was some sort of flowchart to explain who has what power from federal to state to local districts in order to analyze the broken machine a bit better.

Ken Robinson reminds us that reforming is amending something that already exists, while transforming turns it into something completely different.  After reading Darling-Hammond, one learns that a main differences between the US and the “winning” countries is that we reform, and reform, and reform.  And none of the changes stick--even when there are multiple major litigations that reveal the most obvious problems. Meanwhile, winning countries overhaul their systems and see the transformations through.  

According to Darling-Hammond, a focus on the following practices have skyrocketed once “kaput” systems (Finland, Korea, and Singapore) into the lead in preparing their population for the 21st Century:​

• equitable funding
• fewer high stakes exams
• higher order thinking centered curriculum
  
• preparation and ongoing development of high quality teachers ​​

Ken Robinson seems to agree with Darling-Hammond with the added emphasis on individualized education, because no two learners are the same or have the same strengths.

Thinking and writing about these highlights in the content for this week helps me to process what I think about all of it:  It seems like in the US, our system creates barriers rather than, as Ken Robinson says, “a climate of possibility.” I think of our schools like his analogy to Death Valley.  Waiting for the right conditions to explode with growth. Can I make it rain in my classroom?

​If the world of technology, our world, is already growing exponentially, we need a thunderstorm.

While I may not be in the position to control federal, state, or even district systems, there are a few things I can do from where I stand.

• Believe and TRUST in kids.  In today's day and age of technology and social media, they hold unlimited potential.  We need to raise our expectations, provide resources, and facilitate.
• Become a better teacher.  I feel so grateful that I am able to participate in a master's program that will develop my skills.  I can share my experiences and knowledge with other teachers, as well as encourage/inspire them to grow as well.  I am lucky enough to be in the position of academic specialist, which allows me to offer support to all the teachers at my school, and sometimes at other schools as well.
• Foster individuality of students.  I need to remember how unique each student is, and nourish their strengths as well as help them to deal with their struggles.
• Finally, keep searching for ways to create a "climate of possibility!"

​Meanwhile, in the time it took me to write this blog, 8,328,000 songs were illegally downloaded.  I did the math.