Honoring Leaders I've Followed -- Leadership Day 2010

I've been consumed lately with thoughts about leadership in 21st Century schools. This thinking started when our district superintendent announced she would be leaving for a new assignment--in a district far away. Her announcement to the Leadership Team struck a tough blow. It splintered the present, as we'd enjoyed it, into sparks of the future as our organization moves forward. Our team is seasoned enough to recognize a crossroad. As I glanced around the room following the shattering message, I witnessed what my colorful brother-in law might call a "come-apart." Ripped apart at the seams, it seemed. The district leaders froze and slowly thawed. They self-consciously tried to "shake it off" and slowly, one by one, they dispersed in different directions-- a bit weary and worn--toward uncertainty. Things would never be quite the same. All of this occurred in the first moments of a leadership vacuum. It was devastating. We would miss our leader.

The loss of a good leader gets personal very quickly. Within seconds, I found myself attempting to "mend seams" by examining my sky-high expectations for education leaders. I found myself mentally turning the pages of Lee Iacocca's 2007 best-seller, Where Have All The Leaders Gone? I called up his words describing a crisis in our nation's leadership. I agreed with Iacocca's thought stream. It frightens me to admit that great leaders are rare.

In recent weeks, I've focused inward to assess the personal impact of this recent leadership change. I've reflected on the actions and patterns that have guided the course of my educational endeavors in the past, seeking wisdom and direction to inform my own next steps. It became crystal clear in hindsight that I've shaped an entire career by making deliberate decisions to follow and support outstanding leaders. I've chosen to align with those who are visionary, progressive, driven, passionate, and courageous about doing the right things at the right time for the stakeholders they serve.

Reflection convinced me that my future started long ago. I didn't choose my first "leader." By grace, I was born to a first class boss. He was a dashing, hard-charging Army Captain, serving in post-World War II Japan. I'm pretty sure he commanded his troops in the same way he commanded our family--firmly, fairly, and decisively with courageous moral authority, ethical certainty, and high expectations. There was safety in his love-tempered discipline and freedom to thrive within his clear boundaries. I learned life's lessons easily in my father's home. They shaped me in foundational ways that guide, protect and lead me today. It is not surprising that I came to hold the leaders in my adult life to similar high standards. I realize in hindsight that the yardstick provided by my father became my measure for satisfaction with leaders. Once my satisfaction meter registered below Dad's standard, I went "leadership" hunting.

My first real leadership "pick" was a dy.no.mite little principal who landed 2 million in grant funds to dream a math and science magnet school into existence. The time I spent with her convinced me that teachers can reinvent school and all children can learn at high levels in the right kinds of schools with the right kind of leader.

My next "hire" was a charming, charismatic leader for IBM Eduquest. He envisioned using technology to reinvent schools across the entire USA and Canada. He was a dreamer who enabled me to see infinite possibilities amidst gargantuan barriers. With his help, I learned to challenge the status quo and to persevere in the face of obstacles designed to squash armies of technology-inspired change agents.

My most influential "choice" was the Dean of a College of Education. His "larger than life" presence and intellect led him to a university presidency. Then, his moral purpose called him back to educator preparation, a fertile ground for seeding the next generation of school leaders. From him, I gained an infallible commitment to excellence and an unshakable certainty that the leaders of today can build a foundation for the schools of tomorrow.

My most recent, carefully selected leader left our school district on Friday, July 30 on Leadership Day 2010. It seemed fitting that Scott McLeod (Dangerously Irrelevant) encouraged bloggers to focus on leadership on that day. I didn't blog on Friday. I mourned. Next week my former boss will begin leading educators across the globe. She'll share lessons we learned together and taught each other. She'll bring the "burned out" and the discouraged new hope. She'll reignite a spark in those whose smoldering good intentions are flickering and threatening to extinguish. From her, I learned that the will to accomplish the impossible, when combined with an unshakable determination to succeed, is unbeatable.

So, what actions must one take when blessed to have worked with such fine leaders? For today, I'll honor them as a part of Leadership Day 2010. I'll start by quoting Bill Gates in a critically important message to the American Federation of Teachers. Gates said, "Sometimes the most difficult act of leadership is not fighting the enemy; it's telling your friends it's time to change." Let me start by speaking candidly to my many friends in educational leadership.

Dear Education Leaders,

It is time to change. We've walked your school halls and visited your classrooms. Many of them look eerily like those in the schools you and I attended. Those schools don't work today. I urge you to follow the wisdom I've gained from four exemplary education leaders. Each of them has moved traditional schools toward relevance in our modern age. Please use their imprint to cultivate modern learning environments for the students in your care. Optimize the responsibility you've been given by ensuring that students learn and thrive in the 21st Century. You can make changes if you will follow my leaders. Here are their lessons.

1. Convince teachers that they can reinvent school.
2. Convince students that they can learn at higher levels.
3. Confront and embrace the infinite possibilities for 21st Century learners.
4. Confront and eliminate the barriers that protect a 19th Century school system.
5. Commit to excellence with a certainty that empowers YOU to build the schools we need.
6. Commit, with unshakable determination, to accomplishing what seems impossible.

Try it. Try it. Try it. A thousand times, TRY IT! For the love of our profession, LET'S ALL TRY IT! In 2010, it is way.past.time.


Photo Credit: America's Pastime, Aesthetic_Ryan's_photostream, June 17, 2006

World Class Cyber Meeting for Schools? Not This Year!

I'm still watching you, Mr. President, and I'm still holding you accountable for the beautiful words you spoke at the Democratic National Convention on August 28, 2008. Just days short of one year ago, you grabbed my attention and you inspired this educator. I have not forgotten. You said:

"Now is the time to finally meet our moral obligation to provide every child a world-class education, because it will take nothing less to compete in the global economy.

I've quoted this quote many times since your election to the office of the Presidency. I admire and ascribe to the message inherent in words like "world-class education." It conjures images of students with access to "America's digital infrastructure" -- "the backbone, the foundation for getting the job done." My image of the world-class school is rooted in your own words shared on May 29, 2009 in remarks on Securing our Nation's Cyber Infrastructure. You speak of cyberspace as "a world Americans depend on every single day." You call attention to "our hardware and our software, our desktops and laptops and cell phones and Blackberries that have become woven into every aspect of our lives." Yes, I am convinced that you share a vision for schools where students learn as they live-- "with broadband networks and wireless signals-- that make us more interconnected than at any time in human history."

Because I quote you often, I am compelled to watch your actions - anxiously awaiting signs that the time for meeting the world-class moral obligation for creating 21st Century schools has come. I look for evidence that political actions taken will actually impact the learning of all students in my city, state and nation. I look for actions that lead to educational equity - particularly for those young people who must depend on our schools to bridge their cyber-steps into the 21st century. Your administration's rhetoric continues to resonate loudly-- but it often seems that the action initiatives may not be not in sync with your eloquent words of 8/28/08. Too often, the actions at the "top" seem disconnected from the reality at the "bottom." I find it increasingly difficult to "quote your quotes" to educators that live the reality in today's schools and see no changes in the conditions that every child faces each school day.

Let me explain precisely how an educator can become confused at the grass roots level. I'll use your proposed "back-to-school" address to our nation's students at noon on Tuesday, September 8, 2009 to make a case in point.

First, I must be clear that I've carefully read the script for your Back to School Event. I've also reviewed the materials (K-6) (7-12) your office has posted for use in our nation's classrooms. I have no objection whatsoever to your message or the materials you recommend. I commend your desire to inspire and engage our students in discussions about the importance of education in the 21st Century. I am actually intrigued with the idea of students working in tandem with an American President on topics related to personal responsibility and academic goal setting. I see the logic, the merit, and the purpose in this activity and I view it, in theory, as positive and productive.

What perplexes and confounds educators, however, is that this plan and the experience you propose to share with students conflicts with the actions your administration has taken to equip our nation's schools with the "digital foundation for getting the job done." The idealism of the proposed "moment" contradicts our ever-present reality. On the one hand, you invite all of America's students to watch you deliver your message via a live broadcast on the White House Web site at 12:00 p.m., ET. You actually encourage educators to collectively use this moment in cyberspace to help students get focused and inspired to begin the new academic year.

On the other hand, Mr. President, did you listen at all when I whispered these important words to you in my 11/8/08 blog Yes, We Can, Mr. President? I spoke quietly hoping you would listen closely:

"If you want your children and my child, and all American children to have a world class education, you must connect them to the world."

Do you realize that all of our schools cannot possibly "meet with you"for a live broadcast at noon on Tuesday? If all of our schools attempted to connect to your live broadcast at one point in time using our limited infrastructures, minimal bandwidth, low-speed connectivity, and limited technical support, the infrastructure would surely cough, spin and likely collapse. Uniting our schools via the web for "this moment" to help students "get focused" and to "inspire them to begin the new academic year" would create technical chaos! In fact, it would underpin and reinforce what educators and their students already know: Our schools are not technically equipped to serve students in the 21st Century. "This moment" that you strive to create would epitomize the frustrations of this nation's educators, serving as an exemplar for the loss of millions of "teachable moments" we have already sacrificed to technical failure. Surely, Mr. President, you cannot be so far removed that you are not aware of the fatal flaw in your plan for "this moment."

Frankly, this educator grows increasingly frustrated as trillions of dollars are appropriated for projects that are far less crucial than reforming the archaic education system that is failing our children. Yet, it seems that as funds are quickly appropriated for various industries and innovations, reform for education is met by "inspiring" our nation's children to set goals that cannot be accomplished in our 19th and 20th century schoolhouses. Perhaps, "this moment" will serve to inspire you to make haste in appropriating funds that ensure that next year's "back-to-school" broadcast is accessible to every child that needs a world-class education. Only then can our educators convince 21st century learners to engage in and set goals for 21st Century success in our nation's schools.

In the meantime, I encourage you in your efforts to inspire our students. I ask you not to assume that the nation's educators rejected your back- to-school message because we do not login in mass to your live broadcast during the back-to-school week. I earnestly believe most educators would gladly meet you in cyberspace-- if we had confidence that we could do so-- but, frankly, Mr. President, you need to know this: Our schools are not equitably and adequately equipped for cyber meetings in real-time. We know our network limitations and, I'm sorry to say that where connectivity is concerned, "No, we can't."

Is There Satisfaction in Knowing Without Doing?

On July 14th, 2009, Bob Sprankle, co-founder of the Seedlings Social Network and author of the Bit by Bit blog and podcasts published a fascinating little survey that posed an intriguing question: Are You Satisfied with the Pace of Change? I am so intrigued by the question Bob posed that I'm returning to The 21st Century Centurion to blog on this topic after a seriously focused work-binge (excessive indulgence in work) in our nation's amazing schools. Believe me, it took an intriguing topic to lure me from my current reality!

Bob's original survey items asked educators to respond to their level of satisfaction with the pace of change in education by selecting from the following responses:

• Very Satisfied! I can't believe how much has been accomplished! Schools are doing what's neccessary and our students will be ready for their futures.
• It might feel slow, but if I'm honest, the change is going as well as could be expected. Change takes time, and things are moving along better than expected.
• I wish things would speed up. I'd like to see the "transformation" before I retire from teaching.
• I think things are moving way too slowly. We've been talking about all this for so long. Why am I still seeing traditional schools stuck in traditional practices, slipping further and farther away from the realities and advances happening elsewhere outside the school building?
• Change? What change?

This survey confronts a critically important issue for all educators. In my mind, the questions and truths that run beneath Bob's survey questions are far more complex than the information Bob collected from selected responses. In fact, the hidden questions (and quite likely Bob's hidden agenda!) are so vitally important that I believe they may unveil barriers to the transformation of schools as we know them.

It would have been easy to simply click the survey's radio button, recording my vote for "I think things are moving way too slowly." It was tempting to stop right there and skip about in the comfortable but shallow waves of change. I so desperately needed to "click and run" on a day when time was short and I owed everyone a few "bits" of my time. I was captured by Bob's question, however, and I could not run. Had I clicked to run away, there'd have been no place for me to hide from the deeper questions. Bob's survey caught me. It stopped me cold as it challenged my professional sense of urgency and deep commitment to education reform for the 21st Century. I knew myself well enough to resist the "quick click." I had to face part two of the fourth radio button.

"We've been talking about all this for so long." Bob said.

Yes, indeed, Bob, we have been talking, and talking and talking for way too long.

But Bob pushed forward. I still had to face part three of the fourth radio button.

"Why am I still seeing traditional schools stuck in traditional practices, slipping further and farther away from the realities and advances happening elsewhere outside the school building?" Bob asked.

W-h-e-e-e-e-e-e-e-e-e-w! Talk about a loaded question! I quickly realized that my reaction to the "pace of change" in our nation's schools was NOT the issue that stings and torments me. The issue that stings, torments and drives me is captured in Bob's probing question:

Why am I still seeing traditional schools stuck in traditional practices?

The fact is, I think I know why - at least in part. If you are reading this blog, I'm betting that -- on some level-- you know why too. I know that we continue to "see" traditional schools because our our profession is deeply ensnared in the abyss of the "knowing- doing gap." This common organizational phenomenon is described by J. Pfeffer and R.I. Sutton(1999) in their informative book, The Knowing Doing Gap: How Smart Companies Turn Knowledge into Action. Very simply, the authors confront education's #1 PROBLEM:

"WHY do educators know so much and do so little about the pace of change?"

According to Pfeffer and Sutton, the knowing- doing gap occurs when knowledge is not implemented. In a nutshell, the field of education is engorged with knowledge experts - but it is painfully short on doers who implement knowledge and do so to promote organizational change. The authors correctly note that the most destructive aspect of the knowing-doing gap is the substitution of TALKING ACTIVITIES for action. Too often, they warn, these TALKING ACTIVITIES engage practitioners in dialogue that changes absolutely nothing. While other more familiar reasons for the knowing-doing gap are mentioned (outdated culture, fear of change, internal competition, meaningless measurements), I am convinced that that the lesser mentioned TALKING ACTIVITIES are a serious threat to the the pace of change in education. Frankly, I am tired of talking about change. In fact, I stopped blogging (talking) for awhile for the explicit purpose of implementing knowledge. Before the bloggers attack me, let me be clear in explaining that the the pace of change (implementation) in my organization is so great and so fast that my time for extraneous TALKING ACTIVITIES is seriously limited. Personally, I prefer the faster pace-- but it does take a toll on time for blogging! This is not an attack on blogging. It is rather, a statement that this blogger is challenged to implement at a rapid pace and blog at the same time!

I am confident that many educators in this country KNOW what changes must be made to reform our schools. We KNOW how people learn. We KNOW our students deserve opportunities to thrive in learning environments that honor this generation's unique place in time. Very simply, we KNOW that today's students need to meet high standards by learning in and about the world in which they live and must produce. A strong network of KNOWLEDGEABLE educators who will IMPLEMENT could literally catalyze the reform that brings education into the 21st Century.

When educators get serious about IMPLEMENTING their knowledge, the pace of change will accelerate. "Teacher-doers" in collaborative teams hold the power to reinvent school from the bottom up. I know this because I have done it and I see it happening today. I never doubt the power of a core group of "teacher-doers" to IMPLEMENT foundational and lasting change. Until our profession begins full implementation of our collective knowledge, I doubt we will enjoy the satisfaction of a job well done.

IMPLEMENTING knowledge-driven change to meet the needs of modern learners is education’s primary challenge and #1 function in the 21st Century. As soon as the numbers of teacher-doers reaches a critical mass - we WILL reinvent school - and the pace of change will be difficult to contain. I predict that the change will come much sooner than later. It won't come easily, however, nor will it happen without hard work. I'm betting that the pace of change picks up as the number of "teacher-doers" slowly outnumbers the masses of "teacher talkers." Only then, will our profession move from KNOWING to DOING the right thing for students.

Photo Credit: Implement - jpg - www.lassemoller.dk/implement/implement1.jpg

21st Century Questions

Oh, Ben, Ben, Ben! I was so enjoying a quiet, unfettered afternoon - and there you go again - over at The Edge of Tomorrow posting 21st Century Clarification on New Year's Day! I've been following your conversations since reading your December 20 blog post 21st Century Confusion, in which you expressed concerns and reservations about the movement promoting 21st Century Skills (or literacies) in our nation's schools. I need you to know that I purposefully clicked away from your blog on December 20. Frankly, I was feeling too weary and too worn with the hype of the season to begin an explanation of the critical need for immediate attention to 21st century skills in our schools. I did "tweet" a DM to you, just to let you know I'd be back to share what I hope will be a clarifying rationale for the pressing call for 21st century school reform. I didn't expect to be roused, however, from the complete peace and relaxation of New Year's Day by the post 21st Century Clarification! It's a great post, Ben, but, you see, I'm like the old, wounded bull in the picture on this topic. Your recent post is the bright red cape that provokes me to respond. Your blog just happens to be the skilled matador on this New Year's Day - the engine that fanned my fire. You are not the enemy, Ben. You are obviously a bright guy seeking clarification on a movement you are trying to understand. That's a very good thing. I hope I do not let you down.

Your fundamental point of confusion becomes apparent when you express doubt over the 21st century "concept" and beg the question, "What does it mean to be literate?" You must understand that the 21st century skills movement is not a philosophical "hair-splitting" exercise over nomenclature. It is a very serious, very real, and incredibly important action initiative that must be examined and processed by every educator because - like it or not - our profession is being redesigned by the nation's need for a workforce that epitomizes the 21st century skills.

Let me take you on a step-by-step journey to make my point. We'll hit the high spots. I know where we're headed. I've lived it. Bear with me, I'm going to try to be very, very clear because I'm counting on this to make a difference for you, Ben.

Point 1: The first call for skills essential to success in the 21st century came in 1983 in a report by the National Commission on Excellence in Education entitled A Nation at Risk. This call to action spoke of the "tide of mediocrity" that characterized the American education system. The report extended literacy to “Five New Basics” - English, mathematics, science, social studies, and computer science. A Nation At Risk specified that all high school graduates should be able to “understand the computer as an information, computation and communication device; students should be able to use the computer in the study of the other Basics and for personal and work-related purposes; and students should understand the world of computers, electronics, and related technologies."

That was 1983 - twenty- six years ago. I ask you, Ben: Has education produced students with basic knowledge in the core disciplines and computer science TODAY? Are we there yet? OR - are we still at risk for not producing students with the essential skills for success in 1983?

Point 2: In 1991, eight years after the release of A Nation At Risk, the U. S. Department of Labor and the Secretary’s Commission on Achieving Necessary Skills released "What Work Requires of Schools: A SCANS Report for American 2000. In a nutshell, the SCANS Report called on schools to produce students with "three essential skills: 1.) A solid foundation in the basic literacy and computational skills, 2.) thinking skills necessary to put knowledge to work, and 3.) personal qualities that make workers dedicated and trustworthy."

That was 1991 - eighteen years ago. I ask you, Ben: Has education responded to this call to produce a nation of high school graduates that have mastered basic literacy and computation skills, thinking skills, and workplace ethics TODAY? Are we there yet? OR - are our businesses still looking to public schools to produce students with essential skills for success in 1991?

Point 3: On June 29, 1996, the U. S. Department of Education released Getting America's Students Ready for the 21st Century; Meeting the Technology Literacy Challenge, A Report to the Nation on Technology and Education. Recognizing the rapid changes in workplace needs and the vast challenges facing education, the Technology Literacy Challenge launched programs in the states that focused on a vision of the 21st century where all students are “technologically literate.” Four goals, relating primarily to technology skills, were advanced that focused specifically on: 1.) Training and support for teachers; 2.) Acquisition of multimedia computers in classrooms; 3.) Connection to the Internet for every classroom; and 4.) Acquiring effective software and online learning resources integral to teaching the school's curriculum.

That was 1996 - thirteen years ago. I ask you, Ben: Has education responded to this call to produce a technology proficient teacher corps and technology equipped classrooms with high speed internet access TODAY? Are we there yet? OR - is our nation still looking to public schools to provide teachers that use technology to support instruction in the basic literacies by producing students with new, high tech skills?

Point 4: In 2001, the Elementary and Secondary Education Act (ESEA) No Child Left Behind established a statutory requirement that underscored the growing consensus regarding the importance of technology literacy - the ability to use computers. The law says: “To assist every student in crossing the digital divide by ensuring that every student is technologically literate by the time the student finishes the eighth grade.” Another goal encourages “the effective integration of technology resources and systems with teacher training and curriculum development to establish research-based instructional methods that can be widely implemented as best practice by State educational agencies and local education agencies.”

That was 2001 - eight years ago. I ask you, Ben: Has education responded to this call to produce technology proficient students by the end of the eighth grade? Are our teachers using technologies to teach based on research-based instructional methods TODAY? Are we there yet? OR - are our public schools ignoring the law requiring that students master basic computer literacy and have opportunities to learn core subjects using modern technologies and research-based practices?

Point 5: In 2002, the Partnership for 21st Century Skills published Learning for the 21st Century. Here is an excerpt: "To cope with the demands of the 21st century, people need to know more than core subjects. They need to know how to use their knowledge and skills-by thinking critically, applying knowledge to new situations, analyzing information, comprehending new ideas, communicating, collaborating, solving problems, making decisions.” This important document, designed to influence policy ,called attention to the need for students to know and be able to do "more than core subjects" for success in life and work in the 21st century. These skills were advanced and are often referred to as 21st century skills:

• critical thinking
• apply knowledge
• analyze information
• comprehend new ideas
• communicate
• collaborate
• problem solve
• making decisions

Now, I know you say these skills have always been important, Ben. I agree. The point, however, is not whether the skills are important or not. It is well established that the skills are important. The point is whether or not we are teaching these skills and students are learning them in schools.

That was 2002 - seven years ago. I ask you, Ben: Has education responded to this call to produce students with competencies beyond basic literacy and knowledge in core subjects? Are our schools empowering students with opportunities to construct knowledge in a manner that facilitates development of the 21st century skills? Look at the bulleted list again. Do we see students developing these skills in public schools TODAY? Are we there yet? OR - are are educators scratching their learned heads and grappling with whether or not to call the competencies "skills" or "literacies?" Now you see where I'm coming from, Ben. It is way, way, way too late to debate and "wordsmith." Our profession is failing miserably to respond to twenty-six years of policy, programs and even statutory requirements designed to improve the ability of students to perform and contribute in a high performance workplace. Our students are losing while we are debating.

Point 6: Now we are in trouble. In 2007, The Report of the NEW Commission on the Skills of the American Workforce: Tough Choices or Tough Times made our nation hyperaware that "World market professionals are available in a wide range of fields for a fraction of what U.S. professionals charge." Guess what? While U.S. educators stuck learned heads in the sand, the world's citizens gained 21st century skills! Tough Choices spares no hard truth: "Our young adults score at “mediocre” levels on the best international measure of performance." Do you think it is an accident that the word "mediocre" is used? Let's see, I believe we saw it w-a-a-a-y back in 1983 when A Nation At Risk warned of a "tide of mediocrity." Tough Choices asks the hard question: "Will the world’s employers pick U.S. graduates when workers in Asia will work for much less? Then the question is answered. Our graduates will be chosen for global work "only if the U.S. worker can compete academically, exceed in creativity, learn quickly, and demonstrate a capacity to innovate." There they are again...those 21st century skills!

What we have here is a fundamental GAP between what our nation's workplace (and the global workplace) need and what our schools are willing to deliver. After twenty-six years of warnings, suggestions, policies, programs and LAWS, I am humiliated to admit that our profession is still quibbling about the "definition" of 21st century skills. I am mortified when I see brilliant educators debating "verbiage" when the barn ( schoolhouse) is burning and our children are endangered.

Ian Jukes asks a good question in his paper "That’s the Way We’ve Always Done It." Jukes says, "For what world will today's schools prepare our students?"

I'd like to add to these good questions to Juke's prompt:

1. Will our schools continue to prepare students for the Agricultural Age - that shaped our current school schedules?
2. Will our schools continue to prepare students for the Industrial Age - that shaped our current instructional designs?
3. Will our schools continue to ignore the demands of the Information Age - that shaped the nation's current demand for school reform?
4. What will our profession do with the demands of the Conceptual Age in which an educator's economic function is to create new ideas, new applications of technology for learning, and new content that addresses the 21st century skills?
   

Jim Carroll, a leading international futurist and innovation expert makes a salient point his article “What Comes Next? A Trends Perspective 2008.” I'll use Carroll's important point to conclude these thoughts. Carroll says:

“Learning is what most adults will do for a living in the 21st century."

Think about this, educators, please. As adults, we'd better start learning how to reform our schools for the 21st century. In tough financial times, do you really think there will be funding for educators that find it important to debate the definitions and split hairs about the value of 21st century skills? There is twenty-seven years of documentation and a federal law to answer your concerns about the need for 21st century skills. Read it! Our job now is to learn how to create learning environments in which our students have opportunities to practice and to demonstrate these skills - in our schools - and in life as they take their place in the highly competitive global workplace.

Ben, thank you for your willingness to open the discussion. I hope this bit of historical perspective is useful as you continue your search for professional meaning in the 21st century. I wish every educator would take this discussion as seriously as you so obviously do. You care. So do I.

STUDENT Conferences are the Answer

December is a busy month! I was thrilled with an opportunity to visit Jon Becker's excellent blog Educational INSANITY. I sat down (innocently) to enjoy a peaceful and quiet read and french-vanilla coffee - not expecting to face an old and troubling issue. Then I read Jon's thoughtful December 4th, 2008 blog Conferences,Presentations, etc. - and the flurry of comments it inspired - and I felt an old concern I've learned to repress. My coffee is cold now and I am hot. Right up front, you should know that I am, at best, an education conference skeptic. At worst, I am an anti-education conference protester. Given this disclaimer, you now have the option of retreating.

I've attended and presented at more education conferences than I can begin to count. I abandoned confidence in them several years ago. I was forever changed by one surreal but pristine moment. I'll never forget it. I was attending yet another education conference on the west coast far from my east coast home. I looked up in this moment and was struck by a camera click instant - a kodak moment - a mental snapshot that hit like a thunderbolt. According to the Urban Dictionary definitions, my kodak moment, epitomized the second definition, "a horribly twisted event." For the first time in my conference experiences, I literally saw what I'd never seen before. I saw HUNDREDS of educators - glassy-eyed and disconnected - wandering through a Reno, Nevada casino in search of a vendor hall to claim cool "freebies" - simple trinkets promised by a vendor/presenter. And, all of this happened on a school day - a Friday morning! I can't reproduce the kodak moment. I can't reimage the looks on those educators' faces. I've provided a similar image of the setting in the photograph above and offer these descriptors for my colleagues' facial expressions: bewildered,dislocated, uncertain, confounded, lost, misplaced, uncomfortable. Can you see my twisted kodak moment? Have I made it vivid? Do you see the problem here?

I was struck by what seemed to be a flawed education conference system and faced five big questions that forever changed my outlook on conferences.

1.) WHO is in school teaching our STUDENTS on this Friday morning?
2.) WHAT could we do to improve STUDENT learning if all funds used for this educational "gathering" were applied directly to improving opportunities for STUDENTS to learn?
3.) WHERE does all the money generated by this conference go? Does it find its way back into U.S. classrooms - where it was appropriated to be spent on our STUDENTS' learning?
4.) WHY aren't forums like this dedicated to our STUDENTS who could benefit greatly from a conference that exposes them to the best minds and newest knowledge on the face of the earth?
5.) Finally and most difficult, WHEN will educators admit that a trip to a casino-centered conference is a blatant "perk" - a trip to an "adult playground" - possibly at students' expense? I was troubled that the public funds spent on this one conference might have supplied countless schools with the modern tools needed to upgrade educational opportunities for students.

In my own thinking, we've lost our way with education conferences. We leave our students sitting in closed nineteenth century classrooms while we jet to Reno to hear the best children's authors promote and sell their new books. We sit passively for an hour while speakers tell us what we already know. For those who wish to sight-see, seek entertainment and enjoy the ambiance of a new setting, the conference is a semi-vacation. If you are honest you know this is true. Let me ask you a very direct and difficult question: How are we any different than the corporate executives who redirect investors' and taxpayers' monies to opulent conference opportunities? How are we different? That is my question.

There is a fundamental flaw in the current conference design. The flaw - we've omitted education's reason for being - OUR STUDENTS.

My resolve is to avoid education conference that fail to focus on the STUDENT. In the meantime, I am learning far, far, far more using online professional development opportunities. I learned more in the K-12 Online Conference 2008 than I have ever learned in all face-to-face conferences combined. I see more potential in the NotK-12 Online Conference than I can ever image taking place in traditional education conferences. I find more pearls and nuggets in EdTechTalk forums than in packed conference halls. I sleep better at night knowing that I am not contributing to or profiting from a flawed attempt to "improve education." Marketing products and ideas to educators in short, one-shot, speaker-centered sessions is a poor application of research on learning. We know that. It is expensive time wasted. We are far too smart to think these conferences are improving the future of our students. We are far too ethical a profession to sit by as our profession directs funds to unproductive causes. Let me conclude with this very difficult question: If we asked our students and their parents to glimpse my "kodac moment," would they not be as infuriated as those who are losing their life-savings on investments mismanaged by leaders who recently scheduled an elaborate conference at the taxpayer's expense? When U.S. citizens look at the Nation's Report Card, do they have a point in wanting to know the percentage of education funding spent on "elaborate conferences" for educators?

I'm just saying...let's think about this. Let's get real about our reason for being by focusing on our STUDENTS. If we focused our time and best thinking on how to create an effective conference for STUDENTS, we'd quickly see a First Lego League Competition, a Mabry Film Festival, an Inventor's Forum, a Writer's Symposium, a Health and Fitness Extravaganza, a World-School Financial Summit, and on and on. Then the educators could learn through Gary Stager's "minds-on, hard-play" with one important twist. They learn with and beside their students - as it should be in the 21st century.

Photo Credit: Casino at Excalibur from http2007's photostream on Flickr.

So Is It Possible that Changing Public Schools Is Impossible?

I'm certain that Clayton M. Christensen's Disrupting Class How Disruptive Innovation Will Change the Way the World Learns will be viewed as a landmark - even an icon - in the quest for school reform. In my opinion, it is the "writing on the wall," the "new cheese," the "light on the path,"and the "ultimate reality" that describes the reconstruction of school as we know it. The book is powerful and I am so hopeful that our profession will rush to respond to this map for radical progress. I doubt, however, that Disrupting Class will hasten the reform of our schools. I wonder if Clay Christensen, who really understands the inevitability of his message shares my hopes and my doubts? I think he does. Let me explain.

You see, if our education culture was different, every single educator in the whole wide world (or at least most) would assume responsibility for understanding "disruptive innovation." If members of our profession genuinely understood the phenomenon of disruption, we would all make sense of the "disorienting dilemmas" that have characterized our schools for decades. If each educator truly took it upon themselves to examine and completely assimilate the impact that technology, networking and connectivity is exacting on all factions of our society and all the world's institutions, surely then, the walls of educational resistance to "change" would collapse. Surely, our profession would collectively experience the "perspective transformation" Jack Mezirow describes in his seminal work Transformative Dimensions of Adult Learning. Our profession might universally begin to see that our 19th century "school view" constrains our understanding of the 21st century challenges that face our institutions. It prevents us from rising to our call. If all of the world's educators truly experienced a"perspective transformation," our profession could enjoy an enlightenment. An enlightened school view would drive the profound changes required to respond to the needs and potential of 21st century students. We might even begin to develop what Christensen calls the "common language" that enables important conversations about 21st century learning and learners. Educators might actually initiate a transformation that leads to renewed ways of knowing and doing school. Our profession might even become a vital, thriving, transforming, empowering, relevant 21st century institution. All of this might be possible - if educators were to embrace their own transformation as essential to rebirth as a 21st century educator.

The key here is that each and every educator must face responsibility for constructing meaning about the disruptive innovations that are transforming our schools. We must be willing to "become the change we want to see." We'll have to live and breathe the attributes of a 21st century learners as we become the self-directed critical thinkers, problem solvers, innovators, and collaborators needed to create globally-focused schools for the 21st century. In other words, we must all be willing to make the transformation to being 21st century educators by accepting the 21st century challenges.

On page 192 of Disrupting Class, Christensen asks the defining question of the book: "So is it possible that changing public schools is impossible?" The authors believe that change is possible if education embraces the three tools that can change schools despite failed past reform initiatives. To change public schools today, Christensen first calls for common language - what he refers to as "a collective framing of the problem," a precondition to deriving useful solutions. I've described the "perspective transformation" educators must make to drive common language conversations. Second, Christensen calls for use of power - calling upon a cadre of school leaders who can amass and wield power to change the status quo. In my entire profession, I have encountered two such courageous leaders. How many can you count? Recognizing that common language and power solutions may fail, Christensen also calls for separation - the third tool which he calls "the critical option in the arsenal of school reform." Separation refers to a "setting up" of new schools in which teachers, parents, administrators are aligned in vision and committed to educating children and doing it very well. And, I would argue that in a global economy, the separated school must do it better than any other school in the world.

So there you have it - Christensen's ultimate vision for a changed public school is a separate school. This vision is born of disruption and characterized by hope and doubt. And, who do you think will lead the separated schools? I'm betting it's those who are willing to "amass and wield the power," and those who speak the "common language." I can't envision a place for the "learned" who refused a "perspective transformation." Can you? They will, as Eric Hoffer predicted, "find themselves beautifully equipped to deal with a world that no longer exists." The "separated school"... I'm just saying - and I think Christensen is saying - get ready for it.

Photo Credit: be the change in yourself from trailerfullof pics photostream on Flickr.

Yes, We Can, Mr. President-Elect!

I want to congratulate President-elect Barack Obama. We don't know each other but we've been communicating. On November 4, 2008, the President-elect looked right at me and spoke directly to me during his acceptance speech. He said,"And to those Americans whose support I have yet to earn – I may not have won your vote, but I hear your voices, I need your help, and I will be your President too." Thank you, Mr. President-elect. I heard you and I pledge my unwavering support to your presidency.

I was moved by my President-elect's promise to me. Determined to find out if he'd really heard my voice, I began devouring information on his education platform. Yep! He appeared to have heard my deepest concern expressed in August, 2008 when I signed the CoSN,ISTE, NEA, SETA online petition in support of making 21st century classrooms a top national priority. He even seemed to respond to the petition on August 28, 2008 during his speech at the Democratic National Convention. He said, "Now is the time to finally meet our moral obligation to provide every child a world-class education, because it will take nothing less to compete in the global economy."

Mr. President-elect, I believe you genuinely want to provide a world-class education for all American children. As parents, you and I have a common understanding of the compelling, driving hope all parents share. We all dream that our children will enjoy an empowering education. Listen to me, please. I'm whispering, so you'll listen very closely.

If you want your children and my child, and all American children to have a world class education, you must connect them to the world.

The transportation to a world-class education is a sound, reliable, high-speed information super highway that can lead our schools into the 21st century. Our educators cannot possibly take our children to "meet the world" without a road to travel that begins at the schoolhouse door. We cannot join the world's growing learning revolution with patched school infrastructure, blocked information resources, minimal technical support, insufficient professional development, minimal funding and lack of coherence and vision for educational technology at the national level.

I'm very concerned that the U.S. Department of Labor reports that education is dead last on a list of 55 industries in its use of technology. I'm devastated that the New Commission of the Skills for the American Workforce in it's landmark 2007 report Tough Choices or Tough Times describes our public schools as failing in this "Portrait of a Failing School System."


I'm angry to watch as our country "bails out" Wall Street and considers "bailing out" the automobile industry. Can you see that American educators have every right to be outraged? Our country's Congressional leaders, and, yes, our President, have been warned repeatedly by governmental agencies that the U.S. education system is failing our children. Yet, where is education's "bail out?" Where is the complete infrastructure we need to revamp and reform our business? Our "product" - the nation's children - are the economy of the future - the hope of our nation. Our "business" is critical to national competitiveness and, yes, to our national security. Mr. President-elect, so many educators want to reform our failed system. We know how to do it but our road is blocked. We simply cannot transport our students to a world class education when we remain trapped in cement block walls with inferior networks, impossible bureaucratic barriers, and blocked access to many of the most powerful learning tools.

Help us, the nation's educators, Mr. President-elect. Our country's teachers aspire to become William Glasser's "quality teacher" We want to convince "not half or three-quarters but all of our students to do quality work in school," but we cannot convince 21st century learners to engage with 20th century tools! Throughout our great country's history the "tools of the age" have transported our nation's progress. The tools of the Industrial Age transformed our nation's workforce. The tools of the Information Age transformed our world's workforce. And now, as we enter the Conceptual Age, the incredible tools of World Wide Web promise to transport our global community to a "world class" education. Listen carefully, Mr. President-elect: If you truly want to lead our nation in a transformation of 20th century schools to world class 21st century schools, connect our schools to the internet, unleash some the barriers to information access and hold our profession accountable for reforming school.

Throughout your campaign, Mr. President-elect, you demonstrated an undeniable grasp of the power of technology to transform and energize your political engine. You wisely took advantage of broadband connections to inform, to communicate, to survey, to recruit, to inspire, to learn and to lead. Technology gave you a distinct advantage. I ask you now, President-elect Obama, won't you make very certain every American child has that same opportunity to use the tools of the age to reach their highest potential? I want to thank you for listening to me. Because I am able to sit in my own livingroom and communicate with you via the amazing information super highway, I have the highest hope that you will "hear me." I want you to know, however, that many teachers and students do not have this privilege in our schools. We can do something about this. Yes, we can.

Creating a Disturbance!

It’s been a fascinating Saturday morning. There’s touch of Fall in Georgia. The drone of TV election news is compelling. The irresistible 2008 K12 Online Conference begs for my attention. My Google Reader is filled with inviting new treasure. An important new project sits on my desktop demanding my time. Does this communicate that I feel the draw, the imperative, the reality, the momentum and the TIME CRUNCH associated with CHANGE? Odd, I think, that a blog post should take priority when so many stimulating choices and obligations compete for my morning. Howe-e-e-e-v-v-v-r-r-r-r! I’m humming an old song to new steps. Go ahead! Click the video. Listen to the words. See the old ponies doing new steps to an old tune! This is proof! We can all do new steps. Click the video and hear the song that's on my mind as you read on about a new step we must take.

“And I won’t stop trying (step, step) till I create a disturbance (shrug, shrug) in your mind (tap,shuffle)!”

I started the morning by visiting a link to Stephanie Sandifer’s Change Agency to skim a post I’ve been saving for “prime time” reading. Stephanie’s personal account of moving from “KNOWING to DOING” with Web 2.0 tools describes a transformation. She’s done it! She’s moved from the stage of “familiarizing and talking about” tools to “accomplishing” with them. Stephanie took the leap from “knowing” to “doing” and adeptly describes the difference between the two in her post The Knowing - Doing Gap. I left this post on Stephanie’s blog.

I can relate to the positives of being in a “doing” situation! It is important to have opportunities to KNOW but it is also essential be able TO DO if one is to learn deeply and personally. I was very pleased to read that you too are encouraged and motivated by having a place to really apply your knowledge of Web 2.0 tools in productive and meaningful ways. I think your personal example speaks volumes about the ways we educate our students today. Too often our students are caught in the “knowing-doing gap.” Educators typically honor students’ need “to know” but fail to provide learning paths that include opportunities “to do.” There is a world of difference between knowing and doing - and your relevant example makes that point so well. Thank you for sharing!

The timing for reading Stephanie’s post could not have been better. Last night I was completely “taken” with Alec Couros’ K12 Online Conference presentation “Open, Connected, Social: Reflections of an Open Graduate Course Experience.” The viewing experience is a total package – a real “trip!” The viewer is entertained, taught, challenged and extended. But, as it is when one is taking new steps,” I was caught by ONE statement amidst the wealth of information that led me to post this comment in Alec’s blog :

Really enjoyed the entertaining and informative presentation, Alec. For me, a key point drawn from your presentation was the recommendation to “focus on HOW the new tools guide student learning rather than the ‘coolness factor’ of the tools themselves.” This important “take away” will stay with me. I agree that the real challenge is not learning to use the tools. The tools are relatively easy to use. Rather, the challenge (and innovation!) is discovering how to best facilitate LEARNING while managing the tools. Wouldn’t it be powerful to have educators keenly focused on HOW to best use *insert name of Web 2.0 tools* to deepen and accelerate student learning? Now, THAT is a course I’d like to take!

You see, there’s a “disturbance in my mind” that is rattled by posts like David Warlick’s 9/24/08 2¢ Worth "If 'It’s not about the technology,' then What is it About?" and David Truss’ 10/21/08 Pair-a-dimes post POD – a passionate and “appropriately disturbed” reaction. It appears that these two thinkers are concluding that the time for “familiarizing and talking about” tools is ending - and a time for “accomplishing” with the tools is upon us. I'm so sure of this. The time for demonstrating education's knowledge of the tools by DOING all that must be done to “accomplish” school reform for the 21st century is ripe and well overdue.

Right before I began this post, I watched Alice Barr, Cheryl Oakes and Bob Sprankle in their K12 Online presentation “How Can I Become Part of this ReadWriteWeb Revolution?” Boy, did I hear the old music and see the new steps! There they are – three educators who are familiar with the tools – making the transition from “knowing to doing” and urging us all to START DOING NOW. So, given their inspiration, I put down the remote control (leaving McCain and Obama to fend for themselves) to DO SOMETHING. This blog is a very small part. But...I'm not through. "I won’t stop trying (step, step) till I create a disturbance (shrug, shrug) in your mind (tap, shuffle, bow)!”

RSVP: I Regret That I Cannot Participate in the 21st Century

In response to Social Networking - Talk can cost nothing if you know where to look Published in TES Magazine on 17 October, 2008, By: Terry Freedman
This morning I followed Terry Freedman's intriguing tweet that promised an "article about social networking for teachers." I was pleasantly surprised to find that the article went far beyond social networking to describe a 21st century invitation to participate in educator professional development. I was moved to respond because, as a self-directed learner, my invitation to the online social learning experience was the gateway to the most effective form of professional development I've yet to experience.

Terry recommends a variety of powerful tools for personal professional development including Twitter, Skype, Ning and instant messaging. As always, he is point perfect. I'd like to add one additional plug, however, for a form of continuing professional development that supports and sustains my own 21st century thinking and learning in unique and immeasurable ways. Reading and writing blogs immersed me as an active participant in the world of online 21st century learning! In fact, I have discovered in blogging the ultimate tool for differientiating my own professional learning path! I meticulously customize and refine my personal Blog Roll and regularly adjust feeds to my Google Reader! I use a unique filtering process designed to be beneficial to ME! I learn so much from reading the blogs (and microblogs) of selected colleagues - whom I choose with great care and after a careful background check. My process of blog selection is so selective, so dynamic, and so personal that my learning path is tweeked and adjusted to my specific learning needs on a daily basis. I owe so much to my incredible "learning network!" I am growing in leaps and bounds because I made a decision to accept an invitation to participate fully in 21st century teaching and learning!

I realize that discovering the benefits of blogging is not new to many people. I understand that I'm simply "riding the high" of my new-found power to learn. While exhilarated, I'm also challenged to guide a process through which educators can self-direct in the discovery of Web 2.0 tools for their own personal professional development. This challenge is really tricky. It is far more difficult than preparing for a traditional workshop in which captive participants occupy seats and mark time. This type of professional development is an open invitation to learn. The invitation has an RSVP, which acknowledges that the guest has the privilege of saying, "I Regret." I understand and believe Carl Roger's premise that “The only learning which significantly influences behavior is self-discovered, self-appropriated learning." I know I have to give each educator the "right to regret" my invitation to learn. I just worry that the many of those who are invited to participate in 21st century teaching and learning do not REALLY UNDERSTAND the extent to which they will regret not participating in the learning revolution.

What IS 21st Century Teaching and Learning?

Last week two completely separate events inspired this post. First, I had the honor of visiting three schools to respond to the topic of this blog, "What IS 21st Century Teaching and Learning?" The topic was definitely on my mind. Then, while browsing Jeff Utecht's Universe, his link to Pro Blog Design's "25 Ways to Spice Up Blog Post Photos" caught my eye. I'm sure Jeff's intent was to link readers to tips for improving blog graphics, but I never got past the second paragraph. I stopped at, "A post without any graphs, drawing, or photos can look daunting." Now, I'm a brand new blogger and I am still learning the rules. I had not considered using pictures in previous blog posts. I apologize for publishing so much daunting text. That ends today!

I love images. I chose this fabulous graphic from the online collection Library of Congress Prints and Photographs to shape the theme of my presentation, What IS 21st Century Teaching and Learning? Does it seem odd to select an image from 1905 to make a 21st century point? Bear with me, this historic image communicates an important message. Please understand, I am driven to help teachers know and be able to "lead the learning" of 21st Century skills in our public schools. While I admire the Framework for 21st Century Skills, published by the Partnership for 21st Century Skills, and I genuinely appreciate the enGauge 21st Century Skills model, I know teachers need to move beyond models to "cut right to the chase." They need a clear picture of today's challenge. Thus the 1905 image and my simplified response to a loaded question: What IS 21st Century Teaching and Learning?

Take a close look at the picture the Library of Congress labeled "A modern training school." Girls are sewing and cooking. Boys are woodworking. The students are using the TOOLS of the era to prepare for the work of the era. The teachers are working beside their students, coaching and mentoring them as they refine skills that transfer beyond the schoolhouse to life in the real world. Zoom in. Look a bit closer. The TOOLS include needles, knives, chisels, hammers, picks, heat, ovens. The tools of the age are potentially dangerous - but they aren't blocked from the school. Teachers are teaching students to use the tools of the age - and use them safely.

One more picture to make this post less daunting. This image from Library of Congress Prints and Photographs is entitled 1910 -1930  Infantile speech defects corrected by games. This class is playing "train," making "ch" sound. What a great example! The students are learning the CONTENT of the era using the highly relevant CONTEXT of the era. At the beginning of the 19th century, trains were a phenomenon. The railroads were slowly joining rivers, canals, coaches and carriages in transporting people and goods across the country. The "ch-choo" train was serious pop culture in 1919 and students must have engaged in learning about them. The "ch-choo" that was so relevant and popular in that era seems remote and out of place in the schools of 2008. Yet, we persist in "ch-chooing" when we could be "cha-chinging" the critically important 21st Century lessons of Financial Literacy. Our school train just hasn't engaged the context of the 21st Century.

Let me wrap this up. What IS 21st Century Teaching and Learning? In very simplistic terms:

1. Students use the TOOLS of the era to prepare for life and work in the era.
2. Students learn the CONTENT of the era in the fascinating CONTEXT of the era.
3. Teachers COACH and mentor students who refine skills that matter and transfer to life in the real world.

1.)Tools. 2.) Content. 3.) Context. 4.) Coach. Not so very new or different. We just need to bump the focus of all four up a mere one hundred years - and we're here - in the 21st Century!

__________________________________________________________
Image Source: Library of Congress Prints and Photographs Division Washington, D.C. 20540 USA
Digital ID: cph 3a15671
Digital ID: det 4a27732
RIGHTS INFORMATION: No known restrictions on publication.

ME? Hang on Facebook?

In response to October 5, 2008 post, "Facing Facebook" by David Truss: Pair-a-Dimes for Your Thoughts

I've been thinking a lot about Facebook. In fact, I created an account several months ago. Never added a profile. Finally, I deleted the entire account. Why? I just couldn't figure out how I could "contribute" in the Facebook social environment. I could not see myself having a pillow fight with a colleague. I didn't really want to send an exotic cocktail to new a new friend. I wasn't interested in forming a new social connection with an adolescent or a college student. I didn't know how to speak the "Well, ah, like, what-e-e-vvvvr-r-r, you know" language. I just could NOT envision myself in the Facebook crowd.

So, I'd been wondering why it made sense for an educator like me to participate. My interest was piqued by the number of outstanding educators I know who enjoy maintaining Facebook accounts. When the Cool Cat Teacher, Vicki Davis, shared that she had a Facebook presence, I thought, "Well, I know you're cool - but, Vicki, you have adult connections on Linked In! What's up with you, friend?" I just could NOT understand WHY. Vicki is not the only first class educator I know on Facebook. I know many stand-up adults who are members of the Facebook community! Their career interests and professional goals are the same as mine - but they knew something I didn't know. When David Truss, an admired Twitter colleague, hinted that he'd be blogging on the topic "Facing Facebook" I was delighted. Soon, I'd be in on the secret!

Now, here you come, David, with a whole new spin on Facebook! Responsibility. You really "got me" with this appeal. You paint a picture of teachers that "follow" students for all of the right reasons: showing interest, standing up for online integrity, demonstrating altruistic values. You made me think. I have hundreds of former students on Facebook. I still care about them. I always enjoy reconnecting with them face-to face as adults and learning about their lives and careers. I am attracted to the idea of "being there" for them in Facebook - unobtrusively but staunchly standing for high standards in adult life and in digital citizenship. I'd be honored to reconnect with them as a former teacher - professionally - continuing my work with them as a mentor. I can see myself in this role - and I like it.

It is odd. When I deleted the Facebook account a pop up message appeared as I clicked "OK. Delete Account". Perhaps it was serendipity. The message touched me: "Come back to Facebook. We'll miss you." Now the message is more compelling. Facebook is missing me. It is missing the presence of adults who care enough about our young people to network in their space.

Thank you, David. I really like your post. It is valuable and helpful. "and so, like eeeeewwwwww, I'm off to hang out." ;~)

Determined to Practice

In response to Tracy Rosen’s October 3, 2008 blog post Educational Malpractice: "A Values Charged Assessment" on her blog Leading From the Heart, and in response to a comment by Heidi Glass Gable in her October 3, 2008 response to my October 3, 2008 blog post, "Well…Is THIS Educational Malpractice?”

Tracy and Heidi, you raise interesting and thought provoking ideas and questions. I thank you for getting involved in this conversation! It is not easy to step forward and share thoughts and feelings. It takes courage.

Heidi, you suggest that such conversations are “useful as a beginning step to determine what the issue is.” Thank you for making this observation. That is precisely the intent of my initial blog post, "Is This Educational Malpractice?" I sincerely believe that most members of our profession will not interpret the hard questions as a “judgment of failure.” We are much tougher than that. Most educators know they are not failing. Some acknowledge that the change mandates facing schools are not unreasonable and some accept the logic behind the directives. Some superlative educators are more than willing to embrace personal accountability on issues surrounding 21st century skills - and, some educators are embracing student-centered learning with one (functional!)computer in their classrooms! As Tracy (who knows she is not failing) points out - active, engaging, social learning does not necessarily require computer hardware and connectivity. While it is possible for students to practice many learning skills in the absence of technology, I ask WHY? I suggest that using the tools of the age is essential to building the skills students will need for success in a modern society and a global economy. In my opinion, we need all of the teachers to embrace the 21st century challenge! We need every student to have opportunities for participation in the world’s conversation - just as we are participating now. Students need opportunities to demonstrate competence in essential 21st century learning standards and performance skills. To do so, they must be able to use technology. In a time when the digital divide so seriously threatens “equity” for all students, the schools serve as “the bridge of hope” for technology literacy for many American children. We cannot let these children down.

Tracy, you suggest that we identify those who are “mal-practicing” and you put forward a far more complex and serious observation: “If there is malpractice it is systemic.” I say, thank you. While I am not at all in favor of pursuing “mal-practicers,” I am most interested in a conversation that advances our profession’s ability to articulate an argument for substantial, proactive change in our nation’s classrooms. I embrace your good observation and pose it back to you as a question: “Is education malpractice - with respect to the 21st century skills - a systemic problem?” I’m not sure it is, but I am willing to suggest that a time of reckoning is upon our profession. As a member of the education community, I am prepared to objectively consider the possibility of systemic malpractice in implementing the 21st century skills in our schools. I am willing to partner with teachers, leaders, policy makers and government officials to be certain the barriers (which Heidi describes as “what stands in the way of DOING”) are removed. Common barriers cited by educators include: 1.) lack of teacher professional development; 2.)lack of teacher time for learning and practice: 3.) fear of change; 4.) fear of technology; 5.) resistant attitudes; 6.) lack of technology: 7.) lack of technical support; 8.) blocked web access and on and on. There are many barriers – but they are not insurmountable. There are solutions. I am willing to be a part of solutions that makes it possible for educators and students to learn using the most powerful learning tools of the age - in spite of the barriers. There are scores of teachers that work toward these goals on a daily basis. There are some education leaders across this nation that work daily and diligently to eliminate barriers. But we need help. I suggest that the entire education community is needed to support the migration from traditional education practices to 21st century learning environments.

Tracy, I totally disagree that the compelling need for 21st century skills is “a values-charged argument.” I suggest that adopting, embracing and teaching the learning skills it is a responsibility. I also disagree that the whole language movement is “values-charged” movement. The whole language movement (simplified) advocates for knowledge construction as learners make meaning in language-rich environments. Promising research-based principles that point to efficacy of whole language methods attract educators. Yet, in the current decade, the 2000 National Reading Panel released "The Report of the National Reading Panel: Teaching Children to Read," which concludes that children benefit most from explicit and systematic instruction in phonemic awareness, phonics, vocabulary, text comprehension and oral reading fluency. Now, here is my point. The "reading wars" are a debate between two research-based methodologies. It has become an emotionally-charged issues for some educators - but both camps agree on the value of teaching children to read. The methods teachers use do not deprive students of reading instruction. Clearly, our nation’s teachers work to teach reading - and they are passionate about it. With respect to 21st century skills, however, a teacher’s decision not to use technology (where it is available) deprives a student of opportunities to practice and learn the 21st century skills in technology-empowered, information-rich environments. It is irresponsible to "decide" not to use technology for learning. I'm calling for a passionate teacher workforce that champions the use of technologies to advance the 21st century skills.

Heidi, I'd like to answer your good question: “Why, as a system, are we failing so miserably in providing teachers with mentors and coaches who will help them (teachers) through this change?” That is, in fact, the specific work that I do each and every day. I work with teacher leaders and mentors who “lead the learning” in schools committed to becoming models of 21st century learning. We are not failing. These educators are amazing! Education specialists who guide and support teachers through the process of transforming education are an invaluable investment. They are hard to find. They are hard to keep. They are, in my opinion, the change agents needed to make positive change happen. And I believe, they are responding to the call to "stand up" for updating our schools for the students of the 21st century. Still, there are too many educators that irresponsibly "decide" not to participate. That is a shame.

So, we have had quite a discussion! I’ve neglected some very important work this past 36 hours – and must get back to it - but I consider this conversation worth a lost night’s sleep. I’m signing off on this topic now – but leave you with an earnest question. Are we, as an education community, willing and able to consider the question of "malpractice" with respect to implementing the 21st century skills in our classrooms? I find the question intriguing. I've been thinking about it each day since I heard it. I am not discouraged and I am not defensive. As an educator, I am determined to practice the 21st century skills!