A 30,000-foot view shows us that education plays a key role in the success of our society. Government first became interested in producing educated, civic-minded, productive citizens through tax dollars in the mid 1800s. This desire by advocates and legislators led to the creation of and investments in public schools. The systems that are in place today are rooted in the original models, which emphasized the basics, encouraged conformity, expected obedience, and required learning content (maybe reword ‘content’ as it is an internet word?). Preparing students to be productive citizens in our information age requires new skillsets, including critical thinking, problem-solving, and a love of learning.
A CEO at a meeting I attended once put it that, “We need students who can learn, unlearn and relearn.” We are preparing students for jobs that don’t even exist yet! Our systems are not meeting the needs of today’s employers. So, how do we make change happen in a decentralized and dated system? If change is what society, employers and most of all students need, how do we go about shifting the massive bureaucracy that is education? It is overwhelming to begin to think about. Understanding some of the challenges faced by advocates for change face can help us identify and focus on strategy. Educating the public and decision-makers on why change is needed must happen if we ever hope to achieve meaningful reforms. Determining what needs to change is a huge challenge. Educators have been subject to new “program of the week” initiatives that only seem to add more work and not take any away. Turnover in leadership only makes it worse, as each new leader wants to put their stamp on a department, district, or school. It is likely many educators will be skeptical about the possibility for real change. A top-down, bottom-up, inside-outside approach is called for. When people are involved in the process, they gain buy-in buy in. Education is often so siloed, it is hard to see beyond what needs to change for a specific situation, not the system as a whole. The change many reformers envision is seismic change, which essentially scraps what has been in favor of what needs to be. The issue is people committing to rowing the boat in the same direction toward a vision for the future. Big change takes time and will likely require a series of small successes. Kentucky has taken significant steps toward a new reality with their United We Learn initiatives. Advocates often come together at meetings to discuss where we need to be. I loved Tony Wagner addressing the need to learn content. He held up his phone and said something to the effect of, “All the content you really need is right here.” His point was that we need to be able to teach kids how to process content, see the relevance, and be able to apply it to innovations. Measuring these skills is not as easy as a standardized state test. Developing measures that matter will be how reform can succeed. Educators are held accountable for what is measured. If we keep outdated measures, we will only progress on those measures. Changing to novel measures will not sit well with those who love to point to rankings. Educators will need to be open to learning new ways of doing things. It will be hard. It will take lots of negotiation and compromise, but it is necessary. A key point of reform must be equity in learning. The current system is failing half of our kids. We need to find supports that give kids a sense of security and trust so they can be open to learning. Hearing from students is a key component if we ever hope to get this right. School and society are not what many adults experienced. Understanding students’ challenges will be important to substantive change. Once agreement is achieved, the big change comes in changing the system. To do that, a serious, multilevel education campaign will need to happen. Hearts and minds of the decision-makers will need to be won over. Who is in charge of the big decision making? States are primarily responsible for education, which is largely framed and funded through legislation. That means that state legislatures will be key in any major systems change. Legislators are elected by voters, so change begins with education of the masses through basic messaging. Legislators are in a unique position. They must learn about a huge variety of things to run a state. Beginning to comprehend the massive complexities of the education system is a tall order, especially considering they also need to understand budgets, transportation, economic development, healthcare, etc. Legislators will only be able to be generalists. It is up to the education community to educate legislators about what change is needed and why. Keep in mind, legislators are also concerned about re-election, fundraising, lobbyists, being good stewards of tax dollars, passing bills, etc. Legislators will need to find sources they can trust in all the areas they need to be informed about. Change will only happen if those trusted influencers are on board with proposed changes. It is also important to speak in clear language. Educators are guilty of “eduspeak,” which the general public does not understand. No one wants to feel stupid while learning. Take that thought with you to legislators and your community. It may take years, but it is worth it! Legislation is often a long-haul process. As we learned in the Schoolhouse Rock “I’m Just a Bill” cartoon, first sponsors must agree to bring a bill forward, then it will go through committee, then both the House and Senate must approve it, and then the bill will be signed by the governor (president?). There are lots of opportunities to go off the rails here. Once legislation is passed, it heads to regulations. The people who write the regulations really determine how a law is implemented. Usually, the Department of Education takes on the task of translating the new law into new regulations and policies. The wheels can fall off at this stage, so it is vitally important that key people at the department are a part of any effort to change. The spirit of legislation can get lost in regulations. Implementing true change—even if it is law—is an entirely new challenge. Simon Sinek has a great image titled, “The Law of Diffusion of Innovation” by Everett Rogers. It shows a bell curve of idea adoption. There will be a few early adopters and innovators who will be on board, especially if they were a part of the process early. The key to successful implementation is to have those early adopters influence the early and late majority people. Schools and districts tend to be very siloed, so an intentional and strategic communication is really important. As suggested before, this process will proceed faster if all stakeholders are brought in for the early stages. Knowing that there are an infinite number of obstacles in this path, it is easier to understand why change does not happen faster. We see pockets of true light around the country where we see glimmers of what can be. It is time for advocates to come together to truly effect change. www.lizaholland.com
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Liza HollandAuthorI have always loved words and reading. I was that kid that had her nose in a book to and from school. The crossing guard saw me coming and stopped traffic so I didn’t have to look up! As I grew into professional life, I did lots of writing - published articles, newsletters, ads, white papers, reports, grants, op eds, blogs, you name it. Recently, I took what would up being a sabbatical to Europe. My husband was offered a great opportunity and we spent a year in Belgium and a year in Ireland. It was magical. I did so many things I never had time for, including joining a writing group. Having time to think, I came back to Kentucky with 2, count them, 2 book ideas. I hope to share the journey of the coming to fruition with you.Write something about yourself. No need to be fancy, just an overview. Archives
July 2022
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