Excellent post! You've helped to define and clarify a number of points.
Perhaps most importantly, you are moving the discussion forward in a
positive sustainable direction. The process of significantly changing
schools is going to take years, if not decades, so although we need to get
started we also need to remember that we are all on our own individual
learning paths (as are our schools), with all the diversity of solutions
that implies. What is different now is that we can all be in touch so much
more easily, and quickly learn from each other which new approaches work...
and which don't! If we all keep gently but steadily pushing the envelope,
and openly sharing the results, maybe the view will start to change.
On Sun, Feb 28, 2010 at 9:08 PM, Bill Ivey <bivey01370@gmail.com> wrote:
> Hi!
>
> I remember an old Big Dogs t-shirt - "When you're not the lead dog,
> the view never changes." So David, I would answer you by saying I in
> no way want the death of our leadership. But I want to be in a
> position where the view does change, and at age 50, I do not want to
> wait. I am perfectly willing (if greatly saddened) to leave behind
> people who, to paraphrase Lee Iacocca of all people, neither lead,
> follow, nor get out of the way. The questions to me are, where are we
> going, where should we be going, and what is the role of leadership in
> getting us there?
>
> I see many of the visionaries in public schools moving towards the
> idea of school as resource center. Traditional classes, online
> learning, shop and vocational training, opportunities for
> appprenticeship and mentorship, flexible hours, flexible programming,
> and more would define this school of the future. It would try to be
> all things to all students, or more precisely, different things to
> different students. It sounds to me like a pretty exciting idea. It
> also sounds like a long, complicated road to get there, with many
> roadblocks along the way, especially for public schools.
>
> Perhaps therein lies an opportunity for independent schools, who in
> recent years have seemed increasingly willing and able to take
> advantage of the flexibility to innovate which we enjoy, unfettered as
> we are by NLCB, high-stakes exit exams and state testing, and all the
> rigamarole that passes for "reform" among far too many politicians,
> think tanks, and the media.
>
> Maybe, too, part of the key here is to think about what the "death of
> education" and "the birth of learning as we need it" actually mean.
> When I think of the death of education, I think of the death of the
> idea of a monolithic entity within which wise adults transfer their
> hard-won knowledge to students. When I think of the birth of learning
> as we need it, I think of finding a way to help each kid learn what
> s/he needs to for that person's individual path in life, in some cases
> learning what the path is in the first place, while doing a reasonable
> job of keeping options open along the way.
>
> I could easily see our leadership taking us in this direction. As I've
> said before, I think there's a place for traditional education in the
> mix. And within the world of independent education, we don't even need
> a "one school for all" model as I outlined above. Different schools
> could fill different niches depending on where they are and who they
> might best serve. My school is the only all-girls school for some
> distance in any direction, and might well want to shift one day in the
> future toward a multiple pathways to learning model. But down near
> Hartford, where there is a plethora of schools, maybe Westover, Ethel
> Walker, Miss Porters, Avon, Westminster, et al each offer a different
> focus - for example, maybe Westover focuses on a blend of face-to-face
> and online learning for girls (given their major role in the excellent
> Online School for Girls).
>
> In short, I don't think the death of education means the death of
> leadership. But I do think leadership needs to focus on the birth of
> learning as we need it.
>
> Take care,
> Bill Ivey
> Stoneleigh-Burnham School
>
> On Sun, Feb 28, 2010 at 7:46 PM, David F. Withrow
> <DavidWithrow@harfordday.org> wrote:
> > So after all the words have been said what are we gonna do ...
> >
> > Whose death is it? Education or our Leadership? I wonder, Pat Bassett. I
> suspect it is our leadership. Can we wait?
>
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>
--
Fred Bartels
Dir. of Info. Tech.
Rye Country Day School
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