Education, the Elephant
One element of the recent financial disaster which no one is bothering to notice is the very real crisis in education. It is the 800 pound elephant in the room. Schools are failing to provide students with a useful education. Most students graduate without the skills to either secure a career or go to a four year school. The elements of that failure are fourfold, parents, students, teachers and administrators. As schools continue to fail at this one task, the customers of the schools, the taxpaying public will discontinue further support of schools. At some point a crescendo of no support and outright opposition will destroy the institutions of K through 12 education. Although those who work in these institutions refuse to accept the concept, schools can cease to exist, and they will if they do not change.
Schools can change, and given the extent to which they have failed, schools must embrace an paradigm shift if they are to survive. I am an educator who has worked primarily in private sector adult education, who also has a graduate degree in organizational management and who has also successfully managed businesses. I speak from a foundation of education and experience. I feel that the very organization and nature of K-12 education must change if public education has a future of usefulness to society. I ground my opinions on three key truths that time and experience had proven to me. First, education is a process and like all processes can be improved by the application of Quality Engineering principals. Second, people either live up to or fall down to expectations, and they may go further than the level of the expectation, but in a similar direction. Finally people value what they pay for, and they do not value what they get for free.
As I have said schools need more then reform, they need a paradigm shift. Paradigm shifts are literally changes in philosophy. Therefore one of the most important recommendations I would make is that the purpose of the institutions themselves must be focused and strengthen to one key object, the purpose of all K-12 education must be to provide useful education to all students, so that students can maximize their potential. Schools should recognize two key objectives of students, to obtain a career that they will enjoy and thrive at, and, (not or!) they should can the skills and the knowledge to succeed in a four year college. In short, the first step in any reform is to provide schools with a simple mission. Schools cannot add to this mission without first achieving it to the public's satisfaction.
Yes, the measure of a school's performance is public satisfaction. Really it has always been the measure since school funding is tied to voter approval, but teachers and school administrators have never accepted this reality. My strong recommendation is that this reality be acknowledge, and clarified. The public needs to define what it expects from a school with skills based testing of students every year. I recognize that the task of determining the required skills at each grade level will be a big task, but in my opinion it is a fundamental task of school reform which has been avoided before. I have some clarifying suggestions on this that I can illuminate at a later date.
The reform I am proposing requires changes from all four participants in the educational process. The largest need for change is from parents. Parents must invest in the schools their children attend and in the education they receive. Currently parents are not really required to invest either funds or time in education. One of the greatest problems in schools that teachers note is that parents do not participate, or in some cases even seem to care about a child's education. This stems from the truth that people do not value what they get for free. So, my proposal is that parents are required to either pay a fee for a student in school or they volunteer to provide services needed by a school. Parents also must participate with teachers in student evaluations and IEPs. Parents part of the process are a big part of the solution. Schools with cost less if parents provide the non-management services, or contribute more to the cost, and parents will respond quickly if they do not receive what they consider value for their money/effort.
Students must also be a part of the paradigm change, because in reality education is a benefit they receive. I have mentioned skills based annual testing. There is no value to an education that is not use-able; and much of what is a part of the K-12 curriculum today does not translate into skill sets that are further foundations for learning and achievement. Testing should not be the only means of evaluating students, but it is critical to monitoring their progress and ability to move forward. Another element of change is that in grades K-8, a home room model for teacher mentoring must be used. IEPs(Individual Education Plans) which have proven invaluable in special education, should road map an individual student's progression and needs, as should development of a learning modality description. Finally learning emphasis needs to be two fold for every student, on vocational skill sets and general learning needs. Students should graduate with the ability to find employment and the ability to go to college.
I know that this puts a lot more on the "plate" of students then has been placed before. The truth that people live up or down to expectations dictates that a lot should be expected. Another element is that the time in school. Students need to spend 8 hours a day in school and at least 3 hours a day in homework. An education requires commitment and sacrifice; and that is all my proposal asks of students.
Another group that sorely requires a paradigm shift is teachers. Teachers now believe that they are A. Professional and are b.Unionized. The reality is that they cannot be both. Professionals, by definition, place a client's needs and best outcome above their own needs. Two big elements of professionalism are that professions are self regulating, (because they are their own harshest critics) and that they are continuously improving. This definition and these elements separate a union from a profession. Teachers should be professionals, and express that professionism by ensuring that they are meeting student needs before their own. Ways in which they can do so are performance based pay, termination for performance based causes, involve parents in each student assessment, diagnose and cure student learning issues, work more hours then students go to school, regulate themselves on the job, work to remove ineffective or unprofessional co-workers, train with apprenticeships and mentoring, and honor those co-workers who exceed expectations. Moreover teacher performance needs to be evaluated, with students, parents, and other teachers having input in that evaluation. I also would propose that teacher salaries be increased, especially for those who have a history of increasing professionalism, that their administrative responsibilities be increased, and that their freedom manage students in the classroom be beyond legal monitoring, (professional legal immunity).
Finally the group that politically ensures that school reform never touches them, needs to be reformed as well. That group is school administrators. First, require that all school administrators teach at least one class. It does not necessarily need to be a class for school students, it could be for teachers or parents. A person who is not part of a process should not manage a process. Second, measure and compensate the performance of the administrator by the ability of the school to achieve its mission and goals; to provide a useful education to all students. School administrators also need to work toward making as many positions in the schools performable by volunteers, and manage those volunteers. A school administrators job is by no means easy, and I acknowledge that I am making it harder. Administrators would be asked to make the greatest change in this paradigm shift; but, to quote one greater then I, "With great Power comes great Responsibility".
What I have offered is just the briefest outline of a level of school reform never attempted before. I would never offer such a radical change unless I though it critical. In my opinion, the situation is critical because schools are failing. In America public education began as an experiment and has remained an experiment ever since. America's brightest moments and most shining achievements were possible because of public education. My biggest concern is that people are now ignoring that public education is failing, and that itmay cease to exist if it no longer serves a purpose. My proposal requires change and greater responsibility from everyone in the education process. One of the big reasons that school reforms have failed is that they did not engage all participants. It is, literally, a new notion of what public education should be. It incorporates the belief that receiving public largess requires a greater level of personal responsibility; and that nothing should ever be free. It is strictly my opinion, but if anyone has any questions I have worked out many details not mentioned here. Just ask.
