Strengthening Public Confidence

Dear Educators,

As you work this summer to prepare for an unprecedented year of success in your schools I'd like to offer a thought that may help your efforts to strengthen public confidence in your districts. I received an email today headlined, "Study shows vast differences in area graduation rates over time," referring to district comparisons in a certain region of Texas that will remain anonymous to protect the well-intentioned-but-nevertheless guilty. This headline reminded me of a communications philosophy I've held for many years about comparisons and their effect on public opinion.

In your attempt to make your district look good by comparing test results or tax rates (et al) to other districts in your region or across the state, you are in fact doing much more harm than good. Though your comparison may put your district in a favorable light this year on a particular measurement, what you are actually doing is making all of your neighbors look bad, which perpetuates the myth that, with the exception of "my school", Texas public schools in general are failing. We all know true comparisons are unattainable because no two school districts are alike. International comparisons do not hold water for the very same reasons.

My charge to educational leaders across this great state of Texas and throughout our great Texas public schools is to avoid comparisons to other school districts in 2009-10. Rather, shout from your rooftops about the strengths of your district's achievements on their own merits. Leslie and I speak in school districts all over the state and we have yet to visit a district that does not have plenty to brag about without unintentionally chunking their neighbors, colleagues and allies under the bus.

Don't know what to celebrate? Send me a note and we'll help you find your message. We might even help you organize an Education Celebration where you can demonstrate to your staff and community just how well you really are performing.

Scott Milder
Founder, President and CEO
Friends of Texas Public Schools
smilder@fotps.org

How will we use the stimulus money in education?

That is a question on everyone’s mind right now. From the buzz out there, it sounds like this is the collective hope: we will use the stimulus money to prepare students for the 21st Century, prepare a better workforce, add career pathways, increase student achievement, reach/maintain AYP and/or XYZ state accountability, address needs of special populations including students identified as needing special services, gifted and talented, second language learners and at-risk students, decrease our drop-out rates, help us implement response to intervention, update instructional technology, build capacity for teacher leaders, implement PLCs, work on the work, increase math and science scores, make sure all students are literate, and grease whatever additional wheels are squeaking.

How will we make those decisions?

I think this is our collective fear: we will make the decisions about how to spend the money the same way that we are feeling forced to make the decisions about what to “cut” in times of shortfall, and we will get the same results: piecemeal reform, waning public confidence, new initiatives that are misunderstood and not sustainable, and more piled on the plate of already overwhelmed teachers and administrators.

And, behind door number three…

Or, maybe we could make the decision to create our own future in each individual community by making sure that the conditions within which we are operating are not mistaken for the causes and that we truly plan strategically rather than projecting (see post “Notions” from March 20th below). I hope we do make that decision as educators because we have a wonderful opportunity right now to capitalize on the urgency of an unstable economy, the promise of stimulus funds, and the collective genius of our concerned communities to focus all resources on transforming the ailing system and liberate our educators and students to create a future they choose!

Shannon Buerk
Cambridge Senior Strategist

GLOBAL LEADERSHIP INITIATIVE

We are currently working with a group of Virginia Superintendents called the DaVinci/English Design Team who have developed a charter with the stated purpose of engaging Virginia public school superintendents in crafting a shared vision to ensure that all students graduate prepared to be global leaders.

They are advocating that district superintendents provide leadership to engage key stakeholders in Virginia in shaping a vision of what students will need to know and demonstrate in order to be successful learners, workers, and citizens in the 21st century.

Their work will involve determining a shared understanding of the essential core content and core competencies associated with international benchmarks/21st century skills.

In addition, they are engaging in collective R and D to develop curriculum, pedagogies, formative assessment and teacher and leadership programs essential to teaching and learning.


Kevin Castner, Ed.D.
Educational Planning Strategist

What do I do and why do I do it?

I travel a lot and am frequently asked two questions. What do I do and why do I do it?

I’ll start with the one that’s easiest one to answer. Why do you do it?
The answer is simple. I travel so much because it is part of my job. The job is the important message. I believe that what I am doing is really making a difference in the lives of others. Without that belief, I would not be able to spend so much time away from home.

What do you do is a little more complicated to answer.
Most of the time I do not get to fully answer this question because as soon as I say I work with public school districts, the person asking the question feels like that is an open invitation to complain about how horrible their own school district is. Most of the time I am polite with my responses, but recently I guess I have had enough.

I was on a late flight to a large city in Texas when a gentleman started his constant complaining. My response was a little different. I asked him questions like how much he thought the administration in his district should get paid. How much was too much for someone with more than 20 years experience and a Ph.D. and the leader of one of the largest districts in the state. He couldn’t really answer that question. Then, I asked him how he was involved with his local school district. Was he doing anything to help the situation or make a difference in his community? He soon realized that if he was going to complain, it shouldn’t be to me.

So now, I ask the same questions to everyone. Are you involved with your local school district? Are you doing something that is really going to make a positive difference in your community? Are you willing to work with your local schools or are you going to complain from the sidelines?

I urge everyone reading this to take a step and volunteer. Get involved and make a difference in your community. Find out what you can do to help. And please, if you see me in an airport, at the rental car stand, or at the local coffee shop, tell me about the good things that are happening and how you are contributing to your local schools.

Becky Cowan
Cambridge Elections Strategist

Notions...

I don't know much. I don't understand much of what I know. I am, however, encountering several fascinating notions.

First, most of what we have declared to be "causes" that determine our futures are merely "conditions" within which we exercise choices. Responsibility, imagination and courage evaporate when external circumstances become fatalistic determinants. Freedom wanes at our own volition.

Second, planning is not merely projecting. We may choose to continue our inertia or to pursue a different path. Too often, we sacrifice our hopes and dreams to embrace that which is safe, predictable and comfortable. Limiting our thinking to that which is "realistic and attainable" ensures, ironically, a future of mediocrity.

Third, absolutes trump artifacts. Artifacts serve us well, but they are temporal, subject to life cycle. Absolutes are virtually eternal, providing continuity and stability through periods of change. Knowing the difference is vital to creating our future.

Fourth, action is "the expression of purpose" while activity is random motion. Action energizes. Activity fills a void, masquerading as meaningful enterprise. Where there is no purpose there can be no action.

These notions are not my original thoughts but they have become my own. Thank you, Bill, for leading me to deeper understandings of freedom, genius and virtue.

With eternal appreciation,
Lindsey Gunn, Ph.D.
Cambridge Associate

21st CENTURY SKILLS v. ANY CENTURY SKILLS?

As I approach 40 years in public education I realize that bashing public education is national sport. Over the years I have seen, heard and read about the “crisis in education”.

In 1958, Life Magazine published an article that stated, “The facts of the school crisis are all out in plain sight and pretty dreadful to look at. People are complaining that the diploma has been devalued to the point of being meaningless… It is hard to deny that America’s schools, which were supposed to reflect one of history’s noblest dreams and to cultivate the intellects of our youth, have degenerated into a system of coddling and entertaining the mediocre.”

A few generations later, Education Secretary T.H. Bell created the National Commission in Excellence in Education. One of the Commission’s reports talked of a “rising tide of mediocrity” for America’s students that put our nation at risk in regard to our global competitiveness.

Now, almost 10 years into the 21st century, our students are still in a “crisis in education” with regard to global competiveness. The fact is nothing has significantly changed in education throughout the course of my career. When students across the county are asked what they know, even in international comparisons, they do well. Their responses when asked what they understand do not reflect the same result. When asked to use what they know and understand in real world situations, the response is mesmerizingly poor.

So what’s my point?

My point is (and what prompted this blog) is a recent article I came across by Andrew Rotherham, 21st Century Skills Are Not a New Educational Trend but Could Be a Fad.

• Educators , now more than ever, need to unite around the idea that there are new skills students must have to be successful in today’s economy;
• They should build upon blending the past pedagogies, teaching of content and values with 21st century skill sets;
• So that our children will be locally and globally competitive at a new level of past and present expectations, and more successful than we can dream in a time we will not see.

Kevin Castner, Ed.D.
Cambridge Educational Planning Strategist

Biggest problem facing our public schools?

What is the single biggest problem facing our public schools today? That is a question I have been asking audiences around the state for several years, and inevitably I hear things like insufficient funding, teacher shortage, unfunded mandates, death by testing, and so forth. While I cannot discount the significance of these problems, I do believe that they are all created by a much bigger problem.

Our public schools have a massive image problem and what we need is a really good PR campaign to change that image from one that is currently demoralizing and crippling the profession to one that strengthens public confidence and lifts up educators. Ask yourself why there is a teacher shortage? Would it be difficult to recruit and retain crew members to work on a sinking ship? It is equally difficult to recruit and retain teachers to join the crew of a public school system that is perceived to be sinking.

A good friend of mine is a Dallas firefighter. One Saturday night he stopped for a Big Gulp and while paying for the drink the lady behind the register suggested he buy a lottery ticket because the pot was up in the hundreds of millions. He had an extra dollar and decided to go for it. The lady behind the register then says to my friend, “I bet if you win you won’t be going back to work on Monday.” My friend the fireman looked at her, confused, and said, “What do you mean? Of course I’d go back to work on Monday. I love my job.” The lady looked at him with amazement and asked, “What do you do?” He responded, “I’m a fireman. I put out fires and save lives. I have the greatest job in the world.”

Firefighters do not have an image problem. They speak well of their profession and it is clear that they all love what they do. Why do educators have such a pervasive image problem? Chiefly, people don’t believe educators love what they do, and therein lies the solution.

We must better prepare educators to act as ambassadors for themselves, their classrooms, their campuses, their districts, and the profession. After all, educators put out fires and save lives in our schools every single day and it’s time they received the recognition and admiration they have earned.

Scott Milder

Cambridge Principal and Communications Strategist

Questions

As so many Americans did on Inauguration Day, I watched with anticipation and listened eagerly to the words of our new president. I felt the motivation of his speech as he called each of us to service. Change always seems to be an ambiguous term that makes many people uncomfortable. Personally, I like the idea of change as long as it is not change solely for the sake of change. Our president suggested to us all that we are not asking the right questions about our government. As such a suggestion, I would inquire if we are asking the right questions about our students, our school districts and our educational system as a whole.

The question is does our educational system work? Are we preparing students to create their own future, or are we deciding for them what that future will be and preparing them for it. If we are the ones deciding what the future holds, then I propose it is no longer the future, but the present.

Becky Cowan
Cambridge Elections Strategist

Leadership

No two Strategic Thinking sessions are alike. The success of each depends on the participants. Our most recent program was extraordinary because the participants were extraordinary. So I learned as much or more than I taught.

In our discussion of the current misguided definitions of “leadership” (that is: skills, behavior, principles, mysterious combinations), the questions from the class reminded me of a fairly extensive study we did years ago involving primarily corporate employees – mostly middle management and line workers. When we asked them who (what attributes) they actually followed the answers were (in order of importance):

· Character: moral; can be trusted
· Competence: knows his/her job better than anyone else
· Commitment: present in the most difficult time
· Concern: sees others as fellow human beings – not as statistics

I think those answers say more than all the books on leadership combined.

Cheers!

William J. Cook, Jr., Ph.D.
Cambridge President

What is the purpose of education?

What is the purpose of education?

This seems like a simple question for each of us to answer, especially if we are in education. Over the past 20 years, I have been a teacher, curriculum director, consultant, assistant superintendent for instruction, and associate superintendent. I have facilitated a number of initiatives in a number of districts that have purported to have positive impact on students. More recently, I have worked on a number of projects spread across the globe that are also expected to have a dynamic impact on students. I felt like I knew the answer to the question of the purpose: to help each child reach his/her own full potential …to free them to create their own future… or something like that.

Can we talk?

For the past two days, I have had the great pleasure of sitting in a room with about 20 other educators thinking and having honest dialogue about the educational system. I recently read a piece by the president of NSDC in which she distinguished dialogue from other types of conversation (e.g., discussion, debate) by stating that dialogue is a conversation in which you learn and, therefore, it changes you. So, I feel it is appropriate to call this interaction over the past two days a dialogue in this sense of the word. I am changed because of it. I have discovered that even though I thought I was working toward the purpose of preparing students to create their own future, I have been thinking like, and therefore, talking like (or vice versa) I was preparing them for the future.

You say tomato…

Is this a simple matter of semantics? I have learned it is actually bedrock philosophy. I have listened to, read, been depressed by, and shared the sentiments of all the futurists. I have helped build curricula far and wide based on the idea of a skill set for the 21st century. All in the name of preparing students for the future which means presupposing what their future will be. It is liberating and intuitively healing to confess we don’t know their future and don’t have the right to decide or predict what it will be. It is even more exciting to understand that each one of them, each one of us, possesses the power to create the future! …and that is the power of strategy!

Shannon Buerk
Cambridge Senior Strategist
Reflections on Strategic Thinking Course January 12-14, 2009