Free market System & efficiency

It was quite surprising to me to have read about a superintendent of the Cincinnati schools who  worried about the preoccupation of test results.   He believed that the fear of failure and the pressure to succeed were hurting both teachers & students.   "He told his teachers that reputations & jobs would not depend upon the high percents ... pupils might obtain in examinations , but pay attention to duty, manners,  mode of discipline, methods of instruction, and upon the tone of the school."   He went on further to state,  "It had been a mistake to put so much stress on test results."    Believe it or not this statement was made by John Peaslee who served  as the superintendent of schools in Cincinnati, Ohio from 1874 t0 1886.   

The aforementioned statement sounds so familiar to statements made today with the current reform in education.  The push for the free enterprise market system and educational efficiency based upon test scores as a means of measuring teacher efficacy and student academic achievement  is not a new concept.   This a factory model and a  monolithic batch system of one size fits all.    We have learned that the future in education is to strive for the differentiation of instruction for all students in order to provide more stimulating and interesting curriculum to capture their imagination and interests.  Teaching to the test and providing curriculum just to improve on a school's AYP and API score is damaging our students.

"Further Shock"

I  eagerly read Alvin Tofler's article "Edutopia."   However, I was shocked when he quoted Microsoft Chairman Bill Gates when asked what was the most pressing issue in public education.  He quoted Bill Gates stating,"We don't need to reform the system; we need to replace the system."   On October 4th Bill Gates and his wife were interviewed on MSNBC.  They were discussing their views on what education would look like in the future.  They stated that teachers will be replaced by robots.  Robots will be able to think and talk back to its students.    Robots and the use of future technology was not the shocker.  What was shocking to me was when the news reporter asked Mrs. Gates what educational system would work in the United States?  Mrs. Gates stated that we should duplicate Scandinavian countries because they are the model school system.  I  vividly remember all of us having this discussion in Professor Yun's policy class.   Scandinavian countries have the luxury of an homogenized society.  They don't deal with the plethora of cultures, ethnic groups, and languages that our school system experience everyday.    As a result, our school system is under constant pressure to perform under this era of accountability and reform.  In addition, our educational system must provide educational services to every group.   Maybe the problem with our educational system stems from our system of democracy whereby every group is grabbing a piece of the pie and there is not enough slices for everyone.

This bring me back to a statement by Dr. Judith Green, "Educational policies should be created by educators."  Bill Gates and his wife are perfect examples of why "laymen" should not be  creating educational policies. 

  

A leader 24/7

Dr. Faverty was definitely correct when he told us  at the first summer symposium that as leaders it is extremely important to carefully watch what we do.  In fact, he stated that as a superintendent he was always cognizant of his behavior especially since he was a public figure.  It is amazing that his words were indeed prophetic and valuable words of advice.  Just last week the Ventura County District Attorney's Office upgraded  the petty theft case of the Superintendent of the El Rio School District to a misdemeanor.  The Superintendent is accused of shoplifting shoes from the T.J. Maxx store in Oxnard on July 20th.  She will be arraigned on October 27th and could possibly get probation and up to 24 hours in jail.  

The article we read in class, "Changing Organization Begins with Changing Ourselves," is very relevant to the aforementioned case.  Dennis Sparks states, "What leaders think, say, and do-and who they are as human beings when they come to work each day-profoundly affects organizational performance."  Thus, the Superintendent mentioned above will more than likely have great difficulty leading the El Rio School District.  Because of the shoplifting incident she now lacks credibility and her integrity will always be questioned.   For example, when the local teacher's union and its teachers ask for a raise and the Superintendent refuses to approve a raise, the Unions and teachers will wonder if she is being truthful or whether she has a hidden agenda.  Patty Alvarez spoke on behalf of the accused  Superintendent stating, "We've all done things that we all look back on and say why did I do that?"  Alvarez goes on further to say, "What we do in our  personal lives is personal."  Thus, Alvarez spoke on behalf of keeping the Superintendent because of her overall record at the District and whatever the Superintendent does in her personal life should not impact her job.  

I definitely disagree with Patty Alvarez's statements and agree with Dennis Spark that what leaders say, think, and do have a great impact on a leader's ability to lead the organization.

The article mentioned above can be found in the Ventura Star Free Press, dated October 8, 2009.    

PITS

I definitely agree with Dr. Faverty's statement last Monday that effective leaders use PITS and those that work with both guns blazing are often times "fried."   This is definitely the case in public education.  Administrators are confronted with a plethora of situations that usually lead to discomfort.  As a result, administrators must carefully chose their battles and slither carefully between teachers unions, parents, students, district administrators, PTA, and the community at large.  PITS and a huge smile would be successful tools that any administrator can pull out of their toolbox  for any given situation.

Thanks,

Frank G.