Fellow TCAPS board member Marjie Rich and I co-authored a forum opinion piece published by the Record-Eagle November 10.
http://www.record-eagle.com/archivesearch/local_story_314072121.html
Lansing Gets an "F" For Failing Our Kids
We recently had the opportunity to sit down with Governor Granholm, local education leaders and northern Michigan legislators to discuss the pressing funding crisis faced by our schools. We had an honest and at times passionate exchange, but we left the meeting unconvinced that the political will exists in Lansing to effectively confront the short and long term reality faced by our children.
The harsh facts are these: Well after schools opened their doors to students this year, local districts were cut by $165 per student. Then, a week later, the governor announced an additional $127 cut per student that will go into effect soon unless the Legislature acts. A total $292 per student cut amounts to an almost $3,000,000 loss of revenue for TCAPS this school year alone. That would be a staggering hit for any organization.
It’s too late in the school year to save money by increasing class size, reducing staff or eliminating programs. Though we will certainly find ways to further reduce our costs this year, most of the shortfall will necessarily come from our fund balance – the savings account we maintain for true emergencies. A depleted fund balance puts a district on the edge of bankruptcy, a scenario already faced by numerous Michigan districts.
TCAPS and most area districts are already at the very bottom of the funding barrel, operating with $7300 per student, the lowest amount any district in the state receives. In contrast, Birmingham and other Michigan districts receive over $12,000 per student. Our low funding base combined with the current cuts hurts our kids. It hurts our economy and it hurts our future.
So is there an answer? In the short term, temporarily generating additional revenues through taxes on discretionary purchases such as bottled water, tobacco and professional sports events makes sense. Looking at reducing oil and gas and other industry tax loopholes is another possibility.
But it’s about much more than revenue and short term fixes. In the long term, consistent, reliable and equitable funding, and deep structural changes at the state level are needed if we are to sustain a high quality education system for our kids. And at the local level, driving ourselves to be bold and innovative as we reimagine schooling is absolutely critical. For both the local and state levels, the status quo is no longer good enough.
Our legislators are good people, but right now Lansing gets an F for failing our kids. To turn that around, they need to hear our voices. They have been getting an earful from school board members and education leaders. Now they need to hear from you.
Let our leaders know that we expect them to lead. Let our leaders know that we expect them to make the hard decisions at the state level while we make them at the local level. And let them know that we cannot fail our kids any longer if we ever want to thrive as a state again.
Wednesday, November 11, 2009
Saturday, October 17, 2009
Interlochen Public Radio Candidate Questionaire
Interlochen Public Radio asked all candidates to answer a series of questions. Here are the questions and my responses.
Question: This is not a very pleasant time for public education. The pressures on schools are immense both financially and politically. Why do you want to be on the school board at this time?
The financial situation for Michigan’s schools is indeed dire. At the same time, there has never been a more exciting period to be in education. As the education landscape shifts under our feet, great opportunity exists to examine traditional practices and innovate, experiment and infuse more flexibility into the system.
I entered education 34 years ago because I felt passionate about helping kids learn. I still do. First as a science teacher, then as a curriculum developer, professional developer, project manager and author, I worked to help students learn. Being a member of the school board has given me another meaningful way to support our kids’ educational success (and the health of our community).
As a current board member, my priorities are to:
· Insulate the quality of classroom instruction from budget cuts as much as possible and support ongoing teacher professional development.
· Foster collaborative relationships based on trust, inside and outside the district.
· Seek new and better ways to do everything from busing to instruction and support innovation and experimentation.
For more on my background, experience, and views on education, go to: http://www.appelforschoolboard.org/. From there, you can access my education blog http://www.appelcoreideas.blogspot.com/ and my campaign facebook page.
Question: What is the primary role of the school board and its members?
We represent the community and its interest in preparing every child for a full and productive life. Our role is to insure that the status quo is never seen as “good enough” and to provide support and resources to district staff to continuously improve our services.
Question: How do you identify a good school or school system? What are the indicators of success?
1. Are students receiving a high quality, well rounded education? Are engaged learners able to apply their knowledge in authentic ways?
2. Are students pursuing post-secondary education (e.g. community college, university, vocational school)?
3. Are student succeeding in post-secondary education and the world of work?
4. Do the working conditions of teachers support collaboration and inquiry about teaching and learning in the interest of raising student achievement?
Question: Evaluate TCAPS by the criteria you just described.
1. Our students are taking advantage of the wealth of opportunities TCAPS offers. For example, over 50% of students in grades 6-12 are involved in our music programs and classes. Student enrollment in Advanced Placement (AP) courses has spiked dramatically and the number of students passing their AP exams is very high. Reading Recovery and numerous effective programs for struggling learners are in place.
2. Just over 70% of TCAPS graduates go on to post-secondary education, right around the national average. Everybody at TCAPS is working hard to raise that percentage. The employment and income prospects for students with no more than a high school diploma are dim.
3. It is difficult to obtain data from colleges and universities on the success of TCAPS graduates in post-secondary education, and even more difficult to collect data on graduates’ success in the work world.
4. TCAPS has made significant strides in supporting teacher collaboration and learning through professional learning communities. The recent contract signed with the teachers includes additional paid time for teachers to meet together and examine student work in order to improve teaching.
Question: Government officials in Lansing and Washington D.C. constantly talk about reform. Do you think TCAPS needs to be reformed? How?
All school districts need to aggressively reach for the highest level of performance from staff and students. This year, TCAPS joined with TBAISD to submit a Re-imagine grant proposal to the Michigan Department of Education as part of an effort by State Superintendent of Public Instruction Mike Flanagan to support districts ready to truly re-imagine schooling.
Question: Do you think TCAPS has strong leadership? Explain where you see leadership failing or succeeding?
We need to strengthen the climate for collaboration and productive dialogue between district leadership, building leadership and teachers.
TCAPS has a committed district leadership team and a set of skilled building principals. I would like to see more leadership opportunities created for teachers. A teacher who wants to remain in the classroom and at the same time take on leadership responsibilities faces many challenges. We need to puzzle out how to help teachers who want to both teach and take on new roles in their school or the district.
Question: How do you stay informed about education and what is happening with schools in Michigan and Traverse City?
I work full-time in education managing a number of projects at the Michigan Department of Education. For that work, I continually engage and apply educational research to real issues and problems. I also review the state and national popular and education press daily and I receive daily e-mail updates from the state legislature on proposed legislation related to schools. I attend and sometimes present at national conferences, as I will at a national teacher quality conference in Washington DC in late October. There, I will join a panel and share my work collaborationg with the Michigan Department of Education to address the needs of English Language Learners (ELL).
Question: How well has TCAPS responded to the competition of charter schools in the area?
Charter, parochial, private and home schools have dramatically changed the world in which public school systems live and compete. TCAPS works hard to offer the kind of quality, variety and depth that our families want. Montessori, Sci-Ma-Tech and our extraordinary music and drama programs are a few examples. Programs such as our award winning high school year book and newspaper classes give students the opportunity to learn and apply their skills in authentic ways.
Our size allows us to provide an extraordinary array of choices. But it also means we have to help students and families feel connected. Our middle and high schools are rolling out a number of programs such as small learning communities, neighborhoods, advisories and student-to-student mentor programs this year to do just that.
It’s a competitive education environment and families have choices. We want to be the district of choice. We’re always looking for new and better ways to attract and retain students. We need to develop programs that resonate with parents and kids.
Ideas such as an elementary math and science magnet school, high school semester internships in business and non-profits, cyber learning and a world language immersion program all need to be explored.
We need to examine how to make the “school walls” more permeable. We need to investigate awarding credit for real world activities such as performing in an Old Town Playhouse Production, singing in the NMC Chorus, participating on a non-district sports team or doing an internship in city government--activities not under the direction of the district. School districts do not necessarily have the sole franchise on learning and we have to figure out how to recognize out-of-school learning while maintaining high standards.
Question: TCAPS will likely have to make deep cuts in the years ahead. What would you most like to protect from cuts?
To the extent possible, it’s important to insulate the quality of instruction offered by TCAPS teachers and protect the richness of educational programs that our community expects. It will not be an easy task and it is likely that the severity of cuts needed in 2010-11 will impact all of us. In this difficult economic climate, strong, collaborative and informed board leadership is all the more critical.
Question: This is not a very pleasant time for public education. The pressures on schools are immense both financially and politically. Why do you want to be on the school board at this time?
The financial situation for Michigan’s schools is indeed dire. At the same time, there has never been a more exciting period to be in education. As the education landscape shifts under our feet, great opportunity exists to examine traditional practices and innovate, experiment and infuse more flexibility into the system.
I entered education 34 years ago because I felt passionate about helping kids learn. I still do. First as a science teacher, then as a curriculum developer, professional developer, project manager and author, I worked to help students learn. Being a member of the school board has given me another meaningful way to support our kids’ educational success (and the health of our community).
As a current board member, my priorities are to:
· Insulate the quality of classroom instruction from budget cuts as much as possible and support ongoing teacher professional development.
· Foster collaborative relationships based on trust, inside and outside the district.
· Seek new and better ways to do everything from busing to instruction and support innovation and experimentation.
For more on my background, experience, and views on education, go to: http://www.appelforschoolboard.org/. From there, you can access my education blog http://www.appelcoreideas.blogspot.com/ and my campaign facebook page.
Question: What is the primary role of the school board and its members?
We represent the community and its interest in preparing every child for a full and productive life. Our role is to insure that the status quo is never seen as “good enough” and to provide support and resources to district staff to continuously improve our services.
Question: How do you identify a good school or school system? What are the indicators of success?
1. Are students receiving a high quality, well rounded education? Are engaged learners able to apply their knowledge in authentic ways?
2. Are students pursuing post-secondary education (e.g. community college, university, vocational school)?
3. Are student succeeding in post-secondary education and the world of work?
4. Do the working conditions of teachers support collaboration and inquiry about teaching and learning in the interest of raising student achievement?
Question: Evaluate TCAPS by the criteria you just described.
1. Our students are taking advantage of the wealth of opportunities TCAPS offers. For example, over 50% of students in grades 6-12 are involved in our music programs and classes. Student enrollment in Advanced Placement (AP) courses has spiked dramatically and the number of students passing their AP exams is very high. Reading Recovery and numerous effective programs for struggling learners are in place.
2. Just over 70% of TCAPS graduates go on to post-secondary education, right around the national average. Everybody at TCAPS is working hard to raise that percentage. The employment and income prospects for students with no more than a high school diploma are dim.
3. It is difficult to obtain data from colleges and universities on the success of TCAPS graduates in post-secondary education, and even more difficult to collect data on graduates’ success in the work world.
4. TCAPS has made significant strides in supporting teacher collaboration and learning through professional learning communities. The recent contract signed with the teachers includes additional paid time for teachers to meet together and examine student work in order to improve teaching.
Question: Government officials in Lansing and Washington D.C. constantly talk about reform. Do you think TCAPS needs to be reformed? How?
All school districts need to aggressively reach for the highest level of performance from staff and students. This year, TCAPS joined with TBAISD to submit a Re-imagine grant proposal to the Michigan Department of Education as part of an effort by State Superintendent of Public Instruction Mike Flanagan to support districts ready to truly re-imagine schooling.
Question: Do you think TCAPS has strong leadership? Explain where you see leadership failing or succeeding?
We need to strengthen the climate for collaboration and productive dialogue between district leadership, building leadership and teachers.
TCAPS has a committed district leadership team and a set of skilled building principals. I would like to see more leadership opportunities created for teachers. A teacher who wants to remain in the classroom and at the same time take on leadership responsibilities faces many challenges. We need to puzzle out how to help teachers who want to both teach and take on new roles in their school or the district.
Question: How do you stay informed about education and what is happening with schools in Michigan and Traverse City?
I work full-time in education managing a number of projects at the Michigan Department of Education. For that work, I continually engage and apply educational research to real issues and problems. I also review the state and national popular and education press daily and I receive daily e-mail updates from the state legislature on proposed legislation related to schools. I attend and sometimes present at national conferences, as I will at a national teacher quality conference in Washington DC in late October. There, I will join a panel and share my work collaborationg with the Michigan Department of Education to address the needs of English Language Learners (ELL).
Question: How well has TCAPS responded to the competition of charter schools in the area?
Charter, parochial, private and home schools have dramatically changed the world in which public school systems live and compete. TCAPS works hard to offer the kind of quality, variety and depth that our families want. Montessori, Sci-Ma-Tech and our extraordinary music and drama programs are a few examples. Programs such as our award winning high school year book and newspaper classes give students the opportunity to learn and apply their skills in authentic ways.
Our size allows us to provide an extraordinary array of choices. But it also means we have to help students and families feel connected. Our middle and high schools are rolling out a number of programs such as small learning communities, neighborhoods, advisories and student-to-student mentor programs this year to do just that.
It’s a competitive education environment and families have choices. We want to be the district of choice. We’re always looking for new and better ways to attract and retain students. We need to develop programs that resonate with parents and kids.
Ideas such as an elementary math and science magnet school, high school semester internships in business and non-profits, cyber learning and a world language immersion program all need to be explored.
We need to examine how to make the “school walls” more permeable. We need to investigate awarding credit for real world activities such as performing in an Old Town Playhouse Production, singing in the NMC Chorus, participating on a non-district sports team or doing an internship in city government--activities not under the direction of the district. School districts do not necessarily have the sole franchise on learning and we have to figure out how to recognize out-of-school learning while maintaining high standards.
Question: TCAPS will likely have to make deep cuts in the years ahead. What would you most like to protect from cuts?
To the extent possible, it’s important to insulate the quality of instruction offered by TCAPS teachers and protect the richness of educational programs that our community expects. It will not be an easy task and it is likely that the severity of cuts needed in 2010-11 will impact all of us. In this difficult economic climate, strong, collaborative and informed board leadership is all the more critical.
Sunday, October 11, 2009
Challenging All Students
As part of the campaign for school board, various constituencies ask candidates to address their concerns. Here is my response to the TAG community.
Dear TAG Community,
My name is Gary Appel and I currently serve on the TCAPS Board of Education and the board's curriculum, policy and communications committees.
I have been a full-time educator promoting innovative approaches to learning and creating award winning programs for over 34 years. As a young science teacher in California in 1979, I co-developed the very first program in the country to use school gardens as a living laboratory for the study of science by elementary students. See 1986 NY Times article on my work: http://www.nytimes.com/1986/11/13/garden/schools-add-green-thumb-to-science.html?scp=1&sq=Appel%20school%20gardens%20Life%20Lab&st=cse
More recently, I was part of a small group of American educators nationally who adapted a Japanese approach to teacher professional development, called Lesson Study, to the culture of US education. Later, I co-authored a book on the process called Leading Lesson Study, designed to help US teachers implement Lesson Study. http://www.corwinpress.com/booksProdDesc.navprodId=Book228390&#tabview=reviews
I believe TAG, AT, and AP are effective programs and central to TCAPS identity as a full service school district. I am committed to maintaining and growing those quality programs.
Every single student counts and our role as a district is to offer educationally sound programs that respect the diversity of needs represented by our students and their families. Struggling learners, high achievers, the gifted and everybody in between deserve to be served and challenged.
In the new competitive marketplace of schooling, parents rightly want choices. As resources allow, I want to see us explore creating magnet elementary schools (e.g. science, language immersion, etc.) and more specialized programs within schools such as Sci-Ma-Tech (where my son, Micah is a student).
Bend, Oregon, with 17,000 students has four very popular and academically strong magnet schools. We can learn from them. Also, board members Megan Crandall, Marjie Rich and I are intrigued by the International Baccalaureate (IB) program, a very demanding approach to high school now used in schools around the globe. We need to be relentless in our pursuit of ideas that work.
I would like us to transform the junior and senior years of high school (for those interested and capable) and include capstone projects, for-profit and non-profit organization internships and high level service learning opportunities, all requiring application of knowledge to the real world.
Schools for too long have mostly treated students as simple knowledge consumers. With our current and future programs, we need to also see students as knowledge generators.
As a Board of Education member, I need your help to continuously improve the quality and depth of our services to high achieving and gifted students. We need to search the world for great ideas and adapt the best of those ideas for TCAPS. If we get it right, we can begin to reverse the long term decline in our enrollment and rebuild the district.
Please take the chance to visit my web site http://www.appelforschoolboard.org/ and my education blog http://www.appelcoreideas.blogspot.com/ to learn more.
Contact me at gappel@ncrel.org or 223.9272 with your thoughts and questions. I would be happy to gather with TAG parents interested in sharing their views and probing mine.
Sincerely,
Gary Appel
Dear TAG Community,
My name is Gary Appel and I currently serve on the TCAPS Board of Education and the board's curriculum, policy and communications committees.
I have been a full-time educator promoting innovative approaches to learning and creating award winning programs for over 34 years. As a young science teacher in California in 1979, I co-developed the very first program in the country to use school gardens as a living laboratory for the study of science by elementary students. See 1986 NY Times article on my work: http://www.nytimes.com/1986/11/13/garden/schools-add-green-thumb-to-science.html?scp=1&sq=Appel%20school%20gardens%20Life%20Lab&st=cse
More recently, I was part of a small group of American educators nationally who adapted a Japanese approach to teacher professional development, called Lesson Study, to the culture of US education. Later, I co-authored a book on the process called Leading Lesson Study, designed to help US teachers implement Lesson Study. http://www.corwinpress.com/booksProdDesc.navprodId=Book228390&#tabview=reviews
I believe TAG, AT, and AP are effective programs and central to TCAPS identity as a full service school district. I am committed to maintaining and growing those quality programs.
Every single student counts and our role as a district is to offer educationally sound programs that respect the diversity of needs represented by our students and their families. Struggling learners, high achievers, the gifted and everybody in between deserve to be served and challenged.
In the new competitive marketplace of schooling, parents rightly want choices. As resources allow, I want to see us explore creating magnet elementary schools (e.g. science, language immersion, etc.) and more specialized programs within schools such as Sci-Ma-Tech (where my son, Micah is a student).
Bend, Oregon, with 17,000 students has four very popular and academically strong magnet schools. We can learn from them. Also, board members Megan Crandall, Marjie Rich and I are intrigued by the International Baccalaureate (IB) program, a very demanding approach to high school now used in schools around the globe. We need to be relentless in our pursuit of ideas that work.
I would like us to transform the junior and senior years of high school (for those interested and capable) and include capstone projects, for-profit and non-profit organization internships and high level service learning opportunities, all requiring application of knowledge to the real world.
Schools for too long have mostly treated students as simple knowledge consumers. With our current and future programs, we need to also see students as knowledge generators.
As a Board of Education member, I need your help to continuously improve the quality and depth of our services to high achieving and gifted students. We need to search the world for great ideas and adapt the best of those ideas for TCAPS. If we get it right, we can begin to reverse the long term decline in our enrollment and rebuild the district.
Please take the chance to visit my web site http://www.appelforschoolboard.org/ and my education blog http://www.appelcoreideas.blogspot.com/ to learn more.
Contact me at gappel@ncrel.org or 223.9272 with your thoughts and questions. I would be happy to gather with TAG parents interested in sharing their views and probing mine.
Sincerely,
Gary Appel
Monday, September 21, 2009
Cheating Kids: How Michigan Plays Unfair
I was happy to open Sunday’s Traverse City Record-Eagle and find a clear and forceful editorial on the shameful inequitable funding of Michigan schools.
http://www.record-eagle.com/ourview/local_story_262200513.html
In case you’re not familiar with this, Michigan communities such as Southfield and Birmingham receive over $12,000 per student from the state to educate our kids, while Traverse City and many northern Michigan communities receive the state minimum of $7316. The editorial, “Michigan can’t allow equity gap to remain” prompted this letter to the editor from me.
Dear Editor:
Thank you for the Record Eagle’s strong editorial on fixing the per pupil funding gap in Michigan schools. With all the shrill partisan din coming out of Lansing and Washington these days, and in an era when genuine bi-partisanship is a rare thing indeed, our two local state representatives, Dan Scripps, D-Leland and Wayne Schmidt, R-Traverse City have reached across the aisle to co-sponsor the new caucus working on this problem.
Rightly, they decided this is not a Republican or Democratic issue – it’s a fairness issue. As former Representative Howard Walker’s leadership was critical to winning the “2X” formula that narrows the gap between the richest and poorest districts, Scripps’ and Schmidt’s bi-partisan leadership is incredibly important to improving the financial health of northern Michigan schools. Politics sometimes has a bad name, but politics at its best is the art of getting things done. As a parent and TCAPS board member, I applaud Scripps and Schmidt stepping up to the plate to get this right. Their task will not be easy.
Gary Appel
TCAPS Board of Education member
http://www.record-eagle.com/ourview/local_story_262200513.html
In case you’re not familiar with this, Michigan communities such as Southfield and Birmingham receive over $12,000 per student from the state to educate our kids, while Traverse City and many northern Michigan communities receive the state minimum of $7316. The editorial, “Michigan can’t allow equity gap to remain” prompted this letter to the editor from me.
Dear Editor:
Thank you for the Record Eagle’s strong editorial on fixing the per pupil funding gap in Michigan schools. With all the shrill partisan din coming out of Lansing and Washington these days, and in an era when genuine bi-partisanship is a rare thing indeed, our two local state representatives, Dan Scripps, D-Leland and Wayne Schmidt, R-Traverse City have reached across the aisle to co-sponsor the new caucus working on this problem.
Rightly, they decided this is not a Republican or Democratic issue – it’s a fairness issue. As former Representative Howard Walker’s leadership was critical to winning the “2X” formula that narrows the gap between the richest and poorest districts, Scripps’ and Schmidt’s bi-partisan leadership is incredibly important to improving the financial health of northern Michigan schools. Politics sometimes has a bad name, but politics at its best is the art of getting things done. As a parent and TCAPS board member, I applaud Scripps and Schmidt stepping up to the plate to get this right. Their task will not be easy.
Gary Appel
TCAPS Board of Education member
Friday, September 18, 2009
The Internet vs. Brick and Mortar
I was fortunate enough to have some early experience integrating technology and the Internet for student learning. Back in the 80s with the Internet in its infancy and e-mail both proprietary and extremely limited, I approached Apple Computer about linking a small group of California schools electronically using Apple’s own e-mail system. I was directing a science education project at the University of California and I asked Apple to help us set up weather stations at ten elementary schools around California and use the fledgling Internet for the students to share weather data and develop other science related projects. All ten schools had organic gardens – used as living laboratories for the study of science – and were using a science curriculum called The Growing Classroom that I co-developed as a science teacher. Apple donated primitive computers – none of the teachers had computers then - installed phone lines in the classrooms for dial-up (remember dial-up?) and set up student friendly weather stations at all ten schools.
With that, the students were off and running collecting, interpreting and sharing weather data with other students across the state. Teachers took it further than anyone imagined, creating rich learning opportunities with the new tools they had. It was an amazing project for the time and even earned a mention in Scientific American. Clearly, application of technology and the Internet to education has traveled light years since those early tentative experiments.
All this comes to mind because I caught a presentation last week by Republican State Senator Wayne Kuipers to the State Board of Education on his proposed Neighborhood Public Schools legislation. The bill would allow existing public schools, with the vote of over 50% of parents and teachers to essentially secede from their school district and become an independent neighborhood public school. Talk about shifting the educational landscape!
Buried in the legislation and attracting little attention is a provision allowing something called cyber schools. For the first time ever in Michigan, public schools would be allowed to exist entirely without a brick and mortar home. No school to go to. No school cafeteria. No school library. No school gym. No principal’s office. Though it seems like a radical notion, it’s already happening to some degree in over half of the 50 states according to K12, an online education company. http://www.k12.com/schools-programs/online-public-schools/
When I took those first tentative steps over two decades ago to connect students and teachers across great distances, the idea of Internet-only schooling without the schools was beyond fantastic – it was simply too far out to even imagine. Now, it’s real.
But what does that say about our conception of learning? At its best, learning is a social activity where students and teachers engage together in making sense of the world and finding meaning in ever more sophisticated ways as they journey through schooling into adulthood. So I’m anxious about the potential for student isolation. Part of me holds a probably outdated picture in my head of a student sitting alone in front of a computer all day. Is that just a product of the old school side of my brain? At the same time, I’ve seen the creative ways many home school families have built networks and community without the benefit of a brick and mortar centralized place to gather.
Schools face tough budget choices and are looking deeper than they ever have at reducing costs. Are school buildings dispensable? Do we really need all of them?
The whole cyber school idea brings up numerous issues around quality control, accountability and the role of teachers. All the research tells us that the teacher is the most important player in student learning. The evidence is clear. Strong teachers get results. What would a strong teacher on the other end of a fiber optic cable look like? How would they support learning? I’m not sure about the answers, but I’m eager to find out.
As a Traverse City Area Public Schools Board member, I’m studying these and other ideas to understand their implications. I'd like to know your thoughts so I can make informed decisions. Your comments are appreciated.
With that, the students were off and running collecting, interpreting and sharing weather data with other students across the state. Teachers took it further than anyone imagined, creating rich learning opportunities with the new tools they had. It was an amazing project for the time and even earned a mention in Scientific American. Clearly, application of technology and the Internet to education has traveled light years since those early tentative experiments.
All this comes to mind because I caught a presentation last week by Republican State Senator Wayne Kuipers to the State Board of Education on his proposed Neighborhood Public Schools legislation. The bill would allow existing public schools, with the vote of over 50% of parents and teachers to essentially secede from their school district and become an independent neighborhood public school. Talk about shifting the educational landscape!
Buried in the legislation and attracting little attention is a provision allowing something called cyber schools. For the first time ever in Michigan, public schools would be allowed to exist entirely without a brick and mortar home. No school to go to. No school cafeteria. No school library. No school gym. No principal’s office. Though it seems like a radical notion, it’s already happening to some degree in over half of the 50 states according to K12, an online education company. http://www.k12.com/schools-programs/online-public-schools/
When I took those first tentative steps over two decades ago to connect students and teachers across great distances, the idea of Internet-only schooling without the schools was beyond fantastic – it was simply too far out to even imagine. Now, it’s real.
But what does that say about our conception of learning? At its best, learning is a social activity where students and teachers engage together in making sense of the world and finding meaning in ever more sophisticated ways as they journey through schooling into adulthood. So I’m anxious about the potential for student isolation. Part of me holds a probably outdated picture in my head of a student sitting alone in front of a computer all day. Is that just a product of the old school side of my brain? At the same time, I’ve seen the creative ways many home school families have built networks and community without the benefit of a brick and mortar centralized place to gather.
Schools face tough budget choices and are looking deeper than they ever have at reducing costs. Are school buildings dispensable? Do we really need all of them?
The whole cyber school idea brings up numerous issues around quality control, accountability and the role of teachers. All the research tells us that the teacher is the most important player in student learning. The evidence is clear. Strong teachers get results. What would a strong teacher on the other end of a fiber optic cable look like? How would they support learning? I’m not sure about the answers, but I’m eager to find out.
As a Traverse City Area Public Schools Board member, I’m studying these and other ideas to understand their implications. I'd like to know your thoughts so I can make informed decisions. Your comments are appreciated.
Sunday, September 13, 2009
Cars and Classrooms
Being a born and bred Michigan kind of guy, I’ve been thinking a lot lately about what the decline of the auto industry can teach us about the enterprise of schooling.
And last week I came across a fascinating article in the August 24 New Yorker on the electric car company Tesla and the vision of its founders. One of the co-founders, frustrated in finding a reliable source for a transmission for their electric cars, described his experience in trying to work with the auto industry and its suppliers: “We learned that the car industry is unbelievably good at delivering what they’ve done in the past with a little tweak – faster or in yellow. But if you want something a lot different – a simplified transmission that’s electrically actuated – that’s too radical.”
Education, too, it seems is very good at delivering what we’ve always done with a little tweak here and a little tweak there. I’ve conducted site visits and studied schools and districts in states as diverse as Florida, Alabama and California and schooling looks pretty much the same all over. It’s not just public school systems. Charters, parochial and private schools for the most part are built on the same model. America is not alone. I have visited schools in Japan, India, Egypt, South Africa, and Israel. The floors may be dirt and the kids may work on individual chalk boards, but the similarities to American schools can’t be missed. Though it has evolved, the basic schooling model, used for well over a hundred years, continues to dominate the education landscape.
With this in mind, State Superintendent of Public Instruction Mike Flanagan challenged Michigan school districts to truly “Re-imagine” education – to break the mold. He urged all of us in education to be bold; to think adventurously and to experiment. Traverse City Area Public Schools jumped at the opportunity and joined in a regional proposal submitted by the Traverse Bay Area Intermediate School District to be a “Re-imagine” demonstration site. In August, seventy proposals were received by the State. No more than twenty will be funded. As a board of education member and a member of the board’s curriculum committee, I contributed ideas -- some ended up in the final proposal. I’m happy with the result. It’s a great start. Check it out and let me know what you think. http://www.tcaps.net/Home/tabid/2322/Default.aspx
And last week I came across a fascinating article in the August 24 New Yorker on the electric car company Tesla and the vision of its founders. One of the co-founders, frustrated in finding a reliable source for a transmission for their electric cars, described his experience in trying to work with the auto industry and its suppliers: “We learned that the car industry is unbelievably good at delivering what they’ve done in the past with a little tweak – faster or in yellow. But if you want something a lot different – a simplified transmission that’s electrically actuated – that’s too radical.”
Education, too, it seems is very good at delivering what we’ve always done with a little tweak here and a little tweak there. I’ve conducted site visits and studied schools and districts in states as diverse as Florida, Alabama and California and schooling looks pretty much the same all over. It’s not just public school systems. Charters, parochial and private schools for the most part are built on the same model. America is not alone. I have visited schools in Japan, India, Egypt, South Africa, and Israel. The floors may be dirt and the kids may work on individual chalk boards, but the similarities to American schools can’t be missed. Though it has evolved, the basic schooling model, used for well over a hundred years, continues to dominate the education landscape.
With this in mind, State Superintendent of Public Instruction Mike Flanagan challenged Michigan school districts to truly “Re-imagine” education – to break the mold. He urged all of us in education to be bold; to think adventurously and to experiment. Traverse City Area Public Schools jumped at the opportunity and joined in a regional proposal submitted by the Traverse Bay Area Intermediate School District to be a “Re-imagine” demonstration site. In August, seventy proposals were received by the State. No more than twenty will be funded. As a board of education member and a member of the board’s curriculum committee, I contributed ideas -- some ended up in the final proposal. I’m happy with the result. It’s a great start. Check it out and let me know what you think. http://www.tcaps.net/Home/tabid/2322/Default.aspx
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