This week from The Backbone Institute:
Why is Change in Schools so Difficult?
Thanks to John in NYC for his email. He wrote:
Would like to know more of your perspectives on schools and why you think improvement, growth, and change are so challenging in so many of them.
[Susan Marshall’s comments are editorial, based on experience with school systems. She is not a licensed educator.]
Curriculum outdated. Tend to change it using new ideas from Ph.D. studies, new classroom ideas, which get tested, then rolled out or shelved.
Similar to updating technology
Legacy systems, new software applications don’t “talk” well
Add lots more diversity in school systems
· Cultures
· Languages
How to teach? Native language or English?
What gets lost in translation?
Great debate re: America as melting pot
Change difficult because we don’t listen well when we believe we’re right
Discourse best when:
· Civil
· Creates new understanding, new ways of thinking
· Leads to shared vision
Inclusion – primary task of leadership
What needs to happen among faculty, school leaders to create environment where
· Kids are challenged to learn
· Feel safe to learn
Challenge: How to develop confidence to listen to alternative viewpoints, share knowledge and new ideas, engage in true collaboration?
Who to benchmark? Where to look for things that are working well?
· Tend to seek like entities
· Why not dissimilar others?
· Tend to isolate ourselves within our professions – creates bureaucracies
Brunei – create entirely new way of doing things
· New learning
· How is our instruction landing?
· What will happen as a result?
· Create spirit of inquiry and curiosity
Next time from The Backbone Institute: What has more apps than an iPhone?
