Growth Rings: Reframing Community

Reframing Community.

Weak signals for change amplifying as legacy thinking pushes back.

In 1947, piloting the X-1 rocket plane, Chuck Yeager became the first person to travel faster than the speed of sound.  He related that in starting the run, the air was smooth. As he accelerated, the air became very choppy with the X-1 vibrating violently.  With courage, Yeager continued to accelerate until the X-1 was traveling faster than the speed of sound. Those on the ground reported hearing a loud explosion when Mach 1 was achieved. Captain Yeager reported later that once breaking the sound barrier, the air again was calm and the X-1 flew steady and true.  It seems the forces of nature tried to hold him back, but with the technology of the X-1, and courage, mankind moved forward.

It seems mankind is again at the point of a breakthrough, with traditional legacy thinking creating extreme turbulence and push back.  Like Chuck Yeager, we must have the courage to accelerate through the turbulence, push forward, and trust it will be smooth on the other side.   

Redefining Community and Local Control.

With the advance of access to the internet, in some jobs people no longer have to live in the same physical vicinity as their employment. They are able to choose anywhere in the world to live, as long as there is high speed internet access. Historically folks have moved for work, but now work will move with the employee to wherever they want to live.  Florence, Alabama is actively recruiting professionals to relocate and work remotely from the Shoals. Lifting up their low cost of living and great quality of life, economic developers are even paying up to $10,000 towards moving expenses.

This has potential to signal a migration from cities to rural areas. Leaving overcrowded cities for cleaner, wide open spaces, would be a game changer. This transformation of community would impact community planning, city services, churches, and schools.  This will reframe the definition of community to have both a physical and a virtual component, and greatly impact schools.

Historically, a community was defined by its physical location.  Families and individuals selected communities by seeking those with neighbors like themselves or for employment. Community norms, perspectives, and values emerged both deliberately named and subliminally practiced. Locally elected school boards and the schools themselves reflected these named and subliminally practiced (or overt and covert) norms, perspectives, and values. With school district funding primarily coming from local tax revenues, supplemented by state aid and some federal funding for specific programs, it is local dollars that fund the local schools, and thus shape the culture of the school.

What does community mean for educators: teachers and administrators?

Schools are an extension of the community, and school culture reflects the defined norms, perspectives, and values of the local community. School funding is limited to the community’s ability to tax, with expenditures reflecting the community’s culture.  This limited funding impacts the district’s ability to provide professional development for teachers.

Most community patrons, because their perspective is limited to their own experiences in school, see school for what it was, and it is hard for them to envision what it could be. They hold on to the past and many times do not understand the need for training teachers on new emerging pedogogy. Statements like "when I was in school" or thinking "it was good enought for me" adds to the turbulence for change. 

I keep thinking about those who are now seeking both a physical and digital community, like Florence, Alabama is touting, along with parents who are not comfortable with sending their children back to school without a COVID-19 vaccine, and how this provides an opportunity for schools to be re-envisioned and reframed.

Leaving the old and reaching for the new.

“Breaking the sound barrier” next generation schools will be networks for learning, collaborating digitally via the internet, plus face to face; but will not be confined to a bricks and mortar location. Leveraging technology, teachers will individualize, personalize, and differentiate instruction, linking learning to student’s passions, aptitudes, attitudes, and abilities. Learning how to learn, unlearn and uplearn, apply knowledge to real world predictable and unpredictable situations, connect and collaborate locally and globally with next generation, children could receive a world class education to and from anywhere on the planet. There is an exciting potential that sorting learners by age, gender, ethnicity, or poverty will give way to clustering students by creativity, passions, empathy, and the ability to connect and communicate.   

If this be the new frontier, how do I prepare and get there?

As mentioned earlier, local funding for professional development is limited, and many times dependent on ‘one-time’ money provided by state grants, federal grants, and or other sources. Current CARES Act funding in response to COVID-19 does include financial resources for training.

Budgeting and planning for district ongoing professional learning is normally designed as one-and-done, top-down, by Central Office staff with little teacher voice or choice.  Ideally, professional learning for teachers should model how students learn: individualized, personalized, and differentiated and include voice and choice.  Sadly, this does not happen with regularity. In many instances, district provided teacher professional learning opportunities are limited to local district discretion and subject to community norms, perspectives, and values.

An additional disconnect has emerged. Because of COVID-19, the public has assumed that if schools move to online learning, teachers will know how to teach in this modality. In reality, most do not; and in many instances students do not have access to high speed broadband internet. With only sixty+ days between the end of the last school year, and the beginning of the next, with already a shortage of qualified teachers, factoring in returning teachers whose health and age make them susceptible to COVID-19, education in the United States is approaching a flashpoint. This is the opportunity for teachers and community stakeholders to seize the moment and reframe schools to be viable and relevant. Teachers who can reinvent themselves can lead, become change architects and pathfinders.

Change yourself first! Become a CONNECTED EDUCATOR

“If you want to change the world, first change yourself, then tell others how you did it. Never demand that people change. Inspire them to change using your own change as an example instead.” Dan Pearce, Single Dad Laughing

As I participate in twitter chats and connect in conversations with educators from around the world, my observation is that educators are realizing that global change is here. This realization is happening organically, one teacher, one administrator, and one school at a time, with many feelings isolated.  Realizing and embracing change is one thing, navigating through it is another.  

Sheryl Nussbaum-Beach is a longtime friend and a highly respected collogue. For 20+ years she has been on the cutting edge, leading the transformational change of education. Her foundational belief is that teachers learn best from teachers. In her book, The CONNECTED Educator (2012) not only does she lay out how to use technology tools to enhance learning, but more importantly, she shares the design of how the local professional learning community, linked with the teacher, creates a personal learning network via social media.  This creates a powerful global community of practice for collaboration, innovation, and creativity.

Sheryl’s work is made operational by her TEAM at Professional Learning Practices. The PLP TEAM is actively creating communities of learners, connecting and supporting teachers and administrators. From hosting Twitter chats to free on demand ‘how to’ webinars, to working alongside districts to co-create year-long professional learning, PLP is building teacher efficacy and capacity. Sherly and the PLP TEAM take local learning communities and coach them on how to connect to a global online community of practice. This empowers and creates capacity and a powerful synergy of educators. Check it all out at  plpnetwork.com and dive deeper at bit.ly/CLExp

GROWTH RINGS

The world was already changing, but because of COVID-19, the rate of change accelerated exponentially. Now the world is going through extreme turbulence, affecting everything all the way down to the community and individual level. Mankind has entered this turbulence of societal and community change and now requires imagination, creativity, and innovation.  

New norms and conditions are emerging. Unlike Chuck Yeager who flew solo in the X-1 to break the sound barrier, being one of the CONNECTED EDUCATORS means not having to fly alone. Sheryl and the PLP team stand ready and committed to help. It is up to us teachers to summon courage, connect, leverage the internet and digital devices, and lead.

You can connect with Sheryl and the PLP Team on Twitter at: 

@snbeach

@PLPNetwork

@aprilpc

@chris10dodd

@blomingedu

#plpnetwork

#ConnectedEducator

Growth Rings: Considerations to Restarting School

Growth Rings: Considerations for Restarting School

My thoughts and prayers are with students, parents, teachers, and administrators. What a spring all have been though! Beginning with the stress and emotions of the COVID-19 shut down, having to transition immediately to distant learning with little preparation, then design “on the run” an end for the 2019-20 school year, which included facilitating safely graduation for the class of 2020 during the ongoing global pandemic. No wonder everyone is exhausted and emotionally drained.  Now with 60 days to come up with plans on how to reopen school in the fall, and the pandemic continuing, there is little time to rest and recharge.

“Safely reopening the nation's public schools will be an expensive and Herculean task...  And, until schools do reopen, the nation's most vulnerable children will continue to be hardest hit — losing consistent access to meals, valuable learning time, and vital social-emotional support.” https://www.npr.org/sections/coronavirus-live-updates/2020/06/10/874049532/senate-panel-asks-when-can-k-12-schools-safely-reopen

Throughout the United States, school leadership is working diligently to figure out how to reopen schools and keep students and staff safe during the continued global pandemic. Without a COVID-19 vaccine, starting school in the fall of 2020 will be extremely challenging to the some 56 million students effected. Parents are deeply concerned with the question of will their children be safe if they return to school in the fall? Many are seriously considering continuing to home school.  

The American Enterprise Institute (AEI) recently reported that 65 percent of America’s parents believe that “schools should remain closed until they are certain there is no health risk, even if it means students fall farther behind.” And that “the American Association of School Administrators says that 94 percent of superintendents aren’t sure when their schools will reopen, while educational leaders insist that schools can’t reopen safely without more funds”.  The reality of reopening schools is complex, multifaceted, and brings not only big challenges, but also big opportunities. 

What is known today about reopening schools.

The easy part will be making recommendation for reopening, the hard part will be making the recommendation operational. It must be realized that each consideration, recommendation, and action is interconnected, with far reaching impacts. Plans for reopening schools must not be done in isolation, but in collaboration with state and local health officials. It must address state and federal mandates, privacy requirements and be communicated to all stakeholders.

The school day must be addressed with actions that respond to public health guidance. Social Distancing will impact every aspect of school, from classroom spaces, lunchrooms, transportation, and to the delivery of instruction. This will come with additional costs that will require additional financial resources.  

Social and Emotional supports need to be in place not only for students, but also for adult staff. From the stress of school closure, maybe losing a loved one to COVID-19, Social unrest, and challenges from the economic shut down, not to mention the political turmoil, many are hurting.  The global pandemic and ensuing shut down has also brought forward and amplified already existing conditions of domestic violence and abuse. In reviewing early released drafts of reopening plans, Mental Health is receiving little if any thought or consideration.  The priority seems to be focused on just getting schools open, not on healing, coping, or Mental Health.

There have been many comments from politicians saying schools must open in the fall to get the economy reopened and that kids are believed to be immune from COVID-19. The kids maybe, but many educators and support staff are vulnerable.  A suggestion was shared with me that staff in the vulnerable age group (60+) not be allowed to return to work or teach remotely this fall.  To say I was taken aback by this would be an understatement. Union Contracts, Age Discrimination lawsuits, and the suggestion that these at-risk groups of educators be the ones that teach/provide remote learning (with many of them not having the skill sets to do so and having to learn them in 60 days) is just is bad thinking.

Addressing the first responsibility of public education, academics, is a big political question. Disrupting the school year has created academic challenges. Teachers receiving students returning in the fall are faced with not only addressing COVID-19 induced trauma, but also academically assessing students and where to begin instruction.  This will force differentiated, individual instruction and totally disrupt pre COVID-19 procedures and practices. The school day, curriculum, and assessment will all need to be rethought.  It goes without saying that, with no COVID-19 vaccine, school must become adaptive and design a new continuum of learning that will address possible future closures.

The way forward.

“This spring, America took an involuntary crash course in remote learning. With the school year now winding down, the grade from students, teachers, parents, and administrators is already in: It was a failure.” https://www.wsj.com/articles/schools-coronavirus-remote-learning-lockdown-tech-11591375078

The Wall Street Journal authors Hobbs and Hawkins got this wrong, it was not that remote learning failed, remote school did not work. Public schools, K-12, colleges and universities, were not prepared to respond to COVID-19 with remote learning. Lack of infrastructure, universal broadband internet access, devices, and staff with the skill sets to teach online at scale, were for the most part non-existent. Districts scrambled first to feed kids, then figure out strategies for instruction. The instructional pieces have yet to be resolved.

The fact of the matter is embedding technology into instruction and remote learning is here to stay and there is a crucial need to train teachers how to do this. 

Steps forward

With only 60 days until school supposedly starts, there is much to do, and actions need to be prioritized.  YES, the mechanics of how to get the kids on campus and transported safely is an important first step. Once on campus, trauma and stress need to be addressed then academic proficiency discerned. Running in the background of all this is providing training for teachers in this new modality of digital tools and strategies.  The kicker is teachers cannot be waiting until the preservice days for professional learning. Waiting will only exacerbate the problem, especially if schools are shut down again at some point.  Dedicated teachers are sharpening their skill sets NOW and not waiting.

Food for thought...

• Someone asked me “why do we have to begin school in the September? Who set the magic start date?” My answer was that in general it is set in code by State Legislatures.  His response was “how can they restart school when they only had 60 days to get ready for it and they can’t guarantee my kid will be safe?”

• I talked with a Middle School student and asked him how he liked learning online at home. He said “Mr. John I like it! Online I do my lessons, Zoom and email with my teacher.” He told me that he had more personal interactions and feedback with his online teacher than he ever did face to face. He shared that he could go a week at a time, face to face, and the only personal interaction he had with his teacher was a “hello” when he entered the classroom and a “good by” when he left.

• I was talking to a father whose son graduated this spring, Class of 2020. He shared with me that his son had not done any schoolwork since the school closed, and yet he still graduated. The father’s question to me was “I know my son did not do the schoolwork since school closed, so did he just get a diploma cause the clock ran out?”

• Because of COVID-19, it is estimated that between 20-25% of the students nationally may not return to school in the fall, and be home schooled because of safety concerns. Schools Districts are funded on head count enrollment. If true, this would greatly impact already tight school budgets.

• People do not realize that digital devices (e.g., Chromebooks, MacBooks, and other personal computers) for the most part are made oversees, in South East Asia, with many parts coming from China. Because of the global shut down and current trade war with China, the supply chain needed to build more computers, then transport by container ship to the United States has been disrupted. Your laptop is NOT made in America!

• We cannot lose sight what schools should be doing to prepare kids for their future. The fall’s incoming kindergarten class will graduate in 2036. The Future of Jobs Report 2018 says they will enter a world driven by ubiquitous high-speed mobile internet, Artificial intelligence, Big data analytics and Cloud technology. A Strategist's Guide to Industry 4.0 identifies jobs in fields of advanced robotics, artificial intelligence, sophisticated sensors, cloud computing, the Internet of Things, data capture and analytics, digital fabrication (including 3D printing) and software-as-a-service for 2036 graduates. It is crucial as we look to restart school these realities are part of our design thinking.

There is much work to be done and nobody has a complete picture of what that work is. It is important that there be enough time to be thoughtful, and strategically prepared. Yes, we will be flying and building the plane at the same time. The trick will be not to crash it.

We are indeed adding Growth Rings.

Growth Rings: Redesigning Learning, crucial to the quality of life, and survival.

­Growth Rings:

Redesigned Learning, crucial to the quality of life, and survival. 

The shared COVID-19 experience has exposed many aspects and conditions of human daily living on planet Earth. The pandemic has shown that globally all people are interconnected and susceptible to the threat of diseases and that we are social beings that must be in connection with one another. 

On an organic, micro-level, though confined and quarantined, mankind has been creative in staying connected and interacting.  From concerts performed on front porches for neighbors to Zoom videos calls, to standing outside grandparent’s widows, we are staying connected. With families having to physically quarantine, social media, specifically Facebook and Twitter, have united us, with some families having more conversations and interactions now than pre-COVID-19.

Covid-19 has been a ‘hard stop’ for some families in the United States. With no ball practices, cheerleading, soccer, or swim lessons, families have reconnected. With telecommuting and working from home, moms, dads, and kids have shared the valuable gift of time, and have experienced the pandemic together.  For those who work in the media, broadcasting from home gave a glimpse of broadcasters’ personal lives and illustrated how we are all experiencing this together. 

It has been interesting to note that individuals, now with limited disposable income, have had to really discern needs from wants. It costs less to cook at home than eat out, telecommuting saves gas, Netflix and Roku are much cheaper than going to the movies, and home projects and game nights are rewarding. 

Covid-19 has highlighted those who do not have access to affordable health care and the vulnerability of neighborhoods and communities of color and poverty. It is important to note that our consumer-based economy only works if people are employed and are buying goods and services.  Many people at or below the poverty level already had survival skills and the know-how to navigate hard times.  For those new to these conditions, it is traumatic.

On a macro level, governments have struggled to connect, react, and respond to COVID-19. It has been troubling to government leaders that they have been powerless to stop the pandemic, and it says something that globally each country is trying to find a cure on its own.  Just think what could be accomplished if we all were focused and working together for a global solution. 

What does post-COVID-19 public education and schools need to be?

This will be an ongoing question as we move through the pandemic. In my last blog post, the thinking was shared that pre-COVID-19 schools addressed four basic boxes: Academic, Moral Compass, Physical, and Social-Emotional. Each box is interconnected and significant, however, of the four boxes the Academic box is the only one measured by state achievement tests and the results shared to the community.  There is little or no measuring, public reporting, or sharing of the other boxes.  Will these boxes still drive schools in post-COVID-19 public education, and how will this be accomplished in a virtual or online modality?

In Roy Morrison’s 2018 interview of Fred Swaniker, African Leadership Academy Co-Founder & Trustee, Mr. Swaniker stated that: “We need to completely reimagine education. Instead of learning to memorize facts and figures, students need to “learn how to learn” and how to solve problems. And they should be allowed to learn independently. Changes are needed at every level. You have to infuse things like entrepreneurship into the curriculum because, with the disruption that’s going on, many people are going to have to create their own jobs.”

Mr. Swaniker remarks are thought-provoking but focus primarily on the academic box. In his full interview, he did not touch on the Moral Compass, Physical or Social-Emotional Boxes. Many education reformers, and others calling for change, also seem to be focused on the Academic box, and either overlook or assume the other boxes have been or will be addressed. One should never assume.

Maslow before Bloom?

For educators in the United States, the belief is that in order for students to reach their full academic potential, Basic and Physical needs, as identified by Maslow, must be addressed. The thinking being you have to meet Maslow before you can Bloom. The question going forward is how should, or could, these boxes are addressed in a blended or virtual/online model as well as traditionally at school? There are examples of students that have academically achieved and overcome despite Maslow's deficits and deficiencies. Perhaps the direction might be to deliberately design and build  Horatio Alger's "rag to riches" type lessons/experiences into learning? Through project-based learning, tied to real-world challenges, develop "grit"?  Can or should schools have the sole responsibility of meetings Maslow or should this be a shared, family, and community responsibility? Can schools really successfully do it all? 

Looking to the Fall...

As we head into June, depending on where you live we are 60 to 90 days out from starting the 2020-21 school year. Still, in the throngs of the COVID-19 pandemic, schools are doing the best they can to project and come up with plans for Fall school start-ups. In conversations with parents, teachers, administrators, business leaders, elected officials, and community members, three different school year scenarios are emerging, each with specific supporters and detractors.  1) A normal traditional start but prepared to close if the COVID-19 comes back 2) Every other day or week on, a week off school schedule, or 3) Continue with virtual, distance learning.  Each scenario will require continuous evaluation of conditions, and all are subject to change. 

Face to Face, Blended, or Virtual?

The thinking behind each of these proposals has both pluses and minuses. Some would say that none of them is really a good choice.

The “face to face” plan assumes that COVID-19 could be controlled through social distancing and cleaning; but if it flared up, schools would close and switch back to virtual/distance learning.  This creates medical risks for adult staff that may have underlying health concerns, not to mention the frustration of starting, then stopping school at a moment’s notice, leaving parents having to find childcare.

Many Districts are planning for either a blended hybrid model or remaining in a virtual model. With the blended model, the student body would be split in half, using social distancing to combat COVID-19. Half the students would come to school either every other day or come to school one week then off the next. In the off-time, students could receive instruction virtually.  In Iowa, one school district is considering a week on, a week off model with kids attending class four days a week. Students would not attend Fridays so deep cleaning can occur. Again, the question is childcare on the off days, the impact on athletic practices, and the effectiveness of hybrid instructional strategies and assessments. 

Something else to include is that many state legislatures have defined in law the length of the school year, start and stop dates, maximum class size, time on buses, and daily hours of instruction. These items may all have to be addressed as well.  

So Many Important Questions to Address

At the end of the day, parents should have the final choice as to whether or not they send their children back to school.  The driving question will be, “Are there teachers there to teach the kids?”  There was already a pre-COVID-19 teacher shortage. Several school districts have made plans for summer school to “catch the students up” on missed learning?  What about the kids that do not choose to attend or participate in the catch-up activities?  Another question was raised to me the other day concerning seniors and their graduation.  I was asked “did the class of 2020 really achieve and accomplish the work or did the clock just run out and they got to graduate anyway? What is the diploma really worth this year?”

Another reality to be addressed is the funding for schools. Many believe public education, pre-COVID-19, was underfunded. Looking to the near future, with the economy shut down even less money will be available. Wages and benefits make up 70% to 83% of a school district’s budget. That means in order to make the necessary budget reductions, very hard decisions will need to be made. Going forward it will be important to communicate, be transparent, flexible, and creative.  Nobody likes surprises, and facts must be shared truthfully without spin.

For the past four months, folks have experienced the stress and trauma of sickness, job loss, remote working, and shelter in place. Now 60 days out from the start of the 2020-21 school year, a clear path forward for schools is not in place. A decrease in school funding, the potential reduction in the teacher workforce, training teachers to teach digitally, on top of the continued COVID-19 pandemic. 

Growth Rings are forming, and our children are watching to see how we adults address the challenges before us.  Now more than ever good choices must be made.  What we do and say now will have great meaning and help to define mankind as we go forward.

Growth Rings: Revisioning School. Letting Go, Look Over the Horizon, and Move Forward

Growth Rings:

Revisioning School, Let Go, Look Over the Horizon, and Move Forward.

“Learning is as natural as breathing when there is a real purpose behind it and when we have the freedom to learn on our own terms when we’re not confined and coerced by external systems and traditions.”

Will Richardson, To Create the "New Normal" of Education, Start With the "Old Normal: of Learning April 23, 2020

COVID-19 is a significant emotional experience affecting us all. The desire to move beyond the event, reopen the country and restart the economy, even though we are still in the midst of a crisis and with no proven vaccine in sight, reflects on our Nation’s morals, beliefs, and values. The desire to “return to normal” or “the way it was” is just a nostalgic “pipe dream”.  As was illustrated in Spencer Johnson’s book Who Moved My Cheese? The cheese has moved, so we need to go and look for new cheese.

Schools Must Let Go.

With the physical closing of schools for the remainder of the school year, communities, parents, kids, teachers, and administrators have struggled to come to grips with the situation. Following the conversations on Social Media, there has been a massive effort by schools to continue to feed kids and continue to have students ‘learn’?  The concern is how do we keep kids on track? How will they catch them up to where they are supposed to be by grade level?  What will the school be like in the fall?  

“The irony is that schools were not built for learning. Research shows that very little of what kids “learn” in a curricular sense is remembered for the long term, nor is it relevant to or applicable in their daily lives. It’s an unpleasant truth that makes us uncomfortable. ...Learning in school simply isn’t like learning in real life.”

Will Richardson, To Create the "New Normal" of Education, Start With the "Old Normal: of Learning April 23, 2020

When talking with a parent in Illinois this past week, she indicated her 9th-grade son’s school was canceled March 12^th.  The grades he had the day school closed would be his grades for the second semester. He did have the option if he wanted to go online and improve his grade if wanted too, so, he did. The kicker being his classmates who already had ‘A’s did not have to do this. Some school districts took the stance if they could not provide online instruction to all students, including Special Education students, they would not provide instruction to any students. 

Many districts have spent cash reserves to purchase computers, internet hot spots or print worksheet packets for those students who do not have internet or a computer. All this to try to keep the “assemble line” of the school moving forward.

COVID-19 Aftershocks for Schools and Public Education.

The aftershocks of COVID-19 will be as great or greater than the initial event. The economy shut down and the loss of tax revenue will financially impact public education and schools. To date, no teacher, administrators, or support staff has been laid off.  This fall might be different.

Factoring in lost tax revenue, flat state funding, along with Districts spending reserve funds to print worksheet packets, procure computers, coupled with online digital tool vendors that have made their products available for free but will start billing for them in the fall, public education, specifically local school boards, are facing a financial crisis. This will result in very hard decisions having to be made.

What are Schools to be? 

The foundational question to be asked is “What are schools and public education supposed to be?” Are schools and public education to continue the previous mission of free child-day care enabling parents to work, developing a student’s moral compass, and civic responsibility while at the same time address their social-emotional learning? Are schools to continue to define the community’s identity on top of addressing the unique and specific needs of all learners?  Interesting to note that with the community now being reframed as both physical and virtual, should a person Zip Code be a limiting, contributing factor for learning?

In a recent conversation with Dr. Lana Israel, creator of Muzology, she lifted up the concept of schools (public education) historically tasked to fill several boxes; the education box, Social / emotional box, moral compass box, and physical (feeding)box.  She suggested that because of COVID-19 and the fear of future shutdowns, Social Distancing and the emergence of online remote working may affect some schools the traditional “boxes”. With remote learning, the Social/emotional box, moral compass box, and physical (feeding) box could be addressed by parents, leaving the academic box to be addressed in some instances by public education? Partnering public, nonprofit and faith-based organizations, new programs and strategies could be designed to address the other boxes by coordinating efforts and leverage resources. This could take responsibilities off the school’s plate.

  

The reality is that the new emerging economy is redefining the world of work. Businesses are discovering that in many cases, having their employees work from home, remotely, has a cost-saving.  The cost savings for business includes parking, offices, and onsite employee benefits (cafeterias, wellness rooms, childcare) with some business finding increases in employee productivity. For the employee working from home, this saves commute time and increases family time. Employees have more control over their workday, what time they work, what they choose to wear, and when they take breaks.  Employees are saving commuting costs and not having to deal with “workplace drama”.   This is but one aspect of the emerging world of work and it is noted does not address those jobs that are not conducive to remote working.

Looking over the Horizon.

There have been calls for schools to change and adapt.  In 1993 then US Secretary of Education Richard Riley stated, “We are currently preparing students for jobs that don’t yet exist, using technology, that hasn’t been invented, in order to solve problems that we don’t know are problems yet.”  Now, today, more than ever, we need to embrace and address this in our thinking.  

Looking at the here, now and over the horizon, several themes are emerging and coming into focus.  One is that there is a new normal. COVID-19 has reframed and transformed how mankind interacts with each other and that the problems facing us are not linear, but complex and multi-dimensional.   It is interesting to see how some are trying to leverage technology, applying it to old system thinking, historical perspectives and practices to create solutions for never before seen or experienced challenges.

  

The Michigan State College of Education complied actions being taken by public schools to address the COVID-19 closures and made these recommendations:

·      extend the 2020-21 school year and/or lengthen school days so students can catch up on lost learning time;

·      States and districts should revise tests to assess students’ progress and identify different student learning levels at the start of the 2020-21 school year. These tests should be used to help educators provide targeted assistance to students and should not be used for accountability purposes;

·      States and districts should invest in professional development programs to help teachers and staff instruct returning students at different learning levels;

·      online instruction may not be available or appropriate for all students so states will need to help districts fund alternative forms of distance learning through the mail or phone.

Extending the school day and school year to recapture time for learning and revising assessment test all seems like traditional strategies. Investing in teacher professional development so as to differentiate instruction for learner makes sense, but where to go and who can provide the training?  And, distance learning by telephone or mail indicates worksheet packets, definitely not good. 

It is interesting that the recommendations did not acknowledge the need to deal with the trauma from the school closing or for engaging politically to advocate for Broadband internet build-out. The recommendations seemed to focus on how to teach the same old stuff, the same old way and not on imagination, creativity, or innovation.

Author and futurist Rick Smyre state the need to move from “linear, either-or thinking” to “non-linear, and both thinking.” I translate this to mean we are in chaos as society struggles to let go of 20th-century thinking, embrace reality, and create new systems. During this chaos, to maintain the old system only long enough for new systems to be designed, created, and made operational. We must to continue to fly the old plane while at the same time, inflight, build the new one.

The priority needs to be LEARNING

Learning has always been organic and associated with growth. Historically however we institutionalized learning by applying 20^th century industrial assemble line system thinking, creating the current public-school education system. Initially a local controlled, democratically elected board of education, community financial responsibility, that over time has morphed to become dependent on funding and seceding oversight to State and Federal authorities.  Year after year, schools have assumed more responsibilities and asked more from teachers, without providing the necessary funding, support, or training. It’s time to move from the past and design a new model. 

As we move beyond COVID-19 and deal with the aftershocks, the way forward is to apply emerging system thinking and new realities in the redesign of the system of learning.  Where a person works, how they work, and when they work, is changing. This reality will impact schools and should be included in school redesign What we want kids to know and be able to do, how do we know they know it and what do we do if they don’t, is taking on new meaning.  

A valued colleague of mine, Deron Durflinger, once shared with me the thinking that “time needed to be separated from the learning.” He believed that in the current model of school learning was restricted by time, the class period. He advocated that learning should not be defined by a time period but be continuous, uninterrupted, and not be restricted to a physical classroom.  This is an important design feature to be considered.

Move Forward

Letting go of old thinking, discerning what schools are to be and do, designing a new business plan to provide funding to compensate teachers and support learning, focused on teaching students how to access information, think and learn, mankind is experiencing growing pains.

New Growth Rings are being added to our tree of life. 

It’s time to let go, look over the horizon, and move forward.