Anyone can hold the helm when the sea is calm.
—Publilius Syrus
During the last several years, I have continually asked, “What do students need to be well equipped for successful futures, and what kinds of experiences will help them most?” Although these have been looming questions since I started my teaching career, they were magnified when I became superintendent and actually handed students their diplomas. I saw the dismal statistics about college freshman retention rates come to life through conversations with recently graduated students who I might see around town. Knowing what their plans had been, I would ask how they liked college only to find out that they’d decided to “work second semester instead,” to “take some time off” or worse, some said they hadn’t gone at all. Although many factors were no doubt at play in these scenarios, what haunted me was the feeling that we – as educators - could’ve done more to ensure our students were better prepared for productive next steps.
Reform or transform?
Education reform has been at the center of discussion and debate in our country for more than 20 years. At this point, I can’t help but think that what we need is not reformation, but instead, transformation. To reform suggests that you make something better by improving upon something that already exists. This is what we have tried continually to do with schools - make the existing model better.
To transform, however, is something very different. To transform suggests that you begin to reimagine what could be, rethink what you accept as standard and create something new. I believe this is our challenge and our opportunity.
If transformation is the task at hand, the impact is far reaching. Once we create the school experience our students need, what might this mean for funding and policy? Can we still fund schools based on seat time? What about facilities? Should we still have long hallways and isolated classrooms filled with rows of desks? There are many factors to consider in a reimagined school, but perhaps the first we should consider is leadership.