The Independent Project

The Independent Project(Link to New York Times Article) is about a group of 8 students at Monument Mountain Regional High School who set out to form their own school.  The essentially formed a school within a school.  Each student involved in this project developed Independent Endeavors.  The idea was to find something that you are passionate about and create it.  What were some of those Endeavors?  Wrote a Novel, Wrote a Play, Created a Short Film, Experimented with Culinary Arts, or Learned to Play the Piano.

Students are coming to school and getting an education in material they have no interest in learning.  These students felt that if they were going to spend 6 hours of their day, 30 hours a week at school, they wanted to learn something that interests them.  I was very intrigued with the video below.  I applaud the school for supporting these students.  I also like the idea of an Independent Endeavor.  What would your students do?

To learn more, see the video below:

America's Next Best Teacher

There is a movement today to support Educational Reform through Blogging.  Here is my short response on the state of education, knowing that I am by no means an expert.

Reality television is huge.  It seems to me that we are heading down a road where experts come in to a school and contestants can audition their "talents" to determine who the big winners are that get to be teachers in that school.  Who would be the "expert" judges?  Television, politicians, and Washington DC would have you believe that it should be Michelle Rhee, Bill Gates, Oprah Winfrey, Charter School Founders, Hedge Fund Leaders, and Arne Duncan.  Oh, and let us not forget the CEO's of the companies that make all the standardized test because they want someone who will teach to their test so that they can get richer.

If you are wanting to determine the best teachers, shouldn't you ask students, parents, administrators, teacher educators, and fellow teachers?  Shouldn't they be on the panel?  So far, every program, meeting, panel, and decision about education seems to be missing that one important group of people....the people education influences the most, educators.

Part of me believes educators are left out due to fear.  Fear that our voices will be heard.  Fear that what really needs to be done to fix education will have little to do with making a profit.  The average American citizen fails to realize that education is where big money can be made.  The greatest idea for fixing schools could be the next gold mine for an entrepreneur.  Heck, even Facebook founder Mark Zuckerberg is starting to get in on the action with his donation to Newark, New Jersey schools. Something tells me he is just waiting for an opportunity to say: "Remember when I....."  If you still don't believe me, think about the fact that the new Chancellor of New York City Schools has a BUSINESS background and little knowledge of education.  Part of me wonders who the puppet master will be.  Education Is not a corporation for sale on the Stock Exchange.

EDUCATION REFORM SHOULD NOT EMULATE REALITY TELEVISION

Education and the Deflated Balloon

The other day sitting around the house, watching the news, reading about Education Nation, I started thinking about the state of education.  I know this is a Educational Technology Blog, but I am still an educator, so read along as I digress into some education politics for this post. 

Right now, education is like a deflated balloon.  The reason the balloon is deflated is because there are all these pin holes.  At these holes you will find politicians, entrepreneurs, superintendents, our President, our Secretary of Education, Philanthropist, Entertainers, Teacher Unions, and the Private Sector (I am sure there are more, but I will leave it at those).

At the main hole, the part where air really needs to be to inflate the balloon, are Students, Teachers, Parents, and Schools.  As much as we try to blow up the balloon to reach its full potential, we can't.  As much as we try to work together, our power can't seem to inflate this balloon.  We can't get out what we know will work in education because no one REALLY hears us. 

Meanwhile, those same people at their pin holes in the balloon are trying to inflate the balloon as well.  Some are working together, some are not.  Some are blowing at their own pace believing they have what it takes to get the balloon to inflate.  Some of those people have bigger pin holes because they feel they have the answer for education, so they create a larger hole to try to get more air in the balloon.  Either way, what they are trying to do is not working either.  As hard as they try, they continue to get resistance, they continue to struggle to inflate this balloon.

What we really need for these people to do, is to patch those holes. Allow those in the school systems to improve education.  You patch the holes (provide funding, improve teacher education, improve teacher tenure, improve curriculum, improve school to work initiatives, provide resources, etc.) and let educators take care of education.  Let those involved in education provide the helium to inflate the balloon that we patched working together and watch education soar in America.

What are your thoughts?