The US News and World Report of Top High schools came out last week. It was brought to my attention from a Social Media post that stated something like, “So proud of our school; we made the top five high schools in Ohio.” I immediately went online and found the report; not so I could see where my school fell on the list, but so I could discover how the rankings were done. After all, with the right statistical measures I could be the greatest . . .. I hoped and prayed, there would be something about the development of qualitative skills necessary for successful employment, or at least something other than “test scores”? Deep breath . . .
In sum, the “broad range” of indicators are state tests, graduation rate and AP and IB tests taken and scores. You can read the entire description of the measurement system here. It generally looks like a composite put together by The College Board. At the top of the description of the measuring system is the platitudinous statement, “. . .a great high school must serve all of its students well, not just those who are college bound, and that it must be able to produce measurable academic outcomes to show it is successfully educating its student body across a range of performance indicators.” “Broad range of performance indicators”, really? Test scores demonstrate how successfully we are educating? Educate - from the latin root, educere, which means to draw out to bring forth. Do we truly draw out from our youth their true potential by asking they perform on standardized tests? Are our youth more than proficient test takers? Do we wish for them to be thinkers, doers and innovators? According to the ultimate customer, the employer, we want more than test takers. Therefore, how do we measure which schools are truly doing outstanding work? What other measurements are there to determine the true quality of our work as educators? Check out the work being done to develop “a master transcript” at several high schools and colleges around the country. A new paradigm is needed. Paul Levering of Apex, North Carolina is a certified EOS Implementer, parent of an Apex Friendship High School student, a member of our business advisory board and has acted as a judge for my end of year entrepreneurship competition, “Battle For an Angel”. Thank you Paul for your service and your inspiration. In a LinkedIn post Paul mentions a role in business, the integrator. I replied back that I was informally known in one corporate position some time ago as the synthesizer. I have an uncanny ability to bring together seemingly divergent, even opposing ideas and or goals from different departments to create cohesive and actionable programs.
I find this so much harder to do in education where people have built fortresses around their silos. While George Couros, Ted Dintersmith, Sir Ken Robinson, Tony Wagner and many others have espoused some really cool ideas, many in education are still close-minded and reluctant to change. Their motives and deeds appear to be protecting their mediocre methods instead of inspiring the curiosity and imaginations of our youth. Quit lamenting! What are you going to do about it? Synthesize, of course! From Friday April 20 through 25 I was in Atlanta at the DECA International Career Development Conference. Along with two other chaperones, I escorted thirty-one teenagers so they could compete and attend leadership academy with about 18,000 delegates from nine countries. It was one of the most rewarding events in my fourteen years in education. There I witnessed the thrill of victory as well as the agony of defeat for students I mentor, some for as long as three years and one, my son, for many more years, obviously. Each morning I sit in my living room with my first cup of coffee and reflect on what I should do to live my life with purpose. (Patience, I’m getting to the synthesis.) The primary provocateurs for my meditation are Stephen Covey’s 7 Habits and a daily motivational calendar given to me by my twelve year old son for Christmas. I took with me to Atlanta Covey’s Daily Reflections and left at home the calendar. This morning (after not being able to sleep past 3:30) I sat down for the first time with the calendar since Friday April 20. Six of the eleven days from the calendar and today’s reflection from Covey can all go together; it is not hard to synthesize a message. For the entrenched educator that needs a way out of their melancholic mediocrity, for those who fight the good fight in their classroom every day and to all my students that never cease to inspire me, I offer you this synthesis of quotes from a variety of thinkers and doers. The dates are the days they appeared in the motivational calendar or in Covey’s reflections. May 1 - Most all creative endeavors are somewhat unpredictable. They often seem ambiguous, hit or miss, trial and error. And unless people have a high tolerance for ambiguity and get their security from integrity to principles and inner values they find it unnerving and unpleasant to be involved in highly creative enterprises. Their need for structure, certainty and predictability is too high. Stephen Covey April 20 - Courage is a quality so necessary for maintaining virtue, that it is always respected, even when it is associated with vice. Samuel Johnson April 23 - I hope I shall always possess firmness and virtue enough to maintain what I consider the most enviable of all titles, the character of an honest man. George Washington April 27 - Moral courage is the most valuable and usually the most absent characteristic in men. General George Patton April 24 - If we long for our planet to be important, there is something we can do about it. We make our world significant by the courage of our questions and by the depth of our answers. Carl Sagan April 30 - Go to the edge of the cliff and jump off. Build your wings on the way down. Ray Bradbury April 21 - If you aren’t going to go all the way, why go at all? Joe Namath Everyday - Doubt what you will, but never yourself! Me, Dan Jackson I'd be interested in knowing what message you received from this synthesis. |
Author: Dan Jackson
Experienced Reflective Learner and Strategic Thinker with an ongoing track record of of innovative, adaptive leadership in education and business management. Archives
December 2019
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