Let the Gurus Lead the Way: A Whole New School Part II
I have a modest proposal for all the ed tech gurus and ed tech organizations out there that are giving speeches, that are writing books, that are tweeting to their followers from some airport in parts unknown and holding gianormous conferences: It is time for you all to stop talking and to start showing.
I propose that all of the gurus, en masse, modify their current professional development business model which is essentially going-to-the-mountain and preaching. The time has come for all of you to stop working as individuals. Come down from the mountain. The time has come for all of you to start working as a collective, collaborative, 21st century team. Stop telling. Start showing. Let the mountain come to you.
The time has come for a Whole New School.
Imagine if all of the edutech experts that are currently out on the circuit and all of the ed tech organizations that act as individual companies across the country and world collectively put all of their brains and cash together and actually, instead of just talking about what a school should be like, actually made a series of schools, set up across the country, that demonstrated exactly what they are preaching. Imagine the power of a real live campuses where real live teachers are teaching real live students using the exact model of the real live gurus. That would be amazing. Want to see a 21st century math lesson? It is being streamed live from the schools. Want to see how to deal with discipline problems in a 21st century setting? There is a webinar tomorrow at 2:00PM.
The business model would change to people paying to come see your school in action and learn from it, instead of you going out and trying to teach about it. Create a system where teachers can actually come and teach for a year at your school, are constantly informing the peers back at their old school what they are learning, then go back to their schools and share even more of the details of what they learned. Administrators can actually come to your schools and be 21st century administrators, then go back and share with peers how to be those administrators you wished really existed but usually do not. Set up a system of sabbaticals and scholarships where educators and administrators are there for a year and then a whole new crop of edulearners arrive. In just one year, you would have thoroughly trained at least 150 administrators and scores of teachers.
One school for each level in each state that uses the exact things they are talking about to everyone. It is designed to be observed. It is designed to be dissected, evaluated, discussed, showcased and revamped as ideas and technology change. One hundred and fifty campuses designed by the gurus and the organizations. It would be the ultimate example of putting their money where their collective mouths are. They could call it The Whole New School.
If Sheryl Nussbaum-Beach wanted to change how professional development is done, The Whole New School would be the example she could demonstrate to the world.
If Kevin Honeycutt wanted to explore the affective domain in learning, The Whole New School would be his sandbox to play in.
If Marco Torres wanted to put more multimedia in the curriculum, The Whole New School would be broadcasting 24/7.
If Will Richardson wanted to question the purpose of schooling, The Whole New School would demonstrate the answer, because he would have helped designed the learning.
If Prakash Nair and Randall Fielding wanted to create open space, small-group school The Whole New School would not only do it, it would be designed by them.
If ITSE wanted to really see if the various NETS made a difference in teaching and learning, The Whole New School would be their petri dish to find out.
You get the idea. The collective sum of intelligence of all the leaders in the edutech community and the collective cash of all the edutech organizations should get together, stop talking about and start actually creating the school that they collectively envision all of us should be striving to create.
Each campus would be a living breathing problem based learning project for educators, not just students. Each campus would be the 21st Century campus you all tell us should exist but mostly does not. Everything done would be documented and archived so others could learn how it was done. It would be the most open school ever created.
Don’t just tell me anymore.
You have been telling us since the mid 1990’s about the 21st Century skills. The time has come to show me. Unlike charter schools, whose models are all over the collective educational space, The Whole New School would be totally different. Each state would get the exact same school funded by the big organizations, the exact same professional development, the exact same 21st century-driven curriculum (nicely aligned to each state’s standards thank you). The only difference would be the kids. No homogenous pre-selected mix of mostly middle class students. Show me how I am going to use a BYOT initiative in a city where the mean entire family income is in the mid-20 thousand dollars like Anthony Texas. Take on the hard cases, not the easy ones. If you can make it there, you can make it anywhere. I would gladly go to a working school model and study in that environment if you can show me how this model will work with my population of students. School districts that hire the gurus should demand that each and every time they do training, it has to be hands-on. If Mr. Guru is giving a speech, then he is giving it for free because that is not the way 21st century learning should be taking place.
(Recently, while speaking with Sheryl Nussbaum Beach, she expressed the desire to actually “adopt” a school that she could truly show the rest of the world “how it is done.” She would be responsible for the professional development, the curriculum alignment and the technology integration methodology. She is willing, it seems to me, to put herself out on a branch and let people take whacks at her, in an effort to show that what she is preaching is in fact, doable. That is a courageous step in the right direction. But she in just one of many that could be “adopting schools.” Would the Warlicks and the Torres’ adopt a school if they weren’t getting reimbursed? What if the gurus like her all came together and “put themselves out there” to prove that what they are saying is true?)
Show me how to meet the needs of the standardized tests while at the same time meeting the goals of problem-based learning all the while incorporating 21st century skills. You have told me time and again it should and can be done. Don’t just tell me about some school in upper Tazmikerstan that was successful. Show me that it can happen in my city, in my district with my kids and my teachers.
Show me how to do professional development in integrating education technology so that I also address the needs of the special needs kids, the gifted kids, the English language learners, and the kids whose parents just got shipped off to fight a war. You have told me time and again it should and can be done. Okay, put up or shut up.
Show me how to build a kick ass school that is awesome inside and out that wont cost me 10 times more than the old style school. You have told me time and again it should and can be done. Okay, put up or shut up.
My theory is this: If what you are saying is actually true, then it should work everywhere, every time in any situation. If that is not the case, then you all have been collectively lying to us for many many years. I think you are correct, but like Doubting Thomas, I need to be shown in order to be a true believer.
I eagerly await The Whole New Schools, built for everyone to see, everyone to learn from, everyone to explore with. Your collective brains are there. Your collective money is there. The question is, is the will to move to a real 21st century professional development model there, or will the gurus and the organizations stay firmly stuck in the 20th century?
