Things That Are Necessary Tend to Happen

One the eve of the CreateWV conference, I want to close out my discussion of the book, Disrupting Class, with a simple, but profound statement made by Dr. Johnson, the book's co-author, the last time I sat down with him in person - "CreateWV is all about creating something that is not there."

Public education, if it is to be effective and relevant in the 21st Century, will not resemble what it is today.  Disrupting Class makes a compelling argument that public education's long-term survival requires a "separate space" in order to execute innovative strategies in school and schooling. 

"This process will require taking into account of certain realities that are now obvious.  It is obvious the existing arrangement of public education does create obstacles to improvement.  It is obvious that state policy leadership does not have to be constrained by existing arrangements.  It is obvious that policy could make it possible to start schools new as well as to change existing schools.  It is obviously possible to create professional communities of teachers that exist, legally, and for these collegial groups to be given responsibility for the success of the school or department.  It is obvious that the information revolution represented by the internet and the world-wide web creates the potential to individualize and personalize learning, and that this will make it necessary to change the old notion of 'instruction'...

Nothing is as encouraging as the fact that all these things are necessary.  Things that are necessary tend to happen....

To do what is necessary we will need to expand the current theory of action...state policy leadership needs to break out of present arrangements, needs to move agressively to create an open sector in public education in which new entities are creating new schools that motivate students to work hard and to do well.  These students will need to be open to new technologies, open to the desire of students to individualize and personalize their education, open to radically different uses of the year and the day and open at last to leadership roles for professional teachers."  (Creating the Capacity for Change, How and Why Governors and Legislatures Are Opening a New Schools Sector in Public Education,  Ted Kolderie, p. 183-184)

Things that are necessary tend to happen.  So it will be in your community.  See you at the conference.

Comments

[rebecca]

When you first started discussing this book, I was really skeptical. Your discussion inspired me to take a grad class about Web 2.0 in the classroom. It was fascinating! I really see a lot of potential for these applications to enrich -- not replace -- the regular classroom.

I'm gonna have to get this book!