Free, Equal Access to Excellence in Public Education

I’m not sure how I missed it, but I’m very glad I caught Will Richardson’s post from early November. Will writes a letter to his two children about a future college education and in it he says,

For most of your young lives, you’ve heard your mom and I occasionally talk about your futures by saying that someday you’ll travel off to college and get this thing called a degree that will show everyone that you are an expert in something and that will lead you to getting a good job that will make you happy and make you able to raise a family of your own someday. At least, that’s what your mom and I have in our heads when we talk about it. But, and I haven’t told your mom this yet, I’ve changed my mind. I want you to know that you don’t have to go to college if you don’t want to, and that there are other avenues to achieving that future that may be more instructive, more meaningful, and more relevant than getting a degree.

One of the reasons I love to read Will’s posts, is that he is constantly and deliberately challenging my thinking about education and about learning. That’s very good for me and works well, because I truly want to have the best school we can have for all kids.  A huge part of that means I have to think about how we do business now and consider how it’s working and how it’s not. Also, how can we do it better?

The comments that ensued in response to Will’s post are interesting. Dean Shareski comments,

I keep telling everyone that in 3 years many of our students will choose not to attend high school. They’ll instead find a way to “play school”, get their diploma and pursue other interests. My question lately to teachers/administrators is “What will your school offer students that will make the choose to come?”
What you are describing to your kids is they have a choice about how they’ll learn. As Karl said previously, they won’t have to wait till college to make this decision.

I think about the changing landscape of education, as Dean does, and I realize we have to really think about re-inventing ourselves. But my passion lies in re-inventing public schools for all children. I can’t possibly support the idea that was threaded through some of the comments Will received that challenged him to consider an alternative to public education for his children now. While I understand and support the families who consider this option, there are far more children who don’t have this option. For whom public school has to be the best option, not their only option.

Let’s please keep this conversation focused on change for all children. For many children in this country, public educators have to be their strongest advocate because they haven’t got anyone else.

5 Comments
  1. When I think about the goals and purposes of education, an interview I once heard with Richard Branson (founder of the Virgin empire and global adventurer) comes to mind. The interviewer noted that Branson had never finished high school (although in England it’s called something else). Branson replied that he didn’t believe he knew a successful entrepreneur who had finished high school. He had a rather unusual upbringing that leant itself to “thinking outside the box” as the phrase goes. Here is a link to the first chapter of his autobiography: http://www.virgin.com/aboutvirgin/allaboutvirgin/richardsautobiography/default.asp
    He’s a fascinating and eccentric guy.

    I have a friend who is one of the nation’s leading scientists in his field. Some of his accomplishments are truly groundbreaking. He once told me that in high school he decided that there were three things he wanted to do in life: learn botany, fly fishing and wood working. It is sufficient to say that he has done all three to extraordinary degrees. His father was a carpenter in Pittsburgh’s steel mills and passed on to him a value of excellence in whatever pursuits he undertook and a prodigious work ethic. He followed a more or less traditional educational path in which he earned a Masters degree and is a dissertation short of a Ph.D. Almost despite his education, however, he charts his own course in research and does what he most loves, looking at plants (he has identified a number of species that were previously unknown) and understanding how ecosystems are put together.

    My purpose in these meanderings is to illustrate one of the Will Richardson’s points. That is the importance of passion in whatever educational, professional or avocational goals our kids pursue. As Ms. Moritz pointed out, most kids can’t consider alternatives to public school. Therefore, I think it is extra important that teachers and parents of public school students instill a love of learning and a sense of adventure, guide the kids who already have a driving ambition and consider alternatives when appropriate. For the kids who don’t have a lot of alternatives, this is more important than for those who are particularly gifted or whose parents can afford to send them to the “right” prep schools.

  2. Home school vs. Public school: I graduated from a public school and I could not even imagine how it would feel to not go to one. I do know children who were home schooled and I would ask them how it was. The response I would get was always a mixed one. On one hand their day was shorter, but on the other they wished they could play on a sports team or be in band. So this opens another question. Are these children getting prepared for life outside of high school? A public school education (to me) prepares students for life outside of high school. Being a part of a sports team or in a school activity helps that child learn how to work with other students, and how to work for something to achieve a goal. Which in return, unless your job requires you never leave your house and always be alone, will help you in college and in a job of your choice.

    Your Friend,
    The Professor

  3. I so appreciate your comment to our blog. You too are doing a great job of getting people to really think about schools in a different. This was the first time I have had the opportunity to view G-Town. Great stuff happening in Gowanda: keep up the good work. Make sure you read the Time Magazine article “How to Bring Our Schools Out of the 20th Century”. Great reading.

  4. I also enjoy reading Will’s writing, and I have attended a couple of his full-day workshops. I discovered this particular post a while back, and I thought it was quite thought-provoking. As a parent of a 7th grader, I wonder what lies ahead for her in the very near future. I have introduced her to the world of blogging, and although she has not taken to it as quickly as I had hoped, I believe she will discover the spark soon because she likes to write, and she is intrigued by my blog – especially as we watch the red dots on my ClustrMap grow! As a school principal, I included this Will Richardson post in my blog hoping that a few of my students’ parents would pick up on it. I work in a community with high expectations for the children and schools, and where most high school grads go to college. So far, I have not had anyone respond back about the article. Is that good news or bad? I’m not sure. I will continue to add posts that I hope will stir debate and discussion in our school community.

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