Why I Love Ronald A. Wolk or Wasting Minds: A Book Review

Months ago, I "won" a book from one of the educational pages I subscribe to on Facebook. The book is Wasting Minds: Why Our Education System is Failing and What We Can Do About It by Ronald A. Wolk. Mr. Wolk is the founder and former editor of Education Week, Teacher Magazine, and Quality Counts. He is currently chairman of Big Picture Learning, an organization devoted to creating small, innovative schools. I do not know the man, but I love him.

I do a lot of reading, but I don't think I have ever read a book that made me want to come out of my skin--in a good way. I actually couldn't read this book in bed at night because I would get so fired up that I couldn't sleep. My husband and sons had to put up with lengthy, impassioned soap-box speeches after almost all of my reading episodes. I told my 17-year-old, "have you ever had a conversation with someone and they're going on and on and you're thinking--'THIS IS WHAT I'VE BEEN SAYING AND TRYING TO TELL PEOPLE FOR YEARS!'?" That's how reading this book was for me.

Mr. Wolk cites many credible sources, and (for the first time in years) I found myself reading with highlighter in hand. A few of the awesome quotes that I deemed worthy of highlighting are:

• "To insist that all students be treated the same way, that they all study the same subject at the same time in the same way, is a strategy that denies reality." (p.25)
• "Civil rights leaders need to realize that until a high-quality education is available to all minority children, standards-based accountability is a form of discrimination." (p.29)
• "The conundrum is that if we can't define an adequate education and agree on it, then how can we determine what it costs or how to allocate funds to achieve it?"(p.90) I know, right?? 

The book is organized in two parts. In the first part, Mr. Wolk lists the Flawed Assumptions of our current system. In part two, he lists strategies for a second, parallel strategy (you'll have to read the book to find out why it's parallel). He concludes with "Can We Get There from Here?" 

I'd like to send a copy to Arne Duncan and every member of Congress for immediate implementation. Mr. Wolk admits his own strong liberal leaning, but as an Independent who is very familiar with conservative opinion, I think his assertions and strategies fall in line with the question we all want to answer with school reform: "What's best for kids?"

If you're interested in where to start, start with Wasting Minds.

What Should Kids Know?

In my rabbit-trail hopping adventures today, I linked to the Aspen Institute's Aspen Ideas Festival 2011 (AIF), which is going on as I write this. AIF is not just about Education--it's goal is to "engage its participants in a variety of programs, tutorials, seminars and discussion events that together are guaranteed to charge the atmosphere with vibrant intellectual exchange." The website has live streaming of sessions, along with videos you can watch of sessions that have already occurred. When I saw the video title, "What Should Kids Know?" it caught my attention. I thought, "Finally, someone is asking the foundational question we should be answering to truly reform education." Well, someone might have asked it, but unfortunately the prestigious panel didn't even get close to answering it, in my humble opinion.


Perhaps it was this "distinguished panel," that was the issue. The panel was made up of people who have something invested in the way learning has been done, rather than a stake in what it could be. A Duke University professor, a supreme court judge, an educator/administrator from the International Baccalaureate program, etc. I have to admit, I didn't listen to the whole thing. I did listen to most of it, but when I heard comments that suggested that many schools no longer have the traditional set up of desks with teachers lecturing (really?), and that our model should be a public charter in New York where the kids go to school from 8 a.m. - 5 p.m. Monday through Friday, then return for more on Saturday (and they were happy doing it, too!)--well, let's just say I threw up a little in my mouth.


It's true, however, that we need discussion, even from people with whom I disagree. Part of what's important--after we answer "what should kids know?"--is remembering that there will be MANY different correct responses on "how should they learn what they need to know?" 

Taking a Stand for Children

Today I met with Carl Zaragoza from Stand for Children - Arizona. I contacted Carl after he invited me to contact him during a Facebook discussion on running for school board. As I learn about education reform and explore my options on how to get involved, running for school board has crossed my mind, so I was anxious to learn more from Carl.

Immediately upon meeting Carl, you can tell he's a good guy. As I heard his story about teaching through Teach for America, and then running for and serving on the Creighton Elementary school board here in Phoenix, I could see the passion he has for serving his community--especially children. We settled in as I munched on my bagel and he began telling me about Stand for Children.

Right now, Stand for Children in Arizona is working on four major initiatives:

• An independent audit of the charter authorization process in Arizona through NACSA (the National Association of Charter School Authorizers).
• Unification of school districts
• A funding initiative that aims to not just "throw more money" at schools, but also to provide guidelines on how that money is spent and what is to be accomplished
• Revamping teacher evaluations, with 33-50% of the evaluation based on student outcomes (which is much, much more than standardized testing)

I'm still not sure I want to give running for school board a try, but I am interested in finding out more about what my local school board is doing (or not doing), so I plan to attend a meeting in August (when things are gearing up again). I used to give my friend, Irene Stewart in Seattle, a bad time for running for and serving on Seattle's school board--what a thankless job! But serving on a board really CAN make a difference in public education and every voter should attend at least one school board meeting to find out how well your board functions. It's YOUR tax money, so if the board isn't functioning well, your vote can change that.

I Follow Rabbit Trails So You Don't Have To!

If you've read my article, When Doing Nothing Isn't Doing Nothing, then perhaps you'll understand how my hours following Internet links on education reform isn't doing nothing! This morning, for about four hours or so now, I've been mostly doing just that--following rabbit trails. Through a Facebook link from New Schools Venture Fund (nsvf), whose primary goal is funding "education entrepreneurs," I found this video from their New Schools Summit 2011.

Now you likely won't have an hour to sit and watch this awesome discussion between Kaya Henderson, Chancellor of Washington D.C. schools, and Netflix founder Reed Hastings...BUT if you do, I'd highly recommend it. In short, they agreed on about 80% of what needs to change in education. Mr. Hastings, however, is committed to making those changes primarily through growing charters across the country and world. I was impressed with the somewhat controversial Ms. Henderson (who is Michelle Rhee's successor in D.C. after Ms. Rhee resigned due to allegations of cheating). She basically stated that she is interested in providing a high-quality, equitable education by any means possible: district, charter, virtual, or ???

The highlight of the video is a final question from an anonymous audience member (this is the part where my 14-year-old son got a 10 minute impassioned lecture from me on curriculum design). The question can be summarized as:

There are three important questions around education: What do students need to know? How are we going to teach that? Where are we going to teach it? We spend an awful lot of time on 2 and 3. What about question 1?

Bravo, anonymous audience member! We can't even begin to look at testing, teachers, or anything else until we figure out "what do adults of 2025 and beyond need to be able to know and do?" Then we can figure out how, who, where and how much. Basic curriculum design, folks.

Learning About Education Reform

I have always been passionate about education reform, but I was living another life until recently. After 20 years in corporate training and communications, I gave up a successful consulting career to determine "what's next" for me. In that time, I have been participating in Toastmasters and getting a few articles published online. I attend a wonderful women's writing group, called Wise Women Write (tm) led by the amazing and talented Diane Owens, and get inspiration from her and the lovely women writers she's assembled.

I also have two teenage sons, ages 14 and 17, who have not had an easy time working their way through school. They are both incredibly smart and talented, and other than the oldest struggling with a moderate case of ADHD, it hasn't been due to learning disabilities. Of course, as their mother, I blame myself. Part of it was the wonderful foundation they got in Montessori, and part of it is the parenting style my husband and I have chosen, which is a less structured and control-oriented than the norm. Their academic challenges were exacerbated when we moved to Phoenix, Arizona from Seattle, Washington five years ago.

In the five years we have lived in Arizona, the boys have attended five different schools, including charter, public, private, and online schools. All in an effort to find a learning environment that would capitalize on their strengths (and not diminish them for their weaknesses--in fact, an environment that would actually support and improve their weaknesses would be ideal!). We're not there yet.

I know I am not alone in my struggles. It is no longer just kids who have learning differences or poor and minority students that are not getting their needs met in the education system. I know plenty of middle and upper class white kids that can't seem to get their needs met, either. While I am thrilled that as a nation we are FINALLY focusing on our antiquated education system, I am far from thrilled about the role that corporate America is playing in education reform, the emphasis on high-stakes testing and more seat time, and blaming teachers. All of this has prompted me to learn more about where we are with education reform and figure out what I can do about it.

My dear friend and mentor, Paul Evanson, suggested I begin blogging about my experience learning about education reform, because what I am finding is that things are moving along in many exciting directions! People are fighting for school choice. People are speaking out against high-stakes testing. People are promoting democratic learning environments. It's been exhilarating to learn about all the good education stuff that's going on in our nation. It's also a little sticky.

It's hard to figure out the "good guys" from the "bad guys." There are a lot of agendas going on out there and sometimes it's difficult to figure out where the money is coming from and what an organization's goal really is. As a political Independent, having lived in both blue and red states, I am striving to find and support organizations who are legitimately working to meet the needs of our kids, regardless of their political leaning. If the political agenda is more important than their work for kids, then you'll hear about it from me.

The purpose of this blog is simply for me to share what I am learning. I'll post book reviews, links to websites, blogs, and articles, and, I'm sure, share my own opinions and insights along the way. It might be interesting for you to learn along with me. I hope so.