In Schools, On Schools
SPI's blog is named to emphasize that our best ideas come from observations in our own schools as well as at high-performing schools across the United States. We are proximate to the work going on in high-poverty schools that get results for students, and we are working to share these bright spots with others. Through generous sharing of best practices, our mission is to increase access to high-quality schools for all students, regardless of zip code.
There may be no better example of non-systems thinking in education than when the issue of poverty is discussed. In one camp, you have people who insist that in order to fix underperforming schools, you must fix poverty. In the other camp, you have the people who insist that to fix poverty, you have to fix underperforming schools.
So, which camp has it right?
Read MoreA system is a set of elements interconnected in such a way that it produces its own pattern of behavior over time. Systems are coherently organized in a way that achieves something. The system may be impacted by outside forces, but its response to these forces is characteristic of the system itself, and that response is seldom simple. Systems thinking then is a way of thinking that focuses on recognizing the interconnections between the parts of a system and synthesizing them into a unified view of the whole.
Read MoreMost typically, when I refer to a system in Win-Win I am referring to an organization (e.g., United Schools Network). Thus, a useful definition of a system is “an organization characterized by a set of interactions among the people who work there, the tools and materials they have at their disposal, and the processes through which these people and resources join together to accomplish its work.” The aim of a system is a qualitative statement with methods attached that detail its long-term constancy of purpose.
Read MoreUnderstanding systems may be our best hope for making meaningful change across the many dimensions of our lives at home, at school, and at work. The system lens helps us see events as a part of trends and those trends as a part of an underlying structure. This understanding provides us with improved ways of managing in this world of complex education systems.
Read MorePrinciple 14: Clearly define top management's commitment to continual improvement of quality and its obligation to implement the 14 Principles. Plan and take action to put everyone in the organization to work to accomplish the transformation; the transformation is everyone's job. Start with education for all in positions of leadership.
Read MorePrinciple 13: Institute a vigorous program of education and encourage self-improvement for everyone. A school system needs not just good people, but people that are improving with education. Advances in teaching and learning processes will have their roots in knowledge.
Read MorePrinciple 12: Remove barriers that rob educators and students of their right to joy in work and learning. This means, inter alia, working to abolish the system of grading student performance, the annual or merit rating of staff, and the Management by Objective of schools and school systems. The responsibility of all educational leaders must change from sheer numbers to quality.
Read MoreDrive out fear, so that everyone may work effectively for the school system. No one can perform their best unless they feel secure to express ideas, ask questions, and make mistakes.
Read MoreIn January and February, I outlined six common management myths. The point of those two posts was to help education systems leaders see what not to do. I’m now turning to a set of principles that can be used by these same leaders to guide their transformation work. Earlier this month, I introduced the 14 Principles for Educational Systems Transformation. In this post I’ll describe the first principle, Create Constancy of Purpose.
Read MoreOver the last two months, I described six common management myths W. Edwards Deming worked to dispel. In January, I tackled the myth of best practices, the myth of the hero educator, and the myth of performance appraisal. In February, I turned to another set of three myths including the myth of merit pay, the myth of accountability, and the myth of extrinsic motivators. The point of these two posts was to help education systems leaders see what not to do. I’m now going to turn to a set of 14 Principles that can be used by educational leaders to guide their transformation work. I’ll kick things off this month with an introduction to the Principles for Transformation. After this introduction, I’ll write twice monthly posts describing each principle.
Read MoreLast month, I posed the following question - Do we really need to transform our education system? - and posited that any attempts at transformation needed to sit on top of a solid philosophical foundation. The purpose of this blog post is to make the case for transformation from the prevailing style of management to the philosophy developed by W. Edwards Deming across a lifetime of continual improvement work. It is on this foundation that our education system should stand rather than constantly shifting in the wind based on management mythology, the latest testing data points, and political pet projects.
Read MoreThere are frequent calls for transformation and reform in the education sector going back decades. As a starting point, I’m going to examine two reports -- one well-known (“A Nation at Risk”) and the other lesser so (the “Sandia Report”) -- that attempt to answer the question posed in the title. Over the next several posts, I will offer my own thoughts as to the need for educational transformation (spoiler alert, I think it is necessary). In those future articles, I’ll provide a definition for transformation as well as a description for what exactly we would be transforming from and what we would be transforming to. But first, let’s dive into those two reports.
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