What Would You Say?

Over the next few weeks, I will have an opportunity to speak at a number of school board association conferences across the U.S. For those of you outside the U.S., our school boards of education are most frequently the principal body of governance for our schools. They are made up of representatives from the community who campaign and gain their position by citizen voting during general elections.

I’ll be delivering one of my standard addresses, but would also like to share comments from education practitioners — from you. What would you say to a group of school board members, in the interest of promoting progressive schools — and you have only that 10 second elevator ride?

I’m asking for a one sentence comment here, on 2¢ Worth. If you would like to contribute something longer to this conversation, please write a blog entry with your message and tag your entry with “sbe_comments” or include “sbe_comments” in the body of your blog article. I will be aggregating these entries and making appropriate messages available to my audiences.

Thanks

16 thoughts on “What Would You Say?”

  1. David,
    I am not sure there is much one can SAY anymore because everything you say has no real meaning until you can SHOW them the benefits. Last week after bootcamp we held a “classroom showcase” at my school where we invited all of the district administrators, and school board members to see our “Classrooms for the Future” in action. They watched the students analyze small video clips of a bottle rocket taking off, then a shuttle to describe what forces were in place…they watched autistic students express their voice in i-movie weather broadcasts…and when they walked away, they were amazed at the opportunities that these students had as a result of the technology available and the pedagological shift the teacher was making. So I guess if I had to TELL them something it would be Go into the classrooms, and see the difference

  2. Here is our chance…We’ve said the student voice is missing. It seems there are enough students engaged to put together some video clips from across the grade levels.
    Show them and then tell them to provide the resources and limit the filtering.
    So many great teachers/students are held back because they do not have access to the tools or the technology.
    PS My students/teachers would do a video clip.

  3. I’d share a reading list of books that describe the reality of the present and future that our students face and the skills they will need to succeed, books like Convergence Culture, A Whole New Mind, The World is Flat, etc. (Classroom Blogging, too, of course!) 🙂

    Just like our teachers, school board members can be so intently focused on the now that they don’t take time to educate themselves on the tomorrow. It can transform their thinking when they simply look ahead.

  4. We’re doing OK at embracing technology, now we need to do it -right-: spend more time researching, planning, hiring the right people, choosing the right platforms, and not getting suckered by vendors. 🙂 As technology advances, we need tech decision-makers with true technology expertise instead of exemplary teachers rewarded with higher pay grades.

  5. My advice would be to invest in professional development and give teachers the support and resources they need to acquire and master new skills. I’ve worked with teachers nationwide who strive to understand the technological advances they so often hear about; but they are often not given enough support or guidance to use them.

    The students are already there, the teachers need help catching up.

  6. Using these tools, my fifth grade students didn’t just learn about inalienable rights of humans, but created their own list of inalienable rights of children. I’m not just teaching facts and concepts, I’m making citizens.

    Sorry, it’s two sentences. Cut one if you like.

  7. Please serve this board on behalf of public school as a worthy institution. Advocate for the worth of public education. If you have come to this board for reasons other than the opportunity to serve the public, this would be a good time to change direction.

  8. Hi David,

    Here’s what I would say … short and sweet:

    Do whatever it takes to move education into this century – stop 19th and 20th Century teaching/administrating/supporting.

    That means allowing yourselves to see the future and figuring out how to do this, rather than sticking with “this is how we’ve always done it.”

  9. Be brave enough to measure the success of your district through the boundless enthusiasm of your students rather than by the number of bubbles they manage to darken in correctly on tests– and you can do this by hiring teachers that inspire students to develop a passion for learning, and who have ample opportunity to learn and grow along with their students.

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