 Setting up the Summit Room |
I had another of one those singular experiences yesterday, one of events that I know I’ll be carrying with me for a long time, and that will color a lot of what I’ll be talking and writing about in the future. As you know, I have been working in the Owen Sound area of Ontario, Canada, with the Bluewater school board, covering an enormous part of the province. I delivered a keynote for their beginning of the school year event, a workshop that afternoon (more about that later), and a special public presentation for the community that evening.
While Wake County (where I live) and many other areas are seeingunprecidented population growth, rural parts of the country, continent,and world are witnessing a drain of their population (learn more about The Flight of the Creative Class ISBN 006075690X). Bluewater is concerned about a decreasing enrollment, and has taken an unusual measure. They’re treating their students like customersand trying to learn what their customers want.
 Students Preparing their Cameras |
This is how I spent yesterday, facilitating their first Student Summit. It started with set-up at the CAW convent center in Port Elgin,Ontario ( a magnificent ride up from Owen Sound). It was high tech andhigh proximity. Eleven high schools and feeder schools wererepresented with students from the full range of achievement — overachievers and at-risks. Each table had a recorder with video camera whorecorded as much of the conversations as they could. Each table had awiki page with which to record their thoughts and conclusions. Theirtasks ranged from general tech access issues to, “How would you goabout training your teacher for a video game tournament?” Each tablealso created a New Century School House style classroom, describing the classrooms they believe are more appropriate to them and their time.
I can’t share any of the data besides a closing panel with the teachers who were present, talking about what they heard and learned in the conversations. I hope to podcast this conversation soon. I do know that the district learned that there is much that they are doing right. They also learned that there is much yet to be done, before they are truely teaching learners that their children are, instead of the students their classrooms were designed to teach.
This was an enormously rewarding experience and a visionary action on the part of the board’s leadership.
technorati tags:warlick, studentsummit, education
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What a concept! Treating students like customers instead of like props for the teachers unions.
I believe NC State Senator Fred Smith has those same “progressive” ideas when it comes to education.
He was said, “We must do everything in our power to support strong families. Many of the problems our state now faces: substance abuse, high dropout rates, and violent”
The only problem with treating students like customers, is that the customer can always opt out of the buying relationship. I can stop patronizing a store or stores. Maybe that’s what students are saying. I don’t want anymore education (for now). Maybe we need to make it easier for students to come back when they need to stock up on more education.
Would this work?
I think this is the problem, Shannon, that students are opting for alternatives to public schools. But you are right, that the system should be such that students can get from it what they need. Alternatives will rise, and they should. But only by considering students, parents, and the community as our customers, will we (public education) remain one of the options.