Deron Durflinger (Twitter!) asked me a great question on Twitter today. He asked what I saw as the top 3 needs for Iowa schools. Great question. It wasn’t hard to answer because in many ways the three big needs in Iowa are the same three needs I see in schools all across our country. These three major and interrelated needs are: 1) more innovation 2) a complete reboot of the human capital system for educators and 3) a need to survive what economist Jim Guthrie calls “the coming fiscal tsunami” getting ready to hit education funding.
1. Innovation – we need to do whatever we can to introduce more risk-taking, experimentation, and use of technology in schools. We should expect some failures, applaud those who fail in pursuit of bold dreams, and help them get up to try again.
2. Human Capital – we need to confront the human capital problem in education and it’s just going to be one of those tough conversations. We don’t train, select, support, compensate, selectively retain, or provide leadership to our front-line educators very well. In our field, 80% of the resources go to fund the human beings working in schools, so this is a heavily human-driven endeavor. At the end of the day, it’s all about the classroom teacher and the systems we put them in.
3. Survival – I haven’t heard of a single state who isn’t facing some horrendous budget cuts for next year. The simple truth is that tax revenues lag recessions and this one is finally catching up with us with a vengeance (if it hasn’t already in some form). Get ready – it’s going to get worse before it gets better. We’ve got to make tough decisions about how we use the finite dollars we have. It’s even worse than Spencer Johnson told us … EVERYBODY’s cheese is about to get moved. In spite of this, our work is too important to “put off until next year.”
For these 3 issues facing our schools, I think there are also three major (and interrelated) solutions:
1. Leadership – I define leadership as the confrontation of important problems in creative ways. Leadership is not conferred by a title, or earned by following rules and guidelines. Leadership emerges in ambiguity and uncertainty. We must empower leaders to step up in every part of our system – to confront important problems in creative ways.
2. Focus – The main flywheels of schools are great teaching and learning. We’ve got to pressure our systems in as many ways as we can to push teaching and learning to greater levels. Our intensity must constantly be focused on improving teaching and learning – we cannot allow ourselves to be distracted from these dual pillars of our work.
3. Love – This can certainly mean lots of things to lots of people. The love I’m talking about here involves service (to kids, communities, and one-another), openness, dignity, collaboration, sharing, understanding, listening, truth, respect … and not enabling. Civility trumps discontent. Hope trumps cynicism. Love trumps fear.
So let’s hash it out. Honest and constructive comments welcome – uncivil one’s will never see the light of day here.
Jason Glass
East Peoria, IL
Jason Glass
13 comments
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December 31, 2010 at 12:37 pm
Bridgette Wagoner
Let’s do this! As you’ve probably quickly figured out, Iowa has an open, committed, and powerful network of teachers and administrators who stand ready and able to put this vision into action with you. We’ve got some great things going, but we all know it isn’t enough. We all know the hardest work is what’s standing between our current state of tremendous promise and the true transformation we all long for. It’s so easy to point the finger at someone else. We blame the budget or the policies. We blame the teachers. We blame other teachers, administrators, and parents. The truth is that we all contribute to our current reality, and we must all contribute to our next reality. With a clear, focused, no-excuses vision for our state, such as the one you’ve laid forth here, we can do anything. Count me in!
December 31, 2010 at 1:43 pm
Blog 4 Real Education Reform – The Sequel « Cooperative Catalyst
[...] Laying My Cards on the Table – by Jason Glass [...]
December 31, 2010 at 2:09 pm
Bob Miller
What a tremendous welcome you have had to our great state. I, as well as many others, can read the passion in your words. We are ready for strong leadership that can take us to the next level. There is no status quo in education, we’re either getting better or we’re getting worse. There might be some obstacles in the way but with strong leadership from the Iowa DOE, we can make anything happen. Let’s keep pushing the envelope and not let small setbacks ruin our vision. This state has a lot to offer and we all truly want Iowa to be the best. To echo what Bridgette has stated – Count me in as well.
December 31, 2010 at 4:27 pm
Deron Durflinger
When I asked the question yesterday, I wasn’t expecting such a quick and detailed response:). I like your ideas. It truly is all about teaching and learning. Nothing else should matter. What can we do to ensure that all students have access to the very best teachers? I for one, believe that we have the resources and the technology available to provide the highest quality of education to all students in Iowa. We just have to think differently in how we allocate those resources. I look forward to sharing some of my ideas to you in person. Your role as a leader in our state will be critical as we move forward. Just know that for every person who challenges your efforts to lead change, there is another person out there willing to take a risk to do what is better for the kids in Iowa. We welcome you to the great state of Iowa. Let me know what I can do to help lead our state lead the nation in this educational transformation.
December 31, 2010 at 5:27 pm
Jason Glass
Love it. Great Iowa leaders already stepping up to the plate.
We are building a movement here!
JG
December 31, 2010 at 7:12 pm
S J Dust
Jason. Biz community will be with you. I really like your focus on Learning. It’s learning systems – designed by and customized to the learner where it seems lots of innovation can occur. It would seem one of your, and your supts’, larger challenges would be moving/replacing existing approaches in order to treat the kids as individual thinkers in a learning neighborhood. As an economic developer, I’m lucky to have people like Norris, Smith, Wagoner, at the district level, and Allen/Gibson/Watson at UNI (and their GREAT, emerging, RD&D school project) leading a significant higher ed cluster. In Iowa, we’re dealing with a slow pop. growth state in a slow pop. growth region. So, we have to have every brain engaged to keep our Iowa/Midwestern economy growing. It’s about brainpower — talent. I’m not an educator & cannot fathom the challenges of change in your world. But I’m enthused to see your commitment to change. My expectation of you is the same as for Cedar Valley administrators: Every student & staff fully engaged; Every student graduates; and Every student is a genius. That’s all. Let me know how I can help.
December 31, 2010 at 8:22 pm
Ryan Cunningham
I sure am glad to hear your focus on innovation and your willingness to help support the idea of failure as a part of the process. Leading the change will be risky, yet rewarding, if we learn from our mistakes and keep our eye constantly on improving the learning environment for all our kids! Iowa is a great place to do this work because we have a critical mass of leaders willing to risk and empower others for the betterment of our system! It’s going to be a fun ride!
January 3, 2011 at 1:42 am
Kathy Perret
I am looking forward to your leadership at the Iowa Department of Education. The “cards” you have described are clearly focused on students. We must prepare them for their futures. That will take innovation. I’m hearing of many great innovative approaches taking place in Iowa. I value the path they have started. Collaboration is one key to moving forward. I’ve found that schools adopting innovative approaches are also so willing to share their ideas and visions with others around the state, either in person or through social media. At the school level we need to believe all kids are our kids and advocate for the best teaching and learning situations. The schools that are sharing their innovative approaches are taking that one step further with the notion that ALL IOWA KIDS are OUR KIDS!
As educators we need to continually look for solutions, rather than talking of all of our problems. I hear SOLUTIONS in your “cards.” I recently wrote a blog on “Thinking outside the box” mentioning a few types of solutions we’ve tried in the schools I currently serve. (http://learningisgrowing.wordpress.com/2010/11/28/thinking-outside-the-box/#comment-163)
It sounds like a good “hand” has be “dealt” to Iowa. I’m looking forward to the rest of the game!
Kathy
January 5, 2011 at 9:56 pm
Sue Beers
Systems like to “pull back” innovators and make them align to the status quo. Failure is rarely rewarded. If we are to change education, we need to be encourage innovation, support new ways of doing business and share ideas freely. We also need to become better at collaboration — working together without turf wars to get the work done. Hmmm… Sounds like P21 has it right in talking about 21st century skills being the 4 C’s – creativity and innovation, critical thinking and problem-solving, communication and collaboration!
January 5, 2011 at 10:01 pm
Jason Glass
Hi Sue -
The “way things have been done” is a powerful force of nature! We should honor that with the assumption that those who got us here made the best decisions they could at the time.
With that, we should always be pressing our systems to improve, innovate, evolve.
In the long run, change isn’t our greatest enemy – it’s complacency.
January 10, 2011 at 3:42 am
Nathan Wear
Thanks for your comments. I am one of those that are ready for change in this state. It seems there is a great enough “sense of urgency” to get these things done. How do you plan to build that sense of urgency? How will you do that at the state level?
January 10, 2011 at 3:53 am
Jason Glass
Hi Nathan,
Glad to hear you will be part of our coalition!
In my opinion, we already have plenty of urgency and a strong desire from nearly everyone that we need to “do something.” All educators and policy makers share the same goal of better schools and a better future for our kids – but we disagree on the path to get there.
I think the trick is going to be balancing “urgency” with “prudence” in a way that builds as big a coalition as we can put together.
My tactic isn’t to come and heat anybody up … it’s to facilitate a movement.
January 10, 2011 at 3:55 am
Tena
Glad to see the words “innovation” and “love” in this piece. With creativity and a passion for education and kids, we can accomplish anything. Welcome!