The Slow Struggle to Change State Education Policy
PLEASE NOTE: posts on this site have were suspended with the onset of the pandemic and the reality that focusing on general state educational policy change was not realistic. Recent trends towards increasing attacks on government and public education seem to create a need for a new dialogue about educational change. I don’t believe that makes the changes promoted on this site irrelevant, but, I will suggest that there is a more urgent change needed. I have outlined that new arena for change in a new post under Possible Themes for Change, “The Real Failure of American Education”.
The original case for change from 2020:
The youngest generation of Americans will face an economic, social and cultural landscape very different than that of their parents or grandparents. To a much greater extent than earlier generations, they will have to scramble to find a sustainable place in our economy for themselves and for their family. They will inhabit a social, cultural and political milieu that will be starkly different than today’s, and surely fast changing as well.
How much has our educational system changed in order to enable this new generation to navigate this very different landscape? Not enough! The key leverage point for systems change in the American system of education is at the state level. Significant change at that level is difficult (that’s why I call it Herding Glaciers!), but, with the right strategies and ample persistence, it can and must be be accomplished.
Under the menu, Framing Comments, I will examine Why Change is Needed and Why Change is So Difficult.
Under the menu heading, Possible Themes for Change, you will find posts regarding the types of changes that I am advocating, with some examples that I hope might stir discussion.
I would like to enlist your comments along the way to help shape these ideas and offer new ones.
Why is Change Needed?
Everyone over forty marvels at how quickly the world is changing. Technology and globalization have transformed our economy and most workplaces. Social and cultural changes have changed family life as well. Our grandparents would never have imagined the world we inhabit today!
Why is Change So Difficult?
In an earlier post, I tried to briefly indicate why major or structural change was needed in America’s education system. I mentioned changes, such as expanding the scope of education to insure strong support to the parents of newborns and redesign of the content and set of education experiences we offer our youth today. Now I would like to examine why it is so difficult to implement and sustain major structural changes to better prepare today’s young people for a very different future. If you assume that this kind of systemic level change is needed, then why is it so slow to happen? Why is the momentum for change so slow that it is like “herding glaciers”? I mention a couple of significant reasons, as well as one factor that may be the greatest obstacle to change.