A bi-monthly e-newsletter, Volume 5, Number 3 (Jan-Feb 2007)
This edition's topic: IF
THE U.S. IS TO REMAIN A GLOBAL LEADER
Contents:
LEADERSHIP, GLOBAL
COMPETITION, AND PUBLIC OPINION: Transforming the Education Policy Agenda
(Commentary by Douglas M. Brattebo, Director, Education Policy Fellowship Program, IEL)
Lord James Bryce noted early in the 20th century that, “Perhaps no form of government needs great leaders so much as democracy.” Bryce might have added that the most valuable skill of any leader in a democracy is the ability to provide citizens with a compelling vision without getting too far ahead of public opinion. This is particularly true for our American democracy in the 21st century. Changes wrought by globalization, and the policy reforms necessary to address them, can be self-evident to the policy elite and yet remain hidden to the public at large. So it is right now with the interconnections between globalization, the U.S. economy, and education policy. Among leaders in both government and business, there is an emergent consensus about the impending reauthorization of the No Child Left Behind Act (NCLB): the time has come to move the U.S. toward national educational standards that are informed by policies and practices in other countries. Otherwise, the U.S. will not be able to maintain its economic competitiveness and global leadership. (See Insight into the Business Community’s Views About the U.S. Education System, http://www.uschamber.com/NR/rdonlyres/e4m7gmik4fk5u22rfimdzuo2tyu5micgq77drx643j3o6ywzlq6igqrn577
qrgn7zc6bu65u2rhup3s3i7pd3lvouce/061213nclb_exec_report.pdf, and the executive summary for Rising Above the Gathering Storm: Energizing and Employing America for a Brighter Economic Future (2007), http://books.nap.edu/openbook.php?record_id=11463&page=1.) But, it appears that the general public does not yet “get it,” which poses a major obstacle for any remedies that leaders may propose.
President George W. Bush, many members of both parties in Congress, and a majority of corporate heads now see the primary challenge to America’s economic future as coming from highly skilled workforces, particularly those of China and India. These well-educated and well-trained workers are the products of increasingly rigorous and sophisticated education policies and systems in their home countries (see Bridging the Skills Gap by American Society for Training and Development (ASTD)). (We also know that their large populations proportionately also impact that number.) The American public, in contrast, still thinks in terms of jobs being lost to immigrants within the U.S. or to workers abroad willing to do basic work for bargain basement wages. In truth, the post-industrial age, with its free trade and instantaneous communication, has laid waste to barriers that used to limit the flow of knowledge, capital, and labor among countries. Even the most highly trained American professionals must compete directly with their foreign counterparts. A postindustrial global economy is at hand, and the U.S. education system must reorient itself, rapidly, or invite national economic decline (see Tough Choices or Tough Times, http://www.skillscommission.org).
A compelling case can be made that the U.S. Constitution is as viable a governing document today as it was at
the close of the Constitutional Convention in the fall of 1789. More dubious,
though, is the proposition that certain policy areas left to states and
localities in the late 18th century can remain there in the digital
age, without inflicting incalculable damage on the republic. A patchwork of
widely varying state and local education standards was acceptable when the
purpose of public education was to slot students into the various posts of the
industrial economy of the late 19th and much of the 20th centuries. There is, however, no way to salvage such a hodgepodge so that it
will adequately prepare the country’s citizens to live and work in Thomas Friedman’s “flat world.”
Talented leaders and sustained statecraft will be required to reconcile the pressures of globalization, the worries of American workers, and the public’s skepticism about both greater Federal involvement and national coherence in education policy. This requirement comes at an especially challenging moment: Surveys demonstrate that a significant majority of Americans believe that the U.S. suffers from a shortage of able leaders (see National Leadership Index 2006, http://www.ksg.harvard.edu/leadership/nli/2006/nli2006.pdf). Leadership begins with facing difficult realities and proposing bold solutions. The reauthorization recommendations of the Commission on the No Child Left Behind Act, released on February 13, provide a crucial clue about whether the policymaking establishment is ready to think big and take risks. Globalization will wait for no country. If leaders fail to seize the moment and open a great national debate about the U.S. education system, posterity will take note (see “Will Global Competition Drive the Next Round of NCLB Reforms?” Patty Mohr, Education Daily, January 18, 2007, http://www.educationdaily.com/GE/splash.jsp).
NEWS &
RESOURCES
Leadership
- The Transformation of
Leadership. Leading in the Age of
Global Change is the theme of IEL’s 2006-07 Education Policy Fellowship Program
(EPFP) year,” focusing on the ways in which the nature of leadership is
changing and/or needs to change. At the annual Leadership Forum, Yong Zhao, Distinguished Professor of Educational Psychology at Michigan State University, reminded Fellows that globalization, with its dispersion of technological changes,
redefines talents. He recommended that the U.S. prepare its populace for the
opportunities of the future by injecting global dimensions into its curricula
and emphasizing creativity and flexibility. Rudy Crew, Superintendent of the
Miami-Dade Public Schools, stressed the idea that education standards and
curricula must be benchmarked internationally. Otherwise, he cautioned,
citizens will come to possess neither the skills necessary to thrive in the
global economy, nor the many capacities necessary to participate fully in
democracy. The 200 EPFP Fellows will reconvene in DC for the annual Washington
Policy Seminar and continue to refine their notions of leadership in a changing
and interconnected world. For more information about EPFP, including application information, visit http://www.iel.org/programs/epfp.html or contact its director, Doug Brattebo, at brattebod@iel.org.
- Speaking of the Road to China. IEL/EPFP NY-site co-coordinator, Robert Monson,
sent us a note and picture showing Susan Sclafani,
managing director of Chartwell Education Group, LLP (and former Assistant
Secretary of the U.S. Department of Education) using the National High School
Alliance’s Call to Action: Transforming High School for All Youth framework as a part of her work training educators in Beijing. She was working
with The EduChina Group, an entity aligned with the biggest academic education organization in
China—the Chinese Society of Education (CSE)—and focused on helping school
management and improving teachers' professional qualification, by providing the
finest education services towards building outstanding and unique schools. See this photo and other pictures of IEL-in-action on our “Photo Gallery” at http://www.iel.org/news/photo.html.
- Where Do Tomorrow’s Leaders
Come From? Obviously, from
elementary and middle schools at some point in life. That’s the case in the
Adelanto (CA) school district, where youth in the “Leaders
for the Future Youth Summit” recently made an education presentation to
the Board. Superintendent Chris Van Zee sought out consultant John Bonstingl for a 2-day session, based on the notion that inspiring leadership qualities in
youth can be an antidote for negative behavior, and inviting their
participation can help them feel more invested in their school and education.
Besides, adults can pick up some good strategies for school improvement. Read the article in the San Bernardino Sun at http://www.sbsun.com/news/ci_5312530.
- Speaking for Leaders of Today. See the commentary, ”Revenge of the
Blob,” by Paul Houston, Executive Director of the American Association of
School Administrator (AASA), in their most recent edition of The School
Administrator. Houston observes that education leaders, contrary to
popular belief (and reforms) generated by post-“Nation At Risk” politicians and
business people, do make a difference. He cites a couple of recent
studies that challenge these “amateur school reform(ers)”—and at the same time targets the specific leadership
aspects that matter the most. See his column and other interesting articles in their March 2007 issue at http://www.aasa.org/publications/saissuedetail.cfm?ItemNumber=8433&snItemNumber=950, including the cover title article, The Primacy of
Superintendent Leadership, based on research by J. Timothy Waters and Robert J. Marzano from the Mid-continent Research for Education and Learning (McREL) education
regional lab. Their new research finds an unmistakable link between the work of the school district CEO and student achievement levels; the 27-page working paper is available at http://www.mcrel.org/product/244.
Community
- Change Is Now Possible. That is, the publication THE WILL TO CHANGE: A
Conversation About Schools and Learning is now on-line
at the Coalition for Community’s Web site. Mentioned in IELC’s prior issue, it’s the transcript of a once-in-a-lifetime conversation
between Dr. James Comer (the Maurice Falk Professor of Child Psychiatry, Yale
University School of Medicine, Child Study Center, New Haven, CT) and Dr.
Edmund Gordon, Director (The Institute for Urban and Minority Education,
Teachers College, Columbia University, New York, NY), and it includes some
stirring recommendations also shared by Hugh Price, Senior Fellow, Economic
Studies, The Brookings Institution (and former president of the National Urban
League). It’s a quick and thought-provoking read and can be downloaded at http://www.communityschools.org/CCSDocuments/transcript_book.pdf.
- Read More About Gordon’s View
in VUE on “Intellective Competence.”
The same Professor Edmund W. Gordon digs deeper into a notion he mentions in
Will To Change: "The ability to use knowledge to engage and solve
problems, not just acquire knowledge, is increasingly the currency of advanced
societies. The goal should be to develop such abilities in a broader range of
young people." What does this mean for prevailing policies that are driving current school reform measures and the idea of global competition? See the full text of Dr. Gordon’s provocative article in the “Voices in Urban Education” article, on the Annenberg Institute for School Reform at Brown University site at http://www.annenberginstitute.org/VUE/index.html.
- Are Candidates Listening to the
Community? The New York Times published a letter from IEL’s Marty Blank and Amy Berg, of the Coalition for
Community School (CCS), supporting an article by David Brooks, “A Critique of
Pure Reason” (March 1, 2007). Brooks observes that conventional candidates
“…will talk about improving the schools. The creative ones will talk about
improving the lives of students,” and he challenges educational policies that
do not take into consideration the critical role that emotional engagement
plays in learning and development. Subscribers can read the article at http://select.nytimes.com/2007/03/01/opinion/01brooks.html).
- Help Identify Exemplary
Community Schools. The CCS is now accepting applications for its second annual awards program: last year’s honorees received national and local media attention and set a sterling example for others to follow. (One winner from Long Beach, CA, was featured in a cover article in a Parade magazine last fall; another was the focus of a Fox-TV segment in Indianapolis, IN). Individual community schools and community-wide initiatives that have been operating for three or more years and have demonstrated positive results for students, families and/or communities are invited to submit an application no later than March 22, 2007. Awards will be announced in May and given on Capitol Hill in June. Visit the CCS' Web site for information: http://communityschools.org/. Questions can be directed to Amy Berg at 202-822-8405 x100 or berga@iel.org
Policy/Systems
- Connecting the Policy Dots. The National High School Alliance (HS Alliance)
released a new policy brief, Federal Policy Positions of National High
School Alliance Partners. The brief examines the federal policy positions
of HS Alliance partner organizations, representing multiple stakeholder and
constituent groups and provides a summary of the common themes and differences
in their positions on the reauthorization of NCLB. The common themes that
unite these partners’ positions make a powerful statement to legislators as
they determine the priorities for NCLB reauthorization and the role the law
will play in high schools. The brief also includes a short summary of
partners’ statements on other federal legislation focused on high school
graduation and dropout rates. Co-authored by IEL staff Naomi Housman and Sara Goldware, the brief can be downloaded at http://www.hsalliance.org/Policy/FedPolicyBrief.pdf.
- What’s Not Included in the 75
NCLB Recommendations? When the
Commission on No Child Left Behind released its final recommendations for the
reauthorization of NCLB, none of the 75 recommendations in the report were
focused on the vital role that community plays in improving schools and the
lives of our children and youth, observed Marty Blank of the CCS at the
briefing. Commissioners noted that the original law did not include any
regulations in that regard—however, members agreed that “every smart principal
across the country is trying to put together partnerships,” but did not think
the Feds should get into this area. Instead, they focused recommendations on
making sure teachers and principals are effective, improving accountability
measures, effective school improvement and student options, rigorous standards,
and strengthening high schools. If you listen to the Q&A at the briefing
you will hear probing questions from attendees and a real push from
Commissioners for clear national standards, noting that fairness and equity
cannot be determined “on a Zip-code-by-Zip-code basis.” View the Webcast of this event or access the executive summary or full report at: http://www.aspeninstitute.org/site/c.huLWJeMRKpH/b.938015/k.40DA/Commission_on_No_Child_Left_Behind.htm. (Note that the Commission co-chair, former Governor
Roy Barnes (GA), is also IEL’s current Board chairman.)
- Is No Child Left Behind An
Anti-Poverty Measure? On the other
side of the camp is this critical article in Teacher Education Quarterly, which
argues that NCLB actually functions as a substitute for the creation of
decently paying jobs for those who need them, although it is not presented as a
jobs policy. That’s the premise of Jean Anyon and Kiersten Greene’s article in
the forthcoming issue of TEQ (April 2007): Since NCLB is directed mainly at
the minority poor, it acts as an anti-poverty program, because it is based on
an implicit assumption that increased educational achievement is the route out
of poverty for low-income families and individuals. The authors contend that
the Act stands in the place of policies like job creation and significant
raises in the minimum wage, which would significantly decrease poverty in the United States. They explore the economic realities, existing public policies, and the
subsequently curtailed power of education to lead the poor out of poverty—observing
that for more education to lead to better jobs, there have to be jobs available
and that even a college degree no longer guarantees a decent job.
TEQ granted special permission to see this article http://www.publiceducation.org/pdf/2007_NCLB_Anti_Poverty.pdf. Visit their Web site at http://www.teqjournal.org/ to subscribe or see back issues , or contact publisher Alan Gappo at caddogap@aol.com if you have any questions.
- NCWD/Youth
“Guideposts” Inform ED Priorities. The Assistant Secretary for the Office of Special
Education and Rehabilitative Services (OSERS) in the U.S. Department of Education
has proposed a priority on transition services provided to youth with
disabilities that will improve their postsecondary education and employment
outcomes. The February 15, 2007 Federal Register Notice builds on the Guidepost for Success (http://www.ncwd-youth.info/resources_&_Publications/guideposts/index.html), produced by the Office of Disability Employment Policy of the U. S. Department of Labor (which also provided grant support) and the National Collaborative on Workforce and Disability for Youth (which is staffed/housed at IEL). It cites the definitions section of the NCWD/Youth Web site, http://www.ncwd-youth.info/resources_&_Publications/definitions.php, and this priority will be used under the Special Demonstrations Program administered by the Rehabilitation Services Administration (RSA). The full Federal Register notice can be found at: http://a257.g.akamaitech.net/7/257/2422/01jan20071800/edocket.access.gpo.gov/2007/E7-2685.htm.
“MUSE” FROM IEL
(Commentary by Betty Hale, IEL President)
WholeLeaderWatch: IEL’s
ongoing efforts to track the “Whole Leader” movement is paying
dividends. We are identifying programs and people taking a “whole” approach to
the development of leaders, as well as using the bully pulpit to spread the
word. In the fall commencement address at Middle Tennessee State University,
U.S. Secretary of Education, Margaret Spellings applauded the students’ efforts
to overcome obstacles . . . and encouraged them to make the most of their
education and find ways to give back to others: "These days,
compassion, kindness, and humor are in just as much demand as PlayStation 3;
you just don't see people fighting over them....” Karen Dyer’s article,
“Desiderata: An Ageless Message on Exemplary Leadership” in the fall 2006 issue
of AASA’s The School Administrator, used Max Ehrmann’s 1927 prose-poem
to remind us of the power of poetry. “Education leaders also can be guided
by Ehrmann’s words as they go through the process of developing exemplary
leadership skills.” AASA published our response to Dyer’s article (in the
aforementioned March 2007 issue), reinforcing the importance of leaders taking
time from the “hurly-burly” of their daily work to read the poem and consider
its tips for leaders—ideas that still have currency today. Our final piece of
evidence comes from a column written by members of the Teacher Leaders Network
(TLN) and published in teachermagazine.org (which is
produced by Education Week). In the inaugural column, “The Heart of
Teacher Leadership,” Jim Brooks, Teacher, West Wilkes High School, NC, talks about the immediacy of leadership. “One of the things most difficult about
leadership is that we often must make decisions on the spot.” He affirmed
that a clear vision and a strong conviction would inform the leadership
instinct. And, in music to our ears, he closed by confirming, “ While I
continue to hold my students responsible for mastering the content of the
courses I teach, my larger intention will continue to be to make decisions that
touch the heart.”
SITE-TO-CITE
- Stop the Rumor Mill—Become a
“Hoax Buster.” Most of us must weed
through enough legitimate information, without also counting the wasted time
and energy of wading through mail from well-meaning friends and colleagues that
turns out to be false or misleading. And much of it just recycles every few
years. The best way to stop it is to not send along these rumors (aka, “urban
legends”) without a little investigation on your part. One of the best resources
for checking the reliability of such mail is www.snopes.com, which will tell you the status of that rumor, its
origins/history, and even references in some cases. It takes a little more of
your time to check, but think of all the time we could save each other if the
buck, or in this case the junk e-mail would just stop with each of us. Now,
get out there and bust a hoax!
- A “Riot” Can Be A Good Thing,
Too. In this case “Riot” is a wide
reaching newsletter for self-advocates published by the Human Services Research
Institute. HSRI is one of the Family Support 360 projects (funded by the
Administration on Developmental Disabilities, and with whom the IEL-based
National Consortium on Leadership and Disability for Youth has started
collaborating). Late last fall the editorial staff decided to do a
youth-produced issue of the newsletter. The topics covered included everything
from nursing homes and how youth can obtain positions on boards—to piercings
and tattoos! In the upcoming year, NCLD/Y will be assisting with an issue on
disability identity, and the importance of disability history, culture, and
community in the lives of people with disabilities. The January issue of Riot can be downloaded at http://www.hsri.org/leaders/theriot/#Download (and look for the “Rant from Rebecca” [Cokley] of IEL’s staff and the NCLD/Y project).
EVENTS
Visit IEL’s Web site to see a list of some upcoming events sponsored by IEL and/or its partners and collaborators, at http://www.iel.org/events.html.
Submission deadline for the next
issue: April 14, 2007
ABOUT IEL and IELeadership
Connections
The Institute for Educational
Leadership (a non-profit, nonpartisan organization based in Washington, DC) works to achieve better results for children. At
the heart of IEL's effectiveness is a unique ability to bring people together
to identify and resolve issues across policy, program, and sector boundaries. IEL connects evidence to ideas and results to
action in three issue areas: Developing
and Supporting Leaders, Strengthening School-Family-Community Connections, and Connecting and Improving Policies and Systems that Serve Children and
Youth. Through IELeadership
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education, IEL is building and nurturing an on-line network. Please feel free
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item, suggest a topic for future publication, or provide feedback, send an
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Submissions should include a link at which readers may find additional
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