Brown Knows Laptop and Printer Repair?

In Thomas Friedman's book The World is Flat he cites UPS as an example of a insourcing.  UPS contracts with companies to deliver all kinds of services that you wouldn't suspect.  They have a repair center for Toshiba laptops in Kentucky.  http://news.cnet.com/Toshiba-taps-UPS-for-laptop-repairs/2100-1005_3-5201011.htmlcompany  They also repair printers for HP in Europe and Latin America.  HP extended its logistics work to the next level.  Instead of just delivering the broken laptops or printer to the manufacturers, they are providing the labor to repair them. 

How can I apply this to my thinking about education?  Perhaps my school system should contract with an IT vendor to provide support for our systems.  We have outsourced our custodial services to an outside company.  We have a vendor that provides books and cataloging for our libraries.  Maybe a third party vendor for IT would help us stay in step with corporations in our infrastructure and we could focus on our core competency of how to educate children.

Fifteen years ago there was no competition for public schools.  Schools were a monopoly.  Except for upper class families that sent their children to private schools, everyone went to their districted public schoool.  And while I don't agree with the creators of Stupid in America who suggest that most public schools in America are failing because they haven't had competition. I do think reform for traditional public schools is necessary.  Charter schools are competing with traditional public schools for students and tax money.  I am not sure outsourcing IT is the right answer for my school district, but we DO need to start thinking differently about how we run our business because our world is flattening too.

Back to School Jitters

I couldn't sleep last night. I went through three potential outfits this morning. I felt sick to my stomach as I headed out the door to my NEW SCHOOL! I have a classroom key and an official badge for the first time in over 6 years.

The staff are very nice and made me feel welcome with friendly greetings and lots of requests for help. I am having to relearn the layout of a school network - Macs and PCs. And a new school building. When I took my daughters to see my computer lab last week I couldn't even find the room right away. My oldest spotted my name on a sign that pointed the way.

Today I was a kindergartener leaving the safety of (working at)home and venturing out into a new place. I have just 6 days left to make the transition to teacher ready to greet students at the door of MY room.

If I can get the digital camera working, I will post a picture.

Hope

Never doubt that a small group of thoughtful, committed citizens can change the world. Indeed, it is the only thing that ever has. - Margaret Mead

I talked with an old friend on Thursday about public school. She reminded me that if educated, involved parents give up on public schools they will likely not improve. Our society as a whole will suffer as we allow the children without other options to receive an inferior education.

On Friday afternoon I joined a small group of thoughtful, committed citizens who volunteered at Hillandale Elementary for Science Day. I saw at least twenty parents and community members at the gathering for volunteers afterward and I know that many more volunteers were present. I worked with two doctors and an RN showing third graders actual human hearts and lungs. The kids practiced taking their pulse, learned about lung disease (and could see the difference between a healthy and diseased lung), looked at the chambers of the heart on a model and listened to each others' hearts with stethoscopes. It was exciting, hands-on learning!

Technorati Tags: public schools, parents,

http://www.flickr.com/photos/orangeacid/419423674/

Losing Faith

"I've always been a supporter of public school."

That's me. I believe in the dream of public school. I have always enjoyed working with a melting pot of students, including those who don't have all the advantages that society can offer. I still carry the name of a student that I almost ten years ago.

He was hanging around late after school one day. I had him one period a day and I had only been at the school for about a month, so I didn't really know him. But I knew that school, at least my class, wasn't a big priority for him. I wanted him to know that I cared and maybe that would motivate him to care about school.

We've all heard the stories and seen the movies of inspirational teachers working in an inner city school who turn kids around. So, I asked him if he needed a ride home. He said, "Yeah." So we set out across town and he hopped out of the car in front of a non-descript apartment building. I looked up his mom's phone number the next day and wrote it on a note card next to his name. I tried to call her but only got a machine. I told my mentor about it the next day and she cautioned that it wasn't a very smart move on my part. I knew that, but wanted to take the risk - in hopes of a big payoff. The payoff never came.

That is the end of the story. He wasn't in school the rest of the year. I found out that he got in trouble and was possible being put in "lock up," juvenile detention. He didn't come back the next year either, but I still carry around that postcard in my briefcase. It reminds me that I believe in the power of public education and a caring teacher to save a struggling kid.

So why have my wistful thoughts of education turned to private schools? In conversations with teacher friends over the last two days we have bemoaned the national focus on testing. In the school system where my kids attend teachers are given a pacing guide which tells them exactly what to teach on each day of the school year. Now if that won't suck the creativity out of teaching, I don't know what will. We have shared stories of teachers unwilling to challenge students with creative and innovative assignments. Schools, some of the best in the public school system, where students only use technology once a week. Where teachers have third graders coloring hand-written brochures instead of designing them in Word or Publishers.

Then come the stories of private schools where teachers are freed from the bonds of testing. Where class sizes are small and innovation is encouraged. Teachers challenge their students to create real content, connect to the world outside the classroom and apply technology in meaningful ways. Doesn't it sound good?!

I don't want to give up on public education, but I need to see there is hope. Show me that the accountability pendulum is beginning to swing the other way. Point out examples of great innovation and stellar teaching. If you see hopeful signs, please share them. If you have ideas for how to shift the thinking of the education establishment, please tell me. I want to keep my faith alive.

"After view of my classroom" image by LizMarie
http://www.flickr.com/photos/perspicacious/303144538/

Technorati Tags: public schools, testing,

Pay for Performance

In Performance Pays (Technology & Learning, November 2006) Lindsay Oishi reports on Denver Public Schools “groundbreaking teacher pay for performance system.” Their system four parts – knowledge and skills, professional evaluation, market incentives, and student growth. I was so delighted to hear about a public school system with a balanced merit pay system. When I first started working as a teacher in 1996 after spending six years in industry I was flabbergasted by the pay system. I was evaluated by my supervisor, but it didn’t really matter. It had no effect on my pay.

I was paid the on the same pay scale as every other teacher in a NC public school, based only on years of experience and advanced degrees. Richard* taught math the same way he had taught it for the last 20 years. He lectured and gave problems from the book. He bemoaned the change in “population” at the school and wished for the good ole’ days when the kids were better behaved. He grumbled about attending staff development and you had better not get between him and the door at the end of the school day. Charlie* had been teaching for a number of years too. But he wasn’t counting the days until retirement. He started a new class teaching kids how to do desktop publishing, after he took a course at the local community college on it himself. Although he was not formally mentoring any new teachers he willing spent time with them to offer advice. He was at school all hours, knew the kids and could talk their language. They were both getting the same salary, but everyone knew they weren’t doing the same job.

To bring about the next revolution in education we need to reinvent the compensation system. Teachers who are getting it done need to be rewarded. And it shouldn’t just be based on the results of high stakes testing. It must be a multi-faceted measurement system. I think Denver has the right idea. You can read more about Denver’s program at Dept. of Ed.

*fictitious names

Technorati Tags: Technology&Learning, merit, salary, testing, Denver, public schools