A boat for the future . . .

Jonathan posed interesting questions in a comment to my last post about signing on to the state’s Race to the Top proposal. He built on what Scott said in his opening comment using a nautical analogy, so reading the comments in order will help with the context. The questions he posed are:

Will the lawmakers ever go to the shipbuilders and ask what craft will best get us to where we're going? Or are the fickle winds of change (and re-election campaigns) blowing our captain-less rafts against the rocky shoals of failed educational reform?

The questions refer to the legislative changes in HB 2261 that emerged as the blueprint for change in the 2009 session. This year the HB 2776 passed to take the beginning steps at funding the reforms in 2261. If we asked those who were engaged in developing the legislation and approving the measures they would likely say that the teacher voice was in the room when the legislation was crafted. This could mean WEA or teachers selected to be on committees that gave input into the reform package. But, for most of us the conversations are far removed from our day-to-day work and there was little engagement or sharing of the process or the outcomes.

I believe that the direction of the reforms and the focus on funding is positive. Getting there will be a difficult journey, one that can be supported by seeking outside funding sources to support the work. So, I support the direction, am concerned with whether the legislators will have the capacity to make the difficult decisions to provide a stable funding source, and agree with Jonathan that real change must come from the local level. Of course, that raises the question of what does teacher voice mean at the local level in the decisions focused on the use of time and autonomy once the classroom door closes. In our work it seems that there are plenty of things to talk about.

In Scott’s last comment he shares a short Washington Post article where the author identifies what he sees as positive results of the RttT initiative and then his prediction that it is too little to have significant impact on public education. The title of the article, “Race to the Top: A sprint when we need a marathon”, captures the essence of his concern.