In a message dated 96-01-12 20:29:20 EST, you write:
>Joe asks what he can do, what can any of us do about the state of
>education.
>For me it would be wonderful to have a dialog about how to make faster
>progress. I know many people have ideas, but my experience has been --
>over and over -- that when everyone talks about their ideas, the final
>outcome will be that there is no consensus, and there is no action plan.
You speak about standardized tests, $ spent on education, Asian vs American
educational attainment. What a gold mine for discussion and learning from
each other.
As you pointed out Japanese children outstrip American children in
achievement - even when they are in American classrooms. While this is
true, no study has ever shown Asian children to be superior in
intelligence to American children.A big difference is Attitude. In this
country the belief is in natural ability - if students have innate talent,
they will excel. In Asia and most of Europe, the belief is - if students
work hard enough, they will excel. There are extremes to any belief.
However, believing that students will learn if they have the ability,
takes the responsibility off the teacher to teach. In fact, a lot of
"teaching" in this country is not teaching at all. It's assigning. A lot
of kids "get it." More would "get it" if in every subject, the focus was
on providing a complete task analysis of what is involved in learning a
particular concept.
It's also been my experience that people talk about the solutions rather
than issue; what do we have to do vs what do we have to learn; you do it
my way vs what outcomes do we hope to achieve, how can I help, what do I
have to do differently to achieve what we have identified as important..
My beliefs are these: The key to Productivity is Learning. All issues of
major significance depend on building constituencies that cross over
traditional boundaries. Health-care issues are not solved by hospitals
alone. Crime and violence cannot be controlled solely by law enforcement
agencies. Improving education cannot be accomplished by educators alone.
My mission is to support and promote the continuous improvement of
Learning -on the job and in the classroom - by building Critical Linkages
across traditional occupational, professional, and academic boundaries so
that we can learn from each other. One initiative is the Critical Linkages
II Newsletter. We link readers with experts from all sectors of the
community through informative interviews and articles; unique networking
opportunities; and opportunities to share ideas globlally. A recent
interview was with Professor Ronald Heifetz from Harvard's Kennedy School
Of Government. Talk about the richness of ideas that comes from linking
across traditional boundaries - Heifetz is a concert-quality cellist, an
M.D. (psychiatrist), and a professor. In this country we have what
Professor Heifetz calls a "customer mentality." I've attached excerpts
from the interview below
Heifetz, "Leadership Without Easy Answers." THE CRITICAL LINKAGES
II NEWSLETTER, Volume II: 3 (June 1995)
CLIIN -What's wrong with looking for leadership with easy answers?
RAH - The tougher the problems the more we tend to want easy answers. We
look for leaders to fix our problems, who make difficult problems seem
simple. Crime, a failing educational system, drug abuse, the deficit are
not simple problems to fix. When we say - cut the deficit but don't raise
my taxes - we need leaders who will point out the inconsistencies and
engage us in facing the challenge. Looking for leaders with easy answers
is too much of a customer mindset. ........
The market works with a "please me" attitude. If one company doesn't give
me what I want, another one will. The customer rules. But, in the role of
citizen, the "please me attitude" is the wrong attitude. Instead of
looking for leaders who just please us, we ought to look for leaders who
will help us understand what our contributions to change should be.......
CLIIN - You also talk about the need to develop more leaders without
authority.
RAH - Authority is a resource and a constraint for leadership. Leaders
with authority can provide the resources to harness the distressing
process of adaptive change, but it is contingent on meeting the
expectations of constituents. Leaders without authority often have the
flexibility to ask difficult questions and focus on single issues. Gandhi,
Martin Luther King, Jr., Margaret Sanger led not only within the
boundaries of the communities that authorized them formally. They widened
their base of support by reaching across traditional boundaries. In a
similar manner, many people, every day, go beyond the boundaries of their
job descriptions to point out the gap between the values we say we espouse
and the realities reflected by our actions.
CLIIN - What are the tasks of leadership in the context of adaptive
change?
RAH -Identify the adaptive challenge -- the gap between aspirations and
reality.
Regulate the level of stress. This is more than devising and
implementing a plan of action. It develops from information about the
capacity of people to engage the issues and learn.
Keep attention focused on relevant issues and not on stress-
reducing distractions such as holding on to past assumptions, blaming,
denying the problem, or finding a diversionary issue.
Devise a strategy to shift responsibility for the problem to the
primary stakeholders. Give the work back to the people at a rate they can
stand. In this way, you help those closest to the problem increase their
response ability for handling the problem.
Give cover to those who ask the hard questions and provoke
distress. They are often the catalysts for rethinking difficult issues.
CLIIN - What are some guidelines for adaptive leadership?
RAH -Pace the rate of change so that the level of distress is tolerable.
Most people can't handle change "Cold turkey" - it leads to trauma.
Respect the pain people experience as they change. Paying respect
for pain is not protecting people from pain but challenging a person to
grow.
Adaptive work requires learning. Leadership with or without
authority requires an educative strategy, both for those who lead and
their organizations.
ALL RIGHTS COPYRIGHTED. Written Permission from Critical Linkages II
Newsletter, Sager Educational Enterprises, needed to reprint or transmit
this material in whole or in part. Phone: (617) 469-9644 E-Mail:
Sageredent@aol.com. If you would like additional information about other
articles, the newsletter, or writing for the newsletter, please contact
us.
-- Carol Sager The Critical Linkages II Newsletter 21 Wallis Rd. Chestnut Hill, MA 02167 617/469-9644 v 617/469-9639 fax sageredent@aol.com