[Winona Online Democracy] Mr. Bianchi started out his presentation by talking about his skepticism for "experts" who fly in from out of town and give presentations that sound too good to be true. He indicated that he recognized there are significant differences between his experience (creating a private school in Georgia) and the experience of those working in other school systems and, in particular, public school systems.
I was glad to hear that from him because I agree that the experience of starting a small private school is much different than the experience of working to improve a large public school system. In particular, the school he runs was started by a small group of people who shared a common vision. Over time people who liked the philosophy were attracted to the school until now, thirty years later, they are a much larger community of people who all share (or at least accept) a basic common vision for how education should be conducted and how a school should be run. Having this common vision is very valuable to an education system. It is a much different challenge, though, to start from the point of a large public school system with its own history and a diverse population with different visions for education than starting a small school from scratch. Having said that, I think there were many good points presented by Mr. Bianchi. The one that, I think, struck a chord with me most was the reminder that the success of learning in a school depends, more than anything else, on the teachers -- and that the care and nurturing of an environment that supports them is one of the single most important things a school system can do. He expressed the view that teachers should be constantly learning themselves (whether it be professional development seminars or comedy improvisation). This is important not because it makes the teacher more competent in their particular subject area, but because it keeps the teachers (and the school) excited about learning. I think the focus on the "teacher environment" and adult learning is a great point, but it is something that can be difficult to focus on in the current short-term, cause-effect, test-driven environment that seems to be the direction many policy makers are pushing schools toward. Creating such an environment, though, would probably do more to improve the education of our children than many of the more "measurable" things that we focus on. The question for me, though, is, "How do you create such a change in an existing school system and how do you help the community share in that vision?" -Steve Kranz _______________________________________________ This message was posted to Winona Online Democracy All messages must be signed by the senders actual name. No commercial solicitations are allowed on this list. To manage your subscription or view the message archives, please visit http://mapnp.mnforum.org/mailman/listinfo/winona Any problems or suggestions can be directed to mailto:[EMAIL PROTECTED] If you want help on how to contact elected officials, go to the Contact page at http://www.winonaonlinedemocracy.org
