Speed Gibson 21st Century Communications

Let me excerpt the quotes regarding the upcoming capital referendum for technology and training in District 279:

Technology enables us to reach far and wide.
There is no reason students can't have the globe as their resource.
Technology allows students to contribute, share, and gather resources globally.
We must prepare our students for the world they inhabit.
Technology education fosters development in 21st-century skills.

What's wrong with this? Well, it is a bit trite, wouldn't you say? It would be if he had said anything. These are what propagandists call glittering generalities.

Such language was meaningful about twenty years ago, when the World Wide Web sprang from the forehead of Al Gore. That technology truly was breathtaking - at the time. Today it is a commodity. You buy a PC, call Qwest or Comcast, and have the Geek Squad hook it up if need be. Wi-Fi at your favorite coffee store is now expected, no longer remarkable.

District 281 says this about their upcoming referendums:

Investing in the quality of local public schools is essential if we are to maintain a safe, thriving, vibrant community.

Again, there was a time when our schools truly were a partner in a community's quality of life, but by and large, for whatever the reasons, those days are gone, too. Such a statement therefore doesn't really resonate with the taxpayers.

It also seems off-message, making no mention of the students, missing the chance to resonate with the parents as well. Compare the above with this:

Investing in quality education for our children is essential if we are to maintain a safe, thriving, vibrant community.

Either way, the word "invest" is particularly shopworn, used throughout the public sector these days, even for outright failures like Light Rail and Ethanol. Further, it implies that such investing is a new direction or strategy. Correcting this, with a little better phrasing at the end gives us:

Continuing to provide quality education for our children is a hallmark of a safe, thriving, vibrant community.

The first example spoke of students needing 21st-century skills. Our schools are going to need 21st-century communications skills to win back 21st-century parents and taxpayers, and not just for referendums. The "capture" ratio is dropping, giving way to charter schools, private schools, and home schooling. Even the Legislature seems to be tuning out.

(link)

J. Ewing (mail):

Heh. Same old, same old. All we have to do is spend this little extra money, and the kids will all become genii (isn't that the plural of genius?) overnight. And like all such sleight-of-hand petty theivery, it is all a con. Now if you can tell me WHAT, exactly, these computers are going to do for the kids to make them better educated in the really true sense of the word, that would be worth doing. Just "learning to use the computer" or "learning the internet" is a waste of taxpayer money because the kids can get that anywhere and in many cases know more than most teachers. Having them browse porn sites and chat rooms all day (academic freedom, you know) doesn't contribute to the RIGHT kind of learning. A tremendous tool, generally wasted.

Actually I would be far more impressed if they said they were going to give the TEACHERS computers and install "teacher productivity software." That would do far more for learning and for holding down costs than almost anything else they could do for so little money.

8.26.2008 10:39am

Better Community (mail):

Talk to my children who have lost a chance to be taught by a great teacher because of the cuts. Look at their faces when they continually hear everything is being cut. Look at our home value that will continue to tumble because we refuse to value our District children's education like they do in Edina and Wayzata. What would your grandparents have done? They funded at a much greater percentage than we currently do. They values education above all else. Let's just suck it up and get it done. Let's work together in the community to make it the best it can be. Educating our children is something we should all agree on. Just use your economic stimulus money if you have to.

8.27.2008 8:47am

Bull Twaddle. As long as you insist on measuring academic excellence by the amount of money spent, all you will get is more money spent. Per-pupil spending AFTER inflation, has doubled in the last twenty years. Has achievement doubled? Is it 50% higher? NO.

The only way to improve academic achievement is by setting out to improve academic achievement. Decide what works, do it, and measure the results. If not good enough, try again. Anybody not working towards that goal is fired. Simple, straightforward incentive system, with clear goals, processes, measurements and consequences. Works every time it is tried.

Look at it another way: If money was what mattered, the Minneapolis schools would be producing twice the academic excellence of suburban or rural schools that spend half as much. Instead they have 50-60% dropout rates, and 60-80% failure rates on the basic skills tests. How about we take the vast some of money we're already spending on the schools and see how well we can do with it?

8.29.2008 10:22pm

Speed Gibson

Happy Independence Day!

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