WOT: A CALL to ACTION! (Michigan Public Schools Finance Act 2013 - Oxford Foundation / Tom Watkins)

New post on Public Education Finance Act

Tom Watkins: Why aren’t educators proposing reforms? by Admin LSJ.com Written by Tom Watkins The Center for Michigan has one. So do the governor and members of the Legislature. The Oxford Foundation has one. What is it? A plan for educational reform. And it seems that everyone, with the exception of the educational community, has one. Once again, earlier this week there was yet another conference on educational reform — this one hosted by The Center for Michigan (thecenterformichigan.net). They are to be commended for putting additional ideas on the table with a new education reform report and for hosting “The Public’s Agenda for Public Education.” Yet, “education reform” is beginning to feel like peace talks in the Middle East. Certainly the educators’ voice is part of the mix in these various reports, but where is the road map from the educational community showing us their way? Shouldn’t the education community, which includes teachers, principals, parents, superintendents and school board members, be developing a common agenda for ensuring that our children receive the education they need and deserve? At the end of the day, providing quality educators with the right tools and support to do their jobs — educating our children for the technologically driven, knowledge economy — is what matters, not rhetoric from the state Capitol. So, where are teachers’ voices in Lansing for all this educational reform buzz? Shouldn’t they have a leading role? I am not talking about lobbying efforts against Gov. Rick Snyder’s reform agenda or the legislation he introduced. It is easy to be “against” something. The more difficult task lies in creating a comprehensive agenda that addresses the issue. Quite simply, the educators’ plan is missing from the debate. Complaints from the traditional education community center on the direction Gov. Snyder wants to take — with no comprehensive counter plan that addresses the shortcomings of our schools (traditional and charter). In 2005 I wrote: The New Educational (R)evolution- e-learning for Michigan (www.inacol.org/research/docs/e-learningreport.pdf) that spelled out a number of policy recommendations that would facilitate the uses of technology to help personalize learning. They have yet to be fully implemented. Change comes hard in education. I am not advocating reckless change without progress, but instead, change that puts TLC — Teaching, Learning and Children — above the political fray that far too often favors PCPA — Power, Control, Politics and Adults. Gov. Snyder clearly spelled out his policy initiative in April 2011, laying out the problems he saw in our educational system with an agenda to address it. (Seewww.michigan.gov/documents/snyder/SpecialMessageonEducationReform_351586_7.pdf). So, educators, if not the governor’s or the Center for Michigan plan, then what? Doing nothing is not an option. There are a slew of Lansing-based educational organizations: the State Board of Education, The PTA, Michigan Association of School Administrators, The Michigan Association of School Boards, The Principals’ Association, the Michigan Education Association, The Michigan Federation of Teachers — the list goes on and on even as they group themselves into an “Educational Alliance.” But, where is their plan? I have heard from many of these groups that they dislike what the governor is “doing to public education.” I have yet to see their alternative. The voice of the educator needs to become louder and more forceful in the reform debate. Our schools remain a vital link to the future prosperity of Michigan and our country. The debate is critical but it must be larger than shooting the messenger, asking for more money, or complaining about what the other side proposes. Sadly, great educators know we need change to encourage progress. Yet, their voices remain mostly silent. Isn’t it about time that Education Rip Van Winkles woke from their slumber? Our students await your ideas and action.