There is a great deal of hope simmering for public education in Oregon right now. Things are heating up. There are also skeptics gathered on every corner who can cite a long list of previous failures in education reform. Naysayers who point and whisper, who explain with those sad eyes why things won't or can't work. Those people are always around---no matter what hard thing you are doing to do, and they will always be around. Don't let them stop you from doing something great.
Don't get me wrong, changing public education for the better in Oregon is hard, grueling work. The resources we need are not currently available, but I am hopeful we will get it done for one simple reason. We have great players on Team Oregon. If you are who you hire (and you are), we have reason to hope. We have Rudy Crew at quarterback. I read his book (see review below). I've met him. He has a vision. We have Rob Saxton at the helm of ODE. I know him. He will be successful, and he will help us be successful as a state. He's hired Heidi Sipe to lead instruction at ODE. She is excellent, and Sarah Pope is the new chief of staff at ODE (another star). Hilda Rosselli, college of education dean at Western Oregon, in now on Rudy's team as well. These people all know what they are doing and arrive with proven track records of success. OEA has started The Center for Great Public Schools, and they are doing everything they can to help. On top of all this, the state has Linda Darling-Hammond on contract to make sure we don't do something stupid. Our reform efforts are being led by this great team of seasoned newcomers who are practitioners, not politicians---that is why I am hopeful.
Only Connect by Rudy Crew is a worthy book. I got it because Dr. Crew was named chief of Oregon schools. He took over on July 1, 2012. I wanted to see what he was all about. I was not disappointed. It is not very often I read sections of a book out loud to my wife, but this one had me doing just that. The opening page of chapter 4 was one of those spots. It had me howling. Here is a sample..."A lot of people have imagined what our schools should look like in the future. Usually there are computers. In fact, there are always computers. Lots of them. And they're new and they're all hooked up with Wi-Fi and tricked out with iThis and iThat and the kids can do PowerPoint presentations with the three facts they pulled off the Internet and wow! They're all ready for the future!"
I like satire. It makes you think and laugh out loud. There is some of that in this book, but there is a lot more to make you think. Practical stuff like the three keys to great schools: caring, high expectations, and diverse approaches to learning. This book is full of common sense education reform ideas--stuff that could actually work. He talks about achieving excellence, pursuing equity, and helping school be more efficient. He breaks down suggestions into lists throughout the book so the ideas can be easily applied. There are brilliant ideas for teachers, principals, parents, superintendents, board members, and policy makers. He covers it all. The book is full of great stories and inspirational messages. I am a better educator and parent for having read it. If Dr. Crew can deliver on only half of what's in this book, Oregon's educational landscape will be vastly improved. I am keeping my fingers crossed.
Hope is a choice, and when actions follow choice, good things happen. I think we are starting to see some of those good things starting to happen...
