Home » Tim's Blog

The costs chronically underperforming schools has on our society is tremendous. Unfortunately, these effects are often viewed in the abstract. That is, it is hard for people to quantify or tangibly realize the burdens bad schools have on all of us. Perhaps, that is one reason why addressing failing schools is so difficult. On top of that, no one is willing to accept blame for a failing school. It is true that their is plenty of blame to be shared. The blame can be placed on our legislature, all the way down to the building level.
Change can be a very scaring thing. When it comes to education, innovation is often frowned upon or stagnated by institutional barriers. Despite this, many school districts (particularly large, urban districts) have embraced drastic changes to address failure in their schools. Districts from Chicago, Boston, New York to New Orleans and Miami have all developed unique and inniovative approaches to addressing their student and staff performance. On top of that, a separate entrepreuneral education industry has emerged in the last decade. Very interesting groups and products have emerged to provide education in a number of facets. The profileration of online content deliverly and alternative teaching and school leadership groups have begun to put a major stamp on public education. One can only look at the efforts of Teach for America and the New Teacher Project as examples of this. Not to mention, the continued evolution of technology in recent years! No one can deny that our schools have failed to keep up with the changing ways in which our society uses technology. I think it is extremely important that we begin to look at how other districts and groups are addressing failing schools, and how we can implement the proven best practices in our most underperforming schools.