Education leaders who are not educators.

There is a strong argument that smart, successful, and innovative leaders can be this type of leader in any setting. It is true that I belong to a program that touts this very idea. While I personally believe that leadership can be transferable, I also have personally experienced a severe lack of knowledge and skills. This deficit proved to be extremely challenging, if not disabling at times. Cathleen Black has been appointed the chancellor of schools in New York - a strong, successful leader in a leadership position. This seems like it will work, right?

I think Black could be a successful chancellor and I hope she is. I think the skills required of the chancellor of schools definitely overlap with other leadership skills. But I also think that the lack of knowledge of education and the NYC public schools could be a huge challenge. Having an understanding of a teacher's challenges would allow Black to make more realistic expectations. Understanding what good teaching requires and what good school leadership requires is necessary to leading a school system. Some say running a school is like running a business. I see the comparison and I think there are commonalities between the two, however I do not think it is this simple. As the Huffington Post reports Black is "cramming" to prepare. I think this is a good sign. Leadership skills are necessary and she has them (check!), but so is at least a fundamental knowledge of education and the system. Black needs to go to "institute" and learn the basics if she hopes to use her own skills to lead in such a high-stakes business as education.

Which Culture of Poverty?

So, the argument has been made that there is this "culture of poverty" that undermines student work ethic and scholarly habits. Apparently, the "culture of poverty" is not a racial issue, it is a class issue.

But even if it isn't a race issue, it seems to be one unique to America. We are actually talking about the "culture of American poverty" that seems to manifest differently than poverty elsewhere.

Consider the following blog/article written for the India journal "Learning the Indian Way":
http://blogs.wsj.com/indiarealtime/2010/09/01/india-journal-learning-the-indian-way/

Interestingly enough, the grossly underfunded Indian education system is producing some seriously impressive results. Even those who end up having to drop out of school because of money are not suffering from a lack of work ethic or desire to study.

So, what is it about the culture of poverty here? Why, in a country where there is somewhat of a social net to catch you before you fall all the way down, did we end up with a debilitating "culture of poverty"?

The Harlem Children Zone

I know this is old news, but perhaps my framing will provide some new light on just how awesome the Harlem Children Zone is, and why cities all over should be working to replicate it.

Quality teaching is hardly the only/most important obstacle that stands in the way of student achievement. Harlem Children Zone acknowledges the deficits in parenting and in the "culture of poverty" (we can call it), then addresses those things head on. It isn't a side bar, or checking a teacher's parent log. They have created a series of parent training programs to help create the educational partners teachers really need for success. It is not condemning. It is not condescending. It is spot on and we need more of it.

School Choice: Baltimore CIty All-School Fair

This weekend at Poly-Western was the great Baltimore Fair, and I’m glad I went early because I have never seen so many people interested in Baltimore City Public Schools in one place. It was quite a showing!

I really like the idea of this fair: students and parents can see presentations from all of Baltimore’s schools at once. Each school can showcase what they do best, and each school can compete for the most engaged students. Students and parents also get choice in their education (or the education of their children). This is the most important part of the fair. Instead of just going to the neighborhood school where their students are assigned, parents can have agency in the decision process. If the parents hear negative things about their neighborhood school, or if they hear positive things about other schools, parents can take actions to help their kids.

My high school is one of the schools that doesn’t have exciting or particularly innovative programs. It is a typical zone high school that claims having a certain theme, but doesn’t have any funding to allow the school to explore that theme, and it doesn’t have a particular mission to expound that theme. If fairs like this are successful, and if parents take ownership of their children’s schools, maybe high schools like the one at which I teach will be lost. I don’t think this is necessarily negative. If a school doesn’t serve the needs of the population living within the neighborhood, and if it is unable to engage students in learning, then maybe it means that it’s time for the school to close.

The challenge in Baltimore will be keeping the geographic diversity of high schools alive. If only the most popular high schools remain open, there must still be schools available to every student. These schools must be located throughout the city.