‘It takes a village to raise a child’ is an old African proverb that is commonly used today when we refer to the importance of the people or  “community” that helps raise a child. Raising a child is not an individual effort. A communal effort is needed, and necessary, if we want to effectively raise our children. Within the educational system the classroom teacher has always been lauded as the most important factor to a student’s success. Since the turn of the 20th century and the introduction of public education the importance of the teacher has been written about, researched, and become an indoctrinated fact within schools and society. But when I walk around my school it becomes abundantly clear that ‘It takes a village to educate a child’. Our children’s education is not merely a teacher’s responsibility it is dependent on a lot more people within and outside of our educational institutions.

Since the beginning of man anyone who passed on knowledge to someone else was a teacher. A mother and father passing on skills, values, ethics, and information are teachers. An older brother teaching their sibling how to throw a baseball was a teacher. Somewhere along the way the title of “teacher” became formalized and regulated. To be called a teacher one had to go to post-secondary institution, attain a degree and then attend a teacher education program. Some countries, such as Finland, expect people to attain a Masters degree of Education to gain the title of “teacher” within their country. By attaining a degree and attending a teacher-ed program society decrees that a person is capable and fit to educate and pass on the needed information to create effective and educated citizens within our societies. I’m not here to argue if the formalization of the “teacher” status in society has had a positive or negative role in education. I believe that education and the teaching of students is not merely the passing on of knowledge by the teachers within the classrooms. Education is much more and it takes a lot more people, a village, to to be effective in today’s society.

Teachers are the predominant people within our educational system. The majority of a school’s staff are teachers. They pass on the knowledge, they assess our kids, they pass on values, etc. For the majority of the day students interact with teachers. But a student interacts and learns from more than the teacher in the classroom. For many students the first person they interact with in the morning, beside their parents/guardians, is the bus driver. Bus drivers ensure our kids get to and from schools safely. They also interact and talk to students. There have been many times I have been contacted by bus driver to let me know that a child has had a bad morning and might need a check-in, or that there’s been an argument between two kids that needs resolving. Bus drivers create meaningful and important relationships with the students on their busses. Another person that plays an important role within our schools is the custodians. Nerd Alert moment (LOL) – I always remember Jean-Luc Picards relationship with Boothby, the old groundskeeper at Star Fleet Academy. Picard noted, in many episodes, that Boothby was a invaluable source of advice and support throughout his years at the Academy. For many people, the custodians and bus drivers, are overlooked within our educational systems but they play an important role within our schools. Another group of people that play an important part of student’s education are the office staff. For many students these people are invaluable sources of support, information, and advice within the schools. These three groups of people are just the tip of the iceberg of people are schools that play important roles within our students education. They are sometimes overlooked but their role is invaluable within the village that is educating our students.

Another group of people that is fundamentally important within this village are parents. A child’s first teacher is their mother and father. From these people they learn their values, manners, ethics, sense of morality, their sense of belonging, etc. Through interacting or watching their parents they acquire a love of reading, playing sports, etc. Unfortunaly once a child enters the educational system the role of the parent starts to diminish in many aspects. Nowadays it seems that as students get older and proceed from elementary-middle-secondary school parents take more of a backseat in regards to their child’s education. A students’s success in school has been taken off the shoulders of parents and placed on the shoulders of teachers and their schools. Why has this shift occurred? What impact has this had on student’s education and growth? These are challenging questions but my point is that parents, who are fundamentally important to a child’s education, have started to play a smaller and smaller role in their schooling when it should be a vital and integral part of it.

As schools transform and change within the 21st Century another important part of the village is the community. More and more community connections and professionals will be connecting, collaborating, educating, and learning with students in our schools. These people will not be formal teachers within our society but they will bring ideas, challenges, and knowledge to the students within our schools. These professionals and other community members might not even be from our local communities. With the internet the world has become a much smaller place where students can connect and learn from people all over the world.

When we think of the old proverb ‘It takes a village to raise a child’ you think of a small African village where everyone from the parents, grandparents, uncles, aunts, friends, neighbours, etc all play a role in raising the children within their community. The educational world is not much different than this African village. Schools are vibrant and complex places where large numbers of people are needed to create caring, thoughtful, and supportive learning environments. It is  important to remember that schools are more than just the teaching of facts and information. They are institutions within the community or “village” that are fundamental in creating the people that become are neighbours, friends, and community members.

Schools in the 21st century look a lot like schools of the 20th century. The classroom setup, with the desks in rows, and the teacher lecturing at the front of the class is still quite common. The types of courses and the daily schedule of schools has remained quite standard throughout this time period. But looks can be deceiving. Schools might look the same, the pedagogical methods might not have changed much, and students might sit in the standard “desks in rows” format but schools have changed in numerous ways and these changes are indicative of the changing world we live in and the massive impact it is having on the students that cross the threshold of our schools today.

When you walk in schools today you will see a number of things that you would not see 40, 50, 60 years ago. Nowadays you see breakfast and lunch programs, washers and dryers for students to wash and dry clothes, calming rooms, school counsellors, drug and alcohol counsellors, security/police officers, metal detectors, etc. The educational systems throughout North America, and many parts of the world, have become more than just institutions of information transmission. They are becoming one of the most important insertions, or places, for our nations children. They are safe havens, they are places where students can access professional help, they are places where they get fed and clothed. They have, in many cases, the most important, and safest place for many our nations children.

Many people still deem schools as places where children merely learn the ABC’s, history, math, etc. Schools are much more than this. All one has to do is walk through the hallways of our schools and you will quickly realize that schools are not the same as schools in the past. Students are now coming to schools hungry, unkempt, mentally drained, traumatized, academically unprepared, and with a plethura of mental health concerns. Abraham Maslow, an American psychologist that created his ‘Hierarchy of Needs’ reveals  that students have to a number of  needs met to properly  Some of these needs are food, drink, security, acceptance, affection, affiliation, etc. If a number of these needs are not being met within the family then many students are coming to school in state that is non-conducive to learning.

In the past thirty years the ‘nuclear family’ that existed for generations in North America has disintegrated. More families are breaking up. More kids are being raised by one parent, two parents living in different homes, foster parents, group homes, and other situations. More kids are living in poverty. More kids are homeless. More and more students are coming to school well below the grade level they are assigned to. More and more kids are being raised in situations where drugs, alcohol, violence, and trauma exist on a daily basis. These are the students that are walking through the doors of schools throughout North America. These are the students that are sent to schools to learn. These are the students that teachers, admin, counsellors, etc are working with on a daily basis.

The disintegration of the traditional home life has created a plethora of problems for the educational system. For a system entrusted in the passing on of knowledge things have changed dramatically. Now society expects schools to do much more. Now they are expected to clothe, feed, assess kids and provide resources, provide counselling, etc. They must also work with students dealing with a plethura of mental health concerns, trauma, and other psychological issues. Teaching is a hard profession. It takes a lot of energy, commitment, passion, knowledge, and expertise. Add on all these other issues and expectations you create a insurmountable and problematic situation. But this is the situation many schools face on a daily basis. They, the professionals within schools. are entrusted to teach but they do much, much more. They have taken on the role of parent, caregiver, friend, guide, etc for the students in their schools. But is this an effective or achievable task to ask of schools? Can schools accomplish this task? Should schools be the institution to have to take on these roles within society? Will this situation worsen in the future? And if so will our current system be able to handle the students that cross through the front doors of the schools?

 

 

Jeff Bezos has vaulted past Bill Gates as the richest man in the world. He has taken Amazon, the online company that many people thought was doomed to failure, to a company that makes more than a $100 billion dollars a year. How did he do this? The article in Inc. magazine explained some of the ways he made Amazon such a roaring success – https://www.inc.com/sonia-thompson/jeff-bezos-says-this-is-the-reason-amazon-will-nev.html,

But the educations sector, which sometimes seems stagnant and stuck in the past, can learn a lot from the four key areas that Bezos stresses within his company to keep it innovative and always moving forward.

1st key – Obsess Over Customers – “You have to create an experience for them that makes them feel like no other option will do.”

Do we, as educators and institutions of learning, accomplish this task? This is a question every educator needs to ask themselves. Are your students engaged in class? Is their learning personalized? Does their experience “make them feel like no other option will do”? I think the data reveals that students are disengaged with their education. Students are tired of being lectured to. They want to be engaged, challenged, and have a more personalized education that will better prepare them for their lives now and after graduation.

2nd Key – Resist Proxies – “You stop looking at outcomes and just make sure you’re doing the process right. … A remarkable customer experience starts with heart, intuition, curiosity, play, guts, taste. You won’t find any of it in a survey.” Bezos believes companies must resist sitting back on their laurels and be complacent with their current practices and processes.

The problem with education is traditionally it is an institution that is stuck in past practices. Their are new and innovative practices that have shown to be revolutionary, innovative, creative, and student-centerer. But for the most part education is an institution that perpetuates itself in past practices and traditional pedagogy. How do we break away from this traditional pedagogies that keep us stuck in an out-dated and antiquated form of education?

3rd Key – Embrace External Trends – “If you fight them, you’re probably fighting the future. Embrace them and you have a tailwind.” Amazon is a constantly changing and evolving company that embraces change.

Education is rife with trends. The problem with education is that many teachers deem the trends just that – trends – that come and go. Teachers, due to education being based on past-practices, embrace a form of education that has dominated education for years. Lectures still dominate many middle-high-and post-secondary classes. Is this form of teaching best practices? Why will education embrace change? Why not try new things at all costs? Whats wrong if you try something in your class and it fails? Nothing – but it shows students that failing is okay.

4th Key – Make High-Velocity Decisions

Education makes decisions based on data. But this data takes along time to accumulate and to understand. Maybe data isn’t so important. Lets make decisions based on whats best for kids. Lets make decisions based on what makes education engaging, relevant, personalized, and awe-inspiring. Lets not make decisions on what ensures high test scores.

And don’t forget – as Jeff Bezos states – “Remember EVERY DAY IS DAY #1”

This is Day 1 for the Internet and, if we execute well, for Amazon.com. Today, online commerce saves customers money and precious time. Tomorrow, through personalization, online commerce will accelerate the very process of discovery. Amazon.com uses the Internet to create real value for its customers and, by doing so, hopes to create an enduring franchise, even in established markets. … Though we are optimistic, we must remain vigilant and maintain a sense of urgency.

Education also needs to take on this sense of urgency. If we do the institution of education will prosper, innovative, and become “the experience for them (the students)  that makes them feel like no other option will do.

 

Prior to reading this I want the reader to know I am an ardent supporter of the public school system within British Columbia. My personal K-12 education was through the public school education in Fort St. John, BC. I have nothing but fond memories of my education, my amazing teachers, and the educational foundation it gave me that allowed me to be successful at the post-secondary level and for giving me the skills and enthusiasm towards learning to become a life-long learner. I, in no way, want to create the chaotic educational system that exists in the United States. But some Charter schools have been very successful in breaking the traditional “factory” style model of education that Sir Ken Robinson has lamented against for the last 10-15  years. There are many things within the BC educational system that are preventing change and innovation within BC schools. As educators we need to question the model of education that has existed for many years. We need to fight for the best educational system for our students today and in the future. This is the reason why I wrote this post. I want people to question the status quo and to dream about the education of today and of the future.

Lets begin…..

Charter Schools – Is there anything more controversial in education today? These types of schools have proliferated throughout the United States and there is no shortage of negative stories and data pertaining to them on the internet or in the news. But there are also the stories of amazing, innovative, creative Charter schools doing amazing things and having tremendous educational results. But to bring the idea of Charter Schools up in British Columbian schools is highly controversial and one that might lead to a heated argument about schools, privatization, 2-Tiered education systems, etc. But its an issue that intrigues me. Why couldn’t we encourage the growth of Charter Schools in BC? Could we not learn from the American experience and encourage the specific types of Charter Schools that are transforming and revolutionizing education? Lets delve into this controversial issue a little bit to see what we uncover.

What is a charter school?

Charter schools are autonomous public schools that provide innovative or enhanced education programs designed to improve student learning. Operating outside of local school boards and governed by their own board of trustees, they are accountable for pursuing and meeting their charter. Typically exempt from many statutes and regulations that govern traditional public schools, they are not required to hire unionized teachers and may use non-traditional pedagogy or curriculum. They do not charge tuition and are typically fully funded for operational expenses.

Where are they found in North America?

Charter schools can be found in most of the American states and in the province of Alberta (Max. 15 Charter Schools Allowed by Legislation)

Why in Canada are Charter Schools only found in Alberta?

1. The Albertan government is the only provincial government to pass Charter School legislation.
2. After Ralph Klein’s government passed this legislation in the early 1990’s the core interests in Canadian education (school superintendents, education faculties, and teachers’ unions) closed ranks and successfully fended off charter schools everywhere else.

What kind of high schools exist in BC?

There are a vast number of high-schools in BC. The majority of high schools are public high schools. A good definition from schoolsincanada.com is: Public high schools in British Columbia are generally non-religious, publicly funded schools overseen by the provincial Ministry of Education. Within local school districts, public schools are run by the public school boards. The main language of instruction in British Columbia public high schools is English. However, French Immersion is available in many public school districts, as well as English as a second language (ESL) and French as a second language (FSL) training. Since public education is free for residents of the province, tuition for international students is correspondingly lower than at private institutions. Some public secondary schools have dormitories, and many have arrangements for homestay families.

There are also a plethora of other types of Independent high schools. They range from private high schools, boarding schools, All-Girl and All-Boy Schools. and Christian High Schools. Regardless of affiliation, location, cost or school type, high schools in British Columbia are held to provincial government standards of quality, ensuring a world-class educational opportunity for domestic and international students alike. Most of these Independent schools receive around 50-35% of the funding that the public high schools receive. There is a growing movement within BC, and many other provinces, to stop this public funding for private independent schools within the province.

Charter Schools in United States

The number of charter schools in the United States has risen dramatically over the last few years. There are countless articles declaring the merits or the ineffectiveness of the charter schools in America. John Oliver’s video about charter schools explains some of the negative features of the charter school movement in America. [www.businessinsider.com/john-oliver-charter-schools-2016-8]. If you want to read more about the +’s and -‘s of the Charter School Movement all you have to do is google and you’ll have no shortage of reading to occupy your time.

Why are Charter Schools not wanted in BC?

One of the biggest opponents of Charter Schools in BC is the British Columbia Teachers Federation. In 1995 the BCTF published a report titled ‘Ten problems with Charter Schools’. I thought if we examined some of the “10 Problems” we might come to a better understanding of the Charter School issue within BC. [Note: quotes from this section are from BCTF Report]

1. Charter Schools create two-tiered education

In the early 1990’s opposition to charter schools had been expressed by the B.C. Minister of Education, Art Charbonneau. He told the legislature that charter schools produce “a system where some groups of parents see that through more extensive control and participation, they can deliver one level of education in that school, and they feel the public schools in that area can be satisfied with a lesser level of education.” But isn’t this happening in BC already? Parents of students at school such as St. Georges and York House exert a lot of control over the level of education their sons/daughters receive. They prefer to pay exuberant amounts of money so their children interact with a certain type of student populace and receive an education that will guarantee that their children gain admission into the University of their choice. The 2-tiered form of education has already been established within the province of BC. Independent private schools that cater to the rich and famous within BC have already created a system where the public school system has been labelled as a “lesser level of education”. The Fraser Institute rankings flaunt these results and this 2-Tier system to the people of BC on a yearly basis. I am not arguing that the education at Independent private schools is better than the public school system. I am arguing that the 2-Tier education system that people fear already exists in BC and is expanding on a yearly basis.

2. Charter schools encourage social fragmentation rather than common experiences.

Many people fear that Charter Schools target specific student groups and by not attending public schools they lose out from learning and interacting with people of different ethnic groups, religions, socio-economic backgrounds, etc. But this is already occurring within BC?  Parents are choosing to have their children attend elite private schools or religious-based independent schools at an alarming rate in BC.  The growing number of independent private schools in BC shows that parents want more say in which schools their children attend, who they interact with, and what they learn.  Schools have always played a homogenizing role in society but nowadays there are countless other activities that children participate in that allow them to interact and learn with people of different classes, races, ethnicities, etc. Some of these are clubs, sporting teams, church groups, etc, etc. So is the school important for this role anymore? Just something to ponder.

3. Charter schools aren’t the answer to inequalities in Canada.

The schools in the USA have faced an onslaught of rules, regulations, and penalties in the last few years. Many schools, especially within some of the larger urban centres, are located in high-poverty districts. In the USA most schools are paid for by the district they reside in. The Federal Government chips in 8-9% of the funding but most schools are funded by the property taxes paid in the areas the school is located. For many of these high-poverty districts the amount of property taxes being paid is dramatically lower than in the affluent suburban areas. This lack of funding means less specialty teachers, less technology in classrooms, less support for at-risk students, etc. With the growing number of Charter schools within the USA parents are choosing en masse, in some reasons, to remove their children from these poor, high-poverty schools, and registering them in Charter Schools that seem to have the answer to all their problems. In some cases this is the case but a growing number of Charter Schools have not been the solution. In British Columbia public schools  schools are funded equally. This creates a stable and uniform system of funding that allows every school to provide an equal level of education to all students. The fear that the introduction of “Charter schools might increase the inequalities rather than reducing them” seems unwarranted.  If Charter schools are funded the same as public schools it would offer students more choice about the type of education they receive. Charter schools would hopefully attract students from all socio-economic areas? Many Charter schools use a lottery type system to ensure a diverse range of students get a chance to attend. I think if properly introduced, and if their processes are monitored to ensure equal access, etc, then Charter Schools would allow more student choice at a time when student choice and different learning opportunities are something we all deem important for a students education and growth as a learner.

4. Charter Schools don’t encourage system reform and improved quality

Many opponents of Charter Schools believe they serve special interests and are destroying public education. They also believe that Charter schools pull more money from the public school system and this money would only benefit a few students attending the Charter school.  They belief that money funnelled to private schools, such as Charter Schools,  will result in less specialty teachers, higher class sizes, etc within the public school system.  Schools are funded in a very specific manner in BC thus less students mean less dollars. So in reality Charter schools would pull money from the public schools.  Funding is an issue but would these schools not lessen the issue of overcrowding and massive class sizes in some of the public schools? Would they not lessen the massive workload teachers face on daily basis in BC? I agree there is a negative in regards to funding but on the hand less students means smaller class sizes, better teacher-student ratio, and a better working and learning environment for the students/staff at public high schools.

5. Marketing, rather than educational improvement, becomes a central focus.

The marketing of our educational system is already taking place. Schools with academies, specialty sports programs, well-known music programs, IB programs, etc attract students to them. Parents, when moving into an area, research the schools and their programs prior to buying a home. School choice, and the marketing of certain programs, occurs all the time in BC. Parents and students know what programs are offered at each school, they know a school’s history and its reputation, they understand the socio-economic status of the students that attend the school, they can see the Fraser Institute’s ranking of the school. All these things play a role in parents decision on where they send their children to school. This is all marketing and it leads to a certain level of competition between schools. Is this a bad thing? Or does it lead to innovation and creative programs within schools? Does this promote stagnation or growth? Something to ponder.

The notion of Charter Schools intrigues me. Innovative schools such as High Tech High, AltSchool, Big Picture Academy, Brightworks Academy, and Think Global School are just a few Charter schools that have created an educational setting that is completely different than the traditional school setting that has existed for over 100 years. If you research these schools you will see that these schools are educating students in ways that are 360 degrees different than traditional classroom setting. In some of the schools the traditional classroom does not even exist anymore. At a time when educators and educational theorists are lamenting the lack of evolution and growth within education it would seem that much of innovation and change that is occurring within education is taking place in Charter Schools. So why is innovation, on a large scale, not occurring within the public school system in BC? For years administrators and school board executives have been travelling to the USA to visit Charter school sush as High Tech High. They come back and talk about the innovation and creative things taking place but our system continues along the same way it has for decades. Small pockets of innovation have been created. Join Twitter and you’ll quickly see these pockets of innovation – Maker days, robotic clubs, etc. The problem is they are “pockets of innovation” – nothing more. What we need is schools of innovation and creativity. We need to get away from the block schedules, set timetables, sage on the stage mentality. We need to think out of the box to the extreme level. If the introduction of Charter schools in BC encourage this within our province and the energy and innovation reverberates throughout the public school system then it can only be a positive thing.

We have to wonder why “schools of innovation and creativity” have not become the norm in BC? With the introduction of a new K-12 curriculum and the removal of the Gr 10-12 standardized tests that used to hinder creativity within the classrooms of BC it would seem a perfect time to move even further away from the traditional form of education. Will this new curriculum hasten this change? I don’t believe so. I think too many of the “statutes and regulations that govern traditional public schools” will continue to shackle and oppress some of the change that is needed within our education system. As an ardent supporter of the public school system it frustrates me how little it has changed since I went to school. For me the public school system worked. I copied the notes, I memorized the notes, I regurgitated the notes for the test and I passed the courses needed to get into the post-secondary institution of my choice. The system has worked for over 100 years. But that is the problem. Society has changed dramatically due to the things such as the internet, cell phones, virtual reality, etc. Students are dramatically different than they were  50-60 years ago. Education has too change for the students of today and the future. They need, and want, a different form of education. Charter schools seem to be the spark that might cause whole-scale change. This can only be a positive thing. As educators we all want whats best for our students and for our children. Is our current system the best we can provide or offer? I’m not sure. I hope this post has made you question our current educational system and the role Charter Schools could play if properly introduced.

 

 

Education reform is not a new idea or concept. People throughout the world have been trying to change the educational system for decades. Hundreds of books have been written about new educational concepts and pedagogical methods. People have been lamenting the fact that the educational system seems to be stuck in quicksand while the rest of the world has been evolving and changing.  The educational system is something we are all familiar with. Everyone has endured the 13 years of prescribed education. Education to create smarter, better citizens so the nations of the world can move forward. People need to have a basic level of education to ensure a nation does not fall behind. Educated citizens ensure a nations survival. The funny thing is this level of familiarity is one of the biggest obstacles holding back educational development. People understand the current K-12 system. They understand the concept of school – the progression from K-12, the different types of courses being offered, the teaching styles within the different levels of education, and the culminating act – Graduation. This familiarity allows people a level of certainty and a feeling of safety when they wave goodbye to their children as they leave for school. There are also a multitude of other areas of familiarity within the education system – report cards, letter grades, the classroom layout, teacher development,school timetables and schedule, and so forth. When these areas of familiarity are disrupted it scares people and creates waves of unrest and fear within the parent and student populace.  As we all know  the educational system was created a long time ago and was designed around the agricultural cycles of the day and then the rapidly industrializing world. This system, which has not changed much in over 100 years, is on the cusp of some massive changes. But the familiarity of the system will continue to thwart these changes. Society is so accustomed to the system of education in North America that it is difficult to make the changes that will revolutionize education and  how we educate children. Can we change the daily schedule of schools? Can we change the layout of classrooms when they are designed for rows of desks? Can we alter the timetables of high schools? Can “new” teachers be taught to teach differently when they learn their skills from the current teachers? There are a plethora of familiar concepts and norms within the ed. system that people hold dear to their hearts and their minds. How do we break this loyalty to the past and this sense of familiarity. If we don’t I fear we will be talking about ed. reform in the same way 20 years from now.

So I’m back sitting in a local Starbucks. Lots of people are sitting around talking, laughing, staring out windows, staring at laptops and other tech devices. Many people are reading newspapers (and they think newspapers are becoming antiquated) and it would seem that most people are relaxed and enjoying themselves. So what has created this arena that people are relaxed, reading, learning, discussing ideas and events with other people, and engagement seems high?
Is it the soft music in the background?
Is it the comfortable furniture?
Is it the expensive coffee drinks?
Is it the pictures of African coffee plantations that show content and happy workers?
Is it the overly friendly and chatty workers?
Is it the decor? (Plants,friendly colors, etc)

Let’s look into the classrooms of the 21st century? – I’m looking at it from a middle / secondary perspective since this is my Ed. Background.

– many are mono colored?
– many have whiteboards covering the walls of the classroom
– many have a PowerPoint projector installed on ceiling
– they all have 30-35 wooden/metal desks plus a teacher desk
– the walls might have some posters, etc on walls
– no music is playing

For the most part students are listening to a teacher instruct / lecture while they are copying down notes, then some sort of worksheet or assignment will be completed. students might be listening, they might not, some are texting, some are doodling, some are staring off into space.

Whys the classroom devoid of the engagement that we see from people in Starbucks? Why do people, who are free to do whatever they want, engaged with newspapers, laptops, discussions, etc with themselves and within groups of people? But in a classroom the majority of people are disengaged? I’m not sure if I can base this difference on the atmosphere of Starbucks. But what else could it be?

This is perplexing….next blog will look at impact of atmosphere, decor, etc on student engagement. Let’s delve a little deeper into the rabbits hole.

I’m sitting here at Starbucks waiting for my Caramel Ribbon frappucino. First I stood in a line at around 20 people and then the wait. Amazing so many people will stand in such a long line and wait around for a coffee based drink. It also costs around $6 but it is the “venti” but really it’s only ice,espresso, milk, and some whipping cream and syrup. So how does a start up coffee company, which started with one small store in Seattle expand around the world with its whole premise being charging ridiculous prices for coffee and making you wait in long lines for it. It’s amazing that it’s done so well.
The education system needs to learn a few things from company’s like Starbucks. Is education really not selling a product to students. We want them to buy into a system, follow the rules, willingly accept the process, and have the buy-in to return over and over for years after their first visit to the institution/company. So how does Starbucks successfully do this when the education system has failed miserably to get their “customers” to become compliant followers to the system created?
Let’s look at this from another view:
1. Most people have a coffee machine/ blender at home so they can make coffee products at home.
2. Most people can purchase whipping cream, syrups, flavored crumble, ice, etc at their local grocery stores.
3. All these products can be purchased and it would cost a fraction of the cost of repeated visits to Starbucks.
4. Don’t forget – most people have their own cups at the homes.
5. Most people have chairs and could play music to create the same ambience that Starbucks provides.

Hhmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmm

Okay so the majority of people could have the time, the knowledge, and the equipment to make Starbucks drinks quite easily. But millions of people descend on the stores daily to purchase easy-to-make coffee drinks for insane prices. And this cycle continues on a daily basis and has continued for years.

So how can the education system change so students willingly come to school, are willing to pay to attend, and accept the system in place without question. You have to remember that most people could acquire the same knowledge at the public library, in a shorter time period than the usual 13 years of education, and without all the time restraints and constrictions placed on them throughout the years. This will not be easy…

Check back in for the next post for more on this intriguing topic.

http://blogs.hbr.org/bregman/2013/08/a-question-that-can-change-you.html

This is a great tweet for people, especially leaders within the educational system. Couros poses the question, What can I do, right now, that would be the most powerful use of this moment? As educators we are constantly placed in situations where we can dramatically impact a students growth, development, etc. But do we always do what would be the “most powerful use of the moment”? I’m not sure but this tweet really made me think I need to take chances more. I love it when a tweet makes me really analyze my thoughts and decisions.