I have taken
time to step back from thoughts, comments, and observations about education to
“move all in” on my “next” adventure.
However, I was prompted by colleague to get back at what I love and what
I dedicated over thirty years of work to accomplish. Here goes ...
I couldn’t
help but consider the EBOLA situation, the myriad questions raised about
leadership, our health care system, safety, trust, and their implications to
less lethal but nonetheless significant threats to our nation, states, cities,
neighborhoods and to millions of Americans.
Notwithstanding
the reality that anything can and will be made political, we have witnessed
some very interesting decisions and indecisions. All of which engendered myriad reactions –
it’s not over yet as I am confident that there will be more.
Though
argumentative, comparing EBOLA to anything is akin to “crying wolf” or being
opportunistic. Yet, what will it take to
finally focus – be consumed – and do whatever it takes to ensure that each
child is literate? Imagine if the
energy, effort, and yes, fiscal resources being marshaled to address EBOLA were
leverage to eradicate illiteracy?
As
devastating as EBOLA is as well as what it represents in terms of a pandemic,
we will figure it out. I am confident
that in spite of missteps, mistakes, and in some cases negligence, we will
figure it out.
Truth be
known, we already know what must be done to eradicate illiteracy. We know what works. Of further insult, other countries have
figured it out leaving daunting questions about “why not” America?
I have for
several years advocated as well as applied the findings, the continuing work,
and passion of the school effects research and researchers (Lezotte, Edmonds,
and Brookover). Their efforts to clarify
as well as refute the findings and self-serving interpretations of the Coleman
report are as important today as they were in the late 1960’s and early
1970’s.
For those
not familiar, the Equal Educational Opportunity (1966) aka the Coleman report –
was used by policy makers and others as “proof” that families not schools were
the determinant factors of an individual’s educational attainment and
success. Simply put, pundits and policy
makers concluded from Coleman, “schools didn’t matter” as schools did not
control enough of the factors/variables to overcome family background or the
backgrounds of other students in school.
The social,
economic and political backdrop of Coleman provides context for many of the
interpretations of the report and this is as it should be – it was a very
challenging time in our history.
But, the
legacy of formal and informal policy and practice still in motion today teeter
on blatant ignorance as well as intentional disregard for the body of research
that has again, and again, and again empirically proved that race, ethnicity,
gender, socio-economics, and etc. are factors but are not insurmountable with
respect to the educational attainment of learners.
In the weeks
ahead, I will share several salient points of the school effects research as
well as introduce (in some cases reintroduce the work of Lezotte, Edmonds and
Brookover) within the framework of one driving question – “why not, America?”
