“Reinventing” America’s High Schools

1. “Reinventing” America’s High Schools Tony Wagner, Co-Director Change Leadership Group Harvard University, Graduate School of Education tony_wagner@harvard.edu www.clg.harvard.edu

2. “The formulation of the problem is often more essential than the solution.” Einstein What is the “crisis” in American education really all about—what’s the “problem”? School reform is just another fad. If it ain’t broke, don’t fix it! Their schools are the problem, not ours! Incremental change is the only way to go

3. Understanding The Changing World 1. CHANGES IN THE WORK PLACE: What does the new “knowledge economy” mean? • All Students: there is no such thing as unskilled work! • wages of h.s. grads have declined 70% in 20 years • skills for work, citizenship, and college readiness are now essentially the same • New Skills: most work today requires skills we don’t know how to assess or teach to all students • Learning how to learn • Problemsolving • Teamwork

4. The “Basics” Perception Gap

5. College Readiness Perception Gap

6. Work Readiness Perception Gap

7. Work/College Skills: What’s Needed vs. What’s Taught PAF Reality Check 2002-Percent giving high school grads “poor” or “fair” ratings on:

8. Understanding the Changing World (cont.) 2. CHANGES IN OUR UNDERSTANDING OF THE LEARNING PROCESS • Active Learning: “To understand is to invent”—Montessori, Dewey, Piaget • Diverse Learning Styles—Howard Gardner • Exponential growth of information: Memorizing facts versus Learning how to find, use, and apply knowledge

9. Understanding the Changing World (cont.) 3. CHANGES IN THE REQUIREMENTS OF CITIZENSHIP: CRITICAL THINKING, CIVIC ENGAGEMENT, CIVILITY • Critical Thinking: Increasing complexity of issues • Civic Engagement: Need for active and informed citizens • 50% decline in voting & involvement in community efforts • Civility: Importance of “Emotional Intelligence” or people skills for work and citizenship • An increasingly multicultural society requires understanding different perspectives and cultures • A more respectful dialogue is needed everywhere • Students say there is a lack of respect in schools—only 41% say most of their teachers respect them

10. Understanding the Changing World (cont.) 4. CHANGES IN STUDENTS’ LIFE CIRCUMSTANCES: • Diminished motivation to learn • Less fear and respect for authority • Fewer believe hard work = success = happiness • “Shopping Mall” culture = passive consumption & instant gratification • Adults less present in students’ lives • Students spend as much time alone as with friends • Less than 5% of their time is spent with adults

11. Re-Framing the “problem”SCHOOLS (TEACHERS AND PARENTS) ARE NOT FAILING. THE SYSTEM IS OBSOLETE.***REFORMING OUR PRESENT SYSTEM ISN’T THE SOLUTION. WE NEED TO REINVENT IT! “No shame, no blame, no excuses!”

12. Towards a Vision of Success:The New 3 “R’s” for the 21st Century • RIGOR We need uniformly high academic standards for all students, while allowing for different ways in which students can show mastery. Rigor today is less about coverage and much more about mastery of core competencies: analysis, communication, problem-solving, teamwork • RELEVANCE The traditional “college prep" academic curriculum doesn’t make sense to many students and they are not motivated to mastery. The curriculum has to be both challenging and connected to “real-world” applications such as service & internships. • RELATIONSHIPS/RESPECT You can’t motivate a student you don’t know. There is no learning without trust and respect, and neither are granted automatically by today’s students. They must be earned.

13. The Vision & Implications for Leadership • The Imperative: involving more adults in helping all students achieve: The New Village Commons • The Vision: Moving from bureaucracy to community, from compliance to engagement, from isolation to teamwork: The New Village School • Role of Leadership: create “ownership, not “buy-in!” Develop a strategic focus and promote adult learning by framing the challenges and asking the right questions, rather than giving the answers.

14. Sources/Resources/Further Readings • Tony Wagner, Making The Grade: Reinventing America’s Schools (New York: RoutledgeFalmer, 2001) see also: www.newvillageschools.org and a video on focus groups: “Creating Community Consensus: Dialogues for Learning & Engagement” http://www.seattleschools.org/area/ibc/tw.xml *** • Anthony S. Bryk and Barbara Schneider, Trust in Schools: A Core Resource for Improvement (New York: Russell Sage Foundation, 2002) • John Cotter, The Heart of Change (Cambridge: HBS Press, 2002) • Mihaly Csikszentmihalyi and Reed Larson, Being Adolescent: Conflict and Growth in the Teenage Years (New York: Basic Books, 1984) • Daniel Goleman, Emotional Intelligence (New York: Bantam, 1995.) • Ron Heifetz, Leadership Without Easy Answers (Cambridge: Harvard University Press, 1994)

15. Sources/Resources/Further Readings (cont.) • Deborah Meier, The Power of Their Ideas (Boston: Beacon Press, 1996) & In Schools We Trust (Beacon, 2002) • Richard Murnane and Frank Levy, Teaching The New Basic Skills, (New York: The Free Press, 1996,) • Public Agenda Foundation, “Where We Are Now: 12 Things you Need to Know About Public Opinion & Public Schools” (www.publicagenda.org) • Robert Putman, Bowling Alone: The Collapse and Revival of American Community (New York: Simon and Schuster, 2000) • James W. Stigler & James Hiebert, The Teaching Gap, (New York: Free Press, 1999) • Daniel Yankelovich: The Magic of Dialogue : Transforming Conflict into Cooperation (New York: Touchstone, 1991)