Education Reform

I frequently get asked what this whole "Education Reform" idea is all about. People constantly hear from politicians that public schools are failing and we need to reform it because it isn't working. I would contend that public schools are what is great about our country, but the way that we run them needs to be modified to fit a new generation of learners. Learners who need to be engaged and who need to find relevance in the curriculum that is delivered. Simply telling a student that they need to know something because it will benefit them later in life is not enough to compel them to actually learn it.

They way that I see it, Education Reform is all about delivery of curriculum and a focus on context and not content. The curriculum that most schools have is very good, however, it may not be delivered in a way that stimulates growth and learning in our students.

I hear the argument all the time that pits public schools against charter schools and private schools. Regardless of your feelings about these schools, it all boils down to how curriculum is delivered in the classroom. Show me a school that has teachers committed to students exploring, making discoveries on their own, and allowing students to fail and learn from their mistakes, and I will tell you that you have one heck of a school that is turning out students who are college and career ready. The alternative to this is what we currently have in a lot of schools. The typical "cells and bells" model of education is an antiquated approach that stifles learning and is not producing a large group of quality students.

I point to Marysville Getchell High School Campus in Washington as a school that is truly redefining what education should look like at the secondary level. The design of the building is one that promotes collaboration and use of flexible spaces. In addition, they utilize small learning communities (SLCs) where students can explore various career clusters and find what they are interested in. Because the students learn the curriculum within the context of their SLC, they are more apt to be engaged in their learning and show growth.

Many may say that this is just an academy approach, but I view this a little differently. What I have seen from an academy approach is that some students get to be in the academy while everyone else gets the regular curriculum. I think a better approach would be to provide multiple avenues like Marysville Getchell and have students and parents choose their path. I point to the Nebraska Career Cluster matrix as the guide for what clusters should be included. Upon entering high school, students and parents could choose their cluster. From there, all curriculum delivered within that cluster would be based on the context of the career fields within.


Overall, I am a proponent of Education Reform from the perspective of curriculum delivery and context. If we can get all schools on board with this, we will truly have a world-class system that no one could rival.

As a sidenote, I would be interested in knowing of any other schools that may be following a model similar to this.