More and more states are running their school systems like businesses. They are hiring business leaders to run their schools and they are using the check and balances model to monitor teacher and student progress. However, it is still proving ineffective (especially for students of color). But since this has become such a popular idea, let's discuss this model in a way that will, hopefully, get districts to realize that the business model of running schools is not effective.
The "business" of the schools is to educate all children so that they can become successful adults just like the business of Boeing is to build safe and innovative airplanes. Boeing's business is to create a way of travel that is conducive to our way of life. Can you imagine if Boeing had a "production gap" or a "safety gap"? Boeing would not be in business. However, it is okay to have one of the most important entities in our society suffer from an achievement gap or as I like to call it an instructional gap.
What would happen if Boeing found workers that were not fulfilling the mission of the company? They would get rid of these non-effective workers. Boeing would not jeopardize the quality of their product because too much would be sacrificed. The same goes for Microsoft. Microsoft's interviewing practices are just as rigorous as the job that interviewees are applying for. Why? Because, they want to hire individuals that will fulfill the purpose of the company by creating a product that will compete with the products of their rivals. Microsoft hires the individuals that will help them create the "best" product for their consumers.
Since districts are viewing our students to "products" let's use this framework to discuss what's going on with our students. As previously mentioned, the job of our schools is to produce students that will be effective citizens that will contribute to the success of our country and to contribute to global success. The consumers of our students include our communities and the fields of science, medicine, business, technology, and education, just to name a few. The companies in these fields are looking for employees that will help create new products that will catapult their company into that number one position. However, our schools are creating "products”, our students, that are so ill-prepared that companies in these fields are going to different countries to find workers that they know will help their company succeed.
The "product" that our public school system is producing, in much of America, can't even compete with the "product" that places like Finland, Singapore, South Africa, China, and Japan are producing. If Boeing or Microsoft consistently created products that consumers were not purchasing they would be out of business. If the American Public School System does not start producing a quality “product” by changing its business plan and ensuring that EVERY employee is effective and innovative it will be out of business because its competitors (other countries, charter schools, private schools and home schooling) will be producing a much better "product".
Very insightful!
ReplyDelete