Paul Thomas of Furman University gas noticed
an interesting and disturbing phenomenon. The people who
seem most certain about telling schools how to change are those who
have the least experience working in schools. Just one example that
he gives: A movie director had dinner with two medical doctors and
suddenly the director realized how to fix the nation’s schools. No
experience needed. No research needed. No knowledge needed. Just a
hunch. Any advice for them?
A site to discuss education and democracy
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Diane Ravitch's blog 
Disposable income and too much time on their hands is not a substitute for knowledge, practice and training
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How about “Sit down and shut up, you know nothing of which you speak”.
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If only southern girls were not bred to be so polite I could have said this in the gym this morning. Once again.
But I didn’t. I listened to a business man who makes thermometers tell me his opinion.
He did not see a problem with the budget. In fairness, he listened to me as well. But I think business people will often assume if things are run like they would run a business, all should be fine.
Interestingly he pondered why NC is becoming a less attractive state for business.
Hmmmm. I ended my time on the elliptical machine next to his at that question and moved on–that’s southern for sit down etc.
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Then again I think because it is public is why most people have an opinion on it. That is another reason I let them talk.
A wise person knows when to take advice and when not to. We need more wisdom somewhere.
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Perhaps you could direct your “gentleman” to the following business man:
http://www.jamievollmer.com/blueberries
Jamie Vollmer seems to have a clue.
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Ask him why he thinks schools should be run like businesses when 90% of businesses fail?
When people say that about schools I usually respond in a calm, casual and friendly manner that as the owner of a business since the 90’s, I would hope that our schools are NOT run like businesses; businesses are all about the zero-sum game of competition. I only care about “winning” in business and in order for me to win, the rest of you HAVE to lose.
I’ve gotten a lot of people to reconsider this widespread but obtuse, meaninglessness “run schools like a business” cliché without alienating or offending anyone.
And when they follow up with the veey legitimate question, “Well, how do YOU think our schools should be run?” I say “They should be run like SCHOOLS—the very best schools—and there are many models, ranging from Choate and Andover to the outstanding suburban schools in Scarsdale, Newton, Millburn, Greenwich and Winnetka, just to name a random handful.
There’s no “secret sauce” here. There are LOTS of schools, public, parochial and public, everywhere in our country that work and work well. (Overwhelming, most people are happy with their local public schools, surveys have been demonstrating for three decades.)
However, I wouldn’t then make the superficial argument that maybe businesses need to be run more like our schools. That would be equally dumb.
Businesses and schools are very different things—as they should be. And, most importantly, our schools should not be treated like “an enterprise” or a “good entrepreneurial venture” or anything like that.
We didn’t pay to support our schools so that they could then be mined for private profits at the expense of our children’s education.
THIS is the Big Battle ahead of us: Will we parents, citizens and taxpayers maintain control of our schools and the education of our children, or will we allow those schools to be seized by the highest bidder who will eventually bleed them dry on behalf of private investors and executives, who are currently obsessed with getting their foot (Trojan Horse) in the door by promising to “reform” or “improve” our schools.
They’re not to be trusted—in any way, shape or form.
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Do you run a manufacturing business or a service business?
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My advice?
Go away.
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Perfect!
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My advice for these three gentlemen is to find an experienced educator and run this new idea by him/her for a reaction. To avoid change for the sake of change, every new idea needs to go through the crucible of examination by those more closely involved with the issues. This is exactly how societies handle innovation. New ideas go into the crucible to be melted down and then examined up close. If you wish, the concept involves a progressive idea being examined in the heat and light of conservative experience and values. What comes out of such a process is much more likely to be successful and enduring than change implemented without critical examination. and bad ideas get consumed by the heat of the crucible and never come back out.
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That movie director is so bad at his own craft of movie making and has such a poor reputation as a filmmaker that Sony kept his name out of the advertising for his last movie, a Will Smith picture that bombed badly with both critics and audiences.
Seems to me that filmmaker would do better to get advice on how to fix his movies from those doctors he dined with and leave schools and education policy alone.
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They were bragging and that’s how policy is made!
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Dear Mr. Shyamalan,
Instead of more private dinner brainstorming sessions with wealthy non-educators, how about joining my students and me at our school cafeteria? Then spend a few days in class with us. Perhaps you might learn a little something. You might rethink your “hunch” that class size doesn’t matter, and your belief that strict repetitive classroom regimens work best.
I would like you to look in the beautiful faces of my beautiful diverse 13 and 14-year-olds and try to tell them that more kids should be in the room and their teacher (me) should do more repetitive drilling. You could also hint that my two advanced degrees have done nothing to make me a better teacher. However, I’m a little worried that this might send the wrong message, i.e., that pursuing education doesn’t really make you better at what you do.
On a happier note, I love your movies, especially The Sixth Sense and The Village. I have had the joy of working with some adolescents who aspire to write, direct, or produce films. I could happily recount to you conversations I have had with these young people about the themes in your work. I have encouraged these kids to work really hard to reach their goals. I have told them it is a gift to be creative and aspire to a career in the arts. I don’t think strict and repetitive regimens will help them. Frankly, I don’t think strict and repetitive regimens will help any of my students, whether they aspire to make movies, cook meals, study history, write novels, start a business, build homes … or whatever.
If you are still hell bent on improving education by doing five things at once, try these: (1) fund school and public libraries and librarians, (2) fund in-school dental and medical care and make sure there is a nurse in every school, (3) fund guidance counselors; more are needed, (4) make sure all kids have music, art, physical education and other “specials”,(5) reduce class size. I included no. 5 because I truly believe that after a day or two in a crowded middle school, you’ll get a “hunch” that this will do wonders.
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Did the movie director give advice to the medical doctors on how to improve their medical outcomes? More charter hospitals and Medicate for America newbies who have 5 weeks of medical training? What could go wrong?
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Did the doctors have advice on how the director could improve his films? I have not seen the improvement one would expect . Reviews and box office have been declining for years.
Give him a low VAM score and bust him down to grip.
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Tell them when they disprove Bernoulli all airplanes will come crashing to the ground. When they disprove Newton people will float away into space. And when they disprove Piaget and Vygotsky then kids will be developmentally ready to take 6 hours of high-stakes testing!
Sent from my iPhone
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These people are ridiculous. It’s grounded in arrogance and disrespect.
The reform industry-corrupted Ohio state education director is making silly statements again. He’s insisting parents of public school are “customers.” These idiots have managed to make me embarrassed of the private sector, and I work in the private sector. I don’t want to be a “customer” of my child’s school. It isn’t a commercial transaction. Teachers aren’t churning out a product. Why is this a difficult concept?
Does anyone else remember Baby Einstein? It was a product that was marketed heavily to new parents who lack confidence and experience. President Bush sold it at a SOTU once. The founder was a big GOP donor.
“Parent alert: the Walt Disney Company is now offering refunds for all those “Baby Einstein” videos that did not make children into geniuses. They may have been a great electronic baby sitter, but the unusual refunds appear to be a tacit admission that they did not increase infant intellect.
Baby Einstein, founded in 1997, was one of the earliest players in what became a huge electronic media market for babies and toddlers. Acquired by Disney in 2001, the company expanded to a full line of books, toys, flashcards and apparel, along with DVDs including “Baby Mozart,” “Baby Shakespeare” and “Baby Galileo.” Despite their ubiquity, and the fact that many babies are transfixed by the videos, the American Academy of Pediatrics recommends no screen time at all for children under 2.”
That’s what happens when one treats parents like “customers” in education.
I listen to these celebrity idiots and I think :”Baby Einstein”
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Advice: GET A LIFE!
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The reason so many individuals talk about education as experts is because they were once students, therefore they feel they know how children should be taught (based on their own experiences). I wonder how many of these adults went to public schools?
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Here is my advice to the ones I have heard… Oprah.. let me tell you how to interview people. I watch tv so I am an expert! Mark Zuckerberg, let me tell you how to make money. I have held a one, five, ten and 20 dollar bill and some change so I know about money. Matt Damon.. PLEASE tell me your thoughts on education because you have a mom who is a professional educator at a great no nonsense kind of university and yes, you went to an urban public high school (some like to call Cambridge Ringe and Latin an elite school but I assure you it is not.. I know it well). Jon Stewart.. PLEASE do continue to skewer the “ed reformers”.. you too have a mom who was a teacher and know how hard we work and the love we put into the job. Michael Moore.. I have lost all faith in your concern ABOUT THE PEOPLE and will no longer spend one minute watching your documentaries because I asked you outright at a question and answer session if you were going to become involved in our national public education crisis and you anxiously tossed the question aside.. expended literally 10 seconds to answer me with with a curt sounding “yes” while spending a good many minutes answering everyone else as long as the subject was not education. That was three years ago and you have yet to mention education! So if you are really about unions, corporate take-overs, poverty and caring about humanity PUT YOUR MONEY-MAKING DOCUMENTARY FILM-MAKING WHERE YOUR MOUTH IS!!!! Furthermore, I remember hearing Katie Couric interviewing Frank McCourt many years ago and throwing out a series of denigrating misguided questions – ughhh! And yes, when I hear a newscaster comment how wonderful the charter schools on national tv, I want to shout “DO YOUR HOMEWORK YOU FOOL”….
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Makes sense
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Leave the practice of medicine to the doctors, and leave the education of children to the teachers. Get rid of all high-stakes testing, and let the teachers teach! They don’t need to have a script handed to them to read to the students so that the children can become indoctrinated into socialism. They need the time and their own tests to measure how much each student is learning. I know what I’m talking about; I taught for 30 years — when it was a pleasure and an enrichment for all involved. Get rid of Common Core, data mining, and the false reporting about schools. Save public education so all children have an opportunity to excel!
Sandra Wickham
Woodland Park, CO
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If they think they have a good idea for how to run a school, they should set up a private school FIRST, recruit their wealthy friends to give them their children to experiment on, and prove it works BEFORE they set up a charter school that siphons off our taxpayer dollars.
If that were a legal requirement, most charters and ed management companies would be out of business.
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Unfortunately, you don’t have to be an education to apply for and run a charter school. You just need an idea and someone to help with the paperwork.
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