Facing greater challenges from increased expectations and global
competition, America's public schools can pass the test by thinking and
acting differently about selecting teachers and principals, nurturing
the talents of students and teachers, and the importance of community
involvement.
Can America's public schools meet the many challenges they face today?
Not by doing what they're doing now, argues Building Engaged Schools
-- a book that takes on the faulty assumptions that guide American
public education.
In our efforts to create the best possible schools for America's kids,
we've allowed process concerns such as standards, curriculum and testing
to overshadow the importance of people. But the fact is, what we've come
to think of as the "soft" aspects of education are actually what make
truly effective learning possible.
Gallup makes this controversial suggestion: Schools should look to
business for its management model. Corporate America has long understood
that the best way to improve productivity is to tap people's inner
drives and motivations. This approach is even more critical in the
classroom. Too many students are lethargic or alienated; too many
teachers have become disillusioned and cynical. We must figure out how
to bring public schools back to life.
Building Engaged Schools offers a fresh approach: Get the most out of
student and teacher talent. Focusing on talent is surely more complex
and may lack the political appeal of process reforms, which can be
implemented in broad strokes. But the return on the time and effort
invested is far greater. In fact, that return is no less than a better
future for America's children.
