innovation3

In a recent post, Investing in the Status Quo, Darren Draper on his blog, Drape’s Takes, quoted Arnie Duncan, Secretary of Education, saying,

If all we do is invest in the status quo, then we’ve missed this once-in-a-lifetime historic opportunity to give our children the education they desperately need and deserve.

It seems to me that for adults, the psychological grip of the status quo is usually stronger than their desire to learn. But I am convinced that when their desire to learn is ignited, anything is possible. If that’s the fact then the question is obvious.

Who will ignite the desire to learn in the adults today so they will ignite the desire to learn in our children tomorrow?

I wrote about investing in our children in an October 2007 a post, “Investing Our Wisdom in Their Potential.”  In the post I wrote about efforts in Massachusetts to change the educational status quo. Unfortunately the status quo still reigns supreme despite a governor, a legislature and a professional coalition of educators supportive of the principles to challenge the status quo discussed in the post.

We have made a substantial investment in the status quo. I think about the children we have failed and will continue to fail until we embrace change and adopt the best of what we know about informed practice.

Have the times have changed enough for the post I wrote to have relevance? I have faith in the Obama administration. Can Arnie Duncan’s can spur the nation’s political leaders and all educators to do the right thing?  Will we finally invest the wisdom of our profession in the potential of all children?

For a long time the educational knowledge base has shown us the ways to get it right for kids, but as a society, we have chosen to endorse policies and a status quo that fail our children each year. We are not engaging, challenging and inspiring our children to learn as we should be. The evidence is all around us. We need to acknowledge that and invest our professional wisdom in the potential of children!

Now is the time to admit that for every child every year is a once-in-a-lifetime historic opportunity.

Now is the time to admit that for every child and every community, for our nation and our planet every year we invest in the status quo is an historic lost opportunity.

Now is the right time to start the change. Now is the time to believe we can.

After I wrote this post today, I learned that President Obama spoke to the National Academy of Sciences this morning. After I listened to his speech, I realized this post was a prelude to the post I just wrote regarding the President’s comments about STEM eucation. Hence, ‘We’re Going to the Moon’: Part 1 and Part 2.

The post below is a cover article I wrote for the current issue of the Massachusetts ASCD affiliate’s journal, Perspectives. I’d be interested in your thoughts on my point of view. This is a critical time in education in Massachusetts. This year Governor Patrick is developing a ten year strategic plan for our schools. Can you help us define priorities in one or more of the thirteen areas he has identified for reform? Go to mascdrp.wikispaces.com if you want to help us identify priorities for education in Massachusetts.