Doc Heilig uses SPA 2.0 as
shorthand for discussions about change at SPA.
I adopt it here (thanks, Steve) in hopes of continuing/fostering
dialogue about ways to reconsider our practice.
I would love comments or post submissions (send them to me via email and
I can post them, even from Senegal).
While a Google group might make more sense, I’ll start here and see if
there’s energy.
Recently, Carrie asked me, ‘Why
are you hopeful?’, and I started to answer but realized I wasn’t sure. I had to dig a bit. When thinking about school change (or any
change), hope is a necessity. Few things
and fewer people like change. Our
reading of Switch last summer detailed
some difficulties. Yet, I’m still
hopeful for change at the SPA. Why?
- We’re an excellent school. So, why change? Right? “If it ain’t broke…” Yet, no one can deny that the nature of knowledge, the global economy, and our daily lives have changed dramatically. Given these changes and those to follow, how can we best prepare our students for their future? If rapid change is a given, shouldn’t skills matter at least as much as content? Will it matter more what students know or what they can do? Yes, a rhetorical question- they’ll need both. Part of our excellence comes from talented, caring faculty who want to do the best for students. That gives me hope.
- We’re stable and comfortable- of course this cuts both ways, but it’s easier to change when a community is not in crisis. The capital campaign is underway and our faculty and admin staffing are stable. We’ve dealt with crisis, moved past it, and recovered trust.
- We’re not beholden to AP. Most schools I’ve visited struggle w/ the AP requirements when considering change. Although AP knows their content based brand is damaged, and they’re working to change it by cutting back the classically overstuffed biology (recently revised to focus on four central ideas) and American history first, schools can’t just walk away from the external validation they so desired to prove their rigor years before. We, however, have a community that trusts us. We possess a rare freedom from external dictates here.
- We’re an urban school with many nearby organizations, populations and resources for community based learning.
- We have the opportunity if not the imperative to consider both program and space together rather than fit one awkwardly into another. Do we want a building designed for the next 30 years or the past 30?
- Education reform feels immanent again. Yes, I felt this way coming out of grad school 25 years ago, and yes, we’re good at ducking waves of reform. But the conversations in the media, the big ed reform funding efforts of Gates and Walton, and the changes occurring in schools feel like they’re reaching critical mass. The energy I saw at the Hawken school in December grew out of a community creating time and space for community based, interdisciplinary, experiential learning.
What makes you hopeful?
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