Wisconsin Education Reforms

Wisconsin is currently experiencing what amounts to tectonic plate shifts in the field of education. Of course, reform isn't rare for education. From Desegregation to A Nation at Risk, and from Outcomes-Based Education to 21st Century Skill Frameworks, many veteran educators have seen the field of education literally evolve in front of their eyes. Today, however, we are muddling through reform more sophisticated and ambitious than ever before.

Because of the quantity, complexity, and inter-relatedness of the initiatives, many even in the field of education don't fully comprehend or are aware of the broad view of these reforms. Below is a collection of resources meant to help people better appreciate current education reform in Wisconsin.

Even after these lofty projects, still more looms on the horizon, including PI-34 teacher licensing and licensing renewal reform and graduation requirement reform.

Disclaimer: This review is a simplification of a complex series of initiatives. To actually grasp the nuance and detail of these initiatives, I encourage you to visit the Wisconsin Department of Public Instruction website.

Leadership: To Awaken Possibility in Others

This video could almost be looked at as an extended definition of leadership. We all have much to argue about should we spend time looking for it. To focus our efforts, however, in awakening possibility and potential in others, this aim is—indeed—the substance of leadership. Leadership isn't first about test scores, policies, or being right or wrong or even “in-the-black.” It’s about community, relationships, trust, service, and vision. 

My favorite quotations: 

"One of the characteristics of a leader is that he not doubt for one moment the capacity of the people he’s leading to realize whatever he’s dreaming."

"This is about the bird who flies over the field and doesn't care about the fences."

"The conductor doesn't make a sound. He depends, for his power, on his ability to make other people powerful."

"Who am I being that [your] eyes are not shining?" 

Shock and Awe of the Future

In this revealing slideshow by the Pew Research Center, we get a peek behind the curtain at the future, including how millennials will live, the future of money, the impact of big data, and the future of higher education.

Digital technology impacts by 2020 from Pew Research Center's Internet & American Life Project

I pulled two quotations out of the slideshow almost immediately: "Mobile is the needle, social is the thread, people are the cloth." And, "These technologies caused revised conceptions of man's place in the universe."

In reflecting back on school district leadership, I am both excited to be leading in a time of such innovation and concerned about the uneven distribution in the understanding of and access to digital-age tools within schools and homes. We frequently talk about achievement gaps. We should also be frequently talking about accessibility gaps and ignorance gaps in light of digital-age tools, including gaming, mobile devices, etc. Indeed, the shock and awe of the future may not be as much about the amazing nature of the devices themselves but the amazing disparity of understanding, access, and use of them. 

The "A-Ha" Moment

The "A-ha" moment is not manufactured, but we can set up the circumstances where they are more likely:
  Daniel Goleman on achieving an "A-HA moment" by morethansoundproductions

To what extent do we allow educators to pursue innovative thinking (the "A-Ha" moment) if they are so swamped with handbooks, predetermined curricula, policies, and schedules? How much room does a school district really have to support its employees to endeavor to innovate if we are all overwhelmed with federal regulations, state accountability measures, and top-down/one-size-fits-all mandates?

@CathyNDavidson - "If we 'Can' be replaced by a computer screen, we should be!"

Here is a wonderful article by Cathy Davidson about our core dilemma as educators: Like many industries, we are close to being "Dangerously Irrelevant." 


The subscript to this is about leadership and how we collectively communicate the relative value of teachers. What systems (of development, altruism, vision, collaboration, etc.) can we put in place that amplify a teacher's influence and extend his/her reach beyond the normal parameters of a school day? 

Can we continue to expect deference and esteem from the past? Or, do we need to accept the challenge and deliver powerful learning experiences, resulting in our new status update: Irreplaceable.

Working to be "Knowledge-Able" (Or, "Let Them Leave with Questions")

As you may know, I'm a huge fan of Michael Wesch. His work has not only influenced the way I think about technology and media, but he has also significantly influenced the way I teach.

Below, he discusses our institutional need to transform from organizations that focus on knowledge to organizations that focus on helping students be "knowledge-able." The full article can be accessed here.



What are the opportunities before us? How can we reform our institutions from ones that focus on "knowing" the right answers to ones that seek important questions?

Of Purpose, Community, and People

"In times where there's a lot of stress, it's desperately important that we find deep things to anchor on, that aren't just ephemeral." Peter Senge



How can leaders leverage technology to develop and share purpose, encourage the development of community, and help people reach their potentials as opposed to inadvertently allowing catalytic nature of technology to geographically dis-aggregate and ideologically divide us?