Public Education: Subject to Change: February 2013

Sunday, February 17, 2013

Change to the blog

All,

To enrich the conversation, I'm pleased to announce that a colleague and friend will be joining the blog. Ronda Alexander is a member of the Ford Next Generation Learning National Team (Ford NGL) (see her bio for more detailed info). Ronda has a great perspective on the bigger picture of education and the impact it has on societal changes. This will give a great boost to the blog as Ronda is well traveled and has the great opportunity to collect empirical evidence on what works in communities around the U.S. and what does not. Combined with my "classroom" or advisory experience with high school students, as well as coaching work, the hope is that we can more intentionally attack the broad issues of public education and get to the details of effective practices, programs and policies.

Here is Ronda's first post:

Monday, February 4, 2013

Inaugaration

Dear Keith,

Last Monday I was given the opportunity to attend the second inauguration of the 44^th President of the United States, and as I stood there among the million or so people in attendance I began to think about just how important education is to this country.

President Obama made a couple of statements that really hit home for me and reminded me of why I continue to advocate for the education of all people in this country. He said:

This generation of Americans has been tested by crises that steeled our resolve and proved our resilience. A decade of war is now ending. An economic recovery has begun. America’s possibilities are limitless, for we possess all the qualities that this world without boundaries demands: youth and drive; diversity and openness; an endless capacity for risk and a gift for reinvention. My fellow Americans, we are made for this moment, and we will seize it -- so long as we seize it together.

We are in this together so the future of our country depends on each and every one of us. What does that mean? It means that in order to ensure the success of our economy, businesses, and culture we need to prepare our young people for success; and that does not mean just educators by trade, but rather each and every one of us who cares about the future of this country – in short, education is everybody’s business.

Those of us outside of the world of education may wonder why education matters, but I am a firm believer that education is key to success. I don’t mean the education of old either; I’m not concerned whether or not students can recite facts and figures or characters out of book – it’s 2013, we have Google, so facts/figures are irrelevant. What I mean is making sure our young people can identify and solve problems without being given all of the information; students need to be able to think critically, communicate and work collaboratively in a team.

Furthermore, we need to accept that the way our parents and grandparents were educated is totally useless today. “Learning” is not confined to the classroom; it happens at home, out in the community and in real-world working environments.

So Keith my question is this, how can I help support students? How can those of us who are not in the classroom help the next generation be more successful? What can we do? Because while we’ve established the fact that education is indeed everybody’s business, I am not sure we know exactly where to begin.

Sincerely,

Ronda

Keith G. Nalbach Bio

Keith G. Nalbach is an advisor at The Met School in Providence, RI, part of The Big Picture Learning Network. The Met believes in the mantra "one student at a time" and fosters a culture or personalized, real world, project-based learning.

In RI, he is also part of EdUnderground, a subversive innovation lab for educators. EdUnderground is brought to you by Highlander Institute and hosted by Business Innovation Factory of Providence, and receives support from the RI Department of Education's Professional Learning Communities' Grant.

Keith has been certified as a professional development provider (PDP) by Ford Next Generation Learning (Ford NGL) which focuses on next generation learning and high school re-design that is sustainable. He is currently managing a project in Florida at The Academy of Information Technology and Robotics within Volusia County. Within Ford's philanthropic work, he serves as co-chair of The Program Innovation Committee for the Ford NGL National Team.

Ronda Alexander Bio

Ronda Alexanderis a Project Design Coordinator with Ford Next Generation Learning (Ford NGL), one of the premier programs of Ford Motor Company Fund – the philanthropic arm of Ford Motor Company. Ronda supports Ford NGL network communities across the country through the design and facilitation of various meetings, workshops and professional learning experiences. Ms. Alexander strongly believes that every child has the ability to be successful with guidance and support from their community; she works diligently build and sustain all efforts of community development through the transformation and redesign of teaching and learning for all young people.

Prior to joining the Ford NGL team as a Professional Development Specialist in 2008, Ronda interned with the program where she provided support on a number of regional and national projects. Ms. Alexander holds Master of Arts degrees in German and Cross-Cultural and International Education from Bowling Green State University; and a Bachelor of Arts in Broadcast/Cable Production and German from Western Michigan Univeristy.