CMRUBINWORLDAUTHOR

“China and India are problematic. China ranks second lowest on health and survival measures, largely because of female infanticide. India ranks lowest among large emerging markets.” — Ian Scott

Throughout history, making progress towards gender equality has been a long and hard fought battle. Today, the violation of women’s rights in emerging markets and around the world still remains widespread. It exists in many forms and disguises ranging from female infanticide, bride burning and violence against women in conflict, to systems which deny women equality in reproductive decisions, access to education, equal pay, equal legal rights and equal political voices. There remains much work to end the devastating consequences of female subordination.

Gender inequality is morally wrong, bad economics and bad for business. On the bright side, thanks to technology, millions of voices that once could not be heard now have access to the global community. Never in the history of the world has the opportunity to accelerate the process for the empowerment of girls and women been greater.

Earlier this year at the fourth Green Templeton College Emerging Markets Symposium at Oxford University, world authorities on the various forms of gender discrimination and inequality shared their personal judgments and opinions, including Sir George Alleyne, Sir David Watson, Governor Madeleine Kunin, Meg Jones, Linda Scott, Jane McAuliffe, Suman Bery, Dian Gomes, Mary Elizabeth King, Jeni Klugman and Ian Scott. They agreed to continue the global conversation with me in my series “Women”.

In which emerging markets has the most significant progress been made in gender equality? What examples of significant success or failure in gender inequality around the world can we learn from? What role can international lenders and western customers of emerging nations’ goods and services play in accelerating the process? To explore answers to these and other questions for Part 2 of “Women,” I connected with Suman Bery, Chief Economist Shell International (Hague, Netherlands), Jeni Klugman, Director of Gender and Development at the World Bank Group, and Ian Scott, Executive Director of the Emerging Markets Symposium.

Ian Scott: In which emerging markets has the most significant progress been made in gender equality and what have been the key elements in that process?

Ian Scott: All emerging markets are committed to the precepts of gender equality embraced by the Universal Declaration of Human Rights, the Millennium Development Goals and the Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of Discrimination Against Women.

Most have understood that gender inequality wastes human capital, sacrifices economic growth, deprives political systems of distinctive voices, denies children, young people and families the developmental agency of healthy, educated mothers and perpetuates the consequences of gender inequality from one generation to the next.

Yet there are yawning gaps between policies, legislative actions and real world behaviors. Partial evidence of positive change is tempered by evidence that shows that women are disadvantaged on the uneven playing fields of government, business and civil society and that human potential continues to be wasted to a degree that is incompatible with human rights, human security, sustainable economic growth, social cohesion and long run political stability.

What examples of significant success or failure have you seen around the world?

Ian Scott: The multiple criteria used in annual reports on gender equality by the World Economic Forum, the World Bank and the United Nations, show the Philippines performs far better than many wealthier countries (the US and UK included) while other emerging markets are holding in place and some show problematic trends. The Philippines is one of only eight countries (and the only country in Asia) to have closed the gap in education and health but Colombia, Hungary, Malaysia, Jordan, and Morocco have recently lost ground.

Among emerging markets in the Middle East and North Africa - this region is at the bottom of gender equality rankings - Morocco is one of the poorest performers and is showing “significant regression”. Turkey and Pakistan, in spite of relatively good political participation scores, are both among the ten worst performers in terms of economic participation and opportunities for females. Pakistan’s performance in both education and health remains in the bottom ten.

Latin America has closed gaps in education and health, but economic participation, as well as political empowerment remain low and two emerging markets are particularly problematic: in the past year, Colombia dropped from 55th to 80th in the overall World Economic Forum rankings due to a relative drop in female income and Brazil, though rising, remains 124th in the world on wage equality (out of 134 nations reporting).

China and India are problematic. China ranks second lowest on health and survival measures, largely because of female infanticide. India ranks lowest among large emerging markets with very poor performance in education, economic participation, and, with China, is at the bottom on health and survival measures. Recently, India was ranked by the Reuters Foundation as one of the five worst countries on legal rights for women, with injustices from female infanticide to human trafficking to bride burning haunting other headlines. Thus despite strong economic performance in recent years, both India and China were identified by a recent Goldman Sachs analysis as needing to focus on women’s rights in order to sustain growth and maintain stability.

Other nations contain still different paradoxes. South Africa ranks 14th on the World Economic Forum’s list—above both the US and the UK—primarily because of better political and economic participation. But the rate of violence against women in South Africa is among the highest in the world: rape and domestic violence are endemic. Consequently, the health and survival measure for South Africa is poor and, in the United Nations Gender Inequality Report, both the maternal mortality rate and the adolescent fertility rate remain very high.

Emerging markets in Eastern and Central Europe generally have relatively high levels of education and labour participation, as well as relatively lower fertility rates and higher GDP per capita. However, several nations, including Poland, Russia, and the Czech Republic have shown minuscule improvements on the World Economic Forum’s composite measures since 2006 and Hungary has declined. Between 2010 and 2011, the Czech Republic dropped ten places in the overall rankings, due to widening wage gaps, in spite of its top ranking in educational attainment.

Jeni Klugman: What role can international lenders and western customers of emerging nations’ goods and services play in accelerating the process to end gender inequality? What examples of successful actions have you seen? What kind of coordination have you seen among governments and key lenders and customers to effect change?

Jeni Klugman: Gender gaps remain large - not only in terms of economic opportunities, but such other key dimensions as participation in decision-making and freedom from violence. These were documented in our 2012 World Development Report. The World Bank and others play an important role in redressing these disparities and accelerating progress towards gender equality; economic growth alone won’t suffice. We work with governments and partners to build knowledge about what works and doesn’t work - for example to enable female entrepreneurs to be successful. We provide financing support (some $29 billion of World Bank lending in fiscal year 2012 was gender informed). We support legal and institutional reforms. And we can help heighten the focus on results on the ground. Examples of successful actions can be found here, atwww.worldbank.org/gender

One example of success is the Burundi Health Sector Development Support Project, a national results-based financing program that has helped to improve maternal health. Results in the first year included increases in the number of health facility based births by 25 percent; in the number of prenatal consultations by 20 percent; and in the provision of family planning services obtained through health facilities by 27 percent.

Another case of successful partnerships to effect change is the Economic Empowerment of Adolescent Girls and Young Women project in Liberia, supported by the World Bank. The project provides a combination of classroom training (including life skills and business skills) and job placement support. The results included a 50 percent increase in employment and a 115 percent increase in average weekly income for project participants, compared to those who did not participate.

Suman Bery: What role can western governments play in accelerating the steps that need to be taken by emerging market states? What blunt actions are considered feasible? Which western governments have taken a leadership role in this area?

Suman Bery: I believe strongly that it is counterproductive for rich countries to impose social conditionality on poor countries. This risks being seen as neo-colonialism and hypocritical given the turbulent interaction between rich and poor countries over the last two hundred years. A slightly more acceptable path is naming and shaming, but selectivity on the part of rich countries in avoiding the issue with socially conservative, resource-rich partners also strains credibility. The biggest contribution that rich countries can make in this area is to support credible independent research on the enormous benefits that female empowerment and equality of opportunity have conferred where these have been embraced, while not minimizing the human rights dimension of such equality. Ultimately this is a journey that each society needs to travel on by itself: after all it is only in the last forty years that the richest countries in the world have themselves seen the light.

For more information: http://ems.gtc.ox.ac.uk/

Coming soon: Further conversations with the leading global thought leaders on gender equality.

Photos courtesy of Jeni Klugman, World Bank Group, and C. M. Rubin.

In The Global Search for Education, join me and globally renowned thought leaders including Sir Michael Barber (UK), Dr. Michael Block (U.S.), Dr. Leon Botstein (U.S.), Professor Clay Christensen (U.S.), Dr. Linda Darling-Hammond (U.S.), Dr. Madhav Chavan (India), Professor Michael Fullan (Canada), Professor Howard Gardner (U.S.), Professor Andy Hargreaves (U.S.), Professor Yvonne Hellman (The Netherlands), Professor Kristin Helstad (Norway), Jean Hendrickson (U.S.), Professor Rose Hipkins (New Zealand), Professor Cornelia Hoogland (Canada), Honourable Jeff Johnson (Canada), Mme. Chantal Kaufmann (Belgium), Dr. Eija Kauppinen (Finland), State Secretary Tapio Kosunen (Finland), Professor Dominique Lafontaine (Belgium), Professor Hugh Lauder (UK), Professor Ben Levin (Canada), Lord Ken Macdonald (UK), Professor Barry McGaw (Australia), Shiv Nadar (India), Professor R. Natarajan (India), Dr. Pak Tee Ng (Singapore), Dr. Denise Pope (US), Sridhar Rajagopalan (India), Dr. Diane Ravitch (U.S.), Richard Wilson Riley (U.S.), Sir Ken Robinson (UK), Professor Pasi Sahlberg (Finland), Andreas Schleicher (PISA, OECD), Dr. Anthony Seldon (UK), Dr. David Shaffer (U.S.), Dr. Kirsten Sivesind (Norway), Chancellor Stephen Spahn (U.S.), Yves Theze (Lycee Francais U.S.), Professor Charles Ungerleider (Canada), Professor Tony Wagner (U.S.), Sir David Watson (UK), Professor Dylan Wiliam (UK), Dr. Mark Wormald (UK), Professor Theo Wubbels (The Netherlands), Professor Michael Young (UK), and Professor Minxuan Zhang (China) as they explore the big picture education questions that all nations face today. 
The Global Search for Education Community Page

C. M. Rubin is the author of two widely read online series for which she received a 2011 Upton Sinclair award, “The Global Search for Education” and “How Will We Read?” She is also the author of three bestselling books, including The Real Alice in Wonderland.

Follow C. M. Rubin on Twitter: www.twitter.com/@cmrubinworld

The College Board has long claimed its gold standard AP Program can help students succeed in college, narrow the achievement gap and level the playing field for traditionally under-served high schools and students. The program has had its share of controversy since its inception in 1955 and subsequent substantial growth, particularly in the last two decades. Some have argued that it is over-valued, emphasizing memorization over deep mastery of content, and that it also puts a strain on high schools, parents and students.

On October 29, 2012, the faculty of Dartmouth voted to modify its Advanced Placement (AP) policy. Dartmouth stated that while AP exam scores would continue to be a valuable tool for evaluating applicants, beginning with the class of 2018, AP exam scores would no longer qualify for credit to be granted toward graduation. As noted by Michael Mastanduno, Dean of the Faculty of Arts and Sciences, the change is “rooted in our faculty’s belief that high AP exam scores are not a substitute for a Dartmouth undergraduate class.”

What does the research show? Is there value to the Advanced Placement Program or does it do more harm than good? Challenge Success at the Stanford Graduate School of Education reviewed over 20 research studies on the Advanced Placement Program as well as examined its own research on the subject with schools and students. I connected with Challenge Success Co-Founder Denise Pope to discuss the findings.

What finding from your research into the AP program surprised you the most?

We work with many schools where students suffer from high stress levels often caused by pressure to succeed academically, so we were surprised to learn from our own empirical work that the number of AP or honors courses does not necessarily correspond to the level of stress a student feels. For instance, we have students in our study who are taking one AP or honors course, and they may indicate feeling as much stress as students who are taking 3-4 AP or honors courses. So we didn’t find a “magic number” of AP courses that corresponded with optimal health; it really depends on the individual student, the homework load that s/he can handle given the other courses and extracurricular activities each semester, and what makes sense in terms of challenge levels and individual interests. We do know that AP courses often come with much more homework, so students need to be prepared for the extra work and make sure this fits with their overall schedule and their ability to take care of their health and well-being.

What do you see as the benefits and negatives of the AP Program in terms of helping to narrow the achievement gap? Are schools with the program better than those without?

We found solid research that shows that certain reform initiatives (e.g., the National Math and Science Initiative) use AP courses in conjunction with other reform efforts such as teacher professional development, student tutoring, clear goals and metrics, improvements in middle school curricula, etc., to improve the quality of education and help to narrow the achievement gap. However, in other cases, when AP courses are introduced without the necessary attention to student and teacher preparation, we found little evidence to indicate that the program contributes to student academic success. Some schools with the AP program in place are better than those without, but you certainly don’t need to offer AP courses to be a quality school. We know many schools that don’t offer AP courses but offer an excellent education for their students.

How would you rank this relative to other programs taking cost and resources in consideration?

Each school needs to consider the possible costs and benefits of hosting an AP program. When implemented thoughtfully with the necessary support for teachers and students mentioned above, several students may benefit, but there may also be opportunity costs associated with the program: non-AP students may be in larger classes with less experienced teachers; and we sometimes find de facto tracking of students, as the most capable students are siphoned off into AP courses that dictate the rest of their schedules. Schools may want to put more time and resources toward professional development for all teachers to improve differentiation of instruction and revise curricula for all students — not just the advanced students — without the limitations that come with an AP program.

Does taking AP classes boost a student’s chances of college admissions?

Many colleges consider AP enrollment and test scores in their admission processes; however, the ways that colleges use this information vary greatly. Some colleges like to see that students have taken AP courses when these classes are offered at their high schools; some give extra points to student GPA’s when they take AP courses; some give credit for passing scores on the AP exams, while others do not. Researchers caution colleges not to put too much emphasis on AP when considering applicants, since research is inconclusive on whether AP experience alone impacts student achievement in college. This can also become an equity issue since students from small, rural, or low-income schools tend to have less access to AP classes.

How do you see the benefits of AP classes in the eventual college academic experience?

Research is clear that students who take AP courses often do better in college. The question is whether or not these same motivated and high-achieving students would have done just as well in college without taking AP courses in high school. It is very difficult to establish causation here. We did find some rigorous studies that showed that students who took AP courses in certain math and science subjects did better in those courses in college than students who did not take the AP in those subject areas. However, often students who take the AP exam, even in the sciences, may benefit more from taking the course again at the college level.

As a significant part of the AP Program is a standardized test does the program teach the higher level skills that require nurturing in regular high school courses, or is it also prey to teaching to the test?

The College Board recognized a few years ago that some of their courses were too narrow and were emphasizing memorization over deep mastery of content, and they are currently in the process of revamping several of their exams. AP Biology was one of the first to be changed this year to focus more on scientific inquiry and skill-building. AP US History will be revised next year, but many teachers remain frustrated with the “mile-high, inch deep” approach that some of the AP courses demand in order to prepare students for the culminating exams.

What are your recommendations for educators (and students) to make the AP program better serve the learning goals that US students need to attain to keep up with the best foreign school systems?

We urge schools and families to educate themselves about the pros and cons of the AP program and to take a hard look at AP policies and practices. Here are a few suggestions for students:

Don’t take AP courses just to get into college. While many elite colleges will expect applicants to have enrolled in rigorous and challenging courses, AP enrollment alone will not guarantee your college admission. Moreover, taking AP courses and doing poorly because you are taking them for the wrong reasons or are in over your head will not reflect well upon you, nor will taking AP courses that cause undue stress, limit your ability to participate in other meaningful activities, or impact your ability to get enough sleep. It’s best to enroll in AP courses only in areas that are of real interest to you and in which you are prepared and able to work hard.

Do your homework ahead of time. Know that not all AP courses are the same, even within the same subject. In spite of the common curriculum, courses vary between schools and between teachers. Gather as much information from teachers and alumni as possible so that you have realistic expectations about the course content, expectations, quality, and workload.

And a few suggestions for Educators:

If you are considering implementing an AP program in your school, consider the level of readiness and preparation of all involved. Do students and teachers have the background and support necessary to succeed? Are students in an AP program likely to thrive without the program being too big of a drain on the non-AP students? Think carefully about whether it might be a better allocation of resources to invest in improving all existing classes and working with teachers to differentiate instruction for all learners.

Invite students (and their parents) interested in AP courses to attend an AP information session that provides an overview of your school’s program. Teachers from each department should be available to answer questions and provide information including course syllabi, sample assignments, and any expectations for summer work.

Don’t confuse AP rigor with load. We have seen several successful teachers who can curb the homework load in their AP courses without sacrificing test scores. Students may benefit more from fewer assignments and a focus on deep understanding of concepts learned in class.

All Photos are Courtesy of Challenge Success, Stanford University. For more information visit www.challengesuccess.org

In The Global Search for Education, join me and globally renowned thought leaders including Sir Michael Barber (UK), Dr. Michael Block (U.S.), Dr. Leon Botstein (U.S.), Professor Clay Christensen (U.S.), Dr. Linda Darling-Hammond (U.S.), Dr. Madhav Chavan (India), Professor Michael Fullan (Canada), Professor Howard Gardner (U.S.), Professor Andy Hargreaves (U.S.), Professor Yvonne Hellman (The Netherlands), Professor Kristin Helstad (Norway), Jean Hendrickson (U.S.), Professor Rose Hipkins (New Zealand), Professor Cornelia Hoogland (Canada), Honourable Jeff Johnson (Canada), Mme. Chantal Kaufmann (Belgium), Dr. Eija Kauppinen (Finland), State Secretary Tapio Kosunen (Finland), Professor Dominique Lafontaine (Belgium), Professor Hugh Lauder (UK), Professor Ben Levin (Canada), Lord Ken Macdonald (UK), Professor Barry McGaw (Australia), Shiv Nadar (India), Professor R. Natarajan (India), Dr. Pak Tee Ng (Singapore), Dr. Denise Pope (US), Sridhar Rajagopalan (India), Dr. Diane Ravitch (U.S.), Richard Wilson Riley (U.S.), Sir Ken Robinson (UK), Professor Pasi Sahlberg (Finland), Andreas Schleicher (PISA, OECD), Dr. Anthony Seldon (UK), Dr. David Shaffer (U.S.), Dr. Kirsten Sivesind (Norway), Chancellor Stephen Spahn (U.S.), Yves Theze (Lycee Francais U.S.), Professor Charles Ungerleider (Canada), Professor Tony Wagner (U.S.), Sir David Watson (UK), Professor Dylan Wiliam (UK), Dr. Mark Wormald (UK), Professor Theo Wubbels (The Netherlands), Professor Michael Young (UK), and Professor Minxuan Zhang (China) as they explore the big picture education questions that all nations face today. 
The Global Search for Education Community Page

C. M. Rubin is the author of two widely read online series for which she received a 2011 Upton Sinclair award, “The Global Search for Education” and “How Will We Read?” She is also the author of three bestselling books, including The Real Alice in Wonderland.

Follow C. M. Rubin on Twitter: www.twitter.com/@cmrubinworld

Gender equality can become a lived reality if citizens of the world continue to make it a global goal. In The Global Search for Education: Women, I begin to explore the enormous moral and socioeconomic ramifications of gender inequality as well as the powerful argument for education as the agent for transformation. Education is clearly the paramount weapon we can use to bring about change in the war on gender inequality.

I remain committed to playing my part in continuing to educate others on the problems as well as the innovative solutions that individuals and organizations all over the world are identifying each day to attain gender equality for all in the 21st century. Earlier this year at the fourth Green Templeton College Emerging Markets Symposium at Oxford University, world authorities on the various forms of gender discrimination and inequality shared their views, including Sir George Alleyne, Sir David Watson, Governor Madeleine Kunin, Meg Jones, Linda Scott, Jane McAuliffe, Suman Bery, Dian Gomes, Mary Elizabeth King, Jeni Klugman and Ian Scott. They agreed to continue the conversation with me in this new series about gender equality. In today’s article, I connect with Sir David Watson, Principal of Green Templeton College at the University of Oxford; Madeleine Kunin, former Governor, U.S. Ambassador and Deputy Secretary of Education; Professor Linda Scott, DP World Chair of Entrepreneurship and Innovation at University of Oxford; and Jane McAuliffe, President of Bryn Mawr College.

Sir David: We talk about the need to empower more girls by giving them better access to education. How do you see the situation?

Sir David: In the UK - and in several other national systems - the hairpin of higher aggregate academic achievement by girls opens up early and widens across the years. It now has its analogue in the significantly higher proportion of women in higher education (HE) across the developed world. Meanwhile, in many countries in Africa and South and West Asia, girls do not continue as regularly through second education, and as a consequence are also missing from HE.

These disparities - in either direction - mean wasted talent and distorted views of what men and women ought to be able to achieve. The problems are cultural (including in certain cases religious), economic, and political; and they will vary by context. The same will be true of the solutions.

What kinds of steps do you think will be the most effective?

Sir David: There is one overarching goal on which educators can work everywhere. That is to release the power of the imagination about a fairer, more respectful and cooperative world - including in eliminating gender discrimination. At the fourth Green Templeton College Emerging Markets Symposium earlier this year, which focused directly on gender inequality, delegates were able to identify some genuinely progressive narratives about, for example, “stretching” the commitment of faith communities to incorporate gender equality; using mass communications (and entertainment) to underpin more positive role models (of women and men); and critically exploring each gender’s expectations of the other. There is a long journey to be traveled, but it can begin in the classroom.

Governor Kunin: What role can the women themselves in emerging markets play in accelerating the steps to bring about gender equality?

Governor Madeleine Kunin: The most direct way women can play a role is by telling their own stories and making themselves seen and heard. This can range from running for public office to marching in the streets. In some countries, political activism is more dangerous than others, but remaining silent and wringing our hands is no longer an option. The best indirect way for women to advance their status is by getting an education.

It is important for women of all income groups and religious and ethnic backgrounds to stand together. When women unite, they can be a powerful force. We must support one another. Gender equality often begins in the home before it enters the political arena. When we educate our daughters with the same expectations as our sons, they will have high hopes for themselves. Men cannot be ignored because they continue to dominate the power structure. Wherever and whenever we can form partnerships with like-minded men, women must do so. No political or social revolution was achieved without difficulty. Women must be prepared to not only express their demands, but also to sustain them.

What significant movements or endeavors are underway from women themselves, such as the civil rights movement in the U.S., the movement to end apartheid in South Africa, and the women’s suffrage movement in the U.S?.

Governor Madeleine Kunin: Education remains the single most important key to gender equality. In order for women to have greater access to learning, education must become more affordable and safety has to be assured. Despite the barriers that many women face as they seek a better life for themselves and their families, they have to hold on to their dreams if they are to fulfill their dreams. We now have the facts that tell us that when we improve the condition of women, the entire society benefits by enjoying better economic conditions. Equal opportunity for women and girls to achieve their full potential is not only a moral issue, it is an economic issue which will improve the human condition.

The most recent example I have of social change is the gay and lesbian rights movement, which created dramatic cultural and legal changes in a record period of time. When I was first elected governor, I spoke at the first gay pride march in Burlington, Vermont, my picture was in the newspaper, and someone scotch taped it to a cash register in a store with a red circle and slash over it. I never dreamt the day would soon arrive when the President of the US would announce his support for same sex marriage. Change is possible.

Professor Scott: What can private firms and corporations (national and international) do to promote women’s equality in the workplace and in society?

Linda Scott: Many companies are engaged in elaborate programs to help poor women in developing countries. This work is historic, important, and admirable. Yet there remains significant workplace inequality in the postindustrial nations — and these businesses are turning a blind eye to their own local problems. Inequality is visible, for instance, in the continuing phenomenon of unequal pay, which can be seen in the nation level data, even when all legitimate contributing factors are controlled and jobs are made comparable. This is disturbing because equal pay for equal work is the law in all the so-called “advanced” countries. Unequal compensation and advancement are intimately linked with childcare issues, but family matters do not explain these figures fully. I believe the most important thing the private sector could do to ensure an equal workplace would be to sincerely focus resources on tracking, target-setting, and measuring the compensation and advancement of women in their own ranks. This should be done in an open, transparent manner. Without attention to the bread-and-butter issues that affect the women who work for them, flashy philanthropic programs are hypocritical.

President McAuliffe: What can elite women’s colleges in the U.S. and elsewhere do to sensitize future female leaders to the need to absorb and integrate gender equality into their approaches to the world?

Jane McAuliffe: The issue of gender equality is integral to the history and character of women’s colleges in the U.S. While single sex institutions elsewhere sometimes simply reflect cultural patterns of gender segregation, those that arose in the U.S. placed women’s rights and empowerment at the center of their foundational missions. Generally established in the pre-suffrage era, they embraced the grand idea that the aggressive pursuit of higher education in an environment that encourages young women to think critically and speak openly would not only change those particular young women but would transform U.S. society as a whole. Indeed this is precisely what happened. 

The 21st century asks colleges to re-conceive the mission of gender equality on a global level. It also provides an opening to do this in a globally collaborative way that informs and advances all. American women’s colleges can bring 150 years of educating women to be leaders in the U.S. to a conversation that now includes students and colleagues around the world. They can form partnerships with like-minded institutions elsewhere, develop internationally collaborative curricula, and open their admissions and financial support to international students who lead change when they return home. They can convene international symposia that assemble the brightest minds to keep gender equality in the forefront of public consciousness. And they can guide students in building international friendships and connections that illuminate and engage them in each other’s projects of equality. Gender equity is unfinished business everywhere; working together we can make it everyone’s business.

For more information: http://ems.gtc.ox.ac.uk/

Coming soon: further conversations with the leading global thought leaders on gender equality.

Photos are courtesy of Tatiana Philiptchenko, C. M. Rubin, Green Templeton College, Oxford University and Governor Madeleine Kunin.

In The Global Search for Education, join me and globally renowned thought leaders including Sir Michael Barber (UK), Dr. Michael Block (U.S.), Dr. Leon Botstein (U.S.), Professor Clay Christensen (U.S.), Dr. Linda Darling-Hammond (U.S.), Dr. Madhav Chavan (India), Professor Michael Fullan (Canada), Professor Howard Gardner (U.S.), Professor Andy Hargreaves (U.S.), Professor Yvonne Hellman (The Netherlands), Professor Kristin Helstad (Norway), Jean Hendrickson (U.S.), Professor Rose Hipkins (New Zealand), Professor Cornelia Hoogland (Canada), Honourable Jeff Johnson (Canada), Mme. Chantal Kaufmann (Belgium), Dr. Eija Kauppinen (Finland), State Secretary Tapio Kosunen (Finland), Professor Dominique Lafontaine (Belgium), Professor Hugh Lauder (UK), Professor Ben Levin (Canada), Lord Ken Macdonald (UK), Professor Barry McGaw (Australia), Shiv Nadar (India), Professor R. Natarajan (India), Dr. Pak Tee Ng (Singapore), Dr. Denise Pope (US), Sridhar Rajagopalan (India), Dr. Diane Ravitch (U.S.), Richard Wilson Riley (U.S.), Sir Ken Robinson (UK), Professor Pasi Sahlberg (Finland), Andreas Schleicher (PISA, OECD), Dr. Anthony Seldon (UK), Dr. David Shaffer (U.S.), Dr. Kirsten Sivesind (Norway), Chancellor Stephen Spahn (U.S.), Yves Theze (Lycee Francais U.S.), Professor Charles Ungerleider (Canada), Professor Tony Wagner (U.S.), Sir David Watson (UK), Professor Dylan Wiliam (UK), Dr. Mark Wormald (UK), Professor Theo Wubbels (The Netherlands), Professor Michael Young (UK), and Professor Minxuan Zhang (China) as they explore the big picture education questions that all nations face today. 
The Global Search for Education Community Page

C. M. Rubin is the author of two widely read online series for which she received a 2011 Upton Sinclair award, “The Global Search for Education” and “How Will We Read?” She is also the author of three bestselling books, including The Real Alice in Wonderland.

Follow C. M. Rubin on Twitter: www.twitter.com/@cmrubinworld

“It is imperative that a memorandum of understanding be reached between the key clinical bodies involved with diagnosis and management of this disease. Chronic, not chronic, highly infectious, not highly infectious, tick-borne, arthropod (insect)-borne, sexually transmissible, blood-borne and not.” — Dr. Andrew Ladhams 

Tick-borne illness advocates from Australia, Austria, Brazil, Canada, Czech Republic, Croatia, Denmark, Faroe Islands, Finland, France, Germany, Greece, Hungary, Iceland, Ireland, The Netherlands, New Zealand, Norway, Poland, Romania, Russia, South Africa, Spain, Sweden, Switzerland, the UK and the United States will join forces to build awareness in the Worldwide Lyme Disease Awareness Protest on May 10 and May 11, 2013.  The advocates seek to educate the public on the many complex issues and challenges surrounding the diagnosis and treatment of tick-borne infections, including monitoring incidence, accurate diagnosis, treatment options, blood transmission, tick-borne pathogens and the socioeconomic impact of tick-borne illnesses.  More funding is needed for research into the tick-borne infections health crisis, which is a growing global concern.

Lyme (Borreliosis), Anaplasmosis /Ehrlichiosis, Babesiosis, Rocky Mountain Spotted Fever, Bartonella, Tularemia, and more recently, Borrelia miyamotoi (a distant relative of Lyme Borreliosis) are recognized tick-borne infectious diseases in the United States of which the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) claims Lyme disease is the most common and fastest growing illness.

Today in my focus on Lyme disease and other tick-borne illnesses around the world, I look at the situation in Australia. I am joined by Sharon Whiteman, President of Lyme Disease Association of Australia, Dr. Ann Mitrovic who is part of the Tick-borne Diseases Unit studying Borreliosis, Babesiosis, Anaplasmosis and Ehrlichiosis at the University of Sydney, and Dr. Andrew Ladhams, General Practitioner, Immunologist, Virologist and renowned Lyme literate doctor.

“Lyme disease is classed as ‘early’ for the first 6-12 weeks of entering the body.  After that time, untreated, the Lyme infection can spread broadly through the body into the brain, nerves and organs where at this point it is classified as ‘chronic’ or ‘disseminated’ disease.” — Sharon Whiteman

Sharon, what is the annual incidence of Lyme disease in Australia?

Sharon: Lyme disease has been reportedly acquired in all states and territories of Australia… and city suburbs are not immune.   The first locally acquired case of Lyme disease was reported in 1982, although the precise figures are unknown.   Many patients with Lyme disease are not properly tested and are often misdiagnosed with a wide range of other diseases. Lyme disease is not a notifiable disease in Australia, therefore there is no mechanism for a formal tally.

In the early 1990‘s, Westmead Hospital’s specialty laboratory reported 1,000 suspected clinical cases per year. In 2012, the same lab reported processing 2,000 blood tests for Lyme disease. In the past year, demand for advice and assistance through the LDAA has more than doubled.   We are aware that there are a minimum of 75-100 Lyme blood test samples being sent overseas for testing each calendar month.

The LDAA estimates there are more than 10,000 diagnosed cases in Australia.

Ann, what is the focus of your research and how does it relate to the challenges of identification and cure of Lyme disease and diseases triggered by Lyme?

Ann: Our situation in Australia is quite different in that a Borrelia species has not conclusively been identified in Australian ticks.  One study published in 1994 surveyed 12,000 ticks and could not find evidence to support the existence of Borrelia burgdorferi sensu stricto, so the position since then has been that Australian ticks are unlikely to transmit Lyme disease.  However, I believe because this study was focused on the American Borrelia species, it would be worthwhile reinvestigating with a broader approach to see if any Borrelia species can be identified in our ticks. As you are aware, several pathogenic species of Borrelia have been identified in the USA, Europe and Asia. It may be that Australia has a unique Borrelia genospecies that has evolved within our unique fawna.

We are also conducting a clinical study investigating Borreliosis in participants that have supportive evidence (mainly serology) of an exposure to Borrelia and have clinical symptoms consistent with Borreliosis. We are interested as well in other tick borne pathogens that may contribute to the clinical presentation that have not been investigated in Australian ticks to date. As such, our research is at a very preliminary stage and currently we are not addressing issues of treatment/cure of Borreliosis or associated tick borne-infections.

“Several pathogenic species of Borrelia have been identified in the USA, Europe and Asia. It may be that Australia has a unique Borrelia genospecies that has evolved within our unique fawna.” — Dr. Ann Mitrovic 

Ann, I have been told that there are numerous incidences of Lyme disease in Australia as identified by serology. How can there be there no conclusive identification of a Borrelia species in Australian ticks while there are so many apparent cases of Lyme disease?

Ann: I will need to clarify a few things to explain the serology diagnostics.  In Australia, we follow the USA CDC criteria, ELISA first, then if positive or equivocal, a western blot is performed.  Very few people return a positive western blot to meet the CDC criteria of 5 positive bands.  The Australians that do return a positive western blot have usually travelled and as such are presumed to have contracted the infection overseas.  In saying that, there are a few that have returned a positive but have not left Australia; these are then usually explained as a false positive, as have been reported overseas from non-endemic areas.

More recently, Australians have been sending their blood to overseas specialty laboratories such as IgeneX in the USA because they can’t get a western blot in Australia if they have returned a negative ELISA.  IgeneX reports 2 criteria, the CDC criteria and also IgeneX criteria, which reports a positive if two IgG bands are positive out of a group of selective antigens.

Do you have a reliable test for Lyme disease in Australia?

Sharon: Currently, there is no Australian testing facility set up to test for all the bacterial species that can cause Lyme disease.  The most reliable testing is conducted through the IGeneX lab in the United States and Infectolab in Germany.

Ann: Diagnostics for Borreliosis is such a complicated area that I don’t believe any one test will be reliable in all patients at all stages of the disease and perhaps a multi-test approach is warranted.  I am afraid I am not an expert in this area.

“It is important to remember that even if blood tests are negative, Lyme disease could still be at play.” — Sharon Whiteman 

Sharon, what does chronic Lyme disease mean to you?

Sharon: Lyme disease is caused by a bacterial infection, which soon after a bite from an infected tick will spread through the blood to lymph and then to other tissues and organs.  It has been demonstrated that the bacteria can cross into the brain within 48 hours, although typically Lyme disease is classed as ‘early’ for the first 6-12 weeks of entering the body.  After that time, untreated, the Lyme infection can spread broadly through the body into the brain, nerves and organs where at this point it is classified as ‘chronic’ or ‘disseminated’ disease.

It’s chronic or disseminated Lyme disease which most challenges health professionals in treating and Lyme patients in recovering to wellness.  The bottom line – the sooner treatment is initiated, the better the outcome.  It is not advisable to wait for symptoms to present as the delay may allow the tick borne infection to progress.   

Sharon, do you believe doctors can adequately treat the symptoms triggered by this disease?

Sharon: To have effective treatment of symptoms and underlying pathology, there first must be accurate diagnosis of Lyme disease.  Lyme disease is primarily a clinical diagnosis, based on the patient’s history, symptoms and presentation. Blood tests are relied upon to support a Lyme disease diagnosis but because current testing is not accurate, results are unable to be used to conclude a positive or negative diagnosis of Lyme disease.

It is important to remember that even if blood tests are negative, Lyme disease could still be at play. 

Adequate treatment of Lyme disease requires a combination of therapies to address the bacteria, parasites, protozoans and viruses passed through the bite of a tick. Research indicates that initial combination treatment should persist for a minimum of 6-8 weeks and be repeated/extended if clinical symptoms persist.  Research exploring the efficacy of treatments is advancing rapidly and each patient may require an individualized approach.

On what research do you believe scientists around the world must give priority in order to better treat patients suffering from tick borne illnesses?

Andrew: Ideally, there needs to be an accepted diagnostic and therapeutic approach to this illness, this should be the most simplistic imperative.  But (and very big BUT), key stakeholders seemed mired in reaching a consensus on the disease itself. Overall, it is imperative that a memorandum of understanding be reached between the key clinical bodies involved with diagnosis and management of this disease. Chronic, not chronic, highly infectious, not highly infectious, tick-borne, arthropod (insect)-borne, sexually transmissible, blood-borne and not – science needs to focus on all these aspects, and not through proving negatives with negatives but proving negatives with positives.

Sharon: The global priority for research into tick borne diseases needs to be built on the foundation of recognition of the complexity of the bacteria itself.  There needs to be awareness of a multitude of vectors for transmission, advancement in testing for the indicated 130 or greater species of the bacteria and recognition that different species will be prevalent in different geographic areas.  Equally, these same advancements must embrace the testing for common co-infections as well.

Research advancements must also include rigorous testing on efficacy of treatments for both the Borrelia bacteria and other tick borne illnesses and must include the evaluation of the importance of detoxification to assist the body in sustaining treatment and optimizing foundational cell and systemic function. Priority research needs to be implemented in the area of the transmission of Lyme disease outside of vector initiated.  The risk of transmission through blood transfusion, mother to child in utero and by sexual contact must be confirmed or eliminated definitively.

For more US information: http://www.TBDAlliance.org

For more Australian information: http://www.lymedisease.org.au/aboutlyme/contact-us

           C. M. Rubin, Dr. Andrew Ladhams, Sharon Whiteman, Dr. Ann Mitrovic 

Photos courtesy of Lyme Disease Association of Australia.

In The Global Search for Education, join me and globally renowned thought leaders including Sir Michael Barber (UK), Dr. Michael Block (U.S.), Dr. Leon Botstein (U.S.), Professor Clay Christensen (U.S.), Dr. Linda Darling-Hammond (U.S.), Dr. Madhav Chavan (India), Professor Michael Fullan (Canada), Professor Howard Gardner (U.S.), Professor Andy Hargreaves (U.S.), Professor Yvonne Hellman (The Netherlands), Professor Kristin Helstad (Norway), Jean Hendrickson (U.S.), Professor Rose Hipkins (New Zealand), Professor Cornelia Hoogland (Canada), Honourable Jeff Johnson (Canada), Mme. Chantal Kaufmann (Belgium), Dr. Eija Kauppinen (Finland), State Secretary Tapio Kosunen (Finland), Professor Dominique Lafontaine (Belgium), Professor Hugh Lauder (UK), Professor Ben Levin (Canada), Lord Ken Macdonald (UK), Professor Barry McGaw (Australia), Shiv Nadar (India), Professor R. Natarajan (India), Dr. Pak Tee Ng (Singapore), Dr. Denise Pope (US), Sridhar Rajagopalan (India), Dr. Diane Ravitch (U.S.), Richard Wilson Riley (U.S.), Sir Ken Robinson (UK), Professor Pasi Sahlberg (Finland), Andreas Schleicher (PISA, OECD), Dr. Anthony Seldon (UK), Dr. David Shaffer (U.S.), Dr. Kirsten Sivesind (Norway), Chancellor Stephen Spahn (U.S.), Yves Theze (Lycee Francais U.S.), Professor Charles Ungerleider (Canada), Professor Tony Wagner (U.S.), Sir David Watson (UK), Professor Dylan Wiliam (UK), Dr. Mark Wormald (UK), Professor Theo Wubbels (The Netherlands), Professor Michael Young (UK), and Professor Minxuan Zhang (China) as they explore the big picture education questions that all nations face today.

The Global Search for Education Community Page

C. M. Rubin is the author of two widely read online series for which she received a 2011 Upton Sinclair award, “The Global Search for Education” and “How Will We Read?” She is also the author of three bestselling books, includingThe Real Alice in Wonderland.

Follow C. M. Rubin on Twitter: www.twitter.com/@cmrubinworld

UK - Ticks

By C. M. Rubin with Harry Rubin and Michael Freeborn

Some British experts think as many as 20 percent of the UK Lyme disease infections arise from Brits acquiring the disease while vacationing in Lyme disease hot spots such as the United States (New England) and parts of Central Europe. Lyme (Borreliosis), Anaplasmosis /Ehrlichiosis, Babesiosis, Rocky Mountain Spotted Fever, Bartonella, Tularemia, and more recently, Borrelia miyamotoi (a distant relative of Lyme Borreliosis) are recognized tick-borne infectious diseases in the United States of which the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) claims Lyme disease is the most common and fastest growing illness.

“Organisms in the Borrelia genus are widely distributed across the world. Species associated with disease similar to Lyme disease are found in Europe, North America and Asia.” — Tim Brooks

Today in my focus on Lyme disease and other tick-borne illnesses around the world, I look at the UK. I am joined by Dr. Tim Brooks, Head of the Rare and Imported Pathogens Laboratory - Public Health England, Stella Huyshe-Shires, Chair of Lyme Disease Action, Dr. Richard Bingham, who is studying Lyme disease at the University of Huddersfield, and Ted Wilson, Director and Silviculturist at Silviculture Research International Ltd.

What is the annual incidence of Lyme disease in the UK?

Stella: We don’t know because only positive blood tests are recorded and these are about 1000/year. Public Health England estimates a further 2,000-3,000 cases are diagnosed at the stage of the rash. Lyme Disease Action estimates a possible 15-20,000 new cases/year, but this is based on a small sample area.

Tim: Since the introduction of enhanced surveillance in 1997, over 6,900 cases have been reported in the UK. Mean annual incidence rates for laboratory-confirmed cases have risen from 0.38 per 100,000 total population for the period 1997-2000, to 0.64 in 2002, and to 1.64 cases per 100,000 total population in 2010. Many cases are diagnosed by general practitioners on the basis of a rash, and since these are not usually tested for Lyme antibodies, they are not included in the figures quoted.

Ted: It is also important to note that a lot of UK citizens take vacations in other Lyme disease hotspots, such as New England and central Europe. We think that as many as 20 percent of infections arise from people acquiring the disease while abroad. At the present time, there is a significant government program dedicated to encouraging the population to be less sedentary and more physically-active. A big push is on the widest use of public forestland and other open spaces for walking and wildlife watching. Given that Lyme disease is the most significant health risk linked to the natural environment in Britain, it is important that information is given to balance and minimize the risk of ill-health among a population that believes it is “doing the right thing” by using outdoor venues as a place for recreation, exercise and restoration.

How easily do you think this disease can be spread to any part of the world?

Tim: Organisms in the Borrelia genus are widely distributed across the world. Species associated with disease similar to Lyme disease are found in Europe, North America and Asia. Related organisms are present in Africa, and cause a variety of infections, although research into the burden of this disease is only in early stages at present. Micro-organisms adapt to their vectors, and different Borrelia associate with their own preferred species of tick. Ticks can be transported long distances on birds, and do occasionally establish themselves in new localities.

“Many current diagnostic tools rely on detecting antibodies against Borrelial surface proteins. If we have more knowledge about exactly what proteins are present at the bacterial surface, this may be used to improve this type of test.” — Richard Bingham

Do you have a reliable test for Lyme disease in the UK?

Stella: No. Nobody does.

Tim: The PHE’s Rare and Imported Pathogens Laboratory (RIPL) based at Porton Down, diagnoses Lyme disease by detecting antibodies to Borrelia burgdorferi, the organism which causes Lyme disease, in a patient’s blood. RIPL uses the two tier system recommended by American and European authorities, a screening test followed by a confirmatory test based on a western blot. All testing is fully automated to avoid subjectivity and ensure consistency in reading the tests. Sensitive screening tests are used because they can detect low levels of antibodies; but they have the disadvantage of producing occasional false positive results in samples from some patients with other conditions.

Do you believe that chronic Lyme disease exists or that it is a misnomer for other diseases triggered by Lyme disease?

Tim: Some patients who have been treated for disseminated Lyme disease with neurological or joint involvement will have persistent symptoms for some time after treatment, which may resolve with time. This is consistent with the tissue damage associated with an acute infection, but is not an indicator in itself of a chronic infection. Such cases should be investigated carefully if the symptoms do not resolve to exclude re-infection or other unrelated conditions. 
Stella: Chronic Lyme means continuing Lyme disease after initial treatment, but as there is no effective test for this, there is much argument about whether it exists. We do not know whether continuing symptoms are due to active disease, and immune reaction or tissue damage.

Where are British researchers currently focusing their efforts in order to overcome the challenges of identification and cure of Lyme disease?

Tim: Public Health England (PHE) is working to improve awareness of Lyme disease amongst the public and recognition of the condition by general practitioners. We are also evaluating different diagnostic tests to ensure that any advances in this field are introduced in our practice when they offer a reproducible result that is specific for Lyme borreliosis. PHE Rare & Imported Pathogens Laboratory is negotiating with selected infectious disease centres to offer a special Lyme disease clinical service, and will be developing a specific set of guidance for the investigation and management of Lyme disease in the UK. Prevention of Lyme disease is one of the most effective ways of managing this infection. Although a successful vaccine against Lyme borreliosis was developed and introduced in the US, it was withdrawn for commercial reasons, so tick awareness, avoidance of tick infested areas if possible, avoidance of long grass, use of appropriate clothing in tick infested areas, and early removal of attached ticks remain the most important prevention measures. Nonetheless, research into new vaccines is continuing, but no product is likely to be available in the near future.

“Part of the challenge with Lyme disease is the fact that so many different elements and angles are required if we are to see a reduction in the incidence of the disease in Britain.” — Ted Wilson

Richard, what does your Lyme disease research currently focus on?

Richard: My research is directed towards structural studies of Borrelial proteins. I am currently looking at a variety of outer membrane proteins that have Factor H binding activity. We have cloned these genes and are producing recombinant protein in E. coli. Our aim is to use X-ray crystallography and small angle X-ray scattering (SAXS) to determine 3-dimensional structures. This structural data will be combined with biological activity to further our understanding of how Borrelia evade the host immune response.

Richard, how is this research relevant to finding better diagnostic tools and treatments for Lyme disease?

Richard: We aim to gain knowledge and understanding of Borrelia surface molecules. Many current diagnostic tools rely on detecting antibodies against Borrelial surface proteins. If we have more knowledge about exactly what proteins are present at the bacterial surface, this may be used to improve this type of test. As for treatments, we are studying a range of surface proteins and enzymes in Borrelia. Some of these enzymes might be drug targets of the future. A significant proportion of the Borrelia genome encodes for proteins with very little similarity to other organisms. This limits our understanding of how these bacteria interact with the host and evade the immune response. My objective is to target these poorly understood molecules. We are currently cloning the genes, producing recombinant protein in E. coli and attempting structural studies. I hope to publish some interesting results during the summer.

Ted, could you explain in a little more detail the goals of your forestry project for forest managers and visitors.

Ted: At the present time, I am about to start work on a Best Practice Handbook designed for forestry and natural resource professionals, and also environmental educators. The aim is to provide background information on ticks, their ecology, and Lyme disease that can sit in any office around the country and can serve as a “ready-reference” of useful information. In addition, I plan to look at both the public health messaging side and also the habitat management issues, to provide a range of best practice case studies where the risk of infection might be reduced in any one forest. Of course, it is important to remember that the ecological and public health dimensions are only one (important) strand in the fight to reduce incidence of Lyme disease.

On what research do you believe scientists around the world must give priority?

Stella: We engaged in a Priority Setting Partnership in which patients and clinicians together voted on their top 10 uncertainties for research. The top 2 priorities were to find the most appropriate treatment for the different stages of Lyme disease and to find a better test.

Ted: I believe that we need to tackle Lyme disease from a number of equally important angles. Clearly, minimizing the risk of infection is going to be the best option. If more people know about the disease and are checking themselves carefully after woodland or nature visits, then we can have a dramatic impact on reducing the burden of disease. Also important is basic research on the ecology and prevalence of ticks and the Borrelia bacteria (and other tick-borne bacteria). However, where people have been infected, there remains great controversy and concern about both the diagnosis and treatment options. This implies more training among health professionals, especially GP’s, and also improvements in our diagnostic tests. So, part of the challenge with Lyme disease is the fact that so many different elements and angles are required if we are to see a reduction in the incidence of the disease in Britain.

For more US information: http://www.TBDAlliance.org.
For more UK information: http://www.lymediseaseaction.org.uk.

C.M. Rubin, Ted Wilson, Stella Huyshe-Shires, Richard Bingham, Tim Brooks

Photos courtesy of Lyme Disease Action, Public Health England, Richard Bingham and Ted Wilson.

In The Global Search for Education, join me and globally renowned thought leaders including Sir Michael Barber (UK), Dr. Michael Block (U.S.), Dr. Leon Botstein (U.S.), Professor Clay Christensen (U.S.), Dr. Linda Darling-Hammond (U.S.), Dr. Madhav Chavan (India), Professor Michael Fullan (Canada), Professor Howard Gardner (U.S.), Professor Andy Hargreaves (U.S.), Professor Yvonne Hellman (The Netherlands), Professor Kristin Helstad (Norway), Jean Hendrickson (U.S.), Professor Rose Hipkins (New Zealand), Professor Cornelia Hoogland (Canada), Honourable Jeff Johnson (Canada), Mme. Chantal Kaufmann (Belgium), Dr. Eija Kauppinen (Finland), State Secretary Tapio Kosunen (Finland), Professor Dominique Lafontaine (Belgium), Professor Hugh Lauder (UK), Professor Ben Levin (Canada), Lord Ken Macdonald (UK), Professor Barry McGaw (Australia), Shiv Nadar (India), Professor R. Natarajan (India), Dr. Pak Tee Ng (Singapore), Dr. Denise Pope (US), Sridhar Rajagopalan (India), Dr. Diane Ravitch (U.S.), Richard Wilson Riley (U.S.), Sir Ken Robinson (UK), Professor Pasi Sahlberg (Finland), Andreas Schleicher (PISA, OECD), Dr. Anthony Seldon (UK), Dr. David Shaffer (U.S.), Dr. Kirsten Sivesind (Norway), Chancellor Stephen Spahn (U.S.), Yves Theze (Lycee Francais U.S.), Professor Charles Ungerleider (Canada), Professor Tony Wagner (U.S.), Sir David Watson (UK), Professor Dylan Wiliam (UK), Dr. Mark Wormald (UK), Professor Theo Wubbels (The Netherlands), Professor Michael Young (UK), and Professor Minxuan Zhang (China) as they explore the big picture education questions that all nations face today.

The Global Search for Education Community Page

C. M. Rubin is the author of two widely read online series for which she received a 2011 Upton Sinclair award, “The Global Search for Education” and “How Will We Read?” She is also the author of three bestselling books, including The Real Alice in Wonderland.

Follow C. M. Rubin on Twitter: www.twitter.com/@cmrubinworld

The aim of “Campus” is to allow experts on a diverse range of topics, from neuroscience to eating disorders to cyber-bullying, to share perspectives with educators.

Campus Talk

By C. M. Rubin with Harry Rubin and Michael Freeborn

“Campus,” an idea born in Finland (the top ranking country in education according to recent international comparisons), is an exclusive professional seminar for all New York City public school teachers that will be held this Saturday, May 4th at Sunshine Cinema in New York, in cooperation with the NYC Department of Education. The aim is to allow experts on a diverse range of topics, from neuroscience to eating disorders to cyber-bullying, to share perspectives with educators on recent developments in those spheres.

“What is School For? The Power of the Heroic Teacher,” will be the keynote speech by blogger and best selling author Seth Godin. Other speakers include Gary Carter, Dr. Eero Castren, Dr. Elizabeth Englander, Dr. Andrea Vazzana and Kathy Bostjancic. I was able to catch up with them to talk about some of the topics they will be addressing.

Seth, what makes a heroic teacher?

Seth: Heroism is about taking risks. Sometimes it’s the existential risk of running into a fire but more often than not it’s the vulnerability that comes from going off the beaten path, from standing up for what you believe in and, most of all, for caring more than you should.

Elizabeth, what makes cyber-bullying a major issue?

Elizabeth: Communicating through digital means represents a major change for the human race. Unlike the advent of some other technologies, cyberspace literally changes the way people perceive and understand each other. But because it is so new, these subtleties aren’t well understood, and thus the impact of social cruelty that occurs digitally is still an area of intensive study. Children, in particular, often don’t understand how severely their digital words and their sharing of images can affect their peers (and others), and thus the social problems caused by cyber-communications are far too frequent and can be very severe. For all its advantages, cyber-communication can also lead to serious problems, including depression, anxiety, problems with social skills, and difficulties in human relationships. Cyber-bullying is a major issue simply because it causes a great deal of grief and will not subside before it is better understood and before this knowledge is successfully transmitted to users.

Gary, do you believe our education system is doing enough for children with learning disabilities?

Gary: As I am neither an American, nor an educationalist, I am not qualified to comment on whether this education system does enough for children with learning disabilities. I am the parent of an adopted disabled child.

However, I am convinced that mainstream society in the Western world undervalues the lived experience of people with all kinds of disabilities, physical and developmental/learning. We assume that the experience of individuals with disabilities is somehow less than ours, or lacking, and as a result we tend not to focus on understanding, participating in, or enriching their experience of the world. We tend instead to move from a position of pity, to discussing the impact of non-mainstream children on parents and other (mainstream) family members, again usually in a context of the difficulties families experience in managing, dealing with or living with disabled members. This has a number of dangerous implications: it tends to make the whole family ‘about’ the disabled member, at the expense of other members of it, and at the same time it does little to enrich the life experience of the disabled individual or the other family members.

There is surprisingly little focus by professionals on the direct relationship or interface between mainstream family members and disabled family members, in an emotional sense and experiential sense, and even less on ensuring that disabled family members have a rich emotional and conceptual experience of the world. It’s as if we cannot imagine that a world that is experienced fundamentally differently to ours can be valuable, rich and inspiring.

Eero, how significant an impact can the neuroscience of learning have on what and how students are taught?

Eero: Many forms of learning take best place during sensitive periods in childhood and juvenile life. We have recently learned a great deal of new things about how learning can be promoted in adults, when the sensitive periods are closed, and about the neurobiological basis of this enhanced learning. Experiments performed in rodents demonstrate that certain commonly used drugs, such as the antidepressant Prozac, can promote learning by activating in adult brain a state similar to that present during sensitive periods of learning in juveniles. Drug treatment needs to be combined with a training program for any beneficial effects to become apparent. A similar plastic state can be activated by purely environmental changes, such as an enriched environment. It is currently unclear how these treatments might influence children still within the sensitive periods of learning, but these findings underlie the importance of a stimulating and supportive environment for optimal learning.

Andrea, how big of an issue is body image for students in the classroom?

Andrea: Awareness of one’s appearance begins during the preschool years. Sadly, negative body image begins soon thereafter and increases with age, peaking in adolescence. Among grade school kids, most girls and nearly half of boys report body dissatisfaction. It’s estimated that by adolescence, one-third of girls engage in unhealthy weight-control practices (i.e., fasting, self-induced vomiting, diet pill/laxative use). Kids learn from parents, teachers, peers and the media to value thinness (for girls) and muscularity (for boys). Deviations from the ideal can result in decreased self-worth, even among normal weight individuals. School, where the preponderance of peer interactions occurs, is a prime setting for appearance-related conversations and comparisons. The school’s physical environment, as well as faculty’s role-modeling and direct comments, sometimes provides further inculcation of idealized appearance standards. The past decade has seen the development of school-based interventions that realign body image with realistic standards and protect students from otherwise deleterious effects.

Kathy, what should we be teaching students about the interconnectedness of global economies?

Kathy: The U.S. economy still remains the single largest in the world, and its influence remains great. However, the winds of economic power are shifting from the advanced economies to the emerging economies. In 2000, the advanced economies, including the U.S., Europe, and Japan, accounted for 60 percent of total world economic activity, while the emerging economies accounted for 40 percent. Just a decade later in 2010, the split between advanced and emerging economies shifted to 50 percent - 50 percent. In 2020, the emerging economies are projected to outpace the advanced economies, with the split moving to 60 percent - 40 percent in favor of the emerging economies. And China is forecast to displace the U.S. as the largest economy. Moreover, the global economies and financial markets are becoming more and more interconnected. Given these global realities, it is critical that U.S. students view the U.S. economy and their own future within a global context.

For more information and registration: http://campusnyc.eventbrite.com

Top row: Andrea Vazzana, C.M. Rubin, Seth GodinBottom row: Gary Carter, Elizabeth Englander, Eero Castren, Kathy Bostjancic

Photos are courtesy of Idealist Group (Helsinki, Finland) and the Consulate General of Finland.

In The Global Search for Education, join me and globally renowned thought leaders including Sir Michael Barber (UK), Dr. Michael Block (U.S.), Dr. Leon Botstein (U.S.), Professor Clay Christensen (U.S.), Dr. Linda Darling-Hammond (U.S.), Dr. Madhav Chavan (India), Professor Michael Fullan (Canada), Professor Howard Gardner (U.S.), Professor Andy Hargreaves (U.S.), Professor Yvonne Hellman (The Netherlands), Professor Kristin Helstad (Norway), Jean Hendrickson (U.S.), Professor Rose Hipkins (New Zealand), Professor Cornelia Hoogland (Canada), Honourable Jeff Johnson (Canada), Mme. Chantal Kaufmann (Belgium), Dr. Eija Kauppinen (Finland), State Secretary Tapio Kosunen (Finland), Professor Dominique Lafontaine (Belgium), Professor Hugh Lauder (UK), Professor Ben Levin (Canada), Lord Ken Macdonald (UK), Professor Barry McGaw (Australia), Shiv Nadar (India), Professor R. Natarajan (India), Dr. Pak Tee Ng (Singapore), Dr. Denise Pope (US), Sridhar Rajagopalan (India), Dr. Diane Ravitch (U.S.), Richard Wilson Riley (U.S.), Sir Ken Robinson (UK), Professor Pasi Sahlberg (Finland), Andreas Schleicher (PISA, OECD), Dr. Anthony Seldon (UK), Dr. David Shaffer (U.S.), Dr. Kirsten Sivesind (Norway), Chancellor Stephen Spahn (U.S.), Yves Theze (Lycee Francais U.S.), Professor Charles Ungerleider (Canada), Professor Tony Wagner (U.S.), Sir David Watson (UK), Professor Dylan Wiliam (UK), Dr. Mark Wormald (UK), Professor Theo Wubbels (The Netherlands), Professor Michael Young (UK), and Professor Minxuan Zhang (China) as they explore the big picture education questions that all nations face today.

The Global Search for Education Community Page

C. M. Rubin is the author of two widely read online series for which she received a 2011 Upton Sinclair award, “The Global Search for Education” and “How Will We Read?” She is also the author of three bestselling books, including The Real Alice in Wonderland.

Follow C. M. Rubin on Twitter: www.twitter.com/@cmrubinworld

“Laboratory reports on Lyme Borreliosis cases (based on positive serology) have doubled in 10 years.” — Jarmo Oksi

Finland — Ticks

By C. M. Rubin with Harry Rubin and Michael Freeborn

Lyme disease is caused by a bacterium transmitted to humans via a tick bite. The CDC (Center for Disease Control) claims that Lyme Borreliosis is the most common and fastest growing infectious illness in the United States. The disease can cause a variety of flu-like symptoms such as fever, achy joints, fatigue and headache. Additionally, Anaplasmosis/Ehrlichiosis, Babesiosis, Rocky Mountain Spotted Fever, Bartonella, Tularemia, and more recently, Borrelia Miyamotoi (a distant relative of Lyme Borreliosis) are other recognized tick-borne infectious diseases in the United States.

Experts have been unable to agree for decades on whether a case definition called chronic Lyme disease exists. Yet, some Lyme victims, even after taking the standard treatment of antibiotics, continue to suffer from long-term and often serious health problems for years after they first contract the disease. Does chronic Lyme disease exist, or is the condition which some patients experience an autoimmune or nervous system response triggered by the infection, or indeed is it a bit of both? These are some of the major questions researchers are trying to figure out as they take on the enormous challenges of identifying better Lyme diagnostic tools and treatment plans for what is becoming a growing global public health crisis.

Today in The Global Search for Education, I take a look at tick-borne illnesses in Finland. I am joined by Docent Jarmo Oksi, Finland’s leading researcher in the field of Lyme disease, who is based at the University of Turku in Finland. In addition, I welcome Markku Kuusi, Chief Medical Officer from Finland’s National Institute for Health and Welfare.

“The weakness of the Finnish surveillance system is that we don’t collect any clinical information on patients, we only get notifications from laboratories.” — Markku Kuusi

What is the annual incidence of Lyme disease in Finland and in Europe at large?

Jarmo: Laboratory reports on Lyme Borreliosis cases (based on positive serology) have doubled in 10 years and are now about 1,500. The estimated number of Lyme Borreliosis infection cases is about four times this number — i.e. estimated incidence in Finland is 5,000-6,000 annually (population 5.5 million), which is about 100 per 100,000 inhabitants per year. However there are areas in the Southwestern Archipelago with incidence of 1000 per 100,000 inhabitants per year.

Markku: Based on the National Infectious Disease Register, the incidence of Lyme disease in Finland has been about 30/100,000 during the past few years. In terms of the annual incidence in other Nordic countries, in Norway it has been about 6/100,000 and in Denmark, 1 - 2/100,000. It is hard to believe that there is such a difference in actual incidence, so that is why I believe the diagnostic criteria are truly different. The weakness of the Finnish surveillance system is that we don’t collect any clinical information on patients, we only get notifications from laboratories; so it is difficult to say whether the symptoms of our cases really are compatible with Lyme Borreliosis.

Would you comment on the annual incidence of any of the other tick-borne illnesses which are endemic in Finland in addition to Lyme.

Markku: Tick-borne Encephalitis (TBE) is another important tick-borne disease in Finland. The incidence has been particularly high on Aland Island and therefore TBE vaccination is included in the national immunization program. Before the vaccination program, the annual incidence was up to 100/100,000 population. Now it has decreased substantially. It seems that in other parts of Finland (apart from Aland Island), the incidence is increasing, and therefore other areas may also be included in the immunization program in the near future (for example, the Archipelago around the city of Turku).

Do you believe that chronic Lyme disease exists or that it is a misnomer for other diseases triggered by Lyme disease?

Markku: This is a difficult question. I think it is clear that some patients have a prolonged course of the disease which may last several months. The most experienced clinicians in Finland think that a continuing Borrelia infection is possible if the patient has not received adequate treatment for the illness, resulting in disseminated infection. Even after adequate treatment, some patients have symptoms due to immunological mechanisms, but it is very hard to say whether these symptoms are related to Borrelia infection or to some other causes.

“The most experienced clinicians in Finland think that a continuing Borrelia infection is possible if the patient has not received adequate treatment for the illness, resulting in disseminated infection.”— Markku Kuusi

If you believe in chronic Lyme disease, what do you believe are the most effective ways to treat it?

Jarmo: If you mean chronic infection, I think that this entity after standard antibiotic therapy is very very seldom (I see about one case in five years). However, if detected —e.g. with cultivation or PCR (the most specific way to detect), the treatment I give is individual antibiotic treatment — maybe double the length compared to the initial treatment.

What do you believe is the most effective way to treat symptoms triggered by the infection, e.g. chronic auto-immune reaction?

Jarmo: During the first months I wait for gradual improvement. If there is no improvement after six to 12 months, I then start low-dose corticosteroid treatment for a certain subset of patients. Some other subsets may get help from, for example, amitriptyline, which raises the threshold for pain sensation.

What tests currently available to the general public, other than the Western Blot test, do you believe provide a better degree of certainty?

Jarmo: PCR (and culture) are useful in some situations (culture only in research settings), but even PCR is not sensitive enough to detect all cases — e.g. in CSF (cerebrospinal fluid) of neuroborreliosis cases. Besides Western Blots, ELISA tests based on C6 peptide are generally good as confirmatory tests.

“We are currently enrolling patients into a study on neuroborreliosis: comparison of IV Ceftriaxone for 3 weeks vs. oral Doximycin for 4 weeks. Hopefully this study will give us new knowledge on markers of how to identify patients with reactive symptomatology triggered by Lyme neuroborreliosis.”— Jarmo Oksi

Are you aware of any other promising tests in development?

Markku: Last year, a Finnish group reviewed the diagnostic tests in our country. It is my understanding that right now there are not unfortunately any new reliable tests available. So we shall have to wait awhile for them.

To what research do you believe scientists around the world must give priority in order to overcome the challenges the public faces with finding a cure for Lyme disease?

Markku: I think it is important to better understand the mechanism behind the sequelae of acute borreliosis. Therefore, we need more research on the immunology of the disease. In other words, how does the bacteria actually cause joint symptoms or neurologic symptoms. I think this will help us to develop better diagnostic tests and hopefully better drugs. I believe antibiotics are not the only solution.

What is the focus of your research and how does it relate to the challenges of identification and cure of Lyme disease and diseases triggered by Lyme?

Jarmo: We are currently enrolling patients into a study on neuroborreliosis: comparison of IV Ceftriaxone for three weeks vs. oral Doximycin for four weeks. Hopefully this study (with control CSF specimens) and long follow-ups of patients also will give us new knowledge on markers of how to identify patients with reactive symptomatology triggered by Lyme neuroborreliosis.

How can technology help us find a cure for Lyme disease faster?

Markku: This is not really a field in which I am knowledgeable, but I believe that better molecular and immunological methods may give possibilities for new diagnostics and for the development of new drugs. What I really hope is that there will be better and more specific laboratory tests for Lyme Borreliosis in the future. I think that one of the key issues is to harmonize the laboratory methods so that we can get a better understanding of the epidemiology of Lyme disease in Finland.

For more information about Lyme and Tick-Borne Diseases, and Prevention and Protection, go tohttp://www.TBDAlliance.org.

Jarmo Oksi, C.M. Rubin, Markku Kuusi

Photographs courtesy of CDC, National Institute for Health and Welfare Finland, and Docent Jarmo Oksi.

In The Global Search for Education, join me and globally renowned thought leaders including Sir Michael Barber (UK), Dr. Michael Block (U.S.), Dr. Leon Botstein (U.S.), Professor Clay Christensen (U.S.), Dr. Linda Darling-Hammond (U.S.), Dr. Madhav Chavan (India), Professor Michael Fullan (Canada), Professor Howard Gardner (U.S.), Professor Andy Hargreaves (U.S.), Professor Yvonne Hellman (The Netherlands), Professor Kristin Helstad (Norway), Jean Hendrickson (U.S.), Professor Rose Hipkins (New Zealand), Professor Cornelia Hoogland (Canada), Honourable Jeff Johnson (Canada), Mme. Chantal Kaufmann (Belgium), Dr. Eija Kauppinen (Finland), State Secretary Tapio Kosunen (Finland), Professor Dominique Lafontaine (Belgium), Professor Hugh Lauder (UK), Professor Ben Levin (Canada), Lord Ken Macdonald (UK), Professor Barry McGaw (Australia), Shiv Nadar (India), Professor R. Natarajan (India), Dr. Pak Tee Ng (Singapore), Dr. Denise Pope (US), Sridhar Rajagopalan (India), Dr. Diane Ravitch (U.S.), Richard Wilson Riley (U.S.), Sir Ken Robinson (UK), Professor Pasi Sahlberg (Finland), Andreas Schleicher (PISA, OECD), Dr. Anthony Seldon (UK), Dr. David Shaffer (U.S.), Dr. Kirsten Sivesind (Norway), Chancellor Stephen Spahn (U.S.), Yves Theze (Lycee Francais U.S.), Professor Charles Ungerleider (Canada), Professor Tony Wagner (U.S.), Sir David Watson (UK), Professor Dylan Wiliam (UK), Dr. Mark Wormald (UK), Professor Theo Wubbels (The Netherlands), Professor Michael Young (UK), and Professor Minxuan Zhang (China) as they explore the big picture education questions that all nations face today. 
The Global Search for Education Community Page

C. M. Rubin is the author of two widely read online series for which she received a 2011 Upton Sinclair award, “The Global Search for Education” and “How Will We Read?” She is also the author of three bestselling books, including The Real Alice in Wonderland.

Follow C. M. Rubin on Twitter: www.twitter.com/@cmrubinworld

“If chronic or persistent Lyme disease exists, we will need more than antibiotics for treatment. Anti-inflammatory components or anti-cytokine treatment will be options.” — Dr. Leo Joosten

The Netherlands and Ticks

By C. M. Rubin with Harry Rubin and Michael Freeborn

Lyme (Borreliosis), Anaplasmosis /Ehrlichiosis, Babesiosis, Rocky Mountain Spotted Fever, Bartonella, Tularemia, and more recently, Borrelia miyamotoi (a distant relative of Lyme Borreliosis) are recognized tick-borne infectious diseases in the United States of which The Center for Disease Control (CDC) claims Lyme disease is the most common and fastest growing illness. With spring finally here, have you taken the right steps to ensure that your children and family can enjoy the outdoors without the fear of contracting a potentially severely incapacitating tick-borne illness?

The challenges faced by those trying to combat the silent epidemic of Lyme and other tick-borne diseases are overwhelming. They include better reporting of incidence (24,000 confirmed Lyme cases reported in the U.S. in 2011 but the CDC believe this represents only 10-12 percent of all cases), better education and prevention strategies, more funding for research to develop reliable diagnostic tools (there is currently no diagnostic tool that is even 60 percent reliable), and better treatments. In contrast to the U.S., as you will discover in today’s Q&A, the Netherlands had as of 2006 approximately 17,000 reported cases a year in a population that is 6 percent the size of the U.S., shedding further doubt on the reported US incidence figures.

Tick tock, tick tock — the clock is ticking and each day it seems another expert agrees that global warming is only accelerating the tick problem. Unfortunately, like all of us, those little buggers enjoy international travel. How is the rest of the world combatting these unwelcomed tourists? Over the next few months, I will be sharing the global perspectives of leading experts involved with tick-borne illnesses. Perhaps we will see commonalities and explore new ideas, and so discover ways we can make progress on this growing global public health danger.

This week I am pleased to welcome Dr. Leo Joosten from the Department of Medicine at the Radboud University in the Netherlands. Joosten has been involved in Lyme disease research for several years.

“I think that there is a persistent Lyme disease and there are patients that have clinical symptoms due to an active immune system. How many is not clear yet.” — Dr. Leo Joosten

What is the annual incidence of Lyme disease in The Netherlands and in Europe at large?

In the Netherlands, we have 1.2 million tick bites per year and around 17,000 erythema migrans (EM, the classical red circle on the skin of a Borrelia infected subject) per year, which is increasing every year. These are data from 2006. That is over 100 cases of Lyme disease per 100,000 people in 2006. There were 85,000 Lyme disease cases in Europe in 2006. The expectation is that the incidence of Lyme disease will increase; however, the percentage is not known. This is due to that fact that the number of ticks and the infection rate of ticks have increased in the last few years.

Which other tick-borne illnesses are endemic in The Netherlands in addition to Lyme? Is Borrelia miyamotoi a concern?

There are a few cases of Babesia and Bartonella that are known, but in general, are no real issue in the Netherlands. As far as I know, there is no report yet on B. miyamotoi in the Netherlands.

Do you believe the reporting of the incidence of tick-borne diseases (and in particular Lyme) is satisfactory, or do you believe it needs to improve in the Netherlands? If yes, what do you believe needs to be done?

The registrations of tick bites and the number of infected subjects are well organized in the Netherlands. The Dutch center for public healthcare (the RIVM) monitors the numbers of tick bites and the incidence of Lyme disease. In a collaboration with Wageningen University, the RIVM developed a program (see website: Tekenradar.nl) that allows individuals to send the tick to be evaluated for Borrelia infection. So in general, the reporting of incidence of Lyme disease is satisfactory in the Netherlands.

Do you believe that chronic Lyme disease exists or that it is a misnomer for other diseases triggered by Lyme disease?

I think that there is a persistent Lyme disease and there are patients that have clinical symptoms due to an active immune system. How many is not clear yet, but I think it is only a minority of the Lyme Disease patients. We think that due to prolonged exposure to live Borrelia or Borreliaantigens, the immune system is still activated. The pro-inflammatory mediators produced by the immune cells, such as IL-1, can be the cause of persistent clinical signs of Lyme disease.

“My focus is pathogen-host interaction: how Borrelia is recognized by the host and why some individuals develop Lyme disease while some do not. Which genes are needed for an optimal host defense response to kill the pathogen?” — Dr. Leo Joosten

What solutions that are currently being pursued do you believe hold the most promise for diagnosing Lyme disease at a high confidence level? What tests currently available to the general public, other than the western blot test, do you believe provide a better degree of certainty?

At the moment, there are cellular based tests on the market. LTT, Elispot and Spirofind are a few of these tests. These tests give us information about the cellular immune response towards Borreliaantigens. It seems that these tests will used in the future, apart from serological tests.

If you believe in chronic Lyme disease, what do you believe are the most effective ways to treat it?

If chronic or persistent Lyme disease exists, we will need more than antibiotics for treatment. Anti-inflammatory components or anti-cytokine treatment will be options.

What tests are currently available or in development that you believe will reliably identify diseases triggered by Lyme disease?

I think the new cellular based assays, such as Spirofind, will be helpful in identifying Lyme disease in the future.

What is the focus of your research and how does it relate to the challenges of identification and cure of Lyme disease and diseases triggered by Lyme?

My focus is pathogen-host interaction: how Borrelia is recognized by the host and why some individuals develop Lyme disease while some do not. Which genes are needed for an optimal host defense response to kill the pathogen? With this knowledge, we can develop new diagnostic tools for Lyme disease and maybe better targets for treatment. Apart from these goals, we will explore novel pathways in host defenses to identify biomarkers for early diagnosis of disseminated Lyme disease. The final goal is to explore anti-cytokine targeting for patients with persistent Lyme disease. We think that anti-IL-1 could be an effective therapy for these patients.

             Dr. Leo Joosten and C. M. Rubin

Photos courtesy of Phil and Co., CDC, and Leo Joosten.

For more information about Lyme and tick-borne diseases, and prevention and protection, go tohttp://www.TBDAlliance.org.

In The Global Search for Education, join me and globally renowned thought leaders including Sir Michael Barber (UK), Dr. Michael Block (U.S.), Dr. Leon Botstein (U.S.), Professor Clay Christensen (U.S.), Dr. Linda Darling-Hammond (U.S.), Dr. Madhav Chavan (India), Professor Michael Fullan (Canada), Professor Howard Gardner (U.S.), Professor Andy Hargreaves (U.S.), Professor Yvonne Hellman (The Netherlands), Professor Kristin Helstad (Norway), Jean Hendrickson (U.S.), Professor Rose Hipkins (New Zealand), Professor Cornelia Hoogland (Canada), Honourable Jeff Johnson (Canada), Mme. Chantal Kaufmann (Belgium), Dr. Eija Kauppinen (Finland), State Secretary Tapio Kosunen (Finland), Professor Dominique Lafontaine (Belgium), Professor Hugh Lauder (UK), Professor Ben Levin (Canada), Lord Ken Macdonald (UK), Professor Barry McGaw (Australia), Shiv Nadar (India), Professor R. Natarajan (India), Dr. Pak Tee Ng (Singapore), Dr. Denise Pope (US), Sridhar Rajagopalan (India), Dr. Diane Ravitch (U.S.), Richard Wilson Riley (U.S.), Sir Ken Robinson (UK), Professor Pasi Sahlberg (Finland), Andreas Schleicher (PISA, OECD), Dr. Anthony Seldon (UK), Dr. David Shaffer (U.S.), Dr. Kirsten Sivesind (Norway), Chancellor Stephen Spahn (U.S.), Yves Theze (Lycee Francais U.S.), Professor Charles Ungerleider (Canada), Professor Tony Wagner (U.S.), Sir David Watson (UK), Professor Dylan Wiliam (UK), Dr. Mark Wormald (UK), Professor Theo Wubbels (The Netherlands), Professor Michael Young (UK), and Professor Minxuan Zhang (China) as they explore the big picture education questions that all nations face today. 

The Global Search for Education Community Page

C. M. Rubin is the author of two widely read online series for which she received a 2011 Upton Sinclair award, “The Global Search for Education” and “How Will We Read?” She is also the author of three bestselling books, including The Real Alice in Wonderland.

Follow C. M. Rubin on Twitter: www.twitter.com/@cmrubinworld

          Judi Dench and Ruby Bentall in the World Premiere of Peter and Alice

“So long as men can breathe and eyes can see, So long lives this and this gives life to thee.” - William Shakespeare

Alice Liddell Hargreaves died on November 16, 1934, but her legacy — and its inextricable link to Lewis Carroll’s classic Alice in Wonderland tales — refuses to die. Who was the little girl that inspired Carroll to write what is possibly the greatest children’s story of all time?

John Logan, the playwright (Red) and screenwriter (Skyfall, Hugo, Sweeney Todd, The Aviator, Gladiator), has written a new fictional play about Alice that is directed by Michael Grandage and is currently playing at the Noel Coward Theatre in London. Inspired by the fact that at the opening of the Lewis Carroll exhibition in London in 1932, Alice Liddell Hargreaves met Peter Llewelyn Davies at the Bumpus bookshop, Logan wondered what the two immortal inspirations (the girl who fell down the rabbit hole and Peter Pan, the boy who refused to grow up) might have said to each other. After all, as Alice points out in the play, “We’re practically our own children’s department.” And yes, that’s quite some legacy.

                 Judi Dench (Alice) and Ben Whishaw (Peter) in Peter and Alice

In the production, Alice, played by Academy Award winning actress Judi Dench (Shakespeare in Love), and Peter, played by Ben Whishaw, recall their pasts, the fantastical worlds they each inhabited, the joyful and sad memories of childhood, and the personal experiences that shaped them into the people they have become today.

It’s not the first time a story about Alice Liddell Hargreaves has been inspired by the 1932 centenary of Lewis Caroll’s birth. Dreamchild, the 1985 British drama film written by Dennis Potter and directed by Gavin Millar, begins with the elderly Alice’s arrival in New York to receive an honorary degree from Columbia University and participate in America’s centenary celebrations of the world famous author. Here too, the story depicts Alice as an 80-year-old woman reminiscing her past, although this is a somewhat darker reflection of a woman who finds herself somewhat haunted by the characters which once upon a time had entertained her.

Judi Dench as Alice Liddell Hargreaves in Peter and Alice

Meanwhile, in just a few weeks time, on May 3, 2013, another “Wonderland in Wales” prepares to once again inspire visitors with the non-fictional story of Alice Liddell Hargreaves on Alice Day. Llandudno in Wales has a long connection to Alice Liddell Hargreaves. It was here that Alice’s father, Henry Liddell (who inspired the White Rabbit), his wife Lorina, and the governess Miss Pricks (who inspired the Queen of Hearts), sisters Lorina and Edith (who inspired the Lory and the Eaglet respectively), and the rest of the Liddell family gathered each summer to holiday at the family ‘s large, gothic styled vacation home, which they called Penmorfa. Many famous celebrities of the day, including Prime Minister William Gladstone, came to visit them. As the Alice in Wonderland books became more famous, Alice Liddell also became an important celebrity in this town. Tourists visited the beautiful Llandudno resort, perfectly situated on the western shores of Wales, curious to learn more about the story behind one of the greatest children’s stories of all time.

A.L.I.C.E., which stands for Alice Liddell’s Innovative Community Enterprise, continues to keep Llandudno’s connection to Alice Liddell alive and in the public domain. In addition, as Simon Burrows, one of the co-founders and organizers confirms, “It is a great excuse for a party and a jam tart.” Not content with achieving a world record for eating the most jam tarts (1,716) in a single Alice In Wonderland party last year, the organizers are hoping for a bigger audience and even more fun this time round. They have been working closely with local schools on a number of new educational initiatives while continuing to update Alice exhibitions around the town and to develop their much anticipated digital Alice e-tour. Alice Day on May 3rd has also become the annual event to celebrate the end of each Miss Alice Llandudno’s year long reign.

And so it makes me wonder… what might the original inspiration for the girl who fell down the rabbit hole 151 years ago have to say about all this?

                   C. M. Rubin

Photos courtesy of Johan Persson

C. M. Rubin is the author of two widely read online series for which she received a 2011 Upton Sinclair award, “The Global Search for Education” and “How Will We Read?” She is also the author of three bestselling books, including The Real Alice in Wonderland.

Follow C. M. Rubin on Twitter: www.twitter.com/@cmrubinworld

“How ironic it is that our liberal arts and science institutions have long been admired world wide, and yet they now could be undermined from within.” — Howard Gardner

A Question of Privacy

By C. M. Rubin with Harry Rubin and Michael Freeborn

At public universities, it seems generally understood that anything communicated through the university email system is subject to inspection. The question posed today is: Did Harvard University, whose position on the question of privacy seems more ambiguous, make the right decision to secretly search the email accounts of 16 resident deans without first informing them? The Harvard investigators were looking for information related to a leak about the University’s cheating scandal in which about half the students in an undergraduate spring class called “Introduction to Congress” were thought to have been involved. As reported in the Boston Globe on March 10, the deans whose emails were searched were informed of Harvard’s actions on March 9, almost six months after the search took place. Was this an extraordinary circumstance in which Harvard University had no other option? Perhaps they concluded it was. Was there a better way to handle the execution given the respect due to Harvard’s esteemed academic community? From a legal and ethical perspective, what do people believe the right course of action should be for a trusted, honorable, private academic institution? I asked Howard Gardner, the John H. and Elisabeth A. Hobbs Professor of Cognition and Education at the Harvard Graduate School of Education, and Alan Behr, a partner at the Phillips Nizer law firm and a member of its Corporate & Business Law Department and Intellectual Property Practice, to share their perspectives.

Please tell me the degree to which you think this privacy incident has concerned members of the Harvard community. What proportion of faculty and students of the University would you estimate share concerns for what has transpired?

Howard: To my surprise, I see a degree of mobilization that had not occurred with regard to the cheating episode. I am not sure why. Could be a cumulative effect, could also be that this hits closer to home. After all, it involves faculty and those that faculty considered colleagues - senior resident deans who were apparently treated differently from ladder or tenure faculty. Absent survey data, it is impossible to know the percentages in any constituency. I will say that a number of departments and cohorts have mobilized in ways that they did not before, but it is not yet clear how the mobilization will go and whether it will have any effect.

Do you believe there are any egregious acts that would give the right to an organization such as Harvard to access a faculty member’s or an individual’s private correspondence?

Howard: There are two separate questions. One has to do with the seriousness of the alleged transgression; the other has to do with whether the faculty member should be apprised before the fact. I think that the offense has to be serious (criminal or one that comes close to the heart of the educational enterprise, like scientific fraud) and the reason needs to be spelled out.

Alan: Because the institution is accountable for what is on its servers, it has reason to say that it has the right to know what is on them. If the individual has something deeply private stored on the institution’s server, the first question is obvious: if it is so private, why did you upload it? If there is a dedicated electronic storage space for private files and it is so identified to the employee, the institution could have a tough time supporting any invasion of that space for almost any reason that is not listed within its information policy. If the private files contain information that is potentially related to a serious crime, the institution is perhaps on firmer ground in reading it than in most other serious situations.

“You violate a person’s right of privacy when you obtain personal data on that person when he or she is in a situation in which it is reasonable to have an expectation of privacy.” — Alan Behr

On the question of privacy, do you think there should be any difference between an education that is privately paid for and an education that is publicly paid for?

Howard: At public universities, it is already understood that anything you write on your university email is subject to inspection, perhaps without notice. And so employees at such universities are forewarned. Those of us at private universities thought that a different set of rules applied; I certainly did. Note however that private education is also publicly paid for, not only by grants to students but also by its tax-free status, and so the once assumed privilege may gradually disappear. That cuts directly into the heart of the academic enterprise, which has assumed trust, privacy, community, and a moral basis.

Is there a distinction you would make between privacy protections and rights for a paid employee (such as a faculty member) versus a student who is paying customer of the university?

Alan: Very generally, you violate a person’s right of privacy when you obtain personal data on that person when he or she is in a situation in which it is reasonable to have an “expectation of privacy.” Someone taking pictures of you through your third-floor bedroom window while you are dressing for dinner is likely violating your right of privacy. If you stand in your bedroom window and shout to people on the street, however, what you say would not be considered private. The Duchess of Cambridge was seated outdoors when photographed topless - on the veranda of a private villa, and the photographer was said to be positioned far off, on a road. Does a famous person in a private space have an expectation of privacy when visible only with professional-grade optics from a considerable distance? Many believed so. Most institutions take the position that there is no expectation of privacy when communicating via their email systems. It is worth noting that they take different positions about telephones: you have a right to expect that your call is not being monitored or recorded. The distinction is based in part upon the fact that email is a permanent written record, one that could potentially subject the institution to liability. The institution should have a clearly articulated, publicized and readily accessible information systems policy in any event.

Howard: I think that all members of a community should be equally protected. Interestingly, the Harvard administrator who defended the practice of looking at the mail of the resident deans said that the University did it to protect the privacy of the student. That argument did not work for me; in fact I think it is a specious argument designed to rally support from students and parents. I think it is equally important to protect the privacy of staff, faculty, and administrators. By the way, one faculty member pointed out that administrators should be considered staff and therefore should have their emails inspected. Needless to say, that provocative argument would not go well with administrators at Harvard or any other place.

“Unless these institutions make extraordinary efforts to show that they are attempting to repair these injuries and to heal the community, they will lose the respect in which they were held for many years, and post-secondary education in the U.S. will be in jeopardy.” — Howard Gardner

From an ethical, and/or legal perspective, what do you believe is the right course of action for the Harvard administration to pursue following an incident such as this, to maintain both Harvard’s legacy as an academic leader and its integrity as a moral community?

Alan: The best thing to do is to have a clear, unambiguous information systems policy and to enforce it uniformly. You can make the rules different for faculty, students and administrative employees. Within each category, the policy should be evenly applied. It is all about transparency and fairness: if the policy says that a student’s emails are subject to being read, and the student emails his parents via his university account about how he cheated on an exam, he can’t complain if that email incriminates him.

Howard: I agree absolutely with what Professor Rakesh Khurana of the Harvard Business School wrote to me. I quote here with his permission.

“As an organizational behavior researcher, we teach cases like this over and over again. And yet, no matter how many times, people seem to repeat the same mistake.

It seems that one of the simplest course of actions that would have ended this would have been a simple apology: “We were under a lot of pressure in a situation that we had no experience with. We made a judgment call. It seemed right at the time. In hindsight, it was wrong. We want to assure the community that something like this will not happen again.”

Instead, what we got was the same hair-splitting and legalese that apparently the administration board detests when it hears from students—no sense of personal accountability; splitting hairs; hiding behind technicalities, etc.”

More generally, after a genuine heartfelt apology along the lines suggested by Professor Khurana, I would say that the University needs to make it clear that it will follow a course that is much more respectful of the rights of all members of the community henceforth, and that it will try to embody in its actions what it means to be a trusting ethical community. Particular organizations, institutions, and professions do differ in the extent to which they embody trust, ethical behavior, a sense of community. As the best known and wealthiest university in the world, Harvard has a special responsibility to embody these virtues. Harvard’s reputation has deservedly been thrown into question by the events of the past year, as have the reputations of other schools that have experienced sexual harassment, ethical and racial slurs, drunken binges, misrepresentations to rating agencies, etc. Unless these institutions make extraordinary efforts to show that they are attempting to repair these injuries and to heal the community, they will lose the respect in which they were held for many years, and post-secondary education in the U.S. will be in jeopardy.

How ironic it is that our liberal arts and science institutions have long been admired world wide, and yet they now could be undermined from within.

       C. M. Rubin, Alan Behr, Howard Gardner

Photos courtesy of Harvard Graduate School of Education and Phillips Nizer LLC.

In The Global Search for Education, join me and globally renowned thought leaders including Sir Michael Barber (UK), Dr. Michael Block (U.S.), Dr. Leon Botstein (U.S.), Professor Clay Christensen (U.S.), Dr. Linda Darling-Hammond (U.S.), Dr. Madhav Chavan (India), Professor Michael Fullan (Canada), Professor Howard Gardner (U.S.), Professor Andy Hargreaves (U.S.), Professor Yvonne Hellman (The Netherlands), Professor Kristin Helstad (Norway), Jean Hendrickson (U.S.), Professor Rose Hipkins (New Zealand), Professor Cornelia Hoogland (Canada), Honourable Jeff Johnson (Canada), Mme. Chantal Kaufmann (Belgium), Dr. Eija Kauppinen (Finland), State Secretary Tapio Kosunen (Finland), Professor Dominique Lafontaine (Belgium), Professor Hugh Lauder (UK), Professor Ben Levin (Canada), Lord Ken Macdonald (UK), Professor Barry McGaw (Australia), Shiv Nadar (India), Professor R. Natarajan (India), Dr. Pak Tee Ng (Singapore), Dr. Denise Pope (US), Sridhar Rajagopalan (India), Dr. Diane Ravitch (U.S.), Richard Wilson Riley (U.S.), Sir Ken Robinson (UK), Professor Pasi Sahlberg (Finland), Andreas Schleicher (PISA, OECD), Dr. Anthony Seldon (UK), Dr. David Shaffer (U.S.), Dr. Kirsten Sivesind (Norway), Chancellor Stephen Spahn (U.S.), Yves Theze (Lycee Francais U.S.), Professor Charles Ungerleider (Canada), Professor Tony Wagner (U.S.), Sir David Watson (UK), Professor Dylan Wiliam (UK), Dr. Mark Wormald (UK), Professor Theo Wubbels (The Netherlands), Professor Michael Young (UK), and Professor Minxuan Zhang (China) as they explore the big picture education questions that all nations face today.

The Global Search for Education Community Page

C. M. Rubin is the author of two widely read online series for which she received a 2011 Upton Sinclair award, “The Global Search for Education” and “How Will We Read?” She is also the author of three bestselling books, including The Real Alice in Wonderland.

Follow C. M. Rubin on Twitter: www.twitter.com/@cmrubinworld

“Children with ADHD are typically comparable on estimates of IQ and cognitive abilities, suggesting that their disorder is what is getting in the way of learning.” — Dr. Gregory Fabiano

Health and Education Part 2

By C. M. Rubin with Harry Rubin and Michael Freeborn

Inattention and hyperactivity is one of the most common types of mental and behavioral health problems that affects youth, according to Dr. Charles Basch, author of Healthier Students Are Better Learners. In Basch’s study, a synthesis of current research, he notes that approximately 4.6 million (8.4 percent) of American youth aged 6 - 17 have been diagnosed with ADHD (Attention Deficit/Hyperactivity Disorder), and that the problem disproportionately affects urban minority youth from poor families who may not only be more likely to be affected but also less likely to receive accurate diagnosis and treatment. For Health and Education Part 2, I asked experts in the field of ADHD, Dr. Gregory Fabiano, Dr. George DuPaul and Dr. Thomas Power, to share their perspectives on how the ADHD problem is impacting our domestic achievement gap and on the ways it is being addressed.

Dr. Thomas Power is the Director for Management of ADHD and Chief Psychologist, Department of Child and Adolescent Psychiatry and Behavioral Sciences at The Children’s Hospital of Philadelphia. Dr. Power has conducted research on children with ADHD for over 25 years and has published extensively on interventions for ADHD and community-based prevention. Dr. George DuPaul is Professor of School Psychology and Chair of the Department of Education and Human Services at Lehigh University. He has published extensively on assessment and treatment of ADHD and is the co-author of ADHD in the Schools: Assessment and Intervention Strategies. Dr. Gregory Fabiano is Associate Professor of Counseling, School and Educational Psychology in the Graduate School of Education at the University of Buffalo. He is extensively published in the field of ADHD and his particular area of interest is evidence-based assessments and treatments for children with ADHD.

“The most effective way to impact educational outcomes for students with ADHD is the systematic use of academic interventions that have been found effective in other populations for improving performance.” — Dr. George DuPaul

Have the consequences of ADHD, treated and untreated, been quantified with regard to academic achievement compared with youth who do not have this disorder? What is the “gap”?

George: The gap has been quantified and it is somewhere between .75 to 1.0 standard deviations. This is considered a large difference that means that the average student with ADHD would score at about the 16th percentile relative to his or her non-ADHD peers.

Greg: In almost every area of functioning within schools, youth with ADHD fare poorer on achievement. Interestingly, children with ADHD are typically comparable on estimates of IQ and cognitive abilities, suggesting that their disorder is what is getting in the way of learning. For instance, some children with ADHD fail classes, not because they are having trouble learning the material, but because homework assignments are missing or incomplete, careless mistakes are made on quizzes, or they forget to turn in long-term projects.

Thomas: It is clear that the presence of ADHD greatly increases the risk of children with ADHD for academic problems, including grade retention, placement into special education, and early school dropout. Behavioral and academic interventions for children with ADHD improve academic performance. Also, medication reduces ADHD symptoms in school and related academic problems, such as poor work productivity and disorganization. In general, research supports the use of combined approaches to treatment (i.e., combination of behavioral and academic interventions with medication) to improve academic performance.

“Treatment in low-income settings is more challenging for many reasons, including the likelihood of the child being repeatedly exposed to stress and trauma, overstressed caregivers who face challenges in consistently using positive parenting strategies, and under resourced schools.” — Dr. Thomas Power

Does the multi-media environment that surrounds youth today foster ADHD symptoms?

Greg: Probably not. ADHD can be thought of as a selective attention deficit disorder and many children do not have difficulty interfacing with multi-media. The problems are apparent in situations where the child needs to sustain and focus mental effort. I would suggest that the current educational system fosters ADHD symptoms - if one wanted to exacerbate the symptoms of ADHD, the best way to do it would be to step up academic demands in an overcrowded classroom with extended academic blocks. It would also be a good idea to remove natural breaks like recess and be sure to expect the child sit in a seat the whole time.

If the best treatment for ADHD is holistic (pharmacological, behavioral and environmental), it would appear that the disorder is more difficult to treat in low-income urban youth. Have you seen examples of successful efforts of holistic treatment for this demographic group? How should such an effort be organized?

Thomas: Treatment in low-income settings is more challenging for many reasons, including the likelihood of the child being repeatedly exposed to stress and trauma, overstressed caregivers who face challenges in consistently using positive parenting strategies, and under resourced schools. The most successful models of treatment use integrated approaches based in schools and primary care practices. In these contexts, mental health specialists can consult with teachers, provide education to parents, and promote collaborative care with primary care providers.

“I believe that computer-based training and practice of academic skills has enormous potential to improve the educational outcomes of students with ADHD.” — Dr. George DuPaul

What progress has been made over the past 5 years in reducing the educational impact of ADHD? What data gives an indication of this progress, if any?

George: Substantial progress has been made in addressing at least the short-term academic achievement of students with ADHD. My colleagues and I recently published a meta-analysis of school-based interventions for students with ADHD that involved combining analyses from 60 studies conducted between 1996 and 2010. Many of these studies examined the impact of various methods designed to address academic difficulties (e.g., computer-assisted instruction, changes to teacher instruction). On average, the use of an educational intervention strategy led students with ADHD to gain 0.5 standard deviations on academic measures. Stated differently, these strategies made up about half the typical gap in academic achievement between students with and without ADHD. Obviously, students were still behind their peers and we still have a ways to go in addressing academic difficulties, but the results of recent studies are very promising.

Greg: We did a study that showed a simple intervention, a Daily Report Card, significantly reduced children with ADHD’s disruptive behavior in class, increased academic productivity, and also improved teachers’ ratings of IEP (Individualized Education Program) goal attainment. Interestingly, the comparison group received business as usual and did not improve at all. These results suggest that students with ADHD could substantively benefit from simple approaches like this, and these interventions can move the needle further than current approaches.

“The most successful models of treatment use integrated approaches based in schools and primary care practices. In these contexts, mental health specialists can consult with teachers, provide education to parents, and promote collaborative care with primary care providers.” — Dr. Thomas Power

What have been the most effective tools for treating ADHD and improving educational outcomes?

George: The strategies that are effective for treating ADHD I mentioned previously (i.e., stimulant medication, behavior modification). Unfortunately, these two treatments have only small effects (about 0.2 standard deviation change) on educational outcomes. The most effective way to impact educational outcomes for students with ADHD is the systematic use of academic interventions that have been found effective in other populations for improving performance. Examples include teacher use of systematic direct instruction of specific academic skills, classwide peer tutoring, computer-assisted instruction, and implementation of self-regulation strategies by the students themselves. Again, the use of one or more of these approaches is likely to increase achievement by about 0.5 standard deviations.

Who should take the lead in the process to identify and treat ADHD? What examples of well organized approaches have you seen?

Thomas: School psychologists, guidance counselors, and school nurses are in a good position to orchestrate the efforts of school-based, integrated approaches to care. Pediatric psychologists and nurses are in a good position to orchestrate efforts in primary care.

“On average, the use of an educational intervention strategy led students with ADHD to gain 0.5 standard deviations on academic measures. Stated differently, these strategies made up about half the typical gap in academic achievement between students with and without ADHD.” — Dr. George DuPaul

What teacher training programs are in place for ADHD education and practices to use at schools? Have you seen any data on the prevalence of these programs?

George: The best example of an organized training program for teachers was developed by the Children and Adults with ADHD (CHADD) organization. I’m not sure if they have any data on the prevalence of use of this program.

What pedagogical approaches have been developed to focus on academic problems of ADHD youth? Are there many online programs that have been developed? Do you believe this will be a significant opportunity for addressing this issue?

George: Some online programs have been developed; however, I have yet to see controlled studies of their impact. That said, I believe that computer-based training and practice of academic skills has enormous potential to improve the educational outcomes of students with ADHD. The reason I believe this is that technology allows instruction to be geared to the unique needs of individual students, information can be provided at the student’s desired pace, and students can be provided with immediate feedback about performance. We know from studying other interventions that these features are especially helpful for students with ADHD.

C. M. Rubin, Thomas Power, George DuPaul, Gregory Fabiano, Charles BaschPhotos courtesy of Healthy Schools Campaign

http://healthyschoolscampaign.org

In The Global Search for Education, join me and globally renowned thought leaders including Sir Michael Barber (UK), Dr. Michael Block (U.S.), Dr. Leon Botstein (U.S.), Professor Clay Christensen (U.S.), Dr. Linda Darling-Hammond (U.S.), Dr. Madhav Chavan (India), Professor Michael Fullan (Canada), Professor Howard Gardner (U.S.), Professor Andy Hargreaves (U.S.), Professor Yvonne Hellman (The Netherlands), Professor Kristin Helstad (Norway), Jean Hendrickson (U.S.), Professor Rose Hipkins (New Zealand), Professor Cornelia Hoogland (Canada), Honourable Jeff Johnson (Canada), Mme. Chantal Kaufmann (Belgium), Dr. Eija Kauppinen (Finland), State Secretary Tapio Kosunen (Finland), Professor Dominique Lafontaine (Belgium), Professor Hugh Lauder (UK), Professor Ben Levin (Canada), Lord Ken Macdonald (UK), Professor Barry McGaw (Australia), Shiv Nadar (India), Professor R. Natarajan (India), Dr. Pak Tee Ng (Singapore), Dr. Denise Pope (US), Sridhar Rajagopalan (India), Dr. Diane Ravitch (U.S.), Richard Wilson Riley (U.S.), Sir Ken Robinson (UK), Professor Pasi Sahlberg (Finland), Andreas Schleicher (PISA, OECD), Dr. Anthony Seldon (UK), Dr. David Shaffer (U.S.), Dr. Kirsten Sivesind (Norway), Chancellor Stephen Spahn (U.S.), Yves Theze (Lycee Francais U.S.), Professor Charles Ungerleider (Canada), Professor Tony Wagner (U.S.), Sir David Watson (UK), Professor Dylan Wiliam (UK), Dr. Mark Wormald (UK), Professor Theo Wubbels (The Netherlands), Professor Michael Young (UK), and Professor Minxuan Zhang (China) as they explore the big picture education questions that all nations face today.

The Global Search for Education Community Page

C. M. Rubin is the author of two widely read online series for which she received a 2011 Upton Sinclair award, “The Global Search for Education” and “How Will We Read?” She is also the author of three bestselling books, including The Real Alice in Wonderland.

Follow C. M. Rubin on Twitter: www.twitter.com/@cmrubinworld

“My argument in favor of educating girls is more practical. We should do it because it is an incredibly powerful tool for ending global poverty.” — Richard Robbins

Girls

By C. M. Rubin with Harry Rubin and Michael Freeborn

Girl Rising is the feature film to be released on March 7th, which tells the unforgettable stories of nine real and remarkable girls from Peru, Haiti, Egypt, Sierra Leone, Afghanistan, Ethiopia, India, Nepal and Cambodia. The girls’ stories are narrated by Meryl Streep, Anne Hathaway, Cate Blanchett, Salma Hayek, Alicia Keys, Chloe Moretz, Freida Pinto Priyanka Chopra, Selena Gomez and Kerry Washington.

This hauntingly moving film also reveals some harrowing facts. Sixty-six million girls are out of school worldwide. Girls are the victims of 80 percent of all human trafficking crimes. Girls and women are the victims of 75 percent of the AIDS cases in Sub-Saharan Africa, the region hardest hit by this disease. One hundred and fifty million girls are victims of sexual violence in a single year and 50 percent of all the sexual assaults in the world are on girls under 15. Fourteen million girls under 18 will be married this year and, tragically, the number 1 cause of death for girls 15 - 19 is childbirth. A girl born on Planet Earth has a 1 in 4 chance of being born into poverty. And yet…. If India enrolled 1 percent more girls in secondary school, their GDP would rise by $5.5 billion. Girls with 8 years of education are 4 times less likely to be married as children. A child born to a literate mother is 50 percent more likely to survive past the age of 5. A girl with an extra year of education can earn 20 percent more as an adult, and educated mothers are more than twice as likely to send their children to school. Is it any surprise that a revolution is brewing and that girls are beginning to rise up?

I asked the Academy-Award nominated director of Girl Rising, Richard E. Robbins, along with some internationally minded students, Rachel Levi, Kaoruko Mochizuki, Flicky Dodsley, Maud Paulis, and their teacher, Ms. Audrey Enriquez of The Dwight School, to share thoughts and perspectives on the issues raised in the film Girl Rising as well as on the global community’s next steps to finding solutions.

“If girls could get an education, the world would find new solutions to big problems that concern the world right now.” — Kaoruko Mochizuki

What did you think of the film Girl Rising? What did you take away with you after screening the movie?

Ms. Enriquez: I thought it was a very unique, creative and intelligent way to engage the audience. It was like weaving a hauntingly beautiful tapestry together — first stitched with sadness, then with hope. My favorite parts were of the little girls from Egypt and Calcutta, India - the cartoons and drawings interspersed with the story made them and their sad yet hopeful plights, which verged on the surreal, become very much real, present and alive.

Rachel: I have been really involved with an organization called WISER which gives girls in Muhuru Bay, Kenya the chance to get a secondary education, and so the movie had a strong impact on me. It made me think about all the reasons I became involved in WISER in the first place.

Kaoruko: Waking up early in the morning and doing our homework can be dreadful at times. But for the children globally who cannot go to school, education is a big dream. That’s what this film taught me. During and after the screening I felt a rather sad feeling inside me.

Flicky: I really enjoyed the film and I thought it was brilliant that the problems facing a lot of girls were being made even more known.

“Girls in Africa and Asia will learn about cultural differences and will realize from the spread of information through the internet that they too should have the same rights.” — Maud Paulis

Was there any particular girl’s story that resonated especially with you?

Flicky: It was Suma’s story that resonated with me the most because of the age she was forced into bonded labor and the tasks she had to carry out. I baby-sit for a young girl who only turned 7 a week ago and I imagined her in Suma’s position.

Kaoruko: Suma had to separate from her family and go to work while her brother was able to get a proper education.

Maud: The story that stuck with me the most was that of the Afghani girl. Hearing how she was married off at the age of eleven, and then forced to have children and take care of the household rather than going to school, was heartbreaking.

Rachel: Amina’s section of the movie particularly. Her hopes and dreams for the future reminded me of those of the girls at WISER in Kenya. It was that hope that sparked my passion.

“Thirty years ago global warming was not widely understood. I like to think that’s where girls’ education is now, although I hope it won’t take us 30 years to reach the level of awareness we need.”— Richard Robbins

Do you believe it is our responsibility to ensure all girls, regardless of socio-economic background, ethnicity or circumstances, realize their right to a quality education?

Richard: While I do believe it is both our responsibility to do everything we can, and every person’s right to have an education, I’ve actually tried hard to stay away from a rights and responsibilities argument in the film. Not because I don’t believe in it. I believe it with all my heart. But because I don’t think it is the most effective argument to be made on behalf of educating girls. My argument in favor of educating girls is more practical. We should do it because it is an incredibly powerful tool for ending global poverty.

If all girls around the globe could get an education, how do you think that would change the world?

Maud: The world would change and progress drastically. It would benefit the economy greatly. HIV/AIDS rates would plummet. Overpopulation would decrease. Not only would these cultural and health changes occur, they would also be maintained, as the next generation, with educated mothers, will have a much higher chance of being educated.

Kaoruko: If girls could get an education, the world would find new solutions to big problems that concern the world right now.

“I believe in education. Spread the word that there are girls rising - tell your friends, family, neighbors, community.” — Audrey Enriquez

The world has seen protests by girls across Africa and Asia this year and it is clear that in places where girls are treated as second-class citizens, girls are fighting back. What role do you think Social Media has played in helping these girls? Is this a good thing?

Richard: I will tell you that even among the poorest girls we met in our travels, a surprisingly large percentage of them have cell phones. Even in villages that don’t have electricity, people save their money to pay for an hour at a charging station run off a generator. I don’t think it takes a lot of imagination to think about what it means that girls like that can be connected, even through a simple phone.

Ms. Enriquez: It allows even the most seemingly insignificant tale from the most seemingly unimportant person in the most remote corner of the world to be told and heard by many.

Maud: Girls in Africa and Asia will learn about cultural differences and will realize from the spread of information through the Internet that they too should have the same rights.

Flicky: When I “liked” the WISER page on Facebook, a couple of my friends from England asked me what WISER was, so it was social media that led them to understanding the inequality girls face in other parts of the world.

“We need people to demand change on a policy level. Right now the United States spends less than 2 cents of every development dollar on programs for girls. That simply isn’t enough.” — Richard Robbins

What do you hope girls and boys who view your film will do to help this important cause?

Richard: First is that they simply inform themselves about this issue. Thirty years ago global warming was not widely understood. I like to think that’s where girls’ education is now, although I hope it won’t take us 30 years to reach the level of awareness we need. Second, we hope that people look for ways to get involved. We are at the dawn of a new era for individual philanthropic engagement. Individuals with skills, ideas, and money can make a dramatic difference half a world away. And finally we need people to demand change on a policy level. Right now the United States spends less than 2 cents of every development dollar on programs for girls. That simply isn’t enough.

Now that the girls in this film have come forward to tell their stories, what do you believe we can do to help their cause?

Rachel: After traveling to Kenya and creating personal bonds with the girls at WISER, I understand that money is a strong way to help girls looking for an education. I have learnt that support to each individual girl brings them strength and power.

Flicky: I think the most important thing people can do to help the girls’ cause is to spread even more awareness and to join groups.

Kaoruko: Donate pencils, notebooks and any other school equipment that a child can use.

Maud: I’m already involved in the WISER group supporting girls’ education. I now know I want to continue supporting girls’ education.

Ms. Enriquez: I believe in education. Spread the word that there are girls rising — tell your friends, family, neighbors, community. Tell them about their stories; tell them about the film Girl Rising.

For information on the campaign to educate girls in developing nations.

Top Row: (l to r) Richard Robbins, C. M. RubinBottom Row: (l to r) Audrey Enriquez, Felicity Dodsley, Kaoruko Mochizuki, Maud Paulis, Rachel LeviAll photos are courtesy of Girl Rising and The Dwight School.

In The Global Search for Education, join me and globally renowned thought leaders including Sir Michael Barber (UK), Dr. Michael Block (U.S.), Dr. Leon Botstein (U.S.), Professor Clay Christensen (U.S.), Dr. Linda Darling-Hammond (U.S.), Dr. Madhav Chavan (India), Professor Michael Fullan (Canada), Professor Howard Gardner (U.S.), Professor Andy Hargreaves (U.S.), Professor Yvonne Hellman (The Netherlands), Professor Kristin Helstad (Norway), Jean Hendrickson (U.S.), Professor Rose Hipkins (New Zealand), Professor Cornelia Hoogland (Canada), Honourable Jeff Johnson (Canada), Mme. Chantal Kaufmann (Belgium), Dr. Eija Kauppinen (Finland), State Secretary Tapio Kosunen (Finland), Professor Dominique Lafontaine (Belgium), Professor Hugh Lauder (UK), Professor Ben Levin (Canada), Lord Ken Macdonald (UK), Professor Barry McGaw (Australia), Shiv Nadar (India), Professor R. Natarajan (India), Dr. Pak Tee Ng (Singapore), Dr. Denise Pope (US), Sridhar Rajagopalan (India), Dr. Diane Ravitch (U.S.), Richard Wilson Riley (U.S.), Sir Ken Robinson (UK), Professor Pasi Sahlberg (Finland), Andreas Schleicher (PISA, OECD), Dr. Anthony Seldon (UK), Dr. David Shaffer (U.S.), Dr. Kirsten Sivesind (Norway), Chancellor Stephen Spahn (U.S.), Yves Theze (Lycee Francais U.S.), Professor Charles Ungerleider (Canada), Professor Tony Wagner (U.S.), Sir David Watson (UK), Professor Dylan Wiliam (UK), Dr. Mark Wormald (UK), Professor Theo Wubbels (The Netherlands), Professor Michael Young (UK), and Professor Minxuan Zhang (China) as they explore the big picture education questions that all nations face today. 

The Global Search for Education Community Page

C. M. Rubin is the author of two widely read online series for which she received a 2011 Upton Sinclair award, “The Global Search for Education” and “How Will We Read?” She is also the author of three bestselling books, including The Real Alice in Wonderland.

Follow C. M. Rubin on Twitter: www.twitter.com/@cmrubinworld

“Edmodo has been a platform that can be adapted to any type of classroom in the US and in every part of the world. We already have over 17,000,000 users.” — Crystal Hutter

Social Learning

By C. M. Rubin with Harry Rubin and Michael Freeborn

Have you done your Edmodo, honey?

Yes that’s right, I said “Edmodo,” not “homework” or even “school work”.

An impressive 17 million plus users worldwide are doing their Edmodo. The company’s mission since it’s beginnings has been to provide a free and safe platform that allows students and teachers to come together to collaborate and learn.

Think Facebook with a big educational vision that focuses on using many unique technology features to augment what’s already happening in the classroom. New ideas are often introduced and expanded by teachers themselves at the company’s annual teacher conferences; the last one brought together 12,000 professionals from 117 countries. Jennifer Bond, a 3rd grade teacher at Walled Lake Consolidated Schools in Walled Lake, Michigan, has been using Edmodo extensively for years and says she likes it because it is “education minded”. Jennifer is actively involved in the Edmodo Global Read Aloud, which she says “can be challenging with time zones and scheduling video conferences, but the pros are that the kids have the opportunity to connect with kids from all over the world and gain new perspectives.”

“We see our opportunity as being able to connect teachers and classrooms around the world to create a powerful network of learners so that all of the best ideas and resources can surface.” — Crystal Hutter

Does Edmodo’s Digital Citizen Starter Kit handle the challenge of educating kids to be good digital citizens? The answer is “Yes!” according to Bianca Hewes, a high school English teacher in Sydney, Australia who’s also been doing awesome things with Edmodo since 2009 (including connecting 30 of her students with registered Edmodo teachers in the US, South America and England to mentor their individual writing projects). “Edmodo is a social network with training wheels,” says Bianca. “By introducing it at a young age, teachers are able to develop the habits of the mind that are essential for students to be good digital citizens. Students learn to use appropriate language, to speak kindly and with compassion, to be supportive rather than critical, and to ask thoughtful questions.”

I had the opportunity to chat further with the Company’s COO, Crystal Hutter.

“Edmodo is a social network with training wheels. By introducing it at a young age, teachers are able to develop the habits of the mind that are essential for students to be good digital citizens.”— Bianca Hewes, English teacher, Sydney, Australia

How is Edmodo helping to address the achievement gap? Isn’t the lack of computers and bandwidth a significant impediment?

We see our opportunity as being able to connect teachers and classrooms around the world to create a powerful network of learners so that all of the best ideas and resources can surface. With Edmodo, teachers can discover content in real time and deliver it in a personalized way to their students. For example, teachers can receive instant feedback on how his/her students perform by giving them a quiz on Edmodo and getting real time analytics to see how each student is grasping the material. She can put students into small groups where each group gets different content or different instructional materials to ensure that every single student in her classroom learns the concept that she is teaching that day.

Have you come across limitations of low-income families in affording good quality computers and satisfactory Internet access to use Edmodo? My concern is that this would be a significant impediment to students in low-income families.

Every district and school handles access to technology differently. Many schools are starting to adopt “BYOD” (Bring Your Own Device) environments, where each student is allowed to bring in their own mobile devices to use in class. Some schools have laptop or iPad carts that teachers share amongst their classrooms. Other schools have computer labs that students can access at specific hours during and after school.

While not every student has access to a computer, most do have access to a mobile device in their household. Edmodo offers a mobile website and native apps for iOS and Android devices.

“Teachers are teachers because they want to change the lives of students, so Edmodo allows them to be able to do that on a whole new scale with students and with their fellow teachers.” — Crystal Hutter

I see Edmodo as a platform with resources that could also be helpful in classrooms where learning has been more challenging. If every poor child in the US had access to Edmodo, what impact could it have on our domestic achievement gap?

The demographics of Edmodo in the US, which is about 75% of our users, mirrors the demographics of the US K-12 system, covering everything from grade level to subject area and from rural to urban, high income to low income as well as public versus private. I think it’s important that Edmodo has been a platform that can be adapted to any type of classroom in the US and in every part of the world. We already have over 17,000,000 users. Teachers have been an important part of creating a real change in their classrooms by being a part of this global network and by engaging their students in it as well.

If students are doing so nicely with Edmodo, why not just home school them?

Every student and family has a different need and approach and we support all of those environments. I was recently talking to a woman who home schools her son. He is extremely gifted and takes a large number of courses. She spends a massive amount of time curating his courses, which involves using many different platforms with varying levels of technology. So she brings all these courses and all of his tutors onto Edmodo and this has made her process much more manageable. She also feels now like she’s not a lonely island because she’s connecting with other teachers who have great ideas. So whether you are a Mom curating your child’s lessons at home or a teacher in a classroom, the idea is to make sure that you don’t feel like you’re on a lonely island but that you are part of a much broader community.

“Kids have the opportunity to connect with kids from all over the world and gain new perspectives.”— Jennifer Bond, 3rd grade teacher, Walled Lake, Michigan

Can social interaction in an online environment ever be quite the same as social interaction in a classroom?

For us it is always about the blend of offline and online. What teachers on Edmodo do so well is combine the best of the tried and true of pedagogy in the classroom with new digital applications and technologies that are coming online. It’s all about making sure the offline and the online worlds are seamless so that you create the best personalized learning experiences for students. We are social creatures and learning is a social experience but we see that every student is different. We hear stories from teachers about students, for example, a student who was not as vocal in class, so the question was, “Is she/he really engaged in the learning process?” The teacher has told us that Edmodo has really taken a leadership role in helping that student to find his/her voice.

Do you find that teachers are happy to share their content with other teachers around the world?

Yes, the vast majority of teachers that we meet are. There are teachers who spend up to 40 hours developing a lesson to teach to students. If a teacher can feel that by sharing that lesson with the Edmodo community she will be able to get amazing feedback from other teachers and that it may have impacted the lives of many more students, that’s important. Teachers are teachers because they want to change the lives of students, so Edmodo allows them to be able to do that on a whole new scale with students and with their fellow teachers.

“Edmodo will continue to be the place where learning happens, connecting teachers and students around the world to the resources and tools that will help them reach their full potential.” — Crystal Hutter

Great to hear that - I know that encouraging more teachers to share their multi-media lessons has been challenging for the Wikiwijs platform in The Netherlands.

I think the difference with our platform is that teachers are on Edmodo every single day teaching their students so it becomes second nature to them to share. For example, while they’re on it they may have a question for the community and another teacher may immediately respond with, “Here’s what I did.” Real-time is much easier and I think it allows for all types of things to be shared. There is an app on Edmodo called NoRedInk (a fun way to practice and master grammar and writing skills). It was built by a language arts teacher at this time last year and it actually went viral on Edmodo.

Edmodo is a free learning platform. Where do the revenues come from in this model?

Edmodo is free for teachers and students and always will be. In March 2012, we opened our API to educational publishers to enable them create web-based apps for the platform. These free and paid apps integrate with the features of Edmodo and enable teachers to streamline all the educational tools and resources they use with their students in one place (Edmodo).

Five to ten years from now - where do you see Edmodo?

Edmodo will continue to be the place where learning happens, connecting teachers and students around the world to the resources and tools that will help them reach their full potential.

              Crystal Hutter and C. M. Rubin

Photos courtesy of Edmodo

In The Global Search for Education, join me and globally renowned thought leaders including Sir Michael Barber (UK), Dr. Michael Block (U.S.), Dr. Leon Botstein (U.S.), Professor Clay Christensen (U.S.), Dr. Linda Darling-Hammond (U.S.), Dr. Madhav Chavan (India), Professor Michael Fullan (Canada), Professor Howard Gardner (U.S.), Professor Andy Hargreaves (U.S.), Professor Yvonne Hellman (The Netherlands), Professor Kristin Helstad (Norway), Jean Hendrickson (U.S.), Professor Rose Hipkins (New Zealand), Professor Cornelia Hoogland (Canada), Honourable Jeff Johnson (Canada), Mme. Chantal Kaufmann (Belgium), Dr. Eija Kauppinen (Finland), State Secretary Tapio Kosunen (Finland), Professor Dominique Lafontaine (Belgium), Professor Hugh Lauder (UK), Professor Ben Levin (Canada), Lord Ken Macdonald (UK), Professor Barry McGaw (Australia), Shiv Nadar (India), Professor R. Natarajan (India), Dr. Pak Tee Ng (Singapore), Dr. Denise Pope (US), Sridhar Rajagopalan (India), Dr. Diane Ravitch (U.S.), Richard Wilson Riley (U.S.), Sir Ken Robinson (UK), Professor Pasi Sahlberg (Finland), Andreas Schleicher (PISA, OECD), Dr. Anthony Seldon (UK), Dr. David Shaffer (U.S.), Dr. Kirsten Sivesind (Norway), Chancellor Stephen Spahn (U.S.), Yves Theze (Lycee Francais U.S.), Professor Charles Ungerleider (Canada), Professor Tony Wagner (U.S.), Sir David Watson (UK), Professor Dylan Wiliam (UK), Dr. Mark Wormald (UK), Professor Theo Wubbels (The Netherlands), Professor Michael Young (UK), and Professor Minxuan Zhang (China) as they explore the big picture education questions that all nations face today.

The Global Search for Education Community Page

C. M. Rubin is the author of two widely read online series for which she received a 2011 Upton Sinclair award, “The Global Search for Education” and “How Will We Read?” She is also the author of three bestselling books, including The Real Alice in Wonderland.

Follow C. M. Rubin on Twitter: www.twitter.com/@cmrubinworld

“Highly prevalent, specific health problems have powerful effects on students’ motivation and ability to learn, and have not been addressed well in our nation’s schools.” — Chuck Basch

Health and Education

By C. M. Rubin with Harry Rubin and Michael Freeborn

Today I begin a series of articles to focus on problems that affect our domestic achievement gap, with the objective of identifying solutions for these issues.

Should health disparities be a fundamental part of national school reform to narrow our domestic achievement gap?

Student health problems illustrate a compelling but generally neglected influence on the US domestic achievement gap, according to Dr. Charles (Chuck) Basch, author of Healthier Students Are Better Learners. In Basch’s study, a synthesis of current research, which I recommend every educator and health provider read, he concludes that health issues, which disproportionately plague low-income urban minority youth, play a major role in limiting their motivation and ability to learn.

Basch further believes that intervention would improve both educational and health outcomes. Currently there is no national American school mission or Department of Education initiative to reduce health disparities as part of a strategy to close our domestic achievement gap.

On Tuesday, February 12, Dr. Howell Wechsler of the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention will address health and education problems at the 2013 Tisch Lecture, Taking Action Now to Address the Missing Link in School Reform, at Teachers College in New York City. I was able to chat recently with both Dr. Wechsler and Dr. Basch about the key issues.

Dr. Howell Wechsler is Director, Division of Adolescent and School Health (DASH), Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC). Wechsler’s work with DASH earned him the Milton J. E. Senn Award in 2006 from the American Academy of Pediatrics for achievement in the field of school health. In 2012, he was also awarded the American School Health Association’s highest honor, the William A. Howe Award.

Dr. Charles (Chuck) E. Basch is the Richard March Hoe Professor of Health Education at Teachers College, Columbia University. Chuck has provided consultation related to implementing Healthier Students Are Better Learners to state departments of education in Connecticut, Tennessee and Colorado, as well as to public school systems in Chicago, Boston, and Denver.

“People need to look past the test scores or the easy and obvious solutions to dig down and look at the root causes that are really impeding academic achievement.” — Howell Wechsler

I worked on education initiatives in Africa and understand the important connection between healthcare and successful learning outcomes. First you must have healthy students. Then you can educate them — do we think like that here?

Howell: What I find fascinating is that when people who work on school health promotion across the world get together, we learn that things are not really all that different. It is perhaps a little more challenging in the United States because local control of education is so strong here. There are so many different places that you have to influence to get practices to change. We don’t do a very good job of getting people to think of the needs of the whole child. We train people in education. We train people in public health. But what is really needed here is a bridge or a mix between the two. That’s not something people do easily.

What health issues affecting learning have you identified in students and what percentage can be found in low income homes?

Chuck: I identified seven. Poor vision, poorly controlled Asthma, aggression and violence, physical inactivity, skipping breakfast and ADHD. These are not necessarily the ones that will be the most important in every locality, but they warrant consideration. Also, while not specifically mentioned, mental and emotional health should be a pervasive underlying theme of any high quality school health initiative. Each of these 7 problems affects or is affected by mental and emotional health. Further, each of these problems has high prevalence and disproportionately affects low-income, urban minority youth that is the same group greatly affected by the academic achievement gap.

“Educational leaders and policy makers have not established strategic, high quality, and well coordinated policies and programs to address these health needs and until we do, the benefits of other school reform efforts will be jeopardized.” — Chuck Basch

If we could combat the health issues you’ve identified, how far could we go towards narrowing our domestic achievement gap?

Chuck: It is difficult to say exactly since a well-conceived effort has never been tried. But there is evidence that very substantive effect sizes can be achieved. Addressing these problems is not a panacea. We need effective teachers, high quality curriculum, standards and assessments, and data systems to track and provide feedback about where progress is and is not being made. But no matter how well these school reforms are implemented, if students are not motivated and able to learn, the educational benefits of all of these efforts will be jeopardized. Highly prevalent, specific health problems have powerful effects on students’ motivation and ability to learn, and have not been addressed well in our nation’s schools.

Health problems can be profound barriers to learning, but is it the job of schools to provide healthcare services?

Howell: Most schools provide some kind of healthcare services to children through the presence of a school nurse; many link students and their families to community-based healthcare providers; and approximately 2,000 schools in the US have school-based health centers to provide at least some critically needed healthcare services to students on campuses.

Chuck: Schools should not be the social institution that is solely or even predominantly responsible for providing healthcare services to youth. But given that schools are the social institution where youth are on a daily basis, they are ideally suited to provide such services, and are in a strong position to provide healthcare services to youth with great needs who are at high risk of not receiving needed services. This is, of course, a value-laden question that does not have a “right” answer. There are many expectations on schools in addition to their primary goal — educating youth.

Although opinions may vary on what schools should or should not direct attention to, the reality is that certain health problems/issues pose powerful barriers to teaching and learning. These problems have persisted for decades and disproportionately affect low-income, urban minority youth. Education leaders and policy makers have not established strategic, high quality, and well-coordinated policies and programs to address these health needs and until we do, the benefits of other school reform efforts will be jeopardized.

“Providing healthcare and, more importantly, promoting wellness and quality of life is not the responsibility of any single social institution. Families, communities, healthcare institutions, faith-based organizations, categorical organizations, governmental agencies, foundations and philanthropists, and yes, schools, all have an important role to play.” — Chuck Basch

If not the job of schools, whose job is health?

Chuck: Providing healthcare and, more importantly, promoting wellness and quality of life is not the responsibility of any single social institution. Families, communities, healthcare institutions, faith-based organizations, categorical organizations, governmental agencies, foundations and philanthropists, and yes, schools, all have an important role to play. And the problems are so large and so challenging among low-income youth that it will take contributions from all of these elements of our society to address these health needs in an efficient and timely way. What is currently lacking and sorely needed is coordination among the different entities investing in health promotion and disease prevention among youth.

What role should schools play in promoting healthcare?

Howell: Schools should work closely with health departments and local healthcare providers. They can facilitate the delivery of healthcare services through agreements with healthcare providers, manage it themselves, or link students and their families to community based providers. Schools also should teach students the knowledge and skills they need to effectively use healthcare services.

“The number of schools that have health centers still remains a small fraction of what the need is.”— Howell Wechsler

What national, state, and local health care reform strategies would you like to see put in place to ensure student health?

Chuck: From my perspective, the question should be a bit broader. Part of a larger problem is that the problems of health disparities, educational disparities and poverty are closely inter-related in causal ways, yet our long-standing infrastructure for addressing these problems, and the policies, programs and funding associated with them, are disconnected in silos. This situation is not only pervasive in government, but in the private sector as well - see for example the Gates Foundation - educational investments are focused domestically and public health investments are focused globally. This is not, from my perspective, a good way to invest social resources to help youth facing many educational and health challenges simultaneously. To break out of a cycle of poverty, which is characterized by intergenerational high risk for educational failure, health problems, and low chances for upward social mobility, these inter-related problems must be addressed through inter-related solutions.

What positive healthcare initiatives have you seen around the country that might inspire more focus on healthcare if we had more funding for low-income schools?

Howell: Well, there was a big increase in the past few years in funding for school based health centers and I think from a public health and education perspective that is a positive development. However, the number of schools that have health centers still remains a small fraction of what the need is. There are a lot of efforts underway to develop linkages between schools and community health centers and other community healthcare providers knowing that sometimes it is just too challenging (there are economic barriers at times) to actually open clinics on school sites. So there are efforts to build awareness for services that are available in the community and make them more accessible to students.

“We don’t do a very good job of getting people to think of the needs of the whole child. We train people in education. We train people in public health. But what is really needed here is a bridge or a mix between the two.” — Howell Wechsler

Imagine you had the job of advocating for better healthcare for poor students. How would you pitch it?

Howell: There are multiple ways to go. First of all, the data and the evidence are growing and that would be important to stress. There is also a very strong common sense argument that obviously young people cannot achieve if they are burdened by health problems.

We are starting to make progress in expanding the evidence base. For many years, when people went into schools and did an education intervention, they only looked at education outcomes and not health outcomes. People who were doing public health interventions in the schools just looked at the health outcomes but did not consider the education results. So that’s one of the main reasons it has taken so long for us to build a body of evidence.

Even though CDC is a public health agency, we also fund education agencies. Most of the funding we give out goes to health departments but my division funds education agencies. In our core programs, for many years we have required the education agencies that we fund to collaborate with health departments. So if you were a state education agency and you wanted funding, it had to be a partnership between the health and the education department and the resources had to be shared.

It was a fascinating exercise trying to bridge these two worlds. We actually found that public health people were fairly ignorant about how to influence schools — and schools were not always clear on how to work with health departments — so we commissioned the National Association of State Boards of Education to write a manual and develop a training program called “How Schools Work and How to Work with Schools.” After that we commissioned a public health organization called the National Association of Chronic Disease Directors to do the sequel, which was “How Health Departments Work and How to Work with Health Departments.”

Getting people to cross sectors is a huge problem in this country. People need to look past the test scores or the easy and obvious solutions to dig down and look at the root causes that are really impeding academic achievement.

                     Dr. Charles Basch, C. M. Rubin, Dr. Howell Wechsler

Photos courtesy of Healthy Schools Campaign. 

For more information

In The Global Search for Education, join me and globally renowned thought leaders including Sir Michael Barber (UK), Dr. Michael Block (U.S.), Dr. Leon Botstein (U.S.), Professor Clay Christensen (U.S.), Dr. Linda Darling-Hammond (U.S.), Dr. Madhav Chavan (India), Professor Michael Fullan (Canada), Professor Howard Gardner (U.S.), Professor Andy Hargreaves (U.S.), Professor Yvonne Hellman (The Netherlands), Professor Kristin Helstad (Norway), Jean Hendrickson (U.S.), Professor Rose Hipkins (New Zealand), Professor Cornelia Hoogland (Canada), Honourable Jeff Johnson (Canada), Mme. Chantal Kaufmann (Belgium), Dr. Eija Kauppinen (Finland), State Secretary Tapio Kosunen (Finland), Professor Dominique Lafontaine (Belgium), Professor Hugh Lauder (UK), Professor Ben Levin (Canada), Lord Ken Macdonald (UK), Professor Barry McGaw (Australia), Shiv Nadar (India), Professor R. Natarajan (India), Dr. Pak Tee Ng (Singapore), Dr. Denise Pope (US), Sridhar Rajagopalan (India), Dr. Diane Ravitch (U.S.), Richard Wilson Riley (U.S.), Sir Ken Robinson (UK), Professor Pasi Sahlberg (Finland), Andreas Schleicher (PISA, OECD), Dr. Anthony Seldon (UK), Dr. David Shaffer (U.S.), Dr. Kirsten Sivesind (Norway), Chancellor Stephen Spahn (U.S.), Yves Theze (Lycee Francais U.S.), Professor Charles Ungerleider (Canada), Professor Tony Wagner (U.S.), Sir David Watson (UK), Professor Dylan Wiliam (UK), Dr. Mark Wormald (UK), Professor Theo Wubbels (The Netherlands), Professor Michael Young (UK), and Professor Minxuan Zhang (China) as they explore the big picture education questions that all nations face today.

The Global Search for Education Community Page

C. M. Rubin is the author of two widely read online series for which she received a 2011 Upton Sinclair award, “The Global Search for Education” and “How Will We Read?” She is also the author of three bestselling books, including The Real Alice in Wonderland.

Follow C. M. Rubin on Twitter: www.twitter.com/@cmrubinworld

“Multiple choice tests have been the dominant type of test in this country since World War I, but that is about to change.” — Roger Benjamin

If not the SAT, What?

By C. M. Rubin with Harry Rubin and Michael Freeborn

What if educators were able to assess the 21st century skills that thought leaders in The Global Search for Education series talk about week after week? What if this 21st century replacement for the SAT was able to measure high school students’ critical thinking, analytical reasoning, problem solving, and written communication; in other words, all the essential skills that both educators and employers have said students need to succeed in college and the workplace?

Until we are able to assess critical thinking, it probably won’t get taught. PISA’s international problem-solving standardized test does assess this, but according to Harvard University’s Dr. Tony Wagner, when it comes to the forward thinking model for American schools and colleges to watch, “The College and Work Readiness Assessment (CWRA/CLA) is really in a class by itself.” Wagner sees CWRA as an essential part of what he calls “Accountability 2.0.” But he adds it “should be accompanied by audits of students’ digital portfolios which show evidence of progressive mastery of the skills that matter most, such as critical and creative thinking, communication, and collaboration.”

Naturally, I was curious to learn more about this promising candidate for the gold standard in the future world of assessment. I recently got the opportunity to chat with the President of the New York based CAE (Council for Aid to Education), home of the Collegiate Learning Assessment (CLA), Dr. Roger Benjamin. Prior to his role at CAE, Roger was a senior research scientist at RAND from 1990 to 2005 (director of RAND Education from 1994-1999).

“It is becoming clear that schools, colleges and employers are eager to move beyond reliance only on multiple choice tests.” — Roger Benjamin

Do you think that standardized tests should be used to evaluate the abilities of high school students for admission to college? Do you think that GPA alone would be sufficient?

I do think there is a role for standardized tests because of the grade inflation in high school GPA’s, widely disparate metrics used to evaluate students, and the advantages students from affluent high school districts have compared to students from disadvantaged schools. There are students everywhere in the United States that, when given the chance, demonstrate extraordinary potential. Standardized tests are therefore an important additional tool for admissions officers. However, standardized test protocols must become better aligned with the education reform movement underway, including the common core standards movement which calls for open ended tests instead of the heavy reliance on multiple choice tests, which are not worth teaching to.

In your own words, would you describe for me what you believe the current SAT measures versus your own performance assessments?

The SAT measures the aptitude high school seniors have for doing well in college through reasoning and verbal abilities tests. The CWRA measures high school students’ critical thinking, analytical and quantitative reasoning skills, problem solving, writing mechanics and writing persuasiveness skills that educators and employers believe high school graduates need to have to succeed in college and work.

“There are important soft skills such as creativity and collaboration, but the challenge is how to measure them at the same level of scientific reliability as the skills that we are currently measuring reliably.”— Roger Benjamin

Why is the College and Work Readiness Assessment a better option to the SAT?

I would replace the word “better” with the word “different.” The CWRA is more congruent with the requirements of today’s “Knowledge Economy” in which it is more important to be able to access, structure and use information than to only accumulate facts. Multiple-choice questions require the ability to recognize a painting. In comparison, performance tasks require the student to paint. Definitions of learning have shifted to the ability to apply what one knows to new situations. Performance assessments capture this change. We are not sure whether the CWRA+ will compete directly with the SAT or be thought of as additional important information for college admissions officers. However, it is becoming clear that schools, colleges and employers are eager to move beyond reliance only on multiple-choice tests.

Students learn best when they are being taught to learn as opposed to being taught to pass a test. Can we overcome the problem of teaching to a test?

A strong point of the performance tasks (case studies and realistic problems) of the CWRA+ and CLA+ is that it is very difficult to teach to these tests. There are not simple “right” or “wrong” answers. The focus is on how well the student reasons, not on whether they get the “facts” right. Indeed, all the facts needed to answer the tasks are provided to the students taking the test.

The SAT is a multiple-choice test with the exception of the writing test. Grading of the multiple-choice test is easy. The answers are either right or wrong. The CWRA assessment is more about judgment. How do you assure grading consistency across the exams taken in different locations and at different time periods?

Performance assessments such as CWRA have been around a long time. Teachers have not liked multiple-choice tests but we could never figure out how to take to scale the more complicated problem solving assessments that constitute the CWRA. However, we can now train human scorers to score open-ended essays based on scientifically designed rubrics as reliably as multiple-choice tests. Moreover, computer assisted scoring, built on our human scoring protocols, score these responses at levels that are as reliable as human scoring, which further reduces error and cost.

“Multiple-choice questions require the ability to recognize a painting. In comparison, performance tasks require the student to paint.” — Roger Benjamin

What would be your best argument for keeping the SAT?

It is relatively cheap and easy to administer and score. It has a significant number of reliability and validity studies that corroborate its efficacy in predicting a student’s GPA in the first year of college.

You speak a lot about measuring critical thinking skills. How much do these new CWRA assessments require students to have honed their creative skills?

That’s a good question. We know that students in the arts and sciences at the college level do better than students who are in vocational or applied subjects. We think that is probably because they do more analytic based writing and are involved in more open Q and A sessions. However, there is a lot of work to be done on how creativity plays into doing well on assessments like this. So that is an interesting question.

Do you believe that strong creative skills are important to the process of identifying problems and finding solutions?

There are important soft skills such as creativity and collaboration, but the challenge is how to measure them at the same level of scientific reliability as the skills that we are currently measuring reliably. Hopefully we will succeed in measuring these additional skills that are also very important.

“The CWRA measures high school students’ critical thinking, analytical and quantitative reasoning skills, problem solving, writing mechanics and writing persuasiveness skills that educators and employers believe high school graduates need to have to succeed in college and work.”— Roger Benjamin

How many schools nationally are using the CWRA performance assessment and how many college admissions offices are asking for it? How many will accept it instead of the SAT?

This year, 120 high schools are using it. We are now talking to college admissions officers and leaders of colleges who are aligned with high schools that feed into them, and are also CWRA+ users, about accepting the CWRA+ results in addition to SAT or ACT results. There is much controversy in education at present about standardized testing, with many believing all standardized testing should be eliminated during primary and secondary school, with just one test given at the end of secondary school.

What are the logistical issues you face in getting broader distribution for the CWRA assessment?

We now have a new version of CWRA called CWRA+ to be used in the college admissions space. We have started to market this new assessment through partnerships with colleges who will accept the CWRA+ results as part of admissions’ records. The Obama administration’s Race to the Top program launched the biggest testing educational initiative ever funded by the federal government and we won the right to develop a number of assessments. These newer assessments are becoming mainstream almost overnight. It’s because of the “Knowledge Economy” - content is important but when you can google for facts you’ve got to be able to think about what it is you’re going to be googling for. Multiple-choice tests have been the dominant type of test in this country since World War I, but that is about to change.

           Dr. Roger Benjamin and C. M. Rubin

Photos courtesy of Tech Valley High School, Rensselaer NY; New Tech Network and Traverse Bay Area Independent School District, Michigan/Mancelona Public Schools/Joanie Moore.

In The Global Search for Education, join me and globally renowned thought leaders including Sir Michael Barber (UK), Dr. Michael Block (U.S.), Dr. Leon Botstein (U.S.), Professor Clay Christensen (U.S.), Dr. Linda Darling-Hammond (U.S.), Dr. Madhav Chavan (India), Professor Michael Fullan (Canada), Professor Howard Gardner (U.S.), Professor Andy Hargreaves (U.S.), Professor Yvonne Hellman (The Netherlands), Professor Kristin Helstad (Norway), Jean Hendrickson (U.S.), Professor Rose Hipkins (New Zealand), Professor Cornelia Hoogland (Canada), Honourable Jeff Johnson (Canada), Mme. Chantal Kaufmann (Belgium), Dr. Eija Kauppinen (Finland), State Secretary Tapio Kosunen (Finland), Professor Dominique Lafontaine (Belgium), Professor Hugh Lauder (UK), Professor Ben Levin (Canada), Lord Ken Macdonald (UK), Professor Barry McGaw (Australia), Shiv Nadar (India), Professor R. Natarajan (India), Dr. Pak Tee Ng (Singapore), Dr. Denise Pope (US), Sridhar Rajagopalan (India), Dr. Diane Ravitch (U.S.), Richard Wilson Riley (U.S.), Sir Ken Robinson (UK), Professor Pasi Sahlberg (Finland), Andreas Schleicher (PISA, OECD), Dr. Anthony Seldon (UK), Dr. David Shaffer (U.S.), Dr. Kirsten Sivesind (Norway), Chancellor Stephen Spahn (U.S.), Yves Theze (Lycee Francais U.S.), Professor Charles Ungerleider (Canada), Professor Tony Wagner (U.S.), Sir David Watson (UK), Professor Dylan Wiliam (UK), Dr. Mark Wormald (UK), Professor Theo Wubbels (The Netherlands), Professor Michael Young (UK), and Professor Minxuan Zhang (China) as they explore the big picture education questions that all nations face today.

The Global Search for Education Community Page

C. M. Rubin is the author of two widely read online series for which she received a 2011 Upton Sinclair award, “The Global Search for Education” and “How Will We Read?” She is also the author of three bestselling books, including The Real Alice in Wonderland.

Follow C. M. Rubin on Twitter: www.twitter.com/@cmrubinworld

“We need to establish platforms for teachers to initiate their own changes and make their own judgments on the frontline, to invest more in the change capacities of local districts and communities, and to pursue prudent rather than profligate approaches to testing.”— Andy Hargreaves and Dennis Shirley

What is the Fourth Way?

By C. M. Rubin with Harry Rubin and Michael Freeborn

The Fourth Way is a powerful new vision to bring about effective educational reform.

Even after one has identified that the old ways of doing things are no longer working, coming up with system-wide comprehensive solutions as to how to develop better schools and school systems is challenging. Professor Andy Hargreaves and Professor Dennis Shirley believe they have found those solutions. They have examined over three decades of research evidence on educational change around the world in some of the leading education systems, and from these global lessons have developed a dynamic new plan for the future of schooling. I was able to catch up with Hargreaves and Shirley to talk about the inspiring ideas laid out in their latest book, The Global Fourth Way: The Quest for Educational Excellence (Corwin, September 2012). Andrew Hargreaves is the Thomas More Brennan Chair at the Lynch School of Education, Boston College, and is the elected Visiting Professor at the Institute of Education, London. Dennis Shirley is Professor at the Lynch School of Education at Boston College.

“Alberta funds almost all its schools and districts to design and evaluate their own innovations. Teachers are the drivers of change, not the driven.” — Andy Hargreaves and Dennis Shirley

In your own words, what is the Global Fourth Way?

The “First Way” of the 1960s and 1970s created interesting innovations here and there, but it overprotected teachers’ autonomy and kept them isolated from new research, outside scrutiny, and each other.

The “Second Way” that emerged in the 1980s, and that remains pervasive in the U.S. today, enforced consistency through more testing, standardization and accountability, and introduced competition through school choice. Unfortunately, a one-size-fits-all system of prescribed curriculum programs and teaching-to-the-test led to professional disillusionment and made it difficult to attract and retain excellent teachers.

The “Third Way” added data-driven decision-making to US teachers’ toolkits, but it has skewed attention towards the performance metrics themselves and away from the people and the learning that the numbers are meant to represent.

It’s time to move beyond the limitations of these first three ways of change where there has been too much freedom, too much force, or too much fascination with data and spreadsheets.

Our new book describes a better “Fourth Way” that draws on our first-hand international research to get us beyond those limitations. This includes pursuing an inspiring and inclusive vision for US education rather than simply racing to the top, being committing to education as a common goodwhere schools work together for the benefit of all children, and promoting the innovation and creativity that leads to modern economic success. To become more successful innovators, we need to establish platforms for teachers to initiate their own changes and make their own judgments on the frontline, to invest more in the change capacities of local districts and communities, and to pursue prudent rather than profligate approaches to testing. The Fourth Way is about reforming rather than destroying teacher associations, and it integrates technology with high quality teaching instead of replacing teachers with iPads and online learning at every opportunity.

“In Finland, within very broad government guidelines, teachers create their own curricula together across schools in every community and district. They don’t confine collaboration to their own individual schools and to just implementing other people’s ideas.” — Andy Hargreaves and Dennis Shirley

We need high quality teachers and high quality school principals and leadership. What can we learn from your global research about developing school principals and leadership?

Three things are critical. First, in high performing countries, principals are working with highly qualified teachers who come from the top tiers of the graduation range, who have been rigorously prepared in universities and through supervised practice in schools, and who remain in education for all of their careers. The job of principals there is to get the best out of these highly capable teachers, sharpen their collective focus, and keep moving them forward. In the U.S., teachers are less well qualified, less well prepared because they are trained in short programs that occur outside of universities, and they turn over more quickly. This means that principals have to spend excessive amounts of time plugging holes and repairing deficits in the teaching force.

Second, high performing systems know their teachers well long before they even aspire to become principals. District and Government administrators spend a lot of time in schools. They develop, select and certify their leaders over long periods of time, instead of certifying them first, selecting them later and developing them as an afterthought.

Singapore’s performance management process systematically identifies and supports those teachers who have the potential to be future principals.

Finland’s principals are usually selected from and promoted within their own schools where their success is proven, and where their role is to be first among equals in “a society of experts.”

Canadian principals also normally move up within their own district, where, as teachers, they have been known by district staff who get out and about in the schools.

Third, principals spend more time working with their teachers and in classrooms. How can they do this? Because, as Finnish principals told us, they are not spending vast amounts of time constantly reacting to government initiatives or filling out evaluation checklists.

“We disagree with the assertion that great teachers can be replaced by online alternatives. The futuristic claim that technology will triumph over teachers ignores all the social and relational dimensions of teaching and learning.” — Andy Hargreaves and Dennis Shirley

Teamwork and teacher collaboration at school level are important to successful outcomes. What inspiring examples of collaboration have you seen around the world?

Singapore gives 10% “white space” time to all of its teachers to come up with their own innovations outside of the official curriculum. This encourages teachers to turn to their colleagues for inspiration and ideas.

Alberta funds almost all its schools and districts to design and evaluate their own innovations. Teachers are the drivers of change, not the driven. One condition of funding is that schools must have explicit plans to share what they are learning with others. 
In Ontario, teachers come together to look at charts of how well all students are progressing in every class. All achievement in every class is completely transparent. This isn’t a strategy to shame poorly performing teachers or even a prompt to come up with quick fixes that will get rapid gains in test scores. Instead, teachers look at the faces behind the numbers and develop a strategy for each child. Across all grades, all teachers take collective responsibility for all students’ success. 

In Finland, within very broad government guidelines, teachers create their own curriculum together across schools in every community and district. They don’t confine collaboration to their own individual schools and to just implementing other people’s ideas.

“In high performing countries, principals are working with highly qualified teachers who come from the top tiers of the graduation range, who have been rigorously prepared in universities and through supervised practice in schools, and who remain in education for all of their careers.”— Andy Hargreaves and Dennis Shirley

What did you learn from studying the California education system (CTA) example?

In 2005, the California Teachers’ Association sued Governor Arnold Schwarzenegger for taking more than $5 billion out of the state’s education budget and thereby violating state legislation that provided a minimal funding ratio for the schools. The Governor settled the lawsuit in 2006 and the CTA used the restored funds to create a new “Quality Education Investment Act” (QEIA) that concentrated on working with close to 500 schools serving the state’s most needy students. QEIA schools receive special funding for reduced class sizes, professional development, leadership training, and, in the high schools, more guidance counselors. In every QEIA school, teacher leaders are responsible for the resources and the strategy. Early results indicate that QEIA schools are performing better than non-QEIA schools in similar circumstances. This is especially true for students of color and in poverty.

The CTA example challenges everyone to understand that all teachers’ unions must undergo the kind of internal transformation that has been occurring within the CTA. What teacher unions now need is the same as schools and school systems: greater collective professionalism focused on teaching and learning across the spectrum.

“Singapore gives 10 percent ‘white space’ time to all of its teachers to come up with their own innovations outside of the official curriculum. This encourages teachers to turn to their colleagues for inspiration and ideas.” — Andy Hargreaves and Dennis Shirley

I was interested in what you say about professional development in Singapore in terms of the systematic approach to teachers’ professional growth. Can you explain how they approach PD?

Teacher assessment is very rigorous in Singapore and is closely tied to teachers’ professional development. After completing their first years of teaching, all teachers are invited to a periodic “tea time” with their principal or a Ministry of Education official to go over their evaluations, discuss their current aspirations, and explore possibilities for continuing learning and professional growth in the years to come. Singaporean teachers move along one of three tracks (master teacher, administrator, curriculum leadership) and switch between them as they reflect on their progress. Singaporean teachers also move back and forth between their teaching roles and positions in the Ministry of Education or the National Institute of Education, where all teachers and principals are trained to develop and contribute to a greater understanding of the profession as a whole.

Clayton Christensen has stated that “online learning is entering the system in a way that could eventually disrupt the classroom.” What are your thoughts on this?

There is much to admire in Christensen’s prediction, which we discuss in detail in our book. But we disagree with his assertion that great teachers can be replaced by online alternatives. The futuristic claim that technology will triumph over teachers ignores all the social and relational dimensions of teaching and learning. These include inspiration, impulse control, being part of an inclusive and diverse community, finding different ways to be engaged with your learning, and receiving adult guidance in making judgments and decisions, including those that occur online. Neglect of these dimensions has defeated the champions of television, video and teaching machines throughout history.

However, technology does have a role to play in today’s schools if it is effectively yet judiciously integrated in the culture of our schools. In Singapore, we have seen teachers use Twitter to collect real-time feedback from their students. In Ontario, assistive technologies help students with learning disabilities to make great strides forwards, especially when new technologies are part of all students’ learning. In these cases innovative technologies and effective teaching are working together, rather than at cross-purposes.

The Second and Third Ways of U.S. education reform are giving us more markets, more mandates, and more machines as answers to all our ills. This is the opposite of what high performers are doing everywhere. America will not achieve high-performance if it replaces teachers with machines or turns teachers into machines. It will only improve its schools when it, too, embraces an inspiring vision for the common good that rests upon the high quality and effective collaboration of its teachers and leaders.

   Dennis Shirley, C. M. Rubin, Andy Hargreaves

Photos courtesy of Andy Hargreaves and Dennis Shirley.

In The Global Search for Education, join me and globally renowned thought leaders including Sir Michael Barber (UK), Dr. Michael Block (U.S.), Dr. Leon Botstein (U.S.), Professor Clay Christensen (U.S.), Dr. Linda Darling-Hammond (U.S.), Dr. Madhav Chavan (India), Professor Michael Fullan (Canada), Professor Howard Gardner (U.S.), Professor Andy Hargreaves (U.S.), Professor Yvonne Hellman (The Netherlands), Professor Kristin Helstad (Norway), Jean Hendrickson (U.S.), Professor Rose Hipkins (New Zealand), Professor Cornelia Hoogland (Canada), Honourable Jeff Johnson (Canada), Mme. Chantal Kaufmann (Belgium), Dr. Eija Kauppinen (Finland), State Secretary Tapio Kosunen (Finland), Professor Dominique Lafontaine (Belgium), Professor Hugh Lauder (UK), Professor Ben Levin (Canada), Lord Ken Macdonald (UK), Professor Barry McGaw (Australia), Shiv Nadar (India), Professor R. Natarajan (India), Dr. Pak Tee Ng (Singapore), Dr. Denise Pope (US), Sridhar Rajagopalan (India), Dr. Diane Ravitch (U.S.), Richard Wilson Riley (U.S.), Sir Ken Robinson (UK), Professor Pasi Sahlberg (Finland), Andreas Schleicher (PISA, OECD), Dr. Anthony Seldon (UK), Dr. David Shaffer (U.S.), Dr. Kirsten Sivesind (Norway), Chancellor Stephen Spahn (U.S.), Yves Theze (Lycee Francais U.S.), Professor Charles Ungerleider (Canada), Professor Tony Wagner (U.S.), Sir David Watson (UK), Professor Dylan Wiliam (UK), Dr. Mark Wormald (UK), Professor Theo Wubbels (The Netherlands), Professor Michael Young (UK), and Professor Minxuan Zhang (China) as they explore the big picture education questions that all nations face today.

The Global Search for Education Community Page

C. M. Rubin is the author of two widely read online series for which she received a 2011 Upton Sinclair award, “The Global Search for Education” and “How Will We Read?” She is also the author of three bestselling books, including The Real Alice in Wonderland.

Follow C. M. Rubin on Twitter: www.twitter.com/@cmrubinworld

“The strength of the Wikiwijs platform is that we are now able to make all learning materials available for all teachers in the entire country to share. Everyone can access the materials through one port of entry.” — Robert Schuwer

Internet Sharing Programs

By C. M. Rubin with Harry Rubin and Michael Freeborn

The goal of the Netherlands Wikiwijs program, when it was launched by the Dutch Ministry of Education, Culture and Science five years ago, was to mainstream the use of open education resources (“OERs”) through an Internet-based portal. The Wikiwijs program enables all teachers in the Netherlands education system (primary, secondary and higher education) to search, find, create, develop and share all forms of multimedia learning materials. The program, as its current project leader Robert Schuwer recently explained to me, has two components. The first enables teachers to find and access resources from educational and cultural institutions. The second component is open education resources (“OERs”) available under creative commons licenses where the sources of those resources are the teachers themselves. Hence, Dutch teachers are able to share their learning examples and best practices with their colleagues around the country. I asked Robert Schuwer, Associate Professor at the Open University Netherlands and a Project Leader of the Wikiwijs program, to discuss the successes and ongoing challenges of building Wikiwijs into a vibrant and enduring community based platform for all Dutch educators. Professor Schuwer is also Chairman of the Special Interest Group OER for Higher Education and Chairman of the Nominating Committee for the Open Courseware Consortium.

What are the strengths and weaknesses of the Wikiwijs program?

We now have an agenda of management of institutions for education, including higher education. Some teachers in the Netherlands had already been creating their own materials and learning tools before Wikiwijs. They had been sharing these resources in small communities of known colleagues. The strength of the Wikiwijs platform is that we are now able to make all learning materials available for all teachers in the entire country to share. Everyone can access the materials through one port of entry.

The weakness of the program is that teachers need extra time to properly develop and upload their independently created materials. Teachers have heavy workloads in the Netherlands, especially in primary and secondary education. They don’t always have time to create additional learning materials in such a way that they can be shared.

“We are trying to create more awareness of the advantages of OERs. For example, familiarizing teachers (educators, principals) with the value of these kinds of materials in terms of efficiency for educational institutions and for all teachers in providing access to quality learning materials.”— Robert Schuwer

What about quality control? Can you just let teachers upload their programs without some kind of editing process?

Wikiwijs does not have an editorial board that checks materials uploaded by teachers. We have the opinion that teachers are the most capable to judge whether learning materials are of sufficient quality or not. What we do offer are opportunities for other users to add opinions about the materials such as ratings and reviews. Furthermore, we have introduced the concept of quality marks. An organization or a community that uses a quality model for its purposes can look at the materials it finds in Wikiwijs and when in accordance with its quality model, add a quality mark to it. So, this whole system is built on trust. When you trust the other users or when you trust the group that adds quality marks, then you will trust the materials.

Could you comment on any issues you face related to classifying or cataloging materials so that they can be found easily?

For describing the learning materials (metadata), we use a LOM (learning object metadata) application profile that is the standard for Dutch education. One of the metadata elements is to describe what kind of learning materials it is (source of information, closed questions, open questions, manual, tool) and its level of aggregation (e.g. lesson or series of lessons). Other mandatory metadata elements are title, description, intended end user (student, teacher) and age range.

What are you doing to ensure teachers have more time to upload resources?

We are trying to create more awareness of the advantages of OERs. For example, familiarizing teachers (educators, principals) with the value of these kinds of materials in terms of efficiency for education institutions and for all teachers in providing access to quality learning materials from other teachers nationwide. It could provide learning resources that are more up to date and materials that are helpful for specific target groups, e.g. gifted children.

“Teachers have heavy workloads in the Netherlands, especially in primary and secondary education. They don’t always have time to create additional learning materials in such a way that it can be shared.” — Robert Schuwer

But you are still dependent on the teachers engaging with the program and uploading their independently created learning materials so these can be shared. Has that been easy?

Yes, we are dependent on the management of those teachers. They have to provide the teachers with both the time and the resources to do this. However, we have had the on-going economic crisis. Since that occurred, there have been budget cuts in education in the Netherlands. Schools have to do more with less money. The benefits of what OER materials can do for teaching in this new situation is not their biggest priority.

What other programs like Wikiwijs have you been inspired by around the world?

I do not know of another example of a program that is doing this nationally for all education sectors, i.e. primary, secondary and higher education. In terms of community-based platforms for higher education, we have looked at Merlot (Multimedia Education Resource for Learning and Online Teaching). We have looked at Connections from Rice University. We’ve also looked at the Belgium Klascement platform. These are all examples of communities of people sharing their learning materials with others.

“This whole system is built on trust. When you trust the other users or when you trust the group that adds quality marks, then you will trust the materials.” — Robert Schuwer

What feedback have you had from teachers who use the Wikiwijs program?

We get both positive and negative feedback. The positive feedback is that the teachers generally find what they are looking for. One of the components of the Wikiwijs platform that teachers like is a user friendly remix tool, which enables teachers to take the OERs they find and put them in a structure that enables them to create a new OER with other teachers.

Of course, we also get negative feedback from teachers who don’t find what they are looking for or find something that has poor quality. Quality is naturally a very subjective thing. Teachers have the opportunity to rate and review materials on the site.

We also have teachers who tell us they have created learning materials that they believe should belong to them, so they are not willing to share. But I believe that something paid for by taxpayers should be available for everyone. In addition, there are schools that provide teachers with the proper resources to enable them to create learning materials, and I believe these learning examples should be shared with all teachers. That should not be for discussion.

Forward thinking — five or 10 years from now — what are your goals for Wikiwijs?

My long-term goal is that open educational resources should be the default choice. In other words, when someone is creating learning materials, it should be understood that they will be shared. We should have a process to ensure that. We should also have materials of better quality that can be shared with teachers. There is still a lot to be done.

“My long term goal is that open educational resources should be the default choice. In other words, when someone is creating learning materials, it should be understood that they will be shared.”— Robert Schuwer

What’s the usage of Wikiwijs currently?

We are now in our fifth year; in 2012 we had 650,000 downloads from the Wikiwijs platform and we had approximately 1300 uploads directly to the platform. I do not know how many uploads there have been to other repositories that are harvested by Wikiwijs. I am pleased with the number of downloads but not as pleased with the uploads as I would like to see contributions be higher. That’s a problem that all community-sharing platforms have, including Wikipedia.

Teachers can learn so much from each other. It would be wonderful if all were able to share their knowledge with their peers. Am I simplifying it too much?

No, you are not. However, Wikiwijs itself needs to continue to improve its product, which it has done over the last four years. We use the feedback we get from teachers to improve the platform. For example, when users share materials with Wikiwijs, we don’t always get feedback through the platform from other users. The majority is not using our features, so a lot of shared materials remain unrated.

When people come to the Wikiwijs platform, they need to feel it is a vibrant community, and we need to keep working on this. Other feedback we have received from teachers is that some kind of system which rewards teachers for doing things on the platform would be good. As an example, when a teacher is rating or reviewing learning materials, she/he can be recognized for this action with the use of badges. This would encourage more teachers to share and become part of the community. Those are things we must continue to work on.

     Professor Robert Schuwer and C. M. Rubin

Photos courtesy of the Wikiwijs program.

In The Global Search for Education, join me and globally renowned thought leaders including Sir Michael Barber (UK), Dr. Michael Block (U.S.), Dr. Leon Botstein (U.S.), Professor Clay Christensen (U.S.), Dr. Linda Darling-Hammond (U.S.), Dr. Madhav Chavan (India), Professor Michael Fullan (Canada), Professor Howard Gardner (U.S.), Professor Andy Hargreaves (U.S.), Professor Yvonne Hellman (The Netherlands), Professor Kristin Helstad (Norway), Jean Hendrickson (U.S.), Professor Rose Hipkins (New Zealand), Professor Cornelia Hoogland (Canada), Honourable Jeff Johnson (Canada), Mme. Chantal Kaufmann (Belgium), Dr. Eija Kauppinen (Finland), State Secretary Tapio Kosunen (Finland), Professor Dominique Lafontaine (Belgium), Professor Hugh Lauder (UK), Professor Ben Levin (Canada), Lord Ken Macdonald (UK), Professor Barry McGaw (Australia), Shiv Nadar (India), Professor R. Natarajan (India), Dr. Pak Tee Ng (Singapore), Dr. Denise Pope (US), Sridhar Rajagopalan (India), Dr. Diane Ravitch (U.S.), Richard Wilson Riley (U.S.), Sir Ken Robinson (UK), Professor Pasi Sahlberg (Finland), Andreas Schleicher (PISA, OECD), Dr. Anthony Seldon (UK), Dr. David Shaffer (U.S.), Dr. Kirsten Sivesind (Norway), Chancellor Stephen Spahn (U.S.), Yves Theze (Lycee Francais U.S.), Professor Charles Ungerleider (Canada), Professor Tony Wagner (U.S.), Sir David Watson (UK), Professor Dylan Wiliam (UK), Dr. Mark Wormald (UK), Professor Theo Wubbels (The Netherlands), Professor Michael Young (UK), and Professor Minxuan Zhang (China) as they explore the big picture education questions that all nations face today. 

The Global Search for Education Community Page

C. M. Rubin is the author of two widely read online series for which she received a 2011 Upton Sinclair award, “The Global Search for Education” and “How Will We Read?” She is also the author of three bestselling books, including The Real Alice in Wonderland.

Follow C. M. Rubin on Twitter: www.twitter.com/@cmrubinworld

“Finnish schools are fear-free places where children don’t need to worry about competition, failure or performance that in many countries are fueled by standardized testing.” — Pasi SahlbergPhoto courtesy of Elvi Rista

What Will Finland Do Next?

By C. M. Rubin with Harry Rubin and Michael Freeborn

Systematic pursuit of children’s wellbeing and happiness in secure environments takes precedence over measured academic achievements in Finnish schools, according to Pasi Sahlberg, author of the 2013 University of Louisville Grawemeyer Award winning book, Finnish Lessons: What Can the World Learn from Educational Change in Finland? It was the book many educators turned to last year to find ways to make their own schools better. Sahlberg explained to me that Finland will continue to work on the same mission it has had for over 40 years: to give access to high quality and safe schools for all children regardless of their family backgrounds, domiciles, mother tongues, or abilities. Thinking forward, what can we learn from the newer strategies being pursued by Finland’s education reformers to stay at the top? I asked Pasi to discuss this further in The Global Search for Education.

“Today nearly 45 percent of Finnish 16-year-olds choose to study in vocational upper secondary schools and 50 percent in academic high schools. I am an advocate of flexible learning pathways that provide individuals personalized options to study what they believe will help them to be successful in life.”— Pasi SahlbergPhoto courtesy of Liisa Takala

There are significant factors beyond the classroom that ensure Finnish children thrive in school. Can you summarize the support services provided currently and what you think needs to be improved?

Most Finnish children go to optional pre-school at age 6 and compulsory education begins at age of 7. I belong to those who don’t believe that starting school earlier would actually be beneficial to children’s cognitive or social development. Finland has a universal heavily subsidized public childcare service that gives all children a right to daycare and offers them an environment to develop and grow as individuals without any pressure of academic or other performance. Play, music and learning to be with other children are common modes of children’s lives in daycare.

Another important aspect of Finnish schools is systematic pursuit of wellbeing and happiness, especially during the early years of primary school. Finnish schools are fear-free places where children don’t need to worry about competition, failure or performance that in many countries are fueled by standardized testing. Every school in Finland has a Pupil Welfare Team that monitors and processes issues related to behavior, health and progress of children. It consists of the school head, a special education teacher, school nurse or doctor, psychologist and social worker. The main aim of this team is to prevent problems that might jeopardize wellbeing. Primary school teachers put wellbeing and happiness of their pupils before measured academic progress.

Despite this, there is a growing concern among psychologists and pediatricians that the quality of children’s lives outside of school is declining. Some argue that parents increasingly leave upbringing of their children to schools. Teachers continue to urge parents to take more responsibility for their children e.g. giving more time and attention to them at home. What Finland needs first and foremost is better alignment of responsibilities between homes and schools and perhaps a national program that would help mothers and fathers to take better care of the young ones and simply love them more. In this worrying situation it is paramount that Finnish politicians secure sufficient funding for child wellbeing services in all schools.

“What Finland needs first and foremost is better alignment of responsibilities between homes and schools and perhaps a national program that would help mothers and fathers to take better care of the young ones and simply love them more.” — Pasi SahlbergPhoto courtesy of Finnish Ministry for Education and Culture

Is the problem for some OECD countries about catching up with global college graduation rates or is the problem about improving options for learning pathways so graduates are equipped with the skills they need to find jobs in the real world?

I am an advocate of flexible learning pathways that provide individuals personalized options to study what they believe will help them to be successful in life. For example, I think that the U.S. school system would benefit from a dual system in high school where young people who are interested in doing or making things with their hands, for instance, could have high quality vocational programs or schools that would equip them with the skills they need to find jobs or employ themselves. There are many education systems around the world, including Finland, where upper secondary education has distinct tracks for classical academic studies and professional learning. Higher education will become more easily accessible through digital learning very soon, and I believe college graduation rates as a proxy for the advancement of an education system will lose part of their meaning.

“A universal standard for financing schools, so that resources are channeled to schools according to real needs: this is essential in order to enhance equity and quality in American education.” — Pasi Sahlberg Photo courtesy of Finnish Ministry for Education and Culture

Can you talk about Finland’s forward thinking goals in vocational education?

As I mentioned earlier, Finland is one of several European countries with a competitive option for 16-year-olds to choose technical and vocational studies rather than to continue academic learning in high school that is predominantly a road to liberal arts degrees. Some people argue that vocational schools are second or even third options for young people and therefore motivation and discipline are often issues in these schools. But it doesn’t need to be so. Barely 20 years ago, vocational education was a bad word among parents and many students in Finland. About one third of lower secondary school leavers at that time entered vocational schools, some because the bar to academic high school was too high. Drop out from these schools was a chronic problem. Systematic polishing of the image of vocational education started in the 1990’s in Finland.

First, curriculum in vocational schools was adjusted closer to the standards of academic high school. This brought more general subjects accessible to all students in vocational schools. Second, a significant proportion of vocational studies was shifted to real work places where students are able to learn in practice the knowledge and skills they need in their future jobs. Third, vocational and academic high schools were required to design and provide instruction that enabled students more flexibility and choice. This has led to an increasing number of double diplomas when vocational school students also matriculate from academic high school and thereby earn a license to apply to academic universities. Finally, newly established non-university higher education systems opened doors to vocational school graduates to further learning.

I would also like to emphasize the important role that career guidance plays in Finnish basic school (grades 1 to 9). All students have weekly lesson time with qualified career counselors in upper grades of basic school. Students also spend a two-week period in a workplace to learn about the world of work and test their own perceptions of different occupations. The aim of career guidance is to minimize wrong choices by making available individualized information and help before young people make their decisions for further studies.

Today nearly 45 percent of Finnish 16-year-olds choose to study in vocational upper secondary schools and 50 percent in academic high schools. Competition to some vocational programs has become fierce. Much of the negative stigma that vocational schools had in Finland 20 years ago is gone.

“I would like to see more educating children [around the world] to feel empathy and as Sir Ken Robinson says, finding their talents through music, arts and physical education in tandem with traditional academic curriculum.” — Pasi SahlbergPhoto courtesy of Finnish Ministry for Education and Culture

“Online learning stands a much better chance to improve over time and eventually become good enough to offer a competitive value proposition even for mainstream students. That’s when the classroom system will really change. Parents will start demanding it.” - Clayton Christensen. What is your response to Clayton’s argument?

I think Clayton is a visionary and his view to how technology will change schools will probably be pretty close to his prediction. But there are different scenarios for how this will play out.

One scenario is that schools will race after technology and align core instructional operations to rely on digital and other technological solutions. This will certainly change classrooms and what goes on in them. Learning would still primarily take place in schools supported by homework as it is now.

A second scenario views schools merely as places for facilitation of study and checking of achievement. Learning could be from any place. Personalized digital learning would be the most common mode of study.

A third scenario would be to elevate schools as places for social learning and developmental skills. Cooperative learning, problem solving and cultivating the habits of mind would be at the heart of school life.

I am already seeing signs of the third scenario around the world. There are parents who have started to demand it because they think that their children spend too much time with technology and that schools should help them to learn to be with other people. I would like to see more schools educating children to feel empathy and as Sir Ken Robinson says, finding their talents through music, arts and physical education in tandem with traditional academic curriculum.

“The Finnish school system cannot be transferred anywhere else in the world. Many of the successful aspects of Finland’s education system are rooted deep in our culture and values.” — Pasi SahlbergPhoto courtesy of Finnish Ministry for Education and Culture

Jack Buckley, Commissioner of the National Center for Education Statistics, said he“has always been a little puzzled by the high level of attention trained on Finland. Finland captured the world’s attention for a variety of reasons but there are other places to look for case studies.” How do you see this?

In my book, I raise two points of warning. First, I am not saying that Finland has the best education system in the world and that others should imitate what we have done. This global fame has actually been quite embarrassing for us Finns. Finnish educators are not thrilled about PISA, TIMSS, or any other international comparisons. We would rather hope Finland is seen as a country where four out of five taxpayers trust our public school system, and where three out of four citizens think that our publicly funded education system is our most significant accomplishment since independence in 1917. We celebrate these achievements rather than high rankings in global education league tables.

Second, I make it very clear that the Finnish school system cannot be transferred anywhere else in the world. Many of the successful aspects of Finland’s education system are rooted deep in our culture and values, which are different from those in the U.S. For example, high levels of trust in people and institutions, pursuit of equality and fairness in society and life, and willingness to pay taxes for common good are some of the Finnish conditions that don’t exist everywhere. What we can do, as Jack Buckley and others suggest, is take a global look and learn from one another.

There are some concrete lessons that American educators and policy-makers could learn from Finland. Since standardization has become one of the principles in American education policy, I would suggest that rather than over-standardize teaching and learning in schools by prescribed curricula and frequent high-stakes testing, three other aspects of education should be standardized instead.

First, a universal standard for financing schools, so that resources are channelled to schools according to real needs. This is essential in order to enhance equity and quality in American education.

Second, a universal standard for time allocation in schools, allowing pupils to have a proper recess between classes and a balanced curriculum among academic learning, the arts and physical education.

Third, a universal standard for teacher preparation that follows standards in other top professions. Initiating a bar exam for teachers is a step towards higher professional standards in teaching.

              Pasi Sahlberg and C. M. Rubin

In The Global Search for Education, join me and globally renowned thought leaders including Sir Michael Barber (UK), Dr. Michael Block (U.S.), Dr. Leon Botstein (U.S.), Professor Clay Christensen (U.S.), Dr. Linda Darling-Hammond (U.S.), Dr. Madhav Chavan (India), Professor Michael Fullan (Canada), Professor Howard Gardner (U.S.), Professor Andy Hargreaves (U.S.), Professor Yvonne Hellman (The Netherlands), Professor Kristin Helstad (Norway), Jean Hendrickson (U.S.), Professor Rose Hipkins (New Zealand), Professor Cornelia Hoogland (Canada), Honourable Jeff Johnson (Canada), Mme. Chantal Kaufmann (Belgium), Dr. Eija Kauppinen (Finland), State Secretary Tapio Kosunen (Finland), Professor Dominique Lafontaine (Belgium), Professor Hugh Lauder (UK), Professor Ben Levin (Canada), Lord Ken Macdonald (UK), Professor Barry McGaw (Australia), Shiv Nadar (India), Professor R. Natarajan (India), Dr. Pak Tee Ng (Singapore), Dr. Denise Pope (US), Sridhar Rajagopalan (India), Dr. Diane Ravitch (U.S.), Richard Wilson Riley (U.S.), Sir Ken Robinson (UK), Professor Pasi Sahlberg (Finland), Andreas Schleicher (PISA, OECD), Dr. Anthony Seldon (UK), Dr. David Shaffer (U.S.), Dr. Kirsten Sivesind (Norway), Chancellor Stephen Spahn (U.S.), Yves Theze (Lycee Francais U.S.), Professor Charles Ungerleider (Canada), Professor Tony Wagner (U.S.), Sir David Watson (UK), Professor Dylan Wiliam (UK), Dr. Mark Wormald (UK), Professor Theo Wubbels (The Netherlands), Professor Michael Young (UK), and Professor Minxuan Zhang (China) as they explore the big picture education questions that all nations face today. 

The Global Search for Education Community Page

C. M. Rubin is the author of two widely read online series for which she received a 2011 Upton Sinclair award, “The Global Search for Education” and “How Will We Read?” She is also the author of three bestselling books, including The Real Alice in Wonderland.

Follow C. M. Rubin on Twitter: www.twitter.com/@cmrubinworld

“The English Baccalaureate has the merits of strengthening the general academic education of lower achieving students and removing useless, mostly quasi-vocational subjects.” — Michael Young

UK on Testing

By C. M. Rubin with Harry Rubin and Michael Freeborn

“It is time for the race to the bottom to end. We believe it is time to tackle grade inflation and dumbing down.” — Michael Gove

In the fall of 2012, the British Education Secretary, Michael Gove, outlined proposals for new qualifications in core academic subjects called English Baccalaureate Certificates. Mr. Gove stated that these new reforms would prepare British students for the 21st century and allow them to compete with the best performing education systems around the world.

Are the new performance measures proposed by Michael Gove a solution to “teaching to a test,” improving standards and the overall quality of learning for all students in the UK education system? I asked Michael Young, Emeritus Professor of Education with the School of Lifelong Education & International Development at the Institute of Education, University of London, to share his perspectives.

In 2004, Michael Young was commissioned to write a report on the implications of National Qualifications Frameworks for developing countries (ILO 2005). He has been an adviser to countries in Europe, Africa and Asia on their policies on qualifications. His book, Bringing Knowledge Back In (2010), won second prize as UK Education Book of the Year.

“The performance tables, which rank schools with implications for resources and student intakes, shape all school decisions, so few of the educational benefits of the E Bacc will be realized as long as they are in place.” — Michael Young

What do you believe are the best and weakest arguments for having the English Baccalaureate Certificates replace the GCSE’s? What would be your best arguments for keeping the GCSE exams?

The main reason why none of the main political parties will risk supporting the widely held view that GCSEs (the 16+ examination) should be abolished is that they are used as the basis of performance tables which enable government to assert a degree of control over schools at a time when they are weakening the existing controls of local government over schools.

GCSEs are a relic of two earlier initiatives. GCE O levels were established in 1951 to cater for at most 20-30 percent of each cohort (each class of students). At that time, the majority of pupils left school at 15 (with no certificates) for unskilled factory and office work. This youth labour market disappeared in the 1970s, so these kids were staying on in school with no certificate to aim for. A new certificate, the Certificate for Secondary Education (CSE), was created for the low achievers. GCE’s and CSE’s were then merged in the 1980s to create the existing GCSE’s, with five grades (A - E); A, B, C being equivalent to the old O levels and D, E, F, and G replacing the CSE’s. The latter became largely worthless for either employment or progression to higher levels and the focus of schools was on grade C or above.

At the same time, assessment for exams was changed from being norm referenced to criterion referenced, with no limits on the numbers being awarded any grade. The proportion of A - C’s increased every year and this led to a demand for an A* grade to differentiate the A’s. The government feared that if they scrapped GCSE’s (most other European countries do not have a 16+ examination), England would drop in the international performance tables (e.g. PISA), and that this might cost them votes. Also, there is no tradition for trusting teachers to maintain standards without tests and tables. The problem is that students are increasingly ‘trained for the tests’ and, according to employers and university teachers, know less and less.

The English Baccalaureate (the E Bacc) is a performance measure not an examination. Until it was introduced, performance tables were based on 5 subjects, but only three were compulsory (English, maths and general science). The E Bacc merely extends the number of compulsory subjects to include two sciences, a foreign language and a humanities subject. This has had two consequences: First, schools are dropping many non E Bacc subjects with much opposition from sports and arts communities. Second, schools with, say 30 percent of pupils achieving 5 A-Cs on the GCSE subjects, only achieved 5 percent (or less) on the E Bacc, primarily because they had dropped foreign language when it stopped being compulsory.

The English Baccalaureate has the merits of strengthening the general academic education of lower achieving students and removing useless, mostly quasi-vocational subjects. The government claims that the E Bacc subjects take up 70 percent of the school timetable, leaving adequate time for arts and sports. However, the performance tables, which rank schools with implications for resources and student intakes, shape all school decisions, so few of the educational benefits of the E Bacc will be realized as long as they are in place.

The English Baccalaureate is an ill thought out, off the cuff scheme. A better approach would be something along the French Baccalaureate lines, i.e. a three pathway (general/technological/vocational) Baccalaureate with 20+ percent of the curriculum in common, which students can take at different ages and for which there is no external examination at 16.

“A better approach would be something along the French Baccalaureate lines, i.e. a three pathway (general/technological/vocational) Baccalaureate with 20+ percent of the curriculum in common, which students can take at different ages and for which there is no external examination at 16.”

— Michael Young

What about taking an approach similar to the International Baccalaureate that measures student’s performance against global peers?

I am a great admirer of the IB, but as an 18+ exam it cannot include more than about 30-40 percent of each cohort without a more applied pathway. I would have a single external examination taken at different ages and abolish performance tables. The key issue is to develop a system in which assessment does not drive curriculum. I am not against the English Baccalaureate in principle. What worries me is its inevitable link to performance tables.

Students learn best when they are being taught to learn as opposed to being taught just to pass a test. Agree?

I agree as long as ‘teaching to learn’ is through specialist subjects. You can only teach or learn something. Teaching to learn and learning to learn are the products of good subject teaching.

As I said earlier, we have standardized tests for social control reasons. However, if you don’t have standardized tests, the social control issues remain. Finland is a good example. They always score high on PISA rankings but they have no external tests and no inspections. How do they do it?

First, Finns put a high value on education for all - originally out of fear of ‘big brother’ - the Soviet Union.

Second, teaching is a high status profession in Finland. Education faculties in Finland have the highest number of applications for each place.

Third, the richest, most powerful, and most successful parents use the state schools, i.e. less than 1 percent of children go to private schools. They have a stake in the quality of schools. In England, 7 percent of schools are private (fee paying). The political pressure is not to improve state schools but to control them. The rich have no stake in the state schools!

Fourth, a society has to control schools either by a consensus valuing education for all, or through tests and inspections. If you abolish the latter without establishing the former, you face chaos.

“In England, 7 percent of schools are private (fee paying). The political pressure is not to improve state schools but to control them. The rich have no stake in the state schools!” — Michael Young

What role should the British government play in education?

Up until the 1980’s and Margaret Thatcher, public education was managed as a relatively inefficient system by a troika of central government, local government, and teacher unions. Thatcher broke all of that up as she thought local government and unions (the providers) had too much power, and parents and employers (consumers) not enough. So she used government to replace ‘provider control’ by a ‘market.’

Why not allow local governments to determine their cities’ or towns’ own educational standards?

It is the rational but not politically realistic option. It’s a view largely shared by the Labour party since Blair.

“A society has to control schools either by a consensus valuing education for all, or through tests and inspections. If you abolish the latter without establishing the former, you face chaos.” — Michael Young

Surveys indicate that parents want to see the arts included in the new Baccalaureate. What are your best arguments for keeping the arts in this new assessment?

As I said before with regard to other subjects, if they keep the performance tables and bring arts into the E Bacc, it will destroy the arts, as schools will be under pressure to teach to the test! A better but unlikely solution would be to abolish the performance tables and broaden the E Bacc.

Since not every child will pass these new exams, what else can be done to prepare children for the real world and make them more competitive in the job market?

In the last decade, lower achieving students have been encouraged to obtain certificates which have no value outside the tables themselves, as they provide no progress to higher level study and employers do not rate them for jobs. The fact that the students get certificates masks the reality that they are not learning anything. At least the E Bacc’s base curriculum will highlight rather than mask low achievement. The problem is that many schools lack specialist subject teachers in the E Bacc subjects, so unless something is done about teacher supply, nothing will improve.

Michael Young and C. M. Rubin

Photos courtesy of the Institute of Education, University of London.

In The Global Search for Education, join me and globally renowned thought leaders including Sir Michael Barber (UK), Dr. Michael Block (U.S.), Dr. Leon Botstein (U.S.), Professor Clay Christensen (U.S.), Dr. Linda Darling-Hammond (U.S.), Dr. Madhav Chavan (India), Professor Michael Fullan (Canada), Professor Howard Gardner (U.S.), Professor Andy Hargreaves (U.S.), Professor Yvonne Hellman (The Netherlands), Professor Kristin Helstad (Norway), Jean Hendrickson (U.S.), Professor Rose Hipkins (New Zealand), Professor Cornelia Hoogland (Canada), Honourable Jeff Johnson (Canada), Mme. Chantal Kaufmann (Belgium), Dr. Eija Kauppinen (Finland), State Secretary Tapio Kosunen (Finland), Professor Dominique Lafontaine (Belgium), Professor Hugh Lauder (UK), Professor Ben Levin (Canada), Lord Ken Macdonald (UK), Professor Barry McGaw (Australia), Shiv Nadar (India), Professor R. Natarajan (India), Dr. Pak Tee Ng (Singapore), Dr. Denise Pope (US), Sridhar Rajagopalan (India), Dr. Diane Ravitch (U.S.), Richard Wilson Riley (U.S.), Sir Ken Robinson (UK), Professor Pasi Sahlberg (Finland), Andreas Schleicher (PISA, OECD), Dr. Anthony Seldon (UK), Dr. David Shaffer (U.S.), Dr. Kirsten Sivesind (Norway), Chancellor Stephen Spahn (U.S.), Yves Theze (Lycee Francais U.S.), Professor Charles Ungerleider (Canada), Professor Tony Wagner (U.S.), Sir David Watson (UK), Professor Dylan Wiliam (UK), Dr. Mark Wormald (UK), Professor Theo Wubbels (The Netherlands), Professor Michael Young (UK), and Professor Minxuan Zhang (China) as they explore the big picture education questions that all nations face today.

The Global Search for Education Community Page

C. M. Rubin is the author of two widely read online series for which she received a 2011 Upton Sinclair award, “The Global Search for Education” and “How Will We Read?” She is also the author of three bestselling books, including The Real Alice in Wonderland.

Follow C. M. Rubin on Twitter: www.twitter.com/@cmrubinworld

“Providing college tuition-free without getting the money back through taxes for the better educated means that the poor end up subsidizing the education of the rich.” — Andreas Schleicher

On US Education Problems

By C. M. Rubin with Harry Rubin and Michael Freeborn

According to Andreas Schleicher of OECD, the United States is unique among countries in that the generation of workers entering the US workforce does not have higher college attainment levels than the generation about to leave the workforce. He further believes a key strategy to addressing this problem is improving equitable access to education across the board and that good examples of how to achieve this can be found in other education systems such as Finland, Canada, Japan or Korea. None of this sounds particularly new, but I wondered if Andreas were making the big picture education decisions, how would he address some of our key issues? We recently had the opportunity to discuss this further.

Andreas Schleicher is Special Advisor on Education Policy to OECD’s Secretary-General, and is Deputy Director for Education. He also provides strategic oversight over OECD’s work on the development and utilization of skills and their social and economic outcomes. This includes the Programme for International Student Assessment (PISA), the OECD Survey of Adult Skills (PIAAC), the OECD Teaching and Learning International Survey (TALIS), and the development and analysis of benchmarks on the performance of education systems (INES).

“Spending in the US is regressive in that schools in disadvantaged areas end up with less resources than schools in socially advantaged areas (in virtually all other industrialized countries it is the other way round).” — Andreas Schleicher

Should government provide tuition free education from pre-school through college?

There is no free education; someone has to pay. If governments provide free education from pre-school through college, they need to back that up with a steeply progressive tax system so that the better qualified people end up paying the bill eventually. The Nordic countries in Europe show that this can work, and work well. The other good option is to ask students to pay tuition and to back that up with a universal student support system that provides an income-contingent loan system complemented with a scheme of means-tested grants. In that way you minimize risks for students, avoid that they end up with huge debt that they cannot pay back, and you provide special assistance to those students who would otherwise be prevented from attending university. The UK shows how this can work. Providing college tuition-free without getting the money back through taxes for the better-educated means that the poor end up subsidizing the education of the rich.

Are you in favor of privatizing public schools?

Results from PISA show no performance advantage of private schools, once you account for social background. However, cross-country analysis of PISA suggests that the prevalence of schools’ autonomy to define and elaborate their curricula and assessments relates positively to the performance of school systems, even after accounting for national income. School systems that provide schools with greater discretion in deciding student assessment policies, the courses offered, the course content and the textbooks used are also school systems that perform at higher levels. So perhaps the question for countries is not how many private or charter schools they have, but how they enable every public school to assume charter-type responsibility.

“Perhaps the question for countries is not how many private or charter schools they have, but how they enable every public school to assume charter-type responsibility.” — Andreas Schleicher

Since every child is probably not meant to pursue a liberal arts education, what would you do to make our children more competitive in the skilled trade jobs market?

Our data show that when employers are involved in designing curricula and delivering education programs at the post-secondary level, students seem to have a smoother transition from education into the labor market. Compared to purely government-designed curricula taught in school-based systems, learning in the workplace offers several advantages: it allows trainees to develop “hard” skills on modern equipment, and “soft” skills, such as teamwork, communication and negotiation, through real-world experience. Hands-on workplace training can also help to motivate disengaged youth to stay in or re-engage with the education system. Workplace training also facilitates recruitment by allowing employers and potential employees to get to know each other, while trainees contribute to the output of the training firm. Workplace learning opportunities are also a direct expression of employers’ needs, as employers will be ready to offer opportunities in areas where there is a skills shortage.

“Our data show that when employers are involved in designing curricula and delivering education programs at the post-secondary level, students seem to have a smoother transition from education into the labor market.” — Andreas Schleicher

Do you think that the United States needs to do more in the area of early childhood education, and if so, what?

One the one hand, the US falls well behind most countries in the industrialized world when it comes to early childhood education, and this is clearly a key lever to raise quality and equity in learning outcomes. At the same time, the US does really well when you look at student performance in primary education, so-so when it comes to performance in middle school, and not very well when it comes to performance in high school. This suggests that students actually get quite a strong start, but the school system adds less year after year than what children in other countries learn. That is something you don’t address with better early childhood education but with a better school system.

What do you think is the best way to fund our public schools?

The US spends plenty of money on public schools, but our data show three things. First of all, a disproportionally high share of that spending does not make it into the classroom. Secondly, spending is regressive in that schools in disadvantaged areas end up with less resources than schools in socially advantaged areas (in virtually all other industrialized countries it is the other way around). This does not allow the US to attract the most talented teachers into the most challenging classrooms, which would make public spending most effective. Third, high performing countries tend to prioritize the quality of teachers and the size of classes. The trend in the US over the last decade has gone the other way around.

          Andreas Schleicher and C. M. Rubin

Photos courtesy of OECD

In The Global Search for Education, join me and globally renowned thought leaders including Sir Michael Barber (UK), Dr. Michael Block (U.S.), Dr. Leon Botstein (U.S.), Professor Clay Christensen (U.S.), Dr. Linda Darling-Hammond (U.S.), Dr. Madhav Chavan (India), Professor Michael Fullan (Canada), Professor Howard Gardner (U.S.), Professor Andy Hargreaves (U.S.), Professor Yvonne Hellman (The Netherlands), Professor Kristin Helstad (Norway), Jean Hendrickson (U.S.), Professor Rose Hipkins (New Zealand), Professor Cornelia Hoogland (Canada), Honourable Jeff Johnson (Canada), Mme. Chantal Kaufmann (Belgium), Dr. Eija Kauppinen (Finland), State Secretary Tapio Kosunen (Finland), Professor Dominique Lafontaine (Belgium), Professor Hugh Lauder (UK), Professor Ben Levin (Canada), Lord Ken Macdonald (UK), Professor Barry McGaw (Australia), Shiv Nadar (India), Professor R. Natarajan (India), Dr. Pak Tee Ng (Singapore), Dr. Denise Pope (US), Sridhar Rajagopalan (India), Dr. Diane Ravitch (U.S.), Richard Wilson Riley (U.S.), Sir Ken Robinson (UK), Professor Pasi Sahlberg (Finland), Andreas Schleicher (PISA, OECD), Dr. Anthony Seldon (UK), Dr. David Shaffer (U.S.), Dr. Kirsten Sivesind (Norway), Chancellor Stephen Spahn (U.S.), Yves Theze (Lycee Francais U.S.), Professor Charles Ungerleider (Canada), Professor Tony Wagner (U.S.), Sir David Watson (UK), Professor Dylan Wiliam (UK), Dr. Mark Wormald (UK), Professor Theo Wubbels (The Netherlands), Professor Michael Young (UK), and Professor Minxuan Zhang (China) as they explore the big picture education questions that all nations face today. 

The Global Search for Education Community Page

C. M. Rubin is the author of two widely read online series for which she received a 2011 Upton Sinclair award, “The Global Search for Education” and “How Will We Read?” She is also the author of three bestselling books, including The Real Alice in Wonderland.

Follow C. M. Rubin on Twitter: www.twitter.com/@cmrubinworld

Grief will affect all. The trauma of losing a young child never goes away and the grief may be quite protracted, but healing occurs over time. - Dr. Brian Fallon

When Little Children Die

By C. M. Rubin with Harry Rubin and Michael Freeborn

When beautiful little children and their brave teachers die in a senseless act of unspeakable violence such as the one at Sandy Hook Elementary School, the nation cries. The nation prays for relief from its overwhelming grief and from these prayers come the hope that the nation will be inspired by love, with courage and compassion to do better for all its people and especially for its helpless little children.

It’s Christmas time in Newtown CT, but on the morning of my visit there is no joy in the air. There is only heartbreak. My husband and I built our idyllic country home just a few miles from this rustic New England town. It was here that our children learned valuable lessons about family and community far away from the fast-paced world of upper east side Manhattan. It is ironic that since Friday we are trying to comprehend new lessons we never expected to experience in our fairy tale home away from home.

The end of the shooting is the beginning of a journey to heal, marking lessons that we should have learned from Columbine, Colorado; Red Lake, Minnesota; Essex, Vermont; Lancaster, Ohio and Virginia Tech, Virginia to name but a few. The journey will be long and difficult given the mental and emotional health issues that the community overwhelmed by this trauma may face over the coming months and years ahead. I asked fellow Fairfield County resident and Professor of Psychiatry at Columbia University, Dr. Brian Fallon, to share his thoughts on these issues.

The risk of developing PTSD after a disaster is related to the proximity to the event. - Dr Brian Fallon

What are the kinds of PTSD and other stress related emotional problems that this community can expect to face in the short and long term?

This horrific event perpetrated on such young children has shocked our nation. The people of Newtown, which is a small tightly knit community, are devastated and in grief. Their response to this trauma will be shaped by the strength of their community bonds and by the unthinkable nature of this event.

A normal reaction to a catastrophic event is stress, which usually manifests as both emotional and physical symptoms. For most of the children and adolescents not directly affected, these reactions may last days to weeks. A subgroup of children however may develop symptoms that last months to years. These may include PTSD (in 10-35% of children), and many more will develop less intense anxiety symptoms, specific phobias (e.g., of the dark), and/or separation anxiety. The risk of developing PTSD after a disaster is related to the proximity to the event (i.e. where in the school was the child at the time of the shooting?), his/her relationship to those who died (i.e. did a friend or family member die?), and the cumulative burden of previous stressors on the individual. Our Connecticut/NY/NJ community for example has just come through Hurricane Sandy with massive trees falling and houses demolished by flooding. Any child already traumatized by feeling unsafe as a result of Hurricane Sandy may well experience this Newtown school massacre even more acutely, with an increased risk of PTSD symptoms.

Typical PTSD symptoms include frequent intrusive memories of the event (or in young children play in which the trauma is repeated over and over), frightening dreams (e.g, nightmares of monsters or of rescuing others), increased vigilance to harm in the environment with increased jumpiness, and physical or emotional symptoms at reminders of the event (e.g., TV or magazine references to the shooting, loud noises at school, children screaming). Other symptoms associated with PTSD may also emerge, such as anxiety, worrying that an event like this may happen again or about dying at a young age, irritability or anger outbursts, problems with peer relationships, withdrawal from family or friends, psychosomatic complaints (e.g., feeling sick, stomach pain, or headaches), or having problems with concentration. Developmental regression is a normal stress response especially among younger children who may become more clingy (shadowing the parent around the house, wanting to sleep in the parent’s bed) or needy and resume thumb sucking or bedwetting.

Among some children, research indicates that beginning perhaps 6 months to 1 year after the event, a child may show signs of depression or panic attacks. Indeed recovery from PTSD itself may then be followed by depressive symptoms, especially if there was a loss of a sibling or friend. Studies show that up to 90% of children who experienced the death of a close family member during a disaster may develop depressive symptoms. Studies also suggest that girls and younger children are at greater risk of developing post-traumatic stress reactions.

Support from the important adults in a child’s life is critical. A feeling of safety needs to be established.- Dr. Brian Fallon

Specifically can you speak about caring for the very young children in the aftermath of this tragedy. What should adults do?

Support from the important adults in a child’s life is critical. This includes parents, teachers, relatives, religious communities, and older peers. A feeling of safety needs to be established. It’s best if normal family routines are maintained and if adults are as present as possible, both emotionally and physically. Talking about the event with children is essential and will serve to decrease the fear. Children will look to their parents; parents should admit their concerns but also stress their ability to cope with this disaster and the safety of the child. Allow the child opportunities to express feelings and ask questions, through words, through writing a journal, through drawing and through play. Be understanding when the stress comes out in emotional outbursts or psychosomatic distress. Psychotherapy (individual, group, or family) can be very helpful, as can behavior medication techniques and cognitive therapy to help reduce fears and worries. With the help of sensitive and supportive family members and professionals, young children and adolescents with PTSD can learn to cope with the traumatic memories and eventually live happy and productive lives.

Recovery from PTSD itself may then be followed by depressive symptoms, especially if there was a loss of a sibling or friend. - Dr Brian Fallon

Specifically can you speak about caring for the adults i.e. teachers and parents who were affected. What kinds of anxieties could they be experiencing?

Grief will affect all. The trauma of losing a young child never goes away and the grief may be quite protracted, but healing occurs over time. Many will have an increased sense of the precariousness of life. Some adults may experience guilt, wondering what they could have done differently to prevent or alter the attack. Others will turn their grief and rage into productive social and political action to help reduce the risk of similar threats to children. The community is likely to resent the media spotlight and intrusive attention, seeking a return to the normal routines that are so valuable in giving comfort. PTSD and depression will affect some, and likely many of those directly impacted. For the sake of their own well-being and for the sake of caring most effectively for their children, these adults should seek evaluation and guidance from professional therapists and from their religious communities.

The community is likely to resent the media spotlight and intrusive attention, seeking a return to the normal routines that are so valuable in giving comfort. - Dr Brian Fallon

What kind of comprehensive assessment and treatment program (traditional and non-traditional education and therapeutic approaches) do you recommend this community and other schools around the nation put in place to help those struggling with the aftermath of the Sandy Hook Elementary School massacre?

Children deserve to be educated in a safe environment. Many schools, but not all, are safe. In the aftermath of high profile school disasters (such as Columbine and Virginia Tech), many schools have put into place security measures that markedly enhance school safety. The Sandy Hook Elementary School did have such security measures. These at minimum should be mandatory for all schools. Our society, in light of this Newtown disaster, needs to once again address what additionally it can do to help ensure the safety of our children. The outcry calling for a ban on assault weapons makes sense, as without such guns fewer children would have died, the need for gun control is urgent. From a psychological perspective, teachers should be alert to behavioral disturbances in children, such as psychosomatic complaints or school refusal in younger children or declining school performance or emotional withdrawal in older children. School counselors should visit classes and welcome students to come talk to them or to the school nurses. High school students would benefit from peer group counseling mandated for all students (e.g. all 2nd year students) led by older students trained as peer group leaders In which the normal and atypical stressors of life are addressed. Attending to the psychological issues which affect our young students is a key part of the educational process.

Dr. Brian Fallon is Professor of Clinical Psychiatry at the Columbia University College of Physicians and Surgeons, and is the Director of the Lyme and Tick-borne Diseases Research Center at the Columbia University Medical Center. Fallon is on the Executive Committee of the Fairfield/Litchfield District Branch of the Connecticut Psychiatric Society.

            Dr. Brian Fallon and C. M. Rubin

(All photos are courtesy of C.M. Rubin)

In The Global Search for Education, join me and globally renowned thought leaders including Sir Michael Barber (UK), Dr. Michael Block (U.S.), Dr. Leon Botstein (U.S.), Professor Clay Christensen (U.S.), Dr. Linda Darling-Hammond (U.S.), Dr. Madhav Chavan (India), Professor Michael Fullan (Canada), Professor Howard Gardner (U.S.), Professor Andy Hargreaves (U.S.), Professor Yvonne Hellman (The Netherlands), Professor Kristin Helstad (Norway), Jean Hendrickson (U.S.), Professor Rose Hipkins (New Zealand), Professor Cornelia Hoogland (Canada), Honourable Jeff Johnson (Canada), Mme. Chantal Kaufmann (Belgium), Dr. Eija Kauppinen (Finland), State Secretary Tapio Kosunen (Finland), Professor Dominique Lafontaine (Belgium), Professor Hugh Lauder (UK), Professor Ben Levin (Canada), Lord Ken Macdonald (UK), Professor Barry McGaw (Australia), Shiv Nadar (India), Professor R. Natarajan (India), Dr. Pak Tee Ng (Singapore), Dr. Denise Pope (US), Sridhar Rajagopalan (India), Dr. Diane Ravitch (U.S.), Richard Wilson Riley (U.S.), Sir Ken Robinson (UK), Professor Pasi Sahlberg (Finland), Andreas Schleicher (PISA, OECD), Dr. Anthony Seldon (UK), Dr. David Shaffer (U.S.), Dr. Kirsten Sivesind (Norway), Chancellor Stephen Spahn (U.S.), Yves Theze (Lycee Francais U.S.), Professor Charles Ungerleider (Canada), Professor Tony Wagner (U.S.), Sir David Watson (UK), Professor Dylan Wiliam (UK), Dr. Mark Wormald (UK), Professor Theo Wubbels (The Netherlands), Professor Michael Young (UK), and Professor Minxuan Zhang (China) as they explore the big picture education questions that all nations face today. 

The Global Search for Education Community Page

C. M. Rubin is the author of two widely read online series for which she received a 2011 Upton Sinclair award, “The Global Search for Education” and “How Will We Read?” She is also the author of three bestselling books, including The Real Alice in Wonderland.

Follow C. M. Rubin on Twitter: www.twitter.com/@cmrubinworld

“Teach For America exists to address the incredible gaps in educational outcomes that persist along racial and socio-economic lines in our country. We believe this is the greatest civil rights issue of our generation.” — Wendy Kopp

Teach All

By C. M. Rubin with Harry Rubin and Michael Freeborn

Since Teach For America was proposed by Wendy Kopp in 1989, the organization’s nearly 33,000 participants have reached more than 3 million children nationwide during their two-year teaching commitments. In 2007, Kopp co-founded Teach For All, a global network of independent nonprofit organizations that are applying the model pioneered by Teach For America around the world.

This week in the Global Search for Education, I asked Wendy Kopp, founder and CEO of Teach For America and of Teach For All to share her perspectives on some of the key issues that currently challenge the teaching profession, and on the contributions her organizations continue to make.

Kopp is the author of the Washington Post bestseller, A Chance to Make History: What Works and What Doesn’t in Providing an Excellent Education for All, and of One Day, All Children: The Unlikely Triumph of Teach For America and What I Learned Along the Way.

Ban Ki-moon’s Education First initiative states two million more teachers are needed for the world’s poorest countries. Is there a role for Teach For America in this initiative?

I am excited about this initiative for all the obvious reasons. It represents such an important first ever recognition that we have to put education at the center of our global agenda. The mission that unites all of the programs of the Teach For All global network is that of cultivating the leadership capacity critical to ultimately ensuring educational opportunity for all. Each of these organizations recruits their own countries’ most promising future leaders to channel their energy towards teaching in high-need areas, invests in their success and development, and fosters their ongoing leadership as a force for change in education. I do think there is a role for some organization to play in channeling the volunteer service energy from some of the western world countries into countries with more critical education needs, but we will stay the course on our mission, as we think that it plays a fundamental role in the overall puzzle.

“If we could reach the point where many of our nation’s future leaders know what teachers know after teaching successfully in our highest need schools, we would have a very different situation.”— Wendy Kopp

Teacher retention. Would you speak a little bit about what you’ve learned about the challenges of this problem from your own experience with Teach For America?

I want to step back first and be clear about what we want to accomplish, and then talk about teacher retention as one of a number of critical issues facing the overall effort to ensure educational opportunity for all. Teach For America exists to address the incredible gaps in educational outcomes that persist along racial and socio-economic lines in our country. We believe this is the greatest civil rights issue of our generation, and that it’s a problem that exists for many systemic reasons. Kids who live in low income areas face extra challenges and show up at schools that were not designed to meet their extra needs. Considering the complexity of the root problem, we believe that one fundamental piece of the solution is to build a leadership force for fundamental change. The kids growing up today who are stuck in this cycle need access to as many teachers as possible who are willing to go above and beyond traditional expectations to move them ahead. Our folks are one small pipeline of people working alongside many other teachers to try to make a positive impact for today’s kids. At the same time, we know that teachers alone won’t solve the problem. Ultimately, we need people working to change things at every level of the education system - in classrooms, as school principals, in district leadership - and also outside of it, from policy, law, and other sectors. If we could reach the point where many of our nation’s future leaders know what teachers know after teaching successfully in our highest need schools, we would have a very different situation. And so our mission is not just to keep our people in teaching, although we are delighted that many of them stay.

“Looking at what’s happening in communities across the country, we’re encouraged to see that our alumni are at the center of a growing effort to effect fundamental change - 700 of them in school principalships, growing numbers of them leading change from within school districts and state departments of education.” — Wendy Kopp

How many of them stay?

We currently have approximately 28,000 Teach For America alumni in the US. A third are teaching and a third are working in other areas related to education, so about two thirds (65 percent) are working full time in education. Of the third who have left, about half have jobs related to schools or low income communities. Remember, these weren’t folks who came in saying teaching was going to be their profession, and so clearly they are deeply influenced by the experience.

On average, our corps members stay in the classroom for eight years. But again, given the systemic nature of educational inequity, we know it is vital that some of our alumni take their experience outside the classroom. Looking at what’s happening in communities across the country, we’re encouraged to see that our alumni are at the center of a growing effort to effect fundamental change — 700 of them in school principalships, growing numbers of them leading change from within school districts and state departments of education (for example they’re leading the Newark and D.C. school districts, and the state departments of education in Louisiana and Tennessee), others who are providing leadership for supporting organizations like The New Teacher Project and the KIPP Network, and still others effecting change as school board members and state legislators and community advocates and organizers. The first-hand experience of teaching in low-income classrooms gives all of them, whether they remain in the classroom or not, a deep understanding of the extent of the problem, and also of the truth that it is solvable and that we have it within our power to give every child an excellent education. They are committed to a lifetime of leadership for solving this problem.

“One of the significant factors in whether teachers stay or not is their level of satisfaction with the team and culture of the school they are a part of. We need to ensure that school principals become stronger.”— Wendy Kopp

If someone handed you the problem of the teacher attrition rate in the US, how would you solve it?

One thing that we’ve seen over time is that the teacher retention rate varies widely from school to school. That’s telling. One of the significant factors in whether teachers stay or not is their level of satisfaction with the team and culture of the school they are a part of. We need to ensure that school principals become stronger and put a lot of energy into building positive school cultures and investing in the development of their teachers. I think that’s one of the most critical pieces I’ve learned from the Teach For America alums when it comes to making a decision to stay or leave. Another thing is that we could be more strategic about teacher compensation. We see teachers leaving the classroom in huge numbers in years 3 through 8. An informal study we did a couple of years ago showed that if we increased compensation an average of $10,000 per year to the highest performing new teachers in years 3 through 7, it would make a significant difference in their choices. Once teachers stay on through years 7 or 8, they begin to think differently about their careers and are more likely to stay long term.

Finland turned teaching into a respected and prestigious profession. From your experience with TFA, what are your thoughts on ways to make our teaching profession better than it is now in the US?

When I think of our alums who are still in the classroom and who are just incredibly passionate about their work, typically they are working as part of a team of teachers in a school that is on a mission to produce incredible outcomes for its students. Typically those schools are led by a school principal who is empowered with both the responsibility and the flexibility to do whatever it takes. I also think the teachers in those schools feel a tremendous amount of responsibility for the success of the overall school and the success of the teachers in the school; they feel challenged and supported by their teammates and by their school administration. The degree to which we empower school level teams is important to successful outcomes, and I believe we see the same thing in Finland. All of this leads me back to thinking that if we are going to have a teaching profession we all aspire towards, we are going to need to do some work to rethink the way the system is structured and to strengthen our schools.

“If we are going to have a teaching profession we all aspire towards, we are going to need to do some work to rethink the way the system is structured and to strengthen our schools.” — Wendy Kopp

Any other policy changes based on your TFA experience that you would recommend for our education system?

I’ve been so encouraged to see growing numbers of schools in the U.S.’s urban and rural areas that are putting children on the trajectory to different educational and life outcomes. I think we should be asking ourselves how to create a policy environment that fosters the proliferation of such schools. Based on what I’ve seen, this would entail two things. First, it would take a totally different level of investment in recruiting and developing extraordinary teaching and school leadership talent. Second, it would take empowering our teachers and school leaders with the responsibility for attaining strong results and the flexibility to do whatever it takes to attain them. I think we should spend our policy energy thinking about how to generate those changes

Where would you like to see Teach For America five years from now?

We’re working to become bigger and better — to grow the scale and diversity of our corps, to increase our teachers’ impact with their students while ensuring the teachers themselves are learning the powerful lessons that come from success, and to accelerate the impact of our alumni as a force for the systemic changes necessary to realize educational excellence and equity. I’m excited about the future because we’ve already learned so much about what it will take to realize this vision, and the effort to dramatically improve student outcomes is gaining momentum each day. Increasingly, Teach For America is one part of a growing global movement, and as we move ahead we’ll be learning more and more from colleagues all around the world who are pursuing the same mission and innovating around new solutions.

               Wendy Kopp and C. M. Rubin

Photos courtesy of Teach For America

In The Global Search for Education, join me and globally renowned thought leaders including Sir Michael Barber (UK), Dr. Michael Block (U.S.), Dr. Leon Botstein (U.S.), Professor Clay Christensen (U.S.), Dr. Linda Darling-Hammond (U.S.), Dr. Madhav Chavan (India), Professor Michael Fullan (Canada), Professor Howard Gardner (U.S.), Professor Andy Hargreaves (U.S.), Professor Yvonne Hellman (The Netherlands), Professor Kristin Helstad (Norway), Jean Hendrickson (U.S.), Professor Rose Hipkins (New Zealand), Professor Cornelia Hoogland (Canada), Honourable Jeff Johnson (Canada), Mme. Chantal Kaufmann (Belgium), Dr. Eija Kauppinen (Finland), State Secretary Tapio Kosunen (Finland), Professor Dominique Lafontaine (Belgium), Professor Hugh Lauder (UK), Professor Ben Levin (Canada), Lord Ken Macdonald (UK), Professor Barry McGaw (Australia), Shiv Nadar (India), Professor R. Natarajan (India), Dr. Pak Tee Ng (Singapore), Dr. Denise Pope (US), Sridhar Rajagopalan (India), Dr. Diane Ravitch (U.S.), Richard Wilson Riley (U.S.), Sir Ken Robinson (UK), Professor Pasi Sahlberg (Finland), Andreas Schleicher (PISA, OECD), Dr. Anthony Seldon (UK), Dr. David Shaffer (U.S.), Dr. Kirsten Sivesind (Norway), Chancellor Stephen Spahn (U.S.), Yves Theze (Lycee Francais U.S.), Professor Charles Ungerleider (Canada), Professor Tony Wagner (U.S.), Sir David Watson (UK), Professor Dylan Wiliam (UK), Dr. Mark Wormald (UK), Professor Theo Wubbels (The Netherlands), Professor Michael Young (UK), and Professor Minxuan Zhang (China) as they explore the big picture education questions that all nations face today. 

The Global Search for Education Community Page

C. M. Rubin is the author of two widely read online series for which she received a 2011 Upton Sinclair award, “The Global Search for Education” and “How Will We Read?” She is also the author of three bestselling books, including The Real Alice in Wonderland.

Follow C. M. Rubin on Twitter: www.twitter.com/@cmrubinworld

“The focus is on using technology as a tool for teaching and learning, rather than on technology in itself.” — Dr. Pak Tee Ng

Singapore on Technology

By C. M. Rubin with Harry Rubin and Michael Freeborn

Singapore’s education institutions are considered among the most advanced in the world with regard to information technology. This week in The Global Search for Education, I invited Dr. Pak Tee Ng in Singapore to update us on how Singapore’s Ministry of Education (MOE) continues to support its public school system with Information and Communication Technologies (ICT).

Dr. Pak Tee Ng is Associate Dean, Leadership Learning, Office of Graduate Studies and Professional Learning, and Head and Associate Professor, Policy and Leadership Studies Academic Group, at the National Institute of Education, Nanyang Technological University, Republic of Singapore.

“In the future, all Singapore schools will be connected to the Next Generation Broadband Network (NGBN), which will provide ultra-high speed wireless connectivity.” — Dr. Pak Tee Ng

Can you give us the background to Singapore’s Information Technology plan for its school system and also tell us what one would expect to find in primary and secondary public school classrooms currently?

Singapore has been faithfully implementing a master plan since 1997 for integrating technology into education. Masterplan One (1997-2002) started out by aiming to allow students to have computer usage for 30 percent of their curriculum time in fully networked schools and at a computer to pupil ratio of 1:2. Masterplan Two moved beyond the provision of Information and Communication Technologies (ICT) resources to encourage teachers to use ICT profitably in teaching and learning. The current Masterplan Three (2009-2014) builds on the platform laid by the first two Masterplans to transform the learning environments of the students through ICT and equip the students with the critical competencies to succeed in a knowledge economy.

Currently, one could expect wireless internet connectivity in the school compound and at least a computer with projection equipment in the classroom. But most teachers and students have their own laptops or other mobile ICT devices. In the future, all Singapore schools will be connected to the Next Generation Broadband Network (NGBN), which will provide ultra-high speed wireless connectivity. This is an example of how the MOE has supported schools in using ICT in education. The MOE also provides a training program to develop a group of competent practitioners in their ICT-related pedagogies and coaching competencies. With an average of about 4 such ICT mentors in each school, these ICT mentors champion and mentor teachers on the effective use of ICT in their respective disciplines.

“Other than professional development, we use the strategy of exposing our teachers to the technological possibilities and supporting them in exploring new pedagogies with technology.” — Dr. Pak Tee Ng

How have you handled the challenges of educating teachers to use blended technology systems in the classroom? What additional ongoing professional development is given to teachers to ensure they integrate technology effectively in their classrooms?

The MOE provides our teachers with many professional development opportunities regarding the use of ICT in classrooms. Schools also have many Professional Learning Communities (PLCs), and some of these PLCs explore how teachers can use blended technology in teaching and learning.

However, changing pedagogy is a very personal matter. Therefore, other than professional development, we use the strategy of exposing our teachers to the technological possibilities and supporting them in exploring new pedagogies with technology. The focus is not on technology. It is on using technology to enhance teaching and learning. Two examples of this strategy are the eduLab programme initiated by the MOE, and the Classroom of the Future (COTF) at the National Institute of Education (NIE). The eduLab showcases experiments trialed in schools. Educators who visit eduLab can learn more about how certain local schools have infused innovative ICT practices into lessons and classroom activities. The COTF showcases what classrooms and learning environments (including homes and public places) can look like in the future to trigger the imagination of the teacher. Through such exposure, we hope to spread mature ICT innovations and successful practices and generate interest among teachers.

“In 5 years time, there will possibly be an increase in the proportion of online learning compared to face-to-face classroom contact.” — Dr. Pak Tee Ng

What are some of the best hands-on examples of teachers successfully integrating technology in their teaching practice?

It is difficult to say which hands-on usage of ICT is considered as a best example. This is because teaching and learning is a contextual activity, and ICT is not an end but a means to enhance teaching and learning outcomes. However, there are a few examples. One is the use of GroupScribbles (GS) technology to support generalized coordination among students and the teacher through the convenient feature of sticky paper notes in a virtual medium. Another is the use of the online virtual world of Second Life, where students can role-play and deal with legal and moral issues in the ‘safety’ of the virtual world. The use of e-discussion forums to generate discussions among students is also gaining popularity.

Many believe technology is helping to level the playing field for different types of learners. Do you think so in the light of Singapore’s experiences?

Yes and no. From a certain perspective, it does somewhat level the playing field. Students who need more time to learn have the opportunity to review lessons and study at their own pace with the availability of online lecture notes and discussion boards. This allows them to catch up with those who learn more quickly. However, technology, like any other learning approaches, favors students who enjoy using it. Learning comes easier to those who are good with technology and, conversely, becomes more challenging for those who are not.

We also have to ask what we mean by “leveling the playing field.” Technology comes at a cost. Computers, other ICT gadgets, and Internet access can be costly. Therefore, those who can afford ICT equipment and services will definitely have better access to technologically-driven education, compared to those who are not as financially well-off. Therefore, ICT creates an equalizing effect on some aspects of learning and widens the gap on others. Regarding this issue, what has been done in Singapore is that the government funds schools so that students will have access to computers in school. There are also subsidy schemes to help students buy their own computers. Further, the focus is on using technology as a tool for teaching and learning, rather than on technology in itself. In this way, the potentially uneven playing field is made more even.

“In the future, the role of the teacher is to learn how ICT can be wrapped around students in their natural activities, not fit them into fixed technologies and processes, so that the students may be brought directly into the dynamics of ICT teaching and learning in school.” — Dr. Pak Tee Ng

With the technology revolution showing no signs of slowing down, the teacher’s role and the nature of the classroom is changing. What might learning look like 5 years from now in terms of the balance between the nature of the teacher’s role and online learning?

In 5 years time, there will possibly be an increase in the proportion of online learning compared to face-to-face classroom contact. However, precisely because of that, the teacher’s role will become more important than ever. Firstly, teachers must be able to facilitate e-discussion and help students make sense of the large volume of data and discourses in these e-forums. This requires a high level of facilitative and synthesizing skills. Secondly, face-to-face contact, which is reduced, becomes more valued and will be reserved for higher order thinking and learning, rather than mere information transmission.

Moreover, in years to come, educators will realize that it is essential to tap on students as a source of ICT intelligence. At this moment, teachers tailor pedagogies for their students because students are treated as ‘minors’ to be taught. However, students are born in the digital age, unlike many of their teachers. Therefore, in the future, the role of the teacher is to learn how ICT can be wrapped around students in their natural activities, not fit them into fixed technologies and processes, so that the students may be brought directly into the dynamics of ICT teaching and learning in school.

              Dr. Pak Tee Ng and C. M. Rubin

Photos courtesy of Dr. Pak Tee Ng

In The Global Search for Education, join me and globally renowned thought leaders including Sir Michael Barber (UK), Dr. Michael Block (U.S.), Dr. Leon Botstein (U.S.), Professor Clay Christensen (U.S.), Dr. Linda Darling-Hammond (U.S.), Dr. Madhav Chavan (India), Professor Michael Fullan (Canada), Professor Howard Gardner (U.S.), Professor Andy Hargreaves (U.S.), Professor Yvonne Hellman (The Netherlands), Professor Kristin Helstad (Norway), Jean Hendrickson (U.S.), Professor Rose Hipkins (New Zealand), Professor Cornelia Hoogland (Canada), Honourable Jeff Johnson (Canada), Mme. Chantal Kaufmann (Belgium), Dr. Eija Kauppinen (Finland), State Secretary Tapio Kosunen (Finland), Professor Dominique Lafontaine (Belgium), Professor Hugh Lauder (UK), Professor Ben Levin (Canada), Lord Ken Macdonald (UK), Professor Barry McGaw (Australia), Shiv Nadar (India), Professor R. Natarajan (India), Dr. Pak Tee Ng (Singapore), Dr. Denise Pope (US), Sridhar Rajagopalan (India), Dr. Diane Ravitch (U.S.), Richard Wilson Riley (U.S.), Sir Ken Robinson (UK), Professor Pasi Sahlberg (Finland), Andreas Schleicher (PISA, OECD), Dr. Anthony Seldon (UK), Dr. David Shaffer (U.S.), Dr. Kirsten Sivesind (Norway), Chancellor Stephen Spahn (U.S.), Yves Theze (Lycee Francais U.S.), Professor Charles Ungerleider (Canada), Professor Tony Wagner (U.S.), Sir David Watson (UK), Professor Dylan Wiliam (UK), Dr. Mark Wormald (UK), Professor Theo Wubbels (The Netherlands), Professor Michael Young (UK), and Professor Minxuan Zhang (China) as they explore the big picture education questions that all nations face today. 

The Global Search for Education Community Page

C. M. Rubin is the author of two widely read online series for which she received a 2011 Upton Sinclair award, “The Global Search for Education” and “How Will We Read?” She is also the author of three bestselling books, including The Real Alice in Wonderland.

Follow C. M. Rubin on Twitter: www.twitter.com/@cmrubinworld

“Research shows that students cheat more when they believe that grades and performance are valued in their classrooms and less when they believe that learning, deep understanding and mastery are valued.” — Dr. Denise Pope

What to do About Cheating

By C. M. Rubin with Harry Rubin and Michael Freeborn

Here are five misconceptions about a serious and widespread problem in education today: cheating isn’t a problem at my kid’s school; kids cheat in the same ways today as they did in the past; only kids who struggle in school cheat; students who cheat don’t know right from wrong; cheating is unpredictable.

Challenge Success, a non-profit organization at the Stanford University School of Education, argues that more awareness is needed among parents and teachers about cheating misconceptions in order to positively affect academic dishonesty. “Cheat or Be Cheated,” a recently released Challenge Success white paper, discusses the evidence that dispels these misunderstandings based on its review of fifteen landmark studies on cheating in addition to their own research with schools and students.

I chatted with Dr. Denise Pope, Challenge Success co-founder and senior lecturer at Stanford University, about the report and the solutions she believes parents and educators can adopt immediately to help curb cheating behavior and encourage integrity.

“When students PERCEIVE that their teachers are competent and caring, then they are less likely to cheat in those classrooms.” — Dr. Denise Pope

The white paper indicates that students cheat more when they believe that grades and performance are valued in their classrooms and less when they believe that learning and mastery are valued. If we reduce testing will we reduce cheating?

We know that if you change the forms of assessment, you can definitely decrease cheating behavior. Students are less likely to cheat on an assignment where they produce multiple drafts for review or on an assignment that is personalized — where they need to tie a concept or theory to their own life experiences. Even on a test, a teacher can reduce the likelihood of cheating by asking for in-depth responses as opposed to fill in the blanks or multiple choice, and testing for mastery/deep understanding as opposed to memorization of content. Research shows that students cheat more when they believe that grades and performance are valued in their classrooms and less when they believe that learning, deep understanding and mastery are valued.

“Students who value school and feel like they belong in the school community are less likely to cheat.”— Dr. Denise Pope

Students’ perceptions of their teachers can also affect cheating behavior. Does this mean that when teachers are competent and caring, children cheat less?

When students perceive that their teachers are competent and caring, then they are less likely to cheat in those classrooms. Most teachers care about their students, but the students themselves have to believe it. The same is true for competency: the students need to perceive it. We encourage teachers to make their caring more explicit - learn the students’ names, ask about their lives outside of class, offer to help with assignments, offer more opportunities for student choice and voice in the classroom, and show that you truly support the kids and want them to succeed. An increased focus on social and emotional learning can improve the classroom climate and help kids see that the teacher truly cares.

Students who have strong, positive “school identification” are less likely to cheat. True or false?

True. Students who value school and feel like they belong in the school community are less likely to cheat. This holds true regardless of how these students are doing in school. If kids feel like they are part of a strong community and they value the learning that goes on there, they will be more likely to work honestly and with integrity. We encourage parents and educators to help students get involved in school activities, find ways for kids to get to know school faculty and staff, and help kids make friends at school so that they have a more positive school identification.

“Students who feel pressure from teachers, parents and peers to get top grades and get into the “right” college are more likely to cheat.” — Dr. Denise Pope

When students lack confidence in their academic capabilities they are more likely to cheat. True or false?

True. Several studies show that students who reported low feelings of competence and capability were more likely to cheat. Students get to a point where they believe, “There is no way that I can get a good grade on my own. I am not smart enough and don’t have the skills to do this.” These kids tend to think cheating is their only option. Educators and parents can encourage honesty and integrity, and at the same time find ways to build a support structure for learning so that all kids can improve their skills and feel capable.

Students cite trying to “get ahead” and getting into the “right” college along with a school culture that is “overly focused on achievement” as justifications for cheating. Are students more likely to cheat when they feel achievement pressure from parents, teachers and peers?

Yes. Students who feel pressure from teachers, parents and peers to get top grades and get into the “right” college are more likely to cheat. They describe the culture at these high-achieving schools as “cut-throat competitive” and promoting a “succeed at all costs” mentality that leads to cheating on tests and assignments.

“Educators and parents should model integrity and maintain high standards for honesty.”— Dr. Denise Pope

Can you share five suggestions that both educators and parents can put in place to help curb cheating behavior and encourage integrity?

1) Educators and parents should model integrity and maintain high standards for honesty. They should discuss integrity with the students, have clear and consistent policies for handling infractions, and emphasize that cheating will not be tolerated.

2) Educators and parents should emphasize mastery and learning rather than performance and grades. This means encouraging problem-based learning and focusing on deep understanding. Instead of focusing on the final performance results of a test or paper (in other words, the grades), talk about the learning and revision process and improvement over time.

3) Educators and parents should encourage positive school identity and help kids make connections at school that will help them feel like they belong and are valued.

4) Educators and parents should promote healthy assessment and grading policies. Parents should avoid offering external rewards such as money or privileges for students who complete their work or bring home good grades, and instead should focus on encouraging intrinsic motivation. Teachers should use multiple assessments to allow students more opportunities to show what they know and improve over time, and schools might consider eliminating “zeros” and class rankings.

5) And all adults — in school and out — should learn not to confuse “rigor” with “load.” Since research shows that stressed-out and exhausted students may be more likely to cheat, schools and parents may want to abide by the “less is more” rule. Teachers can determine how much homework is really necessary to assign and be sure that students understand the purpose of each assignment. Parents can work on ways to reduce stress at home by helping students cut back on the number of extracurricular and enrichment activities and focusing on depth as opposed to breadth.

             Dr. Denise Pope and C. M. Rubin

Photos courtesy of Challenge Success, Stanford University School of Education

In The Global Search for Education, join me and globally renowned thought leaders including Sir Michael Barber (UK), Dr. Michael Block (U.S.), Dr. Leon Botstein (U.S.), Professor Clay Christensen (U.S.), Dr. Linda Darling-Hammond (U.S.), Dr. Madhav Chavan (India), Professor Michael Fullan (Canada), Professor Howard Gardner (U.S.), Professor Andy Hargreaves (U.S.), Professor Yvonne Hellman (The Netherlands), Professor Kristin Helstad (Norway), Jean Hendrickson (U.S.), Professor Rose Hipkins (New Zealand), Professor Cornelia Hoogland (Canada), Honourable Jeff Johnson (Canada), Mme. Chantal Kaufmann (Belgium), Dr. Eija Kauppinen (Finland), State Secretary Tapio Kosunen (Finland), Professor Dominique Lafontaine (Belgium), Professor Hugh Lauder (UK), Professor Ben Levin (Canada), Lord Ken Macdonald (UK), Professor Barry McGaw (Australia), Shiv Nadar (India), Professor R. Natarajan (India), Dr. Pak Tee Ng (Singapore), Dr. Denise Pope (US), Sridhar Rajagopalan (India), Dr. Diane Ravitch (U.S.), Richard Wilson Riley (U.S.), Sir Ken Robinson (UK), Professor Pasi Sahlberg (Finland), Andreas Schleicher (PISA, OECD), Dr. Anthony Seldon (UK), Dr. David Shaffer (U.S.), Dr. Kirsten Sivesind (Norway), Chancellor Stephen Spahn (U.S.), Yves Theze (Lycee Francais U.S.), Professor Charles Ungerleider (Canada), Professor Tony Wagner (U.S.), Sir David Watson (UK), Professor Dylan Wiliam (UK), Dr. Mark Wormald (UK), Professor Theo Wubbels (The Netherlands), Professor Michael Young (UK), and Professor Minxuan Zhang (China) as they explore the big picture education questions that all nations face today. 

The Global Search for Education Community Page

C. M. Rubin is the author of two widely read online series for which she received a 2011 Upton Sinclair award, “The Global Search for Education” and “How Will We Read?” She is also the author of three bestselling books, including The Real Alice in Wonderland.

Follow C. M. Rubin on Twitter: www.twitter.com/@cmrubinworld

“Albertans felt students needed to be three things: engaged thinkers, ethical citizens, and they needed to have an entrepreneurial spirit.” — Jeff Johnson

Forward Thinking

By C. M. Rubin with Harry Rubin and Michael Freeborn

Education, Innovation, Infrastructure — whichever way you line up the words, they all lead back to education. Because once a nation has goals for where it wants to be in 5 or 10 or 20 years, that nation is going to need to have a competent, competitive workforce to realize its goals.

Developing the nation’s plan means collaboration. And the collaboration part is perhaps the toughest because people tend to argue about significant matters and you will never find enough educators who will agree on the biggest issues — or will you? Interestingly, my five interviews over the past 5 weeks in The Education Debate 2012 series with Howard Gardner, Richard Riley, Diane Ravitch, Andy Hargreaves and Linda Darling Hammond often sound similar because there are many commonalities among the solutions proposed for how to improve student achievement in an educational system.

Today I want to focus on a forward thinking education initiative in Alberta, Canada called “Inspiring Education.” I recently had the opportunity to discuss it with the Honourable Jeff Johnson, Minister of Education for Alberta. Johnson’s appointment as Minister of Education in May of this year built on his experience as co-chair of the pioneering “Inspiring Education” committee. He was previously Minister of Infrastructure, Minister responsible for the Oil Sands Secretariat, and Parliamentary Assistant to the Treasury Board. Jeff also has experience working in the financial markets as a futures trading floor pit boss and in building a series of successful small businesses.

“Albertans felt the educational system was too caught up in the old ways - based on the desires of trustees, teachers or politicians instead of on what is best for the students and the students’ learning.”— Jeff Johnson

Can you talk about the Albertan “Inspiring Education” initiative - your goals and objectives?

The Education Minister of the day brought together a steering committee of about 20 people, which I chaired, and tasked us with asking Albertans from all walks of life one main question: What kinds of skills and attributes should an educated Albertan graduating in 2030 have? What we heard was that Albertans felt students needed to be three things: engaged thinkers, ethical citizens, and they needed to have an entrepreneurial spirit.

By engaged thinker, we are talking about skills like being able to think critically, being creative, having digital literacy and being cooperative. It also extends beyond our K-12 system, and includes being a true life-long learner.

In terms of the ethical citizen, we want to make sure kids are contributing to their communities. The character traits we require for an ethical citizen would be young people who are empathetic, have good communication skills and who through teamwork and collaboration contribute fully to the community and to the world.

Finally, Albertans are really proud of our history of being pioneers and entrepreneurs. The people who immigrated to Alberta were not wealthy people. They came to Alberta for opportunity, and it was that history that really influenced us to include entrepreneurial spirit as the third element of what we call our three E’s. We wanted our kids to learn to take risks, to be resilient, competitive, resourceful, confident and self-reliant. We wanted to prepare kids for the global economy, for the ever-changing digital age. We wanted to make sure they are ready for the jobs that will be waiting for them, in many cases jobs that don’t even exist yet. And that they are skilled enough so that if the job doesn’t exist, they can create it.

“Much of the content in the curriculum is going to be obsolete in 15 years from now.” — Jeff Johnson

What system changes did these goals require you to make?

First, we had to build a system that was more centered on the student. Albertans felt the educational system was too caught up in the old ways - based on the desires of trustees, teachers or politicians instead of on what is best for the students and the students’ learning.

The second major change we felt we should make was to move to a system that was based on competency versus regurgitating content. Every student learns at an individual pace, but our educational system was not set up to deal with that. So the challenge was to move to a system that was based on mastering competency, not just serving a set amount of time in a desk and memorizing facts for a test. When kids can move faster we need to make sure we’re able to challenge them.

The other problem we faced was that our curriculum in Alberta was very standardized and allowed very little flexibility for educators. Much of the content in the curriculum is going to be obsolete in 15 years from now. We want to move to a system where numeracy and literacy remained at the core of learning, but where educators are teaching in a way that will instill our three E’s in kids.

Are your teachers equipped to handle this shift in orientation?

The need for additional training varies teacher by teacher. I think a lot of the newer teachers coming into the system are ready and willing to embrace this new approach. Some will need professional development, and that is a good thing. It isn’t our intention to turn the system on its head and start a revolution - it is more of an “informed transformation”. We have a good system now, one of the best in the world in fact, so we want to move forward without throwing out the good that we’ve already got.

“The need for additional training varies teacher by teacher. I think a lot of the newer teachers coming into the system are ready and willing to embrace this new approach.” — Jeff Johnson

In terms of student assessment do you foresee any changes in your testing practices to accommodate this new orientation?

Curriculum and assessment are obviously inter-related, and both will have to evolve. We currently use standardized tests at four points in a student’s life. We do standardized testing at grades 3, 6 and 9. Then we have the Diploma Exams in Grade 12, which are essentially our entrance exams for post-secondary. Our plan is to focus on the lower grades first and introduce new tools to assess, eventually moving to other grades. 

What about class size and special learning needs?

Albertans told us clearly that all kids are special, and we need to make sure we support them all. So we are striving for a system that recognizes the differences in students and is able to challenge every child. It’s going to be different for every child, whether it’s learning difficulties, language barriers or gifted children - or anything else. In Alberta we want inclusiveness for the special needs kids and for the gifted kids. We’re in the process of changing our funding to reflect this too.

“Not every kid needs or wants a liberal arts degree. There are incredible occupations and success to be had in other channels.” — Jeff Johnson

How do you see blended-learning systems and other technology evolving in your school system by 2030?

Technology presents one of the biggest challenges and also one of the biggest areas of opportunity. With the finances that governments and public school systems have, it is impossible to keep the latest greatest technology in the classroom. The technology is just becoming outdated too fast. One of the things we seek to do in our system is ensure that the technology that kids use at home every day becomes part of their learning experience. We’ve got a lot of ‘bring your own device to school’ in terms of kids using their devices as part of their learning. At the core of it, this is not about using technology as a teaching tool, but more about using it as a tool to create knowledge.

What did Albertans tell you about teaching ethics in the classroom, i.e. to tie in with your ethical citizen goal?

There are a couple of points here. Albertans told us they did not want the government or teachers to have to become the parent. Ethics has got to initially come from the home and the family, and it’s different for every family. What we want to instill as part of building ethical citizens are things like honesty and respect. It means that in our schools you’re going to be honest. You’re going to work hard. You’re going to value diversity and respect other people’s differences. The expectation is that the school system will teach these things because they represent what is important as a citizen.

“People who have honed their artistic skills are more observant, and are better able to find problems and find creative solutions.” — Jeff Johnson

What roles will the arts play in your education system reforms?

You cannot give students 21st century skills such as critical and creative thinking without the arts. If we want kids to be able to think outside the box, if we want kids to be able to innovate, we need to expose them to art and artists. 

Exposure to the arts fulfills several needs. It obviously helps ensure we maintain our culture and create new artists. But it doesn’t end there. People who have honed their artistic skills are more observant, and are better able to find problems and find creative solutions. So incorporating the arts is also about making sure we have future business people, scientists, doctors and engineers too. 

What are your views on higher education choices? Do all students need to go on to a liberal arts education? What about vocational colleges?

Post-secondary is about more than just university. Our post-secondary system in Alberta includes lots of choices for young people, including great universities, colleges and technical institutes. All are good options, and we need to make sure kids see value in all of them.

After all, we know that only about 17 per cent of our kids graduating go to traditional university. Many of the rest are pursuing colleges and technical institutes because that training offers access to very well paid, highly gratifying occupations. 

Not every kid needs or wants a liberal arts degree. There are incredible occupations and success to be had in other channels, and I think we need to get better at offering different options earlier.

               Jeff Johnson and C. M. Rubin

Photos courtesy of Alberta Education

In The Global Search for Education, join me and globally renowned thought leaders including Sir Michael Barber (UK), Dr. Michael Block (U.S.), Dr. Leon Botstein (U.S.), Professor Clay Christensen (U.S.), Dr. Linda Darling-Hammond (U.S.), Dr. Madhav Chavan (India), Professor Michael Fullan (Canada), Professor Howard Gardner (U.S.), Professor Andy Hargreaves (U.S.), Professor Yvonne Hellman (The Netherlands), Professor Kristin Helstad (Norway), Jean Hendrickson (U.S.), Professor Rose Hipkins (New Zealand), Professor Cornelia Hoogland (Canada), Mme. Chantal Kaufmann (Belgium), Dr. Eija Kauppinen (Finland), State Secretary Tapio Kosunen (Finland), Professor Dominique Lafontaine (Belgium), Professor Hugh Lauder (UK), Professor Ben Levin (Canada), Lord Ken Macdonald (UK), Professor Barry McGaw (Australia), Shiv Nadar (India), Professor R. Natarajan (India), Dr. Pak Tee Ng (Singapore), Dr. Denise Pope (US), Sridhar Rajagopalan (India), Dr. Diane Ravitch (U.S.), Richard Wilson Riley (U.S.), Sir Ken Robinson (UK), Professor Pasi Sahlberg (Finland), Andreas Schleicher (PISA, OECD), Dr. Anthony Seldon (UK), Dr. David Shaffer (U.S.), Dr. Kirsten Sivesind (Norway), Chancellor Stephen Spahn (U.S.), Yves Theze (Lycee Francais U.S.), Professor Charles Ungerleider (Canada), Professor Tony Wagner (U.S.), Sir David Watson (UK), Professor Dylan Wiliam (UK), Dr. Mark Wormald (UK), Professor Theo Wubbels (The Netherlands), Professor Michael Young (UK), and Professor Minxuan Zhang (China) as they explore the big picture education questions that all nations face today.

The Global Search for Education Community Page

C. M. Rubin is the author of two widely read online series for which she received a 2011 Upton Sinclair award, “The Global Search for Education” and “How Will We Read?” She is also the author of three bestselling books, including The Real Alice in Wonderland.

Follow C. M. Rubin on Twitter: www.twitter.com/@cmrubinworld

“The iPad has enabled greater access for both the education consumer and the creator.” — Tony Wagner

Education Technology

By C. M. Rubin with Harry Rubin and Michael Freeborn

EdTechTeacher will host the first national iPads in education summit, bringing together educators, researchers, tech directors, principals, school leaders and industry partners to identify best practices for integrating iPads into education. The conference will be held from November 6th to 8th at The Joseph B. Martin Conference Center, Harvard Medical School in Boston.

Schools and districts nationwide continue to invest in mobile technologies. The EdTechTeacher iPad Summit hopes to provide educators in this country and overseas with a forum to discuss how to leverage these devices in order to further empower teachers and students as creators of their own learning. “While there are some technical sessions,” explains the EdTechTeacher team, “the focus is on creating effective pedagogy, enriching curriculum, and leveraging the device in order to support students and teachers as innovators.”

“Knowledge is rapidly becoming a commodity and is increasingly democratized and globalized.”— Tony Wagner

The keynote speaker at the conference is Tony Wagner, Innovation Education Fellow at the Technology & Entrepreneurship Center at Harvard. Wagner, an advocate for the need to better prepare students for 21st-century careers and citizenship, collaborated with noted filmmaker Robert Compton to create the 60 minute documentary, The Finnish Phenomenon: Inside The World’s Most Surprising School System. Tony’s latest book, Creating Innovators: The Making of Young People Who Will Change the World (Simon & Schuster), provides a powerful rationale for developing an innovation-driven economy. He explores what parents, teachers, and employers must do to develop the capacities of young people to become innovators. What role can the iPad play in their education? What additional professional development for teachers is needed? What examples of best technology practices can we learn from around the world? Tony agreed to discuss these subjects with me.

“Students will need to learn to work in teams, understand and solve problems using multiple disciplines, persevere, take risks, and learn from mistakes.” — Tony Wagner

How has the iPad made learning in education more innovative, and how can educators use the iPad to achieve significant innovation in teaching and learning?

First, the iPad has made using most computer-based learning applications far more accessible and intuitive. You no longer need to take students to a special room full of computers for that occasional experience; you don’t need to pull a laptop cart around the school. And students don’t need hours of training to learn how to use the device or its applications. Assuming a decent broadband connection, most computer related work - researching, writing, sharing - can happen at any time and for every student, with little or no advance preparation. Secondly, the comparative ease of creating and distributing an iPad app, versus writing a program for a computer, has given rise to a dramatic increase in the number of education-related applications being created and disseminated. In short, the iPad has enabled greater access for both the education consumer and the creator.

“We need assessments of the skills that matter most - like the online test called the College and Work Readiness Assessment, which measures problem-solving, reasoning, and writing skills.” — Tony Wagner

Is the missing link in education technology trained teachers?

Having teachers who are comfortable with the technology and who know how to apply it in the classroom is critical, but that problem will be mostly solved by time. As older teachers retire in growing numbers in the coming years, and many young people who are digital natives come into teaching, I think we will see a much more rapid adoption.

But the real question is: what will this technology will be used for? I toured a school district recently that had, with corporate help, put web-connected white boards and student clickers into every classroom at huge expense. But, in classroom after classroom, what I saw was all of this technology being used for drilling and test prep. Instead of having work sheets on their desks, students had clickers that enabled them to “vote” for the right answer on the practice test. More and better teacher preparation won’t solve this problem. We need assessments of the skills that matter most - like the online test called the College and Work Readiness Assessment, which measures problem-solving, reasoning, and writing skills - to encourage more powerful teaching and learning, both with and without the new technologies.

“As older teachers retire in growing numbers in the coming years, and many young people who are digital natives come into teaching, I think we will see a much more rapid adoption.” — Tony Wagner

Can you share a couple of examples of good teaching/technology practice that you’ve seen in top education systems around the world, for instance, in Finland?

In Finland, what I saw was much less teacher-centric uses of technologies - I don’t recall seeing a single white board, for example - and much more student-centric technology applications. I saw students using Moodle (the e-learning platform) to share and discuss work. In a marketing class, I saw students discussing how various social networking applications were being used to market products and services. Here in the US, I’ve seen some schools like High Tech High require all students to have digital portfolios that show evidence of progressive mastery of the skills that matter most. I’ve seen virtual dissections in biology classes that teach far more than having to actually cut up a frog. And I’m excited about new software being developed that will enable students to better understand disruptions of complex ecosystems through simulation. Finally, the US Army has developed a wide variety of gaming applications to teach strategy.

“Developing the skills, habits of mind, and dispositions of an innovator, in my view, requires effective coaching - that is what I think all teachers must strive to become.” — Tony Wagner

Online education continues to be an ever larger force in how students learn - how far can it go to changing education as we know it?

Knowledge is rapidly becoming a commodity and is increasingly democratized and globalized. You no longer need to be in a classroom to acquire the knowledge you want or need. But in my view, knowledge is only one of the three pillars needed for life-long learning, work, and citizenship in the 21st century. In addition to knowledge, students also need so-called 21c skills, such as those I’ve described in The Global Achievement Gap. Finally, students need the motivations and dispositions that will enable them to innovate - to solve problems creatively - in whatever they do, which I’ve written about most recently in Creating Innovators. They will need to learn to work in teams, understand and solve problems using multiple disciplines, persevere, take risks, and learn from mistakes. They will need to be intrinsically motivated to acquire new knowledge and skills throughout their lives. Developing the skills, habits of mind, and dispositions of an innovator, in my view, requires effective coaching - that is what I think all teachers must strive to become.

For more information:
Creating Innovators 
EdTechTeacher iPad Summit

              Tony Wagner and C. M. Rubin

Photos courtesy of EdTechTeacher and Tony Wagner.

In The Global Search for Education, join me and globally renowned thought leaders including Sir Michael Barber (UK), Dr. Michael Block (U.S.), Dr. Leon Botstein (U.S.), Professor Clay Christensen (U.S.), Dr. Linda Darling-Hammond (U.S.), Dr. Madhav Chavan (India), Professor Michael Fullan (Canada), Professor Howard Gardner (U.S.), Professor Andy Hargreaves (U.S.), Professor Yvonne Hellman (The Netherlands), Professor Kristin Helstad (Norway), Jean Hendrickson (U.S.), Professor Rose Hipkins (New Zealand), Professor Cornelia Hoogland (Canada), Mme. Chantal Kaufmann (Belgium), Dr. Eija Kauppinen (Finland), State Secretary Tapio Kosunen (Finland), Professor Dominique Lafontaine (Belgium), Professor Hugh Lauder (UK), Professor Ben Levin (Canada), Lord Ken Macdonald (UK), Professor Barry McGaw (Australia), Shiv Nadar (India), Professor R. Natarajan (India), Dr. Pak Tee Ng (Singapore), Dr. Denise Pope (US), Sridhar Rajagopalan (India), Dr. Diane Ravitch (U.S.), Richard Wilson Riley (U.S.), Sir Ken Robinson (UK), Professor Pasi Sahlberg (Finland), Andreas Schleicher (PISA, OECD), Dr. Anthony Seldon (UK), Dr. David Shaffer (U.S.), Dr. Kirsten Sivesind (Norway), Chancellor Stephen Spahn (U.S.), Yves Theze (Lycee Francais U.S.), Professor Charles Ungerleider (Canada), Professor Tony Wagner (U.S.), Sir David Watson (UK), Professor Dylan Wiliam (UK), Dr. Mark Wormald (UK), Professor Theo Wubbels (The Netherlands), Professor Michael Young (UK), and Professor Minxuan Zhang (China) as they explore the big picture education questions that all nations face today. 
The Global Search for Education Community Page

C. M. Rubin is the author of two widely read online series for which she received a 2011 Upton Sinclair award, “The Global Search for Education” and “How Will We Read?” She is also the author of three bestselling books, including The Real Alice in Wonderland.

Follow C. M. Rubin on Twitter: www.twitter.com/@cmrubinworld

“Investing in high-quality teaching is the centerpiece of any successful educational system.”— Linda Darling-Hammond

The Education Debate 2012 — Linda Darling-Hammond

By C. M. Rubin with Harry Rubin and Michael Freeborn

More than 8 in 10 Americans say education is an issue that is extremely or very important to them, according to an Associated Press-GfK poll earlier this year. Only the economy ranked higher. While the primary responsibility for education lies with state and local governments, the federal government awards billions of dollars in education aid. During the past four weeks in the Global Search for Education — The Education Debate 2012, Howard Gardner, Richard Riley, Diane Ravitch and Andy Hargreaves have shared their perspectives on the issues the next President will face. Today it is my honor to introduce the fifth and last education luminary in our Education Debate 2012 series, Linda Darling-Hammond.

Linda Darling-Hammond is Charles E. Ducommun Professor of Education at Stanford University where she launched the Stanford Center for Opportunity Policy in Education and the School Redesign Network and served as faculty sponsor for the Stanford Teacher Education Program. She is a former president of the American Educational Research Association and member of the National Academy of Education. In 2006, Darling-Hammond was named one of the nation’s 10 most influential people affecting educational policy over the last decade. In 2008-09, she headed President Barack Obama’s education policy transition team. President Obama owns a copy of her best-selling book, The Flat World and Education: How America’s Commitment to Equity Will Determine our Future.

What should the role of federal government be in K- 12 education? How much more funding should be given to education reform and in what major areas should it be spent?

The role of the federal government should be to first, protect civil rights and promote equity in access to education; second, collect data and report on the condition of education; third, develop and disseminate knowledge about learning, effective teaching and schooling; and fourth, plan for and support a high-quality education workforce.

The federal role should not be to try to run schools from afar, to prescribe what programs or strategies schools should use, or to seek to administer a prescriptive accountability system like that mandated by No Child Left Behind.

First, there is a crucial role in ensuring that rights are respected — that students of all backgrounds have access to publicly provided education on equal terms and that they are treated fairly. Federal efforts to rectify the results of segregation, to require that sports and other learning activities for boys and girls are equitably offered, to ensure access to learning for students with disabilities, and to end discriminatory suspensions and expulsions are all part of this important mission. The Elementary and Secondary Education Act’s investments in education for low-income students, new English learners, and migrant students are also an essential part of this important agenda, as are provisions that these students should have equitable access to well-qualified teachers. Another critical aspect of providing equal educational opportunity is ensuring universal access to high-quality early learning opportunities as most high-achieving nations do.

Next, there is a long-established federal role in collecting data and statistics and supporting basic research. The work of the National Center for Education Statistics and the National Assessment of Educational Progress helps us track what schools are doing, who they are serving, and what their outcomes are. In addition, we need research to guide informed investments and improvement strategies. When it comes to brain science, language acquisition, or the impact of computer-assisted tutoring, there’s a crucial role for high-quality federal research to inform the efforts of everyone from teachers to school boards and state agencies. Policymakers and school practitioners need knowledge about teaching, student learning, curriculum, assessment, professional learning, school design, and change processes in order to make good decisions that support success without the great waste caused by trial-and-error, stop-and-start decision-making, or ideological diversions that undermine progress.

Finally, as it does in medicine, the federal government should support the development of a well-trained and equitably distributed educator workforce, by a) underwriting the full costs of high-quality preparation for those willing to go into shortage fields and high-need locations; b) supporting professional development schools partnered with universities, like teaching hospitals, that allow teachers to learn state-of-the-art practice under the wing of expert mentors; and c) investing in programs that meet critical needs, such as residency training programs in low-income urban and rural communities and the expansion of special education programs to address acute shortages and improve the field’s ability to meet student needs.

What would be your position on improving the teaching profession, including recruitment, teacher training, compensation, and assignment to low-income schools?

Investing in high-quality teaching is the centerpiece of any successful educational system. Intelligent societies understand that teaching is the profession on which all other professions depend. Federal and state initiatives are needed to raise and equalize teacher salaries so that they are competitive with other professions requiring a college degree; improve teacher and administrator preparation by strengthening accreditation; raise standards by licensing entrants based on both academic ability and performance assessments that evaluate teaching skill in the classroom; ensure expert mentoring in the first years on the job; and support ongoing learning and opportunities for sharing expertise. We also need to attract expert veteran teachers to low-income schools by improving compensation and working conditions in those schools and by allowing great teachers and principals to redesign the schools so that they support powerful learning for students and adults. Where this has happened, teacher turnover and student failure have been replaced with successful teaching and learning.

“For school choice to work well for all children, states and districts must support equitably funded schools, all of which are worth choosing.” — Linda Darling-Hammond

What would be your position on school choice, including charter schools and their expansion, private schools, vouchers, and investment in inadequately staffed and facilitated low-income schools?

Public school choice, well-managed, can serve students and families by offering options that address students needs and interests and, often, by supporting smaller, more personalized school environments. For school choice to work well for all children, states and districts must support equitably funded schools, all of which are worth choosing, and make sure that all students have full access to high-quality choices — including students with disabilities, new English learners, and students from families who may struggle with poverty, homelessness, and other challenging circumstances. Districts like Cambridge, Massachusetts and New York City have shown that it is possible to manage choice plans that are designed to enhance racial and economic integration and enable full access to education in schools that offer different thematic approaches. Where schools are failing, districts should evaluate what they need and invest in their improvement. Nonprofit charters that meet the access, accountability and quality criteria required of public schools can play a productive role in such a system. This requires that states and districts manage choice to prevent the segregation, uneven access, and inequitable outcomes that have sometimes occurred. In my view, public funds should not be used for vouchers that send public money to privately managed schools that do not offer these protections and that are not publicly accountable.

What would be your strategy to address the domestic and international achievement gaps, including your position on early childhood education, standardized testing, on-line modular education, and teacher/principal accountability?

If we want to achieve at the levels of the highest achieving countries, such as Finland, Singapore, and South Korea, we need to pursue similar strategies: first, reduce childhood poverty, ensuring that children are healthy, housed, fed, and supported with high-quality early learning opportunities; second, fund schools equitably; third, prepare teachers and administrators uniformly well in universities that have committed to a model of rigorous content integrated with clinical preparation; fourth, focus education on goals emphasizing 21st century skills that build and apply knowledge through inquiry, problem-solving, collaboration, communication, and the ability to learn to learn; and fifth, transform assessments so that they evaluate these skills, offer useful feedback, and are used to inform educational improvement rather than to punish students, schools, and teachers. Professional accountability in such a system calls on educators to be well-prepared and committed to “doing the right thing” to support student learning, rather than merely following bureaucratic rules in order to “do things right.”

What would be your position on curriculum reform, including the role of the arts, the treatment of ethics, and the adoption of blended online learning?

Our children need and deserve a comprehensive curriculum that includes, in addition to mathematics and English, the arts, music, history, science, physical fitness and multiple languages, beginning in elementary school. We have come to treat as frills many of the areas of study like music, arts, and world languages, that are in fact central to developing children’s cognitive capacity and overall intelligence. Furthermore, social-emotional learning and the development of social responsibility are critical to the survival and success of both individuals and of entire societies. We need to recognize that educating the whole child is essential to the human race. In this pursuit, technology has a role, but it should be seen as a tool for supporting inquiry into the world around us, rather than a mechanism for delivering electronic workbooks that limit, rather than supporting, serious learning.

What would be your position on how to make college affordable for more qualified low-income students?

In 1975, when black, white and Latino students were enrolled in college at equal rates, for the first and only time in our country, federal financial aid played a major role. At that time, Pell grants covered nearly all the costs of public university tuition. Now they cover less than half the costs in many public universities. President Obama’s commitment to increasing these grants and other federal aid opportunities have begun to make a difference, but there is still a long way to go until those who have earned admission to college can afford to go. Lack of financial aid is a major reason for the slippage in US college attendance in relation to other European and Asian nations that often fully fund the cost of college for all students who are admitted. US college participation, once 1st in the world, is now 17th and falling each year. We need to increase federal financial aid until it covers the costs for qualified low-income students to attend college, recognizing that economic growth is increasingly tied to education levels. In addition, we need to protect the investment in our great public university system by reclaiming much of the funding that has been deflected from higher education to the exploding prison costs that now exceed public higher education investments in a number of our states.

       Linda Darling-Hammond and C. M. Rubin

Photos courtesy of Stanford University and the Stanford Center for Opportunity Policy in Education.

In The Global Search for Education, join me and globally renowned thought leaders including Sir Michael Barber (UK), Dr. Michael Block (U.S.), Dr. Leon Botstein (U.S.), Professor Clay Christensen (U.S.), Dr. Linda Darling-Hammond (U.S.), Dr. Madhav Chavan (India), Professor Michael Fullan (Canada), Professor Howard Gardner (U.S.), Professor Andy Hargreaves (U.S.), Professor Yvonne Hellman (The Netherlands), Professor Kristin Helstad (Norway), Jean Hendrickson (U.S.), Professor Rose Hipkins (New Zealand), Professor Cornelia Hoogland (Canada), Mme. Chantal Kaufmann (Belgium), Dr. Eija Kauppinen (Finland), State Secretary Tapio Kosunen (Finland), Professor Dominique Lafontaine (Belgium), Professor Hugh Lauder (UK), Professor Ben Levin (Canada), Lord Ken Macdonald (UK), Professor Barry McGaw (Australia), Shiv Nadar (India), Professor R. Natarajan (India), Dr. Pak Tee Ng (Singapore), Dr. Denise Pope (US), Sridhar Rajagopalan (India), Dr. Diane Ravitch (U.S.), Richard Wilson Riley (U.S.), Sir Ken Robinson (UK), Professor Pasi Sahlberg (Finland), Andreas Schleicher (PISA, OECD), Dr. Anthony Seldon (UK), Dr. David Shaffer (U.S.), Dr. Kirsten Sivesind (Norway), Chancellor Stephen Spahn (U.S.), Yves Theze (Lycee Francais U.S.), Professor Charles Ungerleider (Canada), Professor Tony Wagner (U.S.), Sir David Watson (UK), Professor Dylan Wiliam (UK), Dr. Mark Wormald (UK), Professor Theo Wubbels (The Netherlands), Professor Michael Young (UK), and Professor Minxuan Zhang (China) as they explore the big picture education questions that all nations face today. 

The Global Search for Education Community Page

C. M. Rubin is the author of two widely read online series for which she received a 2011 Upton Sinclair award, “The Global Search for Education” and “How Will We Read?” She is also the author of three bestselling books, including The Real Alice in Wonderland.

Follow C. M. Rubin on Twitter: www.twitter.com/@cmrubinworld

“A nation’s moral economy invests in education for everyone’s good wherever it can, and makes prudent economies that do not harm the quality of teaching and learning whenever it must.” — Andy Hargreaves

The Education Debate 2012 — Andy Hargreaves

By C. M. Rubin with Harry Rubin and Michael Freeborn

In this presidential election, I believe it is critical to vote for the candidate who has the most impactful 21st century vision for education because addressing our issues now is essential for the U.S. to maintain its prosperity and global leadership in the next decades. Matters such as economic strength, innovation, employability, reducing poverty, progress toward racial and gender equality, reducing crime, and building global citizenship are all related to the effectiveness of our education system. Education should not be the privilege of a select few, but the basic civil right of every American child. We must act conclusively to narrow our domestic achievement gap and to narrow our international achievement gap so that our students will be able to compete globally in the next decade. We must invest now in the necessary changes to our education system in order to meet the challenges America will face tomorrow.

Today in The Education Debate 2012, I continue my conversations with distinguished U. S. education leaders about the major issues facing this country by talking with Andy Hargreaves. Hargreaves’ book, The Global Fourth Way: The Quest for Educational Excellence (Corwin Press 2012), co-authored with Dennis Shirley, reveals the key qualities behind the high performance of some of the world’s top educational systems: Singapore, Finland and Canada. His most recent book,Professional Capital: Transforming Teaching in Every School (Teacher’s College Press 2012), co-authored with international reform expert Michael Fullan, sets out a clear vision as to how to achieve high return from all teachers and teaching. Andy Hargreaves is the Thomas More Brennan Chair in Education at Boston College. He studies and advises on high performance in schools and educational systems around the world.

If you were Education Secretary of the United States, what would be your position on the key education issues of our times?

I would follow the principles of best business practice, and work with my team to benchmark the United States against the highest performing systems in the world such as Finland, Canada and Singapore. With open eyes, and no excuses, this would prompt us to determine what we can learn from other high performers that could benefit our own people.

“To increase the human capital of our students, we must invest in the professional capital of our teachers.” — Andy Hargreaves

What should the role of federal government be in K- 12 education? How much more funding should be given to education reform and in what major areas should it be spent?

This nation needs a positive and inspiring educational vision. All of America’s educational system, not just its world-class universities, must be among the best in the world. On the influential international PISA tests of student achievement at age 15, however, the U.S. falls somewhere between 17th and 31st out of 65 countries, depending on the subject being tested. On United Nations measures of child well-being, the U.S. ranks next to last.

All high performing countries make strong investments in their public systems. Their private systems are small or negligible. Charter schools are not a serious option. A nation’s moral economy invests in education for everyone’s good wherever it can, and makes prudent economies that do not harm the quality of teaching and learning whenever it must.

How can this be achieved in America? First, the U.S. can move core funding of public schools away from property taxes, and the inequities they create between districts, towards other forms of taxation. Second, the U.S. can invest in improving the quality of teaching and learning everywhere so that all teachers are able to deal with a wide range of abilities and special educational needs in their own classes with support where necessary. Third, the U.S. can institute a more prudent and cost-effective system of educational testing on the lines described below.

The job of an effective federal system is to inspire the profession and the public, to steer and support schools in a desired direction, to build better partnerships with and interactions among teacher unions, state departments and school districts, and to monitor and make transparent how the system is progressing. It is not to micromanage everything from Washington. Canada has no federal ministry of education. Finland’s National Board of Education consists of less than 20 officials. The district is where all the work gets done. School districts are not only the cornerstones of high performing systems; they are also a foundation of American public democracy. This is not the time to put our school districts up for auction. Now is the time to galvanize them into action.

“The U.S. educational system has been colonizing the sinking sands of centralization and standardization that other high performing systems have been leaving behind.” — Andy Hargreaves

What would be your position on improving the teaching profession, including recruitment, teacher training, compensation, and assignment to low income schools?

To increase the human capital of our students, we must invest in the professional capital of our teachers. Top performing countries draw their teachers from the top third of the graduation range, they train them in rigorous university preparation programs where they undertake deep research into their practice, and they have to undergo extensive practice-based experience in schools. We must align teacher preparation practice with that of the highest performing countries. America’s teachers need to be the best. Finns believe that teaching is as difficult as medicine or law, and it is therefore just as hard to enter. Singaporeans say teaching is as challenging as engineering, so they pay teachers a starting salary that is comparable to engineers. America must communicate the same messages about teaching and also back them up.

As Education Secretary, I would ask Teach for America to take on its biggest challenge yet: to lead a national effort in partnership with teachers’ professional associations to improve teacher retention. Fifty percent of public school teachers currently leave teaching within 5 years. In urban schools, they exit within 3. Most of our teachers need to stay in the job until they hit their peak - well beyond 5 years. The best way to do this is by increasing the quality of leadership, support and professional interaction in schools, and by reducing the micromanagement that undermines teachers’ capacity to exercise their judgments as true professionals.

A big part of transforming the teaching profession involves teacher unions. In Canada’s highest performing province — Alberta — over 50 percent of the revenues of the Alberta Teacher’s Association are allocated to professional development. This contrasts with a figure of under 5 percent in most U.S. teachers’ associations. When the California Teachers’ Association took the responsibility to turn around hundreds of the state’s lower performing schools, the result of becoming more obviously engaged with the core work of teaching and learning was a surge in activism among younger members. Our quest should not be to remove or replace teacher unions, but to reform and renew them.

What would be your position on school choice, including charter schools and their expansion, private schools, vouchers, and investment in inadequately staffed and facilitated low income schools?

Parents have a right to choice in education. Charter schools are warranted where they offer something that the public system does not provide locally, where the local public system is inadequate, or where the existing system shows little inclination to innovate and would benefit from an outside push. However, in general, charter schools do not outperform other public schools, they often rob local schools of teacher and student capacity, and most charter schools turn out to be more traditional than the public schools they replaced.

If all our schools were good, as they are in Finland, most parents would choose their local district school. We can do better at turning around low performing schools. High performing systems improve their schools not by having intervention teams descend in from a great height, but by building collective responsibility where strong schools assist weaker neighbors, where resources are disbursed from the district or the state department to schools to make this assistance possible, and where these collaborative efforts run across district boundaries. Charter schools can and should be part of this culture of collective responsibility. Indeed, it can be written into their charters.

“The U.S. can move core funding of public schools away from property taxes, and the inequities they create between districts, towards other forms of taxation.” — Andy Hargreaves

What would be your strategy to address the domestic and international achievement gaps, including your position on early childhood education, standardized testing, on-line modular education, and teacher/principal accountability?

Most U.S. reforms do the opposite of high performing competitors. These countries understand there is no substitute for strong, high quality teachers who work together to develop good teaching and who exercise shared responsibility for all students in their schools. As the U.S. increases standardized testing from Grade 3 up to Grade 8, Canadians only test Grades 3 and 6 at most, Singapore has just one high-stakes test in Grade 6, and Finland tests samples of students rather than taking a census of all of them. U.S. testing must become more prudent if we are to see improvements in the quality of teaching that avoid teaching to the test, concentrating on students near the cut scores, narrowing the curriculum, eliminating the arts, and rotating teachers and principals in and out of already unstable schools in a constant panic to lift the scores.

Accountability is the remainder that is left once responsibility has been subtracted. But we have put accountability first and created high threat environments that have distorted teaching and learning in a drive to lift up the scores. This can change if we test samples rather than take a census, if we test fewer grades less often, and if teachers become collectively responsible for all students’ success. In the push to narrow achievement gaps, we have inadvertently widened the learning gaps between standardized teaching in highly pressured urban schools and more innovative learning experiences in the affluent suburbs. I would set about narrowing this learning gap.

What would be your position on curriculum reform, including the role of the arts, the treatment of ethics, and the adoption of blended online learning?

China is promoting more school-designed curriculum and innovation. Finland supports all young people to study creative arts until the end of high school. Singapore emphasizes character education because in Singapore, the first priority is to your nation, the second is to your community, and the third is to yourself. Like Singapore’s national education initiative, we need to Teach Less and Learn More: to leave more curriculum time for high quality professionals to exercise the professional flexibility that engages students’ diverse interests and needs in depth. Unfortunately, the U.S. educational system has been colonizing the sinking sands of centralization and standardization that other high performing systems have been leaving behind. If we want more innovative thinking among our students, our teachers must have the opportunity to practice innovative teaching themselves.

Technology is part of the transformation in teaching, but there is no consistent evidence to suggest that online learning options that bypass the teacher are the answer. Like overhead projectors or chalk, digital technologies in the hands of good teachers can be a great asset. In the hands of poor teachers or no teachers, these technologies are just another expensive gimmick.

            Andy Hargreaves and C. M. Rubin

Photos courtesy of Boston College and Andy Hargreaves.

In The Global Search for Education, join me and globally renowned thought leaders including Sir Michael Barber (UK), Dr. Michael Block (U.S.), Dr. Leon Botstein (U.S.), Professor Clay Christensen (U.S.), Dr. Linda Darling-Hammond (U.S.), Dr. Madhav Chavan (India), Professor Michael Fullan (Canada), Professor Howard Gardner (U.S.), Professor Andy Hargreaves (U.S.), Professor Yvonne Hellman (The Netherlands), Professor Kristin Helstad (Norway), Jean Hendrickson (U.S.), Professor Rose Hipkins (New Zealand), Professor Cornelia Hoogland (Canada), Mme. Chantal Kaufmann (Belgium), Dr. Eija Kauppinen (Finland), State Secretary Tapio Kosunen (Finland), Professor Dominique Lafontaine (Belgium), Professor Hugh Lauder (UK), Professor Ben Levin (Canada), Lord Ken Macdonald (UK), Professor Barry McGaw (Australia), Shiv Nadar (India), Professor R. Natarajan (India), Dr. Pak Tee Ng (Singapore), Dr. Denise Pope (US), Sridhar Rajagopalan (India), Dr. Diane Ravitch (U.S.), Richard Wilson Riley (U.S.), Sir Ken Robinson (UK), Professor Pasi Sahlberg (Finland), Andreas Schleicher (PISA, OECD), Dr. Anthony Seldon (UK), Dr. David Shaffer (U.S.), Dr. Kirsten Sivesind (Norway), Chancellor Stephen Spahn (U.S.), Yves Theze (Lycee Francais U.S.), Professor Charles Ungerleider (Canada), Professor Tony Wagner (U.S.), Sir David Watson (UK), Professor Dylan Wiliam (UK), Dr. Mark Wormald (UK), Professor Theo Wubbels (The Netherlands), Professor Michael Young (UK), and Professor Minxuan Zhang (China) as they explore the big picture education questions that all nations face today. 

The Global Search for Education Community Page

C. M. Rubin is the author of two widely read online series for which she received a 2011 Upton Sinclair award, “The Global Search for Education” and “How Will We Read?” She is also the author of three bestselling books, including The Real Alice in Wonderland.

Follow C. M. Rubin on Twitter: www.twitter.com/@cmrubinworld

“I believe that it is a public duty to provide a good public school with adequate resources and a rich curriculum in every neighborhood.” — Diane Ravitch

The Education Debate 2012 — Diane Ravitch

By C. M. Rubin with Harry Rubin and Michael Freeborn

Making education a focus during the 2012 election debates is our ongoing goal in The Global Search for Education series. Today I am honored to share the perspectives of Diane Ravitch as we continue the discussion of the issues that we believe will be a priority for the next President of the United States.

Diane Ravitch is Research Professor of Education at New York University and a distinguished historian of American education. She is a senior fellow at the Brookings Institution in Washington D.C. She served as Assistant Secretary of Education for Research and Improvement in the administration of President George H.W. Bush and was appointed to two terms on the National Assessment Governing Board by the Clinton administration. Ravitch is the author or editor of over 20 books on education, including the national bestseller, The Death and Life of the Great American School System: How Testing and Choice Are Undermining Education (Basic Books).

“It is NOT the role of the Department of Education to foist its own unproven preferences — like evaluating teachers by student test scores or charter schools or merit pay — on states and districts.”— Diane Ravitch

What should the role of federal government be in K- 12 education? How much more funding should be given to education reform and in what major areas should it be spent?

The federal government has certain roles that have been consistent since the passage of the Elementary and Secondary Education Act in 1965:

First, to equalize spending for the neediest districts, especially those that enroll children who are poor.

Second, to protect the civil rights of children.

Third, to provide accurate and timely information about the condition and progress of education, including support for the no-stakes National Assessment of Educational Progress.

Fourth, to fund the education of children with disabilities.

Fifth, to aid low-income students who enroll in college.

The basic mission of the U.S. Department of Education is to support equality of educational opportunity.

It is not the role of the Department of Education to foist its own unproven preferences — like evaluating teachers by student test scores or charter schools or merit pay — on states and districts.

“I would like to see higher standards for entry into schools of education. I would wish that every teacher has a four-year degree in a content area, and a fifth year of study of education.” — Diane Ravitch

What would be your position on improving the teaching profession, including recruitment, teacher training, compensation, and assignment to low-income schools?

I would like to see higher standards for entry into schools of education. I would wish that every teacher has a four-year degree in a content area, so they are knowledgeable in the subjects they will teach, and a fifth year of study of education, including cognitive science, adolescent psychology, assessment, cultural diversity, the sociology of the family and the community, and the history, politics, and economics of education. No one should be allowed to teach who does not have a year of study that includes practice teaching and research. I would also disallow education degrees earned online. Teachers should be paid more for taking on additional responsibilities; they should not have their pay or evaluation tied to test scores of students.

Teaching should be a prestigious career. Those who enter teaching should be well-prepared and expect to make a career in education.

“The US lags far behind the rest of the world in establishing high-quality early childhood education.”
— Diane Ravitch

What would be your position on school choice, including charter schools and their expansion, private schools, vouchers, and investment in inadequately staffed and facilitated low-income schools?

I oppose school choice outside the public school system. I oppose private management of public schools. I oppose for-profit schools. I fear that in time we will see the re-emergence of a dual system of schools in our cities, with charters for the able and public schools serving the rejects from charter schools. I see district after district where charters drain funding and top students away from the public schools. It makes no sense. I oppose vouchers. I believe that it is a public duty to provide a good public school with adequate resources and a rich curriculum in every neighborhood. Every school should have the staff and resources it needs to provide a full curriculum, after-school activities and appropriate services for students.

What would be your strategy to address the domestic and international achievement gaps, including your position on early childhood education, standardized testing, on-line modular education, and teacher/principal accountability?

I think we should stress early childhood education. The US lags far behind the rest of the world in establishing high-quality early childhood education. I think we should minimize the use of standardized testing, use it only for diagnostic purposes, not for accountability, not for rewards or punishments or school closings. Standardized tests reflect gaps, they don’t close them. The online schools have very poor results and do nothing to improve achievement. The best way to improve achievement is to improve the standard of living of our poorest children while improving the curriculum at all schools and the professional supports for teachers. One important reform would be to make sure that every child has a regular medical check-up, that every school has access to a health clinic and/or a school nurse. In the schools that serve the neediest children, class sizes should be reduced to no more than 20.

“Every school should have a full and balanced curriculum, with a rich arts program, history, civics, geography, mathematics, the sciences, foreign languages, and literature.” — Diane Ravitch

What would be your position on curriculum reform, including the role of the arts, the treatment of ethics, and the adoption of blended online learning?

I believe that every school should have a full and balanced curriculum, with a rich arts program, history, civics, geography, mathematics, the sciences, foreign languages, and literature. Every school should have a library with a full range of resources, including computers and the Internet.

I would ban for-profit schooling.

What would be your position on how to make college affordable for more qualified low income students?

The federal government should increase subsidies for college for low-income and middle-income students. Education is a basic human right and it should not be denied because of inability to pay. Young people should not be buried in debt when they finish college. We can’t expect to increase college enrollment rates if young people cannot afford to go. I also think the government should be extremely vigilant in policing for-profit colleges, where the attrition rates are extremely high and young people drop out with heavy debt and no education.

             Diane Ravitch and C. M. Rubin

Photos courtesy of Jack Miller and Diane Ravitch

In The Global Search for Education, join me and globally renowned thought leaders including Sir Michael Barber (UK), Dr. Michael Block (US), Dr. Leon Botstein (US), Professor Clay Christensen (US), Dr. Linda Darling-Hammond (US), Dr. Madhav Chavan (India), Professor Michael Fullan (Canada), Professor Howard Gardner (US), Professor Andy Hargreaves (US), Professor Yvonne Hellman (The Netherlands), Professor Kristin Helstad (Norway), Jean Hendrickson (US), Professor Rose Hipkins (New Zealand), Professor Cornelia Hoogland (Canada), Mme. Chantal Kaufmann (Belgium), Dr. Eija Kauppinen (Finland), State Secretary Tapio Kosunen (Finland), Professor Dominique Lafontaine (Belgium), Professor Hugh Lauder (UK), Professor Ben Levin (Canada), Lord Ken Macdonald (UK), Professor Barry McGaw (Australia), Shiv Nadar (India), Professor R. Natarajan (India), Dr. Pak Tee Ng (Singapore), Dr. Denise Pope (US), Sridhar Rajagopalan (India), Dr. Diane Ravitch (US), Sir Ken Robinson (UK), Professor Pasi Sahlberg (Finland), Andreas Schleicher (PISA, OECD), Dr. Anthony Seldon (UK), Dr. David Shaffer (US), Dr. Kirsten Sivesind (Norway), Chancellor Stephen Spahn (US), Yves Theze (Lycee Francais US), Professor Charles Ungerleider (Canada), Professor Tony Wagner (US), Sir David Watson (UK), Professor Dylan Wiliam (UK), Dr. Mark Wormald (UK), Professor Theo Wubbels (The Netherlands), Professor Michael Young (UK), and Professor Minxuan Zhang (China) as they explore the big picture education questions that all nations face today. 

The Global Search for Education Community Page

C. M. Rubin is the author of two widely read online series for which she received a 2011 Upton Sinclair award, “The Global Search for Education” and “How Will We Read?” She is also the author of three bestselling books, including The Real Alice in Wonderland.

Follow C. M. Rubin on Twitter: www.twitter.com/@cmrubinworld

“The low-income schools that are struggling seem to get the teachers that are not the best. The states have to change that situation and put the priority on placing the top teachers in low-income schools.”— Dick Riley

The Education Debate - Richard Wilson Riley

C. M. Rubin with Harry Rubin and Michael Freeborn

The last presidential debate offered little in the way of focus on education and related policy. Today in The Global Search for Education series, I continue my conversations with education luminaries to discuss the issues that we believe will be a priority for the next President of the United States.

My imaginary Secretary of Education this week is former U.S. Secretary of Education and past Governor of South Carolina, Richard Wilson Riley. A lifelong advocate for high-quality education, many Americans (according to The Christian Science Monitor) regard Riley as “one of the great statesmen of education of the 20th century.” Serving for both of President Clinton’s terms, Riley helped to launch many historic initiatives to raise academic standards, improve instruction for the poor and disadvantaged, modernize schools, expand grant and loan programs for higher education, and improve teaching, among other significant advances.

Currently, Dick Riley speaks, provides leadership and serves in an advisory and collaborative capacity with many entities to promote education improvement in the United States and abroad.

What should the role of federal government be in K- 12 education? How much more funding should be given to education reform and in what major areas should it be spent?

The federal government should establish national priorities, such as helping disabled children (IDEA) and low-income children (Title 1). Those big national priorities that generally are funded by the federal government should continue to be part of the national policy.

The other part of national education policy should be about encouraging and challenging states to improve and to reform education through innovation. We should continue to call for challenging academic standards in core subjects, allowing public charter schools as part of choice, encouraging high teacher performance - those kinds of things are part of the President’s reform package. All of those measures should be put in place by the states. The states should be submitting plans for getting those things done. So that’s how I see the role of federal government policy.

Continuing to fund education during a time of economic recession is one of the main strengths of President Obama. In the middle of a recession that was not of his making, a recession that was handed to him when he took office as president, Obama made education a priority. He recognized that this is a knowledge-based economy, not just nationally, but globally. He recognized that we could not turn around an economy if our education system was failing. He took the initiative to prioritize education. I thought and still think that this was a brave and courageous thing to do. And, frankly, I think it has worked.

What would be your position on improving the teaching profession, including recruitment, teacher training, compensation, and assignment to low-income schools?

I have enormous respect for teachers. Not all of our teachers are high-quality teachers but certainly the greater percentages of them are. Further, they generally are committed to moving through all the areas of education reform, such as technology. So I have a very good feeling for teachers.

Countries that seem to rank highest in education right now, like Finland, have prioritized teacher recruitment. They get the very top students for the education profession. They do this by offering higher compensation and other benefits. It works. I think we need to do more in that regard, particularly in terms of finding ways to attract the brightest students to the profession of teaching.

I do not think teachers are being compensated as professionals, and they should be. When you pay teachers more, you can demand more. Also, I am a strong believer in the benefit of teachers working collaboratively with each other. I believe in high-quality teachers helping to improve those that are not. I do not believe in putting one teacher in the classroom and saying that’s it, you’re on your own. When teachers work in teams, students also will learn the importance and value of working in teams.

Right now we seem to send our best teachers to the best K-12 schools. The low-income schools that are struggling seem to get the teachers that are not the best. The states have to change that situation and put the priority on placing the top teachers in low-income schools. It would be a great help if we could move in that direction.

“I firmly oppose vouchers. Public schools are struggling for resources and I believe the idea of shifting a massive amount of money over into the private schools is a mistake.” — Dick Riley

What kinds of things could the states do to make this happen?

For instance, a school in a poor community could provide a residence for a young, high-quality teacher to live in that community. Other incentives could be provided to encourage better teachers to move into low-income school areas. And assistance could be provided for current teachers in low-income schools to gain National Board certification and other professional development to improve their teaching skills.

What would be your position on school choice, including charter schools and their expansion, private schools, vouchers, and investment in inadequately staffed and facilitated low-income schools?

I very much support public school charters. As you know, I was involved in the Clinton administration and we supported charter schools as an option for school boards to develop more public school choice and more school creativity. As with opening any new school, granting a charter does not automatically guarantee success; but generally it has proven to be a good option for students and families, as well as has spurred other creative ideas within the system.

I firmly oppose vouchers. Public schools are struggling for resources and I believe the idea of shifting a massive amount of money over into the private schools is a mistake. I support quality private schools. I support quality parochial schools. But I will continue to oppose strongly the use of public money for private or parochial school vouchers.

What would be your strategy to address the domestic and international achievement gaps, including your position on early childhood education, standardized testing, on-line modular education, and teacher/principal accountability?

Achievement gaps are a major issue, and we need to deal with them.

First of all, I believe we need to look at both domestic and international comparisons in terms of setting our standards and our strategies for improvement.

The only way you can close gaps in the long term is to invest more in early childhood education. All students improve as they move through the system. However, the gap becomes very difficult to close, or even narrow, when local communities don’t make pre-school a priority. Early childhood education involves a lot of things, including parental involvement and proper healthcare to ensure children are better developed by the time they get to kindergarten. We need to focus on this, especially in low-income areas. I very much support strengthening early childhood education.

With regard to standardized testing, that is very important. But we need multiple measures of assessment to determine a child’s (and school’s) academic status and growth. Formative tests that are given on a regular basis and provide timely feedback to teachers, students and their parents are particularly effective in determining what a child knows or doesn’t know and how that child’s instruction should be adjusted to gain continuous improvement.

Evaluating teachers and principals has always been difficult and it’s receiving a lot of discussion nowadays, as it should. I believe that student achievement, especially as far as improvement is concerned, is an important part of evaluating teachers. However, I do not believe that it should be the only method of assessment used. A thoughtful school principal will look at all the different factors that affect good teaching. He or she will develop a system within the school where teachers are collaborating and helping each other to do better, a system where students are learning from students. Observing a teacher’s work in the classroom (either sitting in or using videos) and assigning mentors to work with teachers on teaching methods are other ways that performance can improve.

Evaluating a teacher also depends a lot on who the students are. A teacher with very bright students in a well-to-do suburb is more likely to achieve more in the classroom than a teacher who has students from a very poor neighborhood where the parents (who possibly didn’t have a good education themselves) are struggling. It’s very hard to compare teachers in these situations. I am a great believer in looking at individual student improvement rather than how students are doing side by side. If the students are improving, my feeling is the teacher must be doing a pretty good job.

“I do not think teachers are being compensated as professionals, and they should be. When you pay teachers more, you can demand more.” — Dick Riley

What would be your position on curriculum reform, including the role of the arts, the treatment of ethics, and the adoption of blended online learning?

Technology is now clearly a part of our education system and will continue to change the way we provide education today and in the future. I personally like the blended learning ideas - that is, a blend of online and face-to-face interaction with students. Online learning allows us to reach out in many ways. In addition, it can be done quickly, from any location and at all times of the day. Blended learning will be an important part of education.

I strongly support music and the other arts in education. Enhancing the creative side of learning is extremely important, and studies have shown that music instruction has a beneficial effect on learning math and other core subjects. Learning to be creative, informed and well-rounded is important for our economy and it is important for our world.

Ethics is a very important part of growing up and learning. Parents have a strong role to play in that but so do schools and teachers. Positive role models are one of the best ways to illustrate strong ethics.

What would be your position on how to make college affordable for more qualified low-income students?

The cost of a college education is becoming a big national problem.

I am supportive of early college high schools. This idea of students finishing high school with one and in some cases two years of college behind them will save students money and time. The total cost of a four-year degree also can be reduced by spending the first two years at a community or technical college. This is good.

In President Obama’s plan, he encourages cost containment by colleges and universities. I think they all should be aware of this, paying attention to it and doing something about it. Pell grants, which the President has increased by more than 50%, are a tremendous benefit to low-income students. Also, significant cost savings to students, their families and all taxpayers have resulted from the federal Direct Lending program. With the community colleges and early college high schools programs, plus cost containment, Pell grants and Direct Lending, among others, we all should be able to work together to make college more affordable.

                 Dick Riley and C. M. Rubin

Photos courtesy of Riley Institute at Furman University and Nelson, Mullins, Riley & Scarborough L.L.P.

In The Global Search for Education, join me and globally renowned thought leaders including Sir Michael Barber (UK), Dr. Michael Block (US), Dr. Leon Botstein (US), Professor Clay Christensen (US), Dr. Linda Darling-Hammond (US), Dr. Madhav Chavan (India), Professor Michael Fullan (Canada), Professor Howard Gardner (US), Professor Andy Hargreaves (US), Professor Yvonne Hellman (The Netherlands), Professor Kristin Helstad (Norway), Jean Hendrickson (US), Professor Rose Hipkins (New Zealand), Professor Cornelia Hoogland (Canada), Mme. Chantal Kaufmann (Belgium), Dr. Eija Kauppinen (Finland), State Secretary Tapio Kosunen (Finland), Professor Dominique Lafontaine (Belgium), Professor Hugh Lauder (UK), Professor Ben Levin (Canada), Lord Ken Macdonald (UK), Professor Barry McGaw (Australia), Shiv Nadar (India), Professor R. Natarajan (India), Dr. Pak Tee Ng (Singapore), Dr. Denise Pope (US), Sridhar Rajagopalan (India), Dr. Diane Ravitch (US), Sir Ken Robinson (UK), Professor Pasi Sahlberg (Finland), Andreas Schleicher (PISA, OECD), Dr. Anthony Seldon (UK), Dr. David Shaffer (US), Dr. Kirsten Sivesind (Norway), Chancellor Stephen Spahn (US), Yves Theze (Lycee Francais US), Professor Charles Ungerleider (Canada), Professor Tony Wagner (US), Sir David Watson (UK), Professor Dylan Wiliam (UK), Dr. Mark Wormald (UK), Professor Theo Wubbels (The Netherlands), Professor Michael Young (UK), and Professor Minxuan Zhang (China) as they explore the big picture education questions that all nations face today. 

The Global Search for Education Community Page

C. M. Rubin is the author of two widely read online series for which she received a 2011 Upton Sinclair award, “The Global Search for Education” and “How Will We Read?” She is also the author of three bestselling books, including The Real Alice in Wonderland.

Follow C. M. Rubin on Twitter: www.twitter.com/@cmrubinworld

“The stories of Bernie Madoff, subprime mortgages and the cheating scandals at Harvard and Stuyvesant High School illustrate that cheating is viral and spreads harm beyond the carrier of the virus.” — Tricia Bertram Gallant

More on Cheating

By C. M. Rubin with Harry Rubin and Michael Freeborn

After reading Howard Gardner’s article, Harvard’s Cheating Scandal as a Play in Four Acts, and listening to Dr. Gardner and Dr. Tricia Bertram Gallant on 90.9 WBUR Radio Boston, I was curious to find out more about Dr. Tricia Bertram Gallant’s research on academic integrity. She agreed to answer some of the questions I originally posed in The Global Search for Education: On Cheating.

Tricia Bertram Gallant is the author of Academic Integrity in the Twenty-First Century: A Teaching and Learning Imperative, co-author of Cheating in School: What We Know and What We Can Do, and editor of Creating the Ethical Academy: A Systems Approach to Understanding Misconduct & Empowering Change in Higher Education. She is also Director of the Academic Integrity Office at the University of California, San Diego, and member of the International Center for Academic Integrity’s Advisory Council.

“We have clear evidence from around the country that the false idolization of test scores and using them as rewards results in student and teacher cheating.” — Tricia Bertram Gallant

What can be done to better address students compromising ethics as they deal with performance pressure?

It is complex because the problem is shaped by forces emanating from multiple levels of the system and there are things that we need to do at each level. However, I’ll offer two key suggestions here.

At the macro levels (society and the educational system), we need to remember the true end goals of education. Our rhetoric, structures and procedures impress that the end goals are high test scores, high grades, and 100% retention and graduation rates (think “No Child Left Behind” and “Race To The Top”). In reality, these “things” only hold power if they are honest symbols of learning, personal growth, character development and professional development. Unfortunately, the symbols have become the goals, and the structures that underlie them accentuate performance pressure and do nothing to discourage misconduct, let alone create healthy ethical environments.

At the micro levels (organization and individuals), we also need to create healthy ethical environments that support quality teaching and learning. Even then, students may continue to cheat because they are ill equipped to resolve the ethical dilemmas and situations in which they find themselves. For example, how do you decide between loyalty and truth, the interests of self and the interests of others, or the good of the many and the good of the few? We tell children not to “lie, cheat or steal” and this is a nice mantra but it falsely conveys a binary choice between good and bad. Many times, however, choosing to cheat or not cheat requires skills that are currently not taught in a systemic way.

“The internet has changed cheating from a competitive sport where students try to gain an unfair advantage over one another to a student cooperative in which they seek to help one another succeed.”— Tricia Bertram Gallant

Do our children really understand the difference between what is cheating and what is not?

In general, children understand the basic concept of cheating and can thus apply that concept to different situations. However, researchers like Hartshorne & May in the 1920s and others since then have demonstrated that cheating is situational and that people can readily justify the risks of cheating. We also know from psychologists like Kohlberg that people develop moral judgment over time, so a child cannot be expected to exercise the same ethical discretion as an adult. Complicating this is technology. In Academic Integrity in the Twenty-First Century, I talk about how technology has always changed the landscape of teaching and learning. The calculator caused great fears among math teachers. Now, the internet is changing the ways in which we view information and knowledge and the ways in which students engage in school. The internet, for example, has changed cheating from a competitive sport where students try to gain an unfair advantage over one another to a student cooperative in which they seek to help one another succeed (behind the back of the teacher, of course). Despite these changes, we are predominantly teaching and assessing learning as we did in the pre-internet era. To truly address the cheating problem, we must address our methods of teaching and assessing learning.

If students’ business, sports and political role models cheat and get away with it, can we expect students not to cheat?

Of course we can (and should) expect them not to cheat. What was that old saying my mother used to tell me? “Two wrongs don’t make a right.” But in order to discourage a wrong as a follow-up to a wrong, we have to counter models of cheating with models of ethics and integrity. We also need to leverage moments of ethical failures as learning opportunities. Instead of ignoring them, we can use them to teach students about professional integrity. Our children are not raised in a vacuum—if we have a generational problem of cheating, then we must look everywhere for the causes and the solutions.

“To truly address the cheating problem, we must address our methods of teaching and assessing learning.” — Tricia Bertram Gallant

If students’ teachers, parents and peers are cheating, can we expect students not to cheat?

Again, yes, we can and should help children develop the capacity to resist cheating even if everyone else around them is doing it. If we do not, then our society (which depends on trust and personal accountability) will quickly become unsustainable. However, expecting a child not to cheat when those closest to them are cheating is a tall order; after all, these are the people who should be helping the students develop that cheating-resistant capacity! If teachers, parents and peers are cheating, then you have a systemic problem. This means, as my co-authors and I talk about extensively in Creating the Ethical Academy, that we cannot simply treat the problem as one of “individuals behaving badly” but must address it at the systems level.

Has cheating become an indelible part of our culture?

No, it has always been an indelible part of the human culture. What seems to be changing is our acceptance of, and complacency with it, both of which seem to be tied to our obsession with performance (winning at all costs) and our American individualism (what you do is your own business, not mine). There is also a prevailing false notion that “cheaters only hurt themselves” and so we let cheaters cheat. However, the stories of Bernie Madoff, subprime mortgages and the cheating scandals at Harvard and Stuyvesant High School illustrate that cheating is viral and spreads harm beyond the carrier of the virus.

How much blame can we place on standardized testing for the problems with cheating?

We have clear evidence from around the country that the false idolization of test scores and using them as rewards results in student and teacher cheating. However, it is but one puzzle piece of a systemic problem and so shouldn’t be our sole lightning rod.

“Schools must also teach professional integrity by having standards of ethical conduct and holding students, teachers, parents and administrators to them.” — Tricia Bertram Gallant

Do we believe society needs to challenge our culture’s current definition of success in order to help our children better understand why cheating leads to a precarious life and a precarious society?

Perhaps. UCLA’s Higher Education Research Institute has been surveying American freshmen for over forty years. In the late sixties/early seventies, 73% of college freshmen said that “developing a meaningful philosophy of life” was a very important goal, while “being wealthy” was only very important to 45%. These percentages have flipped for our current student generation; only 45% feel it is very important to develop a meaningful philosophy of life while 75% feel it is very important to be wealthy. This flip, coupled with performance pressures and the lack of conversations about the acceptable means by which to achieve success, is likely to lead to people willing to adopt an “at all costs” attitude.

Should ethics only be taught at home or is it time for more focus on ethics in the classroom?

We bring up this debate in Cheating in School and argue that schools have an obligation to teach students about professional integrity and ethical decision-making. This isn’t about teaching religion or indoctrinating students in what personal values they should hold true. It is about teaching students decision-making skills and preparing them for professional life, which is guided by shared standards, norms and values. Anthropological research and the International Center for Academic Integrity suggests that values like honesty, trustworthiness, respect, responsibility and fairness are fundamental and universal values, so these can guide heterogeneous organizations. Schools must also teach professional integrity by having standards of ethical conduct and holding students, teachers, parents and administrators to them. We have seen the alternative to not doing this, and it clearly isn’t working.

       Tricia Bertram Gallant and C. M. Rubin

Photos courtesy of Tricia Bertram Gallant

In The Global Search for Education, join me and globally renowned thought leaders including Sir Michael Barber (UK), Dr. Michael Block (US), Dr. Leon Botstein (US), Professor Clay Christensen (US), Dr. Linda Darling-Hammond (US), Dr. Madhav Chavan (India), Professor Michael Fullan (Canada), Professor Howard Gardner (US), Professor Andy Hargreaves (US), Professor Yvonne Hellman (The Netherlands), Professor Kristin Helstad (Norway), Jean Hendrickson (US), Professor Rose Hipkins (New Zealand), Professor Cornelia Hoogland (Canada), Mme. Chantal Kaufmann (Belgium), Dr. Eija Kauppinen (Finland), State Secretary Tapio Kosunen (Finland), Professor Dominique Lafontaine (Belgium), Professor Hugh Lauder (UK), Professor Ben Levin (Canada), Lord Ken Macdonald (UK), Professor Barry McGaw (Australia), Shiv Nadar (India), Professor R. Natarajan (India), Dr. Pak Tee Ng (Singapore), Dr. Denise Pope (US), Sridhar Rajagopalan (India), Dr. Diane Ravitch (US), Sir Ken Robinson (UK), Professor Pasi Sahlberg (Finland), Andreas Schleicher (PISA, OECD), Dr. Anthony Seldon (UK), Dr. David Shaffer (US), Dr. Kirsten Sivesind (Norway), Chancellor Stephen Spahn (US), Yves Theze (Lycee Francais US), Professor Charles Ungerleider (Canada), Professor Tony Wagner (US), Sir David Watson (UK), Professor Dylan Wiliam (UK), Dr. Mark Wormald (UK), Professor Theo Wubbels (The Netherlands), Professor Michael Young (UK), and Professor Minxuan Zhang (China) as they explore the big picture education questions that all nations face today. 

The Global Search for Education Community Page

C. M. Rubin is the author of two widely read online series for which she received a 2011 Upton Sinclair award, “The Global Search for Education” and “How Will We Read?” She is also the author of three bestselling books, including The Real Alice in Wonderland.

Follow C. M. Rubin on Twitter: www.twitter.com/@cmrubinworld

                           The Education Debate 2012 — Howard Gardner

The Education Debate 2012 — Howard Gardner

By C. M. Rubin with Harry Rubin and Michael Freeborn

Has there ever been a more important time to debate the big picture questions of education? As nations around the world reform education to prepare their students for the 21st century workplace, are our students ready to compete? In five interviews with education luminaries, I’ve asked them to imagine they were Secretary of Education and to discuss how they would address the issues facing America.

Today, my imaginary Secretary of Education is Dr. Howard Gardner. Dr. Gardner is the John H. and Elisabeth A. Hobbs Professor of Cognition and Education at the Harvard Graduate School of Education. Among numerous honors, he received a MacArthur Prize Fellowship in 1981. Dr. Gardner has received honorary degrees from 26 colleges and universities. In 2005 and 2008, he was selected by Foreign Policy and Prospect magazines as one of the 100 most influential public intellectuals in the world. His most recent book is Truth, Beauty and Goodness Reframed: Educating for the Virtues in the Age of Truthiness and Twitter.

“Asking me to be Secretary of Education is a stretch, if not a counterfactual state of affairs, since my ideas and values are quite distant from those of my predecessors. Nonetheless, if, knowing of my views, a hypothetical President were to appoint me, here’s how I would answer his or her questions.”

What should the role of the federal government be in K-12 education? How much more funding should be given to education reform and in what major areas should it be spent?

The Federal Government plays a crucial role in ensuring civil rights and equitable distribution of funds to districts-in-need and to talented students. In the last few decades, it has become involved in issues of curriculum and assessment. While the motivation may have been praiseworthy, the results have been mixed. In many ways, the education that has been promoted is regressive; it presumes a population that was needed in the 19th or 20th century, rather than the graduates that we should want and need for the 21st century (versatile, critical and creative problem solvers, and responsible, decent, well-informed citizens). The curriculum has been increasingly narrowed to STEM (science, technology, engineering, math) subjects and the assessments to multiple choice, fact-centric instruments.

Every educator and every parent in America should read Pasi Sahlberg’s book, Finnish Lessons. Finland has catapulted from a country with a mediocre educational system to perhaps the most admired system in the world. It has done so by ignoring the GERM (Global Educational Reform Movement) approach to educational reform (Sahlberg’s sardonic term) favored by the U.S. and England.

Finnish education features: 1) a highly professionalized teacher cohort; 2) a very ‘flat’ system. Schools around the country look similar to one another and each classroom contains the range of students. Teachers are expected to deal with the range - little talk about ‘special needs’ or ‘special education.’ There is plenty of art, music, and crafts in the system, and the amount is being increased this year! Also, through ninth grade, there are few formal tests.

What would be your position on improving the teaching profession, including recruitment, teacher training, compensation, and assignment to low income schools?

The key to a high performing educational system — whether it is in Finland, Singapore, or Canada — is a highly professionalized teacher corps. Professionals know their subjects and how to teach them effectively. They are given status, autonomy, and a reasonable standard of living, on the assumption that they can make judicious decisions about complex, not easily solved dilemmas. (For more on the good professional, see goodworkproject.org). The bulk of federal discretionary funds should be used to shift our country from a K-12 teaching cohort that is not distinguished academically and has not had the opportunity to act in a professional manner to a cohort that is as well-informed as our best engineers and physicians and as thoughtful and fair minded as our best judges.

The most skilled teachers should work in the most challenging districts and should be compensated accordingly. We should be recruiting from the same ranks as Teach for America, but not for a two year immersion — rather for decades-long dedication to a noble profession. Teacher training should take place over several years, largely on site, and not in brief ‘boot camps’. There should be a career path from intern to teacher to master teacher and teacher-of-teachers. The issue is NOT price — we spent trillions on wars, and give huge tax breaks to multi-millionaires, with hardly any second guessing.

What would be your position on school choice, including charter schools and their expansion, private schools, vouchers and investment in inadequately staffed and facilitated low income schools?

Given the disagreements and different value systems across the American educational system, the experimentation involved in charter schools has probably been worthwhile. It has hardly been revolutionary in any sense, and certainly not in results. I have stated for twenty years that we cannot expect charter schools to be notably better than regular public schools because ultimately they draw on the same population of teachers and students and, except in a few cases, have available equivalent funding.

In a country that was truly serious about educational reform, one would aim for excellently trained teachers in the full range of public schools, and there would be no need for charters or vouchers. The needed experimentation can be done within the public system as happens, for example, in Singapore.

                   Howard Gardner

What would be your strategy to address the domestic and international achievement gaps, including your position on early childhood education, standardized testing, on-line modular education, and teacher/principal accountability?

Though it is politically incorrect to say so, I think the U.S. has spent much too much time and energy documenting the achievement gap. Any social scientist, indeed any reasonable observer, could have told us twenty years ago that there would be large achievement gaps across racial and socio-economic groups. And any person with common sense could indicate the kinds of steps that were likely to lead to the reducing of the achievement gap.

In the U.S., we have a figure/ground problem. The dominant figure has become test scores and international comparisons — everything is focused on this ‘league table’ mentality. As a person who believes in the United States as it once was, the ‘figure’ should be the kind of society that we want to have and the kind of human beings that we want to nurture. All education, including testing and ranking, should be organized around the attainment of that vision. I believe that if we succeeded in having schools that were as good as our country can be, the test scores and rankings would take care of themselves. Remember, too, that the U.S. remained predominant, despite earlier threats from the Soviet Union and Japan; this was not about our test scores, it was about the health of our society.

What would be your position on curriculum reform, including the role of the arts, the treatment of ethics, and the adoption of blended online learning?

Our educational system ought to reflect the highest values of our society. I believe that education in the arts should be as central in the lives of young people as education in science or mathematics. Moreover, and this may ensure my marginality in current discourse, I believe that education in the arts needs no justification in terms of ‘transfer’ to other subjects or to its generation of wealth; it is a ‘good’ in itself. Indeed, societies are ultimately remembered for their art and culture, and that is as it should be.

Since I’ve devoted almost twenty years to the promotion of ethical thinking in young people, I don’t have to reiterate the importance of ethics in the educational system. There is nothing wrong with courses in ethics. But ultimately, the most powerful ‘treatment’ is the way that adults behave, at home, at school, and in the workplace; and the kinds of signals given by our society to those who behave ethically and those — often working on Wall Street — who do not. If ethics is ‘in the air’ and ‘on the street’, young people will notice; and if ethical behavior is honored in the breach, rather than in the observance, that will, alas, be noted as well.

When I describe my studies of ‘good work,’ to strangers, their eyes often glaze over. Hearing about ‘bad work’ is so much more tantalizing. But I gain attention when I point out that all over the world, people admire our legal system, our judicial system, our journalism, our institutions of higher education. And yet, I can testify first hand, that we are doing our best, as a society, to undermine those institutions. What a tragedy! That is because, over the last four decades, ethics has taken a back seat to the accumulation of wealth, by any means possible. The best political system is NOT untrammeled capitalism; it is the subtle blending of democracy, capitalism, and socialism — as observed in Scandinavia and in Northern Italy.

What would be your position on how to make college affordable for more qualified low income students?

Again, I risk being politically incorrect. I am great believer in the liberal arts, as conveyed in our best residential colleges, and I believe that Yale (and Swarthmore and Williams) are worth what they charge — and of course, they actually cost more than they charge. It would be tragic if these schools were to abandon their educational mission, again at the very time that the rest of the world (e.g. ,Singapore, the Emirates) are trying to emulate them.

But, alas, an education like this is only available to families that are affluent, or to the lucky few who benefit from need-blind admissions; the inequity of human, social and financial capital is fanning the distance between the haves (the upper 1 percent) and everyone else.

I have several suggestions:

1. We need to determine what can be accomplished well ‘online’ and transmit as much of education as we can in ways that are inexpensive and widely accessible.
2. We need to redirect as much of governmental and charitable discretionary funds to provide opportunities for the talented who lack the money for a higher education.
3. We should provide forgivable loans to those who go into public service careers.
4. We need to experiment with blended learning, such that students can have residential experiences while living at home, so that they don’t need to move across country into expensive housing.
5. We need to improve our primary and secondary education so that we don’t need the remedial courses required for millions of students in our community colleges and other non-selective institutions.
6. At some point in their lives, all individuals who would like a broader liberal arts education ought to have the opportunity, but there is absolutely no need to provide this to all 18 years olds. Many of them are much better off in the workplace — both for them and for our workplaces.

             Howard Gardner and C. M. Rubin

Photos courtesy of Harvard Graduate School of Education.

In The Global Search for Education, join me and globally renowned thought leaders including Sir Michael Barber (UK), Dr. Michael Block (US), Dr. Leon Botstein (US), Professor Clay Christensen (US), Dr. Linda Darling-Hammond (US), Dr. Madhav Chavan (India), Professor Michael Fullan (Canada), Professor Howard Gardner (US), Professor Andy Hargreaves (US), Professor Yvonne Hellman (The Netherlands), Professor Kristin Helstad (Norway), Jean Hendrickson (US), Professor Rose Hipkins (New Zealand), Professor Cornelia Hoogland (Canada), Mme. Chantal Kaufmann (Belgium), Dr. Eija Kauppinen (Finland), State Secretary Tapio Kosunen (Finland), Professor Dominique Lafontaine (Belgium), Professor Hugh Lauder (UK), Professor Ben Levin (Canada), Lord Ken Macdonald (UK), Professor Barry McGaw (Australia), Shiv Nadar (India), Professor R. Natarajan (India), Dr. Pak Tee Ng (Singapore), Dr. Denise Pope (US), Sridhar Rajagopalan (India), Dr. Diane Ravitch (US), Sir Ken Robinson (UK), Professor Pasi Sahlberg (Finland), Andreas Schleicher (PISA, OECD), Dr. Anthony Seldon (UK), Dr. David Shaffer (US), Dr. Kirsten Sivesind (Norway), Chancellor Stephen Spahn (US), Yves Theze (Lycee Francais US), Professor Charles Ungerleider (Canada), Professor Tony Wagner (US), Sir David Watson (UK), Professor Dylan Wiliam (UK), Dr. Mark Wormald (UK), Professor Theo Wubbels (The Netherlands), Professor Michael Young (UK), and Professor Minxuan Zhang (China) as they explore the big picture education questions that all nations face today. 

The Global Search for Education Community Page

C. M. Rubin is the author of two widely read online series for which she received a 2011 Upton Sinclair award, “The Global Search for Education” and “How Will We Read?” She is also the author of three bestselling books, including The Real Alice in Wonderland.

Follow C. M. Rubin on Twitter: www.twitter.com/@cmrubinworld

“We believe that influencing the bystanders is a key to successful prevention of bullying.”— Professor Christina Salmivalli

It Takes a Community

By C. M. Rubin with Harry Rubin and Michael Freeborn

It takes a community to prevent bullying in schools, which is expected to affect 13 million children in the U.S. in the current school year. Stopping the bullying epidemic also requires funding, research, a holistic program developed with that research plus the collaboration and commitment of all the principal stakeholders.

Educators in Finland understand how to reduce bullying and victimization in their country, which has one of the world’s leading education systems. They already have a comprehensive anti-bullying program in place called KiVa™ (from the Finnish words, kiusaamista vastaan, meaning against bullying). A key measure of the program’s success is that 98% of the students whose bullying incident was tackled by the school’s KiVa™ team said their situation improved.

There are 2800 schools in Finland providing comprehensive education from grades 1 through 9. At the moment, 90% of Finnish schools are logged in as users of the KiVa™ anti-bullying program and approximately 1500 schools use it systematically and repeatedly. Additionally, other countries around the world want it.

Today I am joined by Professor Christina Salmivalli of the University of Turku, Finland. For over 20 years, she and her team have done school based research on bullying and its prevention. She is the principal investigator of the KiVa™ anti-bullying program, which received first prize in the European Crime Prevention Awards (2009). KiVa™ has also won the Humanist Act of the Year Award (2008), the Child Act of the Year Award (2010), and the Campus Award (2012) in Finland. The latest evaluation study of KiVa™ received the 2012 Social Policy Award in Vancouver for the best article in the SRA (Society for Research on Adolescence). I am also joined today by teacher Juha Ollila who works with Professor Salmivalli as a teacher expert and is in addition international project manager for the KiVA™ anti-bullying program.

“Socially anxious children are at high risk of being victimized, especially in classrooms where reinforcing the bully is normative (occurring at high levels).”— Professor Christina SalmivalliJuha, why did the Finnish government and Finnish educators decide to make bullying prevention a priority?

Bullying became a big concern in Finnish society in the 1990´s and there were some changes in legislation because of this concern. However, the annual prevalence survey (School Health Promotion Study) showed that there were no changes on national trend data. Before KiVa™, Finland´s prevalence of bullies and victims was slightly below average based on studies done by the World Health Organization but they were still higher than in Sweden, for example. The Ministry of Education commissioned Professor Christina Salmivalli and her team to develop an anti-bullying program that would be suitable for national use because of the decades of research already done by her group in Finland.

Christina, what were the most important findings in your research on bullying?

In my own research, the first important thing was probably the notion that bystanders ARE part of the bullying process. My first publication on this topic came out in 1996, and at that time it was still common to focus (both in research and in interventions) on the individual bullies and victims. Today, the view of the group as participant is widely spread and also mentioned (e.g. empowering the bystanders) in many bullying prevention/intervention programs. After the first 1996 study, my group has continued to focus more on the bystanders than on bullies or victims. We know that classrooms vary considerably with respect to the degree of bullying problems, and this variation can be explained by classroom norms and actual bystander behaviors (whether students witnessing bullying tend to take sides with the victim or to join/reinforce the bully). We also know that individual-level factors, which usually increase the risk of victimization, do not operate similarly in all classrooms. For instance, socially anxious children are at high risk of being victimized, especially in classrooms where reinforcing the bully is normative (occurring at high levels). We believe that influencing the bystanders is a key to successful prevention of bullying. Also, we have examined which individual and classroom-level factors are associated with constructive bystander behaviors such as defending and supporting the peers who are targets of bullying. For instance, in order to take sides with the victimized peer, empathy is not enough. Many students who have lots of empathy towards victims still do not act upon it. We need to provide students with safe strategies to take sides with the weaker ones. This information has been utilized in developing the materials included in the KiVa™ program.

“We have tested the program in a very rigorous randomized controlled trial.”— Professor Christina Salmivalli

Christina, why do you believe the KiVa™ approach can combat bullying effectively?

One key is focusing on the bystanders. Another key to combating bullying is the systematic way in which KiVa™ guides school staff to coordinate and organize anti-bullying activities. KiVa™ is not just a pack of materials, it is a process. I have heard from Finnish teachers and students that the program materials are attractive and easy to implement. We have included some special features such as anti-bullying computer games. These are motivating ways to learn about bullying-related issues.

And, of course, we have very convincing evidence that KiVa™ works. We have tested the program in a very rigorous randomized controlled trial (Note: between 2007 and 2009, a large-scale randomized control trial was conducted with over 30,000 children from 234 elementary and high schools. 117 schools implemented KiVa™ and 117 continued with their existing action plan or anti-bullying policy. Results show KiVa™ was effective in reducing bullying and victimization during the first nine months of implementation. The study also showed that KiVa™ reduced depression and anxiety among students. Additional positive outcomes included an increase in school liking, academic motivation, and academic performance.)

“We need to provide students with safe strategies to take sides with the weaker ones.”— Professor Christina Salmivalli

Juha, what are some of the special preventative characteristics which make the Kiva™ program unique?

School personnel need concrete tools for bullying prevention work with children and youth, just as they need clear guidelines to intervene when bullying is detected. Adults are not usually present when the bullying takes place so children need to know how to behave constructively when witnessing bullying incidents. So KiVa™ teaches not only teachers but also students what to do, when to do it and how to do it. Of course, reporting systematic bullying to adults is also important, and KiVa™ makes that easier by providing an online reporting tool (Note: a virtual “mailbox” in the KiVa™ computer game) that students can use to report bullying they have experienced or witnessed directly to the KiVa™ team in their school.

Other special characteristics are that we have both universal and indicated actions. Universal actions illustrate commitment and coordination at the school level. Types of things that signal we are a KiVa™ school include visible vests for teachers supervising recess time, student online surveys, student lessons, computer games, virtual learning environments, and a website and guide for parents.

Indicated actions include tackling the cases of bullying that come to the attention of school staff. In such cases, the school-based KiVa™ team conducts individual and group discussions with the students who have been bullying and the target child. 

“School personnel need concrete tools for bullying prevention work with children and youth, just as they need clear guidelines to intervene when bullying is detected.” — Juha OllilaIs the strategy as effective for the child who is most likely to be the bully?

Speaking as a teacher, a KiVa™ teacher has been specially trained in the KiVa™ practice. We have KiVa™ exercises which enable us to put different types of students in different types of positions. For example, one might put the person who is more likely to bully in the position of the victim, and vice versa. Further, the Universal actions are not only for the students and the teachers but also for the parents, who play a big role. Before the program starts, we recommend that parents are educated and engaged via the Parent-Teacher meetings. We find that parents support the program because it creates a better school environment for their children.

When bullies are identified, how are they punished?

Punishment is not the key issue, at least in the beginning of the process. There are two slightly different strategies that KiVa™ teams might use when tackling bullying cases; we call them “confronting” and “non-confronting” approaches. Without going into detail, both approaches are based on the idea that the bullying students themselves, after discussion with KiVa™ team members, suggest how they will change their behavior. After one or two weeks there is a follow-up in which the adults make sure that bullying has stopped. Punishments may come if these approaches fail, but in most cases the situation has improved by the time of the follow-up meeting. The kind of punishment used varies across schools.

“Adults are not usually present when the bullying takes place so children need to know how to behave constructively when witnessing bullying incidents.” — Juha Ollila

Where else in the world is the KiVa™ program?

Professor Rene Veenstra from the University of Groningen is implementing KiVa™ in the Netherlands as a part of his and his group’s study. There are 70 schools using KiVa™, and 35 control schools. Dr. Veenstra is doing research on the implementation and its effects during 2012-2014.

Professor Judy Hutchings is responsible for the KiVa™ implementation in the UK in Wales. There are 14 schools using KiVa™ in Wales starting this school year.

Professor Julie Hubbard is testing KiVa™ in the U.S. in Delaware this school year in 60 classrooms in 6 different schools.

Last year in Sweden in the Lerum municipality, 17 schools took part in the KiVa™ program. During the first school year, the number of students who were bullied decreased by 40% and the number of students who were bullying others decreased by 30%. They will continue the program this year.

In Luxembourg, the European School is testing French, German, and English versions of the KiVa™ materials.

A Japanese version of KiVa™ material is being evaluated by Professor Yuichi Toda and his team (University of Osaka). Hopefully some Japanese schools will soon be testing KiVa™.

More information about KiVa™

                             Christina Salmivalli, C. M. Rubin, Juha Ollila

Photos courtesy of KiVa™

In The Global Search for Education, join me and globally renowned thought leaders including Sir Michael Barber (UK), Dr. Michael Block (US), Dr. Leon Botstein (US), Professor Clay Christensen (US), Dr. Linda Darling-Hammond (US), Dr. Madhav Chavan (India), Professor Michael Fullan (Canada), Professor Howard Gardner (US), Professor Andy Hargreaves (US), Professor Yvonne Hellman (The Netherlands), Professor Kristin Helstad (Norway), Jean Hendrickson (US), Professor Rose Hipkins (New Zealand), Professor Cornelia Hoogland (Canada), Mme. Chantal Kaufmann (Belgium), Dr. Eija Kauppinen (Finland), State Secretary Tapio Kosunen (Finland), Professor Dominique Lafontaine (Belgium), Professor Hugh Lauder (UK), Professor Ben Levin (Canada), Lord Ken Macdonald (UK), Professor Barry McGaw (Australia), Shiv Nadar (India), Professor R. Natarajan (India), Dr. Pak Tee Ng (Singapore), Dr. Denise Pope (US), Sridhar Rajagopalan (India), Dr. Diane Ravitch (US), Sir Ken Robinson (UK), Professor Pasi Sahlberg (Finland), Andreas Schleicher (PISA, OECD), Dr. Anthony Seldon (UK), Dr. David Shaffer (US), Dr. Kirsten Sivesind (Norway), Chancellor Stephen Spahn (US), Yves Theze (Lycee Francais US), Professor Charles Ungerleider (Canada), Professor Tony Wagner (US), Sir David Watson (UK), Professor Dylan Wiliam (UK), Dr. Mark Wormald (UK), Professor Theo Wubbels (The Netherlands), Professor Michael Young (UK), and Professor Minxuan Zhang (China) as they explore the big picture education questions that all nations face today. 

The Global Search for Education Community Page

C. M. Rubin is the author of two widely read online series for which she received a 2011 Upton Sinclair award, “The Global Search for Education” and “How Will We Read?” She is also the author of three bestselling books, including The Real Alice in Wonderland.

Follow C. M. Rubin on Twitter: www.twitter.com/@cmrubinworld

“They (the 9/11 responders) are a testimony to the human spirit’s ability to transcend unimaginable horror and still maintain its integrity and humanity.” — Dr. Benjamin Luft

We Will Remember

By C. M. Rubin with Harry Rubin and Michael Freeborn

We will remember the 2,977 people from more than 90 nations who were killed as a result of the horrific terrorist attacks on September 11, 2001. More than 400 of them were people who responded first to the attacks.

Dr. Benjamin J. Luft, a native New Yorker, began treating responders who survived the September 11 attacks for medical and psychological needs. Deeply moved by the experiences of these American heroes, Ben was instrumental in establishing the World Trade Center Medical Monitoring and Treatment Program at Stony Brook University Medical Center to focus more research and study on their physical and emotional issues. He began interviewing the responders as a part of their treatment. The impact of these interviews became the impetus for the production of an oral history as a book: We’re Not Leaving: 9/11 Responders Tell Their Stories of Courage, Sacrifice, and Renewal, and also as a film: 9/11: An American Requiem. In many ways and on many different levels, this body of work continues to support, educate and inspire all those who experience it. On the 11th anniversary of 9/11, as we all remember our tragic loss, I asked Ben to share his thoughts and reflections.

In addition to being an author and a filmmaker, Dr. Benjamin Luft is the Edmund D. Pellegrino Professor of Medicine at SUNY Stony Brook. He is an internationally acclaimed scientist and expert in the treatment of Lyme disease and AIDS-related conditions. Involved in many of the early studies of Lyme disease, he identified the genome sequence of 13 different strains of the bacterium Borrelia burgdorferi, the causative agent of Lyme disease. This discovery has contributed to a much deeper knowledge of the disease and paved the way for the development of a vaccine to fight it.

“The primary mission of our program is to monitor the health and wellbeing of those who responded and were exposed to the World Trade Center disaster.” — Dr. Benjamin Luft

Can you update us on your book, your film, and the World Trade Center Medical Monitoring and Treatment program at Stony Brook University?

The primary mission of our program is to monitor the health and wellbeing of those who responded and were exposed to the World Trade Center disaster, and to provide care for all conditions related to such exposure. We follow 6,000 patients across Long Island, and have recently expanded to Brooklyn. Empirically, it quickly became apparent that physical and mental health in the responders were intimately related to one another and we therefore developed a unique, collaborative model that replaces the traditional separation of medical, psychiatric and social services with an integrated delivery of care. This premise has formed the basis not only of the way in which we deliver care, but of our research program as well. We have now demonstrated not only that mental and physical health are related to one another, but that post-traumatic stress may actually act as a cofactor and mediate physical disease. This may mean that, in patients with concomitant physical and mental health problems, treatment of the physical condition is dependent on control of the psychiatric condition. We are now studying the physiologic, biochemical and genetic basis for this relationship.

The complexity of the clinical disease arose from its origin in the extraordinarily toxic exposure to the environmental disaster of 9/11. This formed the basis of a seminar course for medical students that dissects the multidimensional nature of the event. We examine the physical, environmental, psychological, medical, sociological, religious and economic impact, and how these factors drove the nature of the response. The stories of specific responders serve as springboards for our discussions of these various dimensions. This was the derivation of our oral history project, the video recordings, the book, We’re Not Leaving: 9/11 Responders Tell Their Stories of Courage, Sacrifice and Renewal, and the film, 9/11: An American Requiem. The oral histories that we collected will be archived at the Library of Congress.

Our book and film reflect deeply personal and unique perspectives. They are meant to be individual accounts, in responders’ own voices, expressing their individual motivation and sacrifice in responding to 9/11. They were created to help us understand the human impact of the World Trade Center disaster and encourage us all to recover. In our most recent interviews, we are now exploring the human cost of such sacrifice, its long-term impact on the responders and their family, and the manner in which society responds to their needs. The book is available on Amazon, and the film is available at our center and is being shown at small theaters, libraries, and community centers. The film and videos are being used as part of a library and school program to educate the community on the impact of 9/11.

“We are now exploring the human cost of such sacrifice, its long-term impact on the responders and their family, and the manner in which society responds to their needs.” — Dr. Benjamin Luft

You have always felt the need to create a visual archive for educating future generations. What values do you believe students and educators can gain from this archive?

The responders tell their story of arriving at the site of 9/11 and facing constant danger, human carnage, and toxic dust. They speak of their actions and motivation to respond in the face of an extraordinary act of terror. They are humble, but one senses their courage from their actions. They are unabashed in speaking of their foibles and weaknesses; their altruism, patriotism, loyalty and sense of community provide them with the strength to carry on. They are simple and frank. Although their voices are filled with sorrow and pain, there is little bitterness. They celebrate one another. They are a testimony to the human spirit’s ability to transcend unimaginable horror and still maintain its integrity and humanity.

The stories in the archive touch upon the values and essence of humanity that have been taught by every great civilization and religion; they speak of our interdependence with one another. Although they were surrounded by death, destruction, and desperation, responders nevertheless tend to remember most vividly a positive sense of purpose, their embrace of one another into a brotherhood. The responders’ stories are intricately related to those they are rescuing. Hearing these stories, we are first touched by the events, we cry and empathize with the responders, we too feel a sense of comraderie. However, before too long, we begin to question our own understanding, values and presuppositions. These stories allow us to bear witness to the events of 9/11 and ultimately aid us in the healing that is needed as a result of such evil.

“The stories in the archive touch upon the values and essence of humanity that have been taught by every great civilization and religion.” — Dr. Benjamin Luft

Your video interviews involved limited editing, allowing us to hear the voices of the responders in as real a way as possible. Why was this video treatment important to you?

The manner and conditions that our interviews were conducted in are uncommon and uniquely suited to eliciting a frank, deeply personal and intimate discussion. They are performed in my office at the World Trade Center Health Program on Long Island, where the responders have been receiving health care for years by interviewers who have done their best in helping responders come to terms with the disaster and its effects. The result is that the responders’ stories are powerful. Their sentences are short, their language is simple, direct and highly descriptive. As much is learned from their non-verbal language - their pauses, their loss of words, their emotional outpouring - as from the words themselves. There was no need for the interviewer to insert himself. It would only detract from this extraordinary testimony.

“Healing requires not only that the responders’ symptoms be ameliorated, but also that the greater society come to grips with the trauma of 9/11.” — Dr. Benjamin Luft

Another reason that only minimal editing was appropriate was that the interviews themselves took on a confessional quality. We discovered that, in addition to its historical contribution, participation in this project had a profound impact on the responders themselves. It gave them the opportunity not only to recollect the events from their own past, but also to share with us their considered views on the event itself and the societal response. It was important to me that we make a conscious effort to avoid sentimentality and partisanship.

“The completion of the new World Trade Center and its deeply moving memorial will be significant steps in this process.” — Dr. Benjamin Luft

Eleven years after 9/11, any final reflections that you would like to share with us?

What has become evident to me is that the response to 9/11 was more pivotal than the event itself. This is not to minimize the truly heinous character of this terrorist attack, but such evil has repeatedly reared its ugly head throughout human history. What is variable is the response. So many of the responders chose to act in a truly heroic and altruistic manner, with a deep commitment to their colleagues, their community, and their nation. In the days immediately following the tragedy, we so often heard, “the United States was one.” Ironically, in the midst of the turmoil that the responders were experiencing, the responders felt a certain peace of being in sync with one another, working for a common purpose. Since then, this unity has become fragmented and the toxic impact of 9/11 continues to fester, even eleven years later. Although the main mission of our clinic is to care for the physical and psychiatric illnesses resulting from 9/11, delivering such care has become inextricably linked to the important question of how to transition the responders from physical and psychological trauma back to a normal life. In many respects, we have come to the conclusion that this healing requires not only that the responders’ symptoms be ameliorated, but also that the greater society come to grips with the trauma of 9/11. The completion of the new World Trade Center and its deeply moving memorial will be significant steps in this process.

         Dr. Benjamin Luft and C. M. Rubin

Photos courtesy of Dr. Benjamin Luft and C. M. Rubin

In The Global Search for Education, join me and globally renowned thought leaders including Sir Michael Barber (UK), Dr. Michael Block (US), Dr. Leon Botstein (US), Professor Clay Christensen (US), Dr. Linda Darling-Hammond (US), Dr. Madhav Chavan (India), Professor Michael Fullan (Canada), Professor Howard Gardner (US), Professor Andy Hargreaves (US), Professor Yvonne Hellman (The Netherlands), Professor Kristin Helstad (Norway), Jean Hendrickson (US), Professor Rose Hipkins (New Zealand), Professor Cornelia Hoogland (Canada), Mme. Chantal Kaufmann (Belgium), Dr. Eija Kauppinen (Finland), State Secretary Tapio Kosunen (Finland), Professor Dominique Lafontaine (Belgium), Professor Hugh Lauder (UK), Professor Ben Levin (Canada), Lord Ken Macdonald (UK), Professor Barry McGaw (Australia), Shiv Nadar (India), Professor R. Natarajan (India), Dr. Pak Tee Ng (Singapore), Dr. Denise Pope (US), Sridhar Rajagopalan (India), Dr. Diane Ravitch (US), Sir Ken Robinson (UK), Professor Pasi Sahlberg (Finland), Andreas Schleicher (PISA, OECD), Dr. Anthony Seldon (UK), Dr. David Shaffer (US), Dr. Kirsten Sivesind (Norway), Chancellor Stephen Spahn (US), Yves Theze (Lycee Francais US), Professor Charles Ungerleider (Canada), Professor Tony Wagner (US), Sir David Watson (UK), Professor Dylan Wiliam (UK), Dr. Mark Wormald (UK), Professor Theo Wubbels (The Netherlands), Professor Michael Young (UK), and Professor Minxuan Zhang (China) as they explore the big picture education questions that all nations face today. 
The Global Search for Education Community Page

C. M. Rubin is the author of two widely read online series for which she received a 2011 Upton Sinclair award, “The Global Search for Education” and “How Will We Read?” She is also the author of three bestselling books, including The Real Alice in Wonderland.

Follow C. M. Rubin on Twitter: www.twitter.com/@cmrubinworld

“I can think of few art forms that invite students to immerge themselves in other cultures as wholly as film, through its unique combination of visual, performance, technological, musical and narrative elements.” — Nick Lindner

Part 2 of the Education in Film series

By C. M. Rubin with Harry Rubin and Michael Freeborn

The International Baccalaureate (IB) film program aims to develop in students the skills necessary to achieve creative and critical independence in their knowledge, experience and enjoyment of film. Today in The Global Search for Education, I am joined by Richard Harvey, Chief Examiner of the IB’s film program, and Nick Lindner, IB film teacher at The Dwight School in New York City.

Richard Harvey worked in the theater before turning to teaching, and currently acts in several UK television series. He has taught media, film, English and drama for more than thirty years. As Chief Examiner for the International Baccalaureate’s film program, he has led IB film workshops in New York, Los Angeles, Hong Kong, Athens, Florence and various venues in the UK.

Nick Lindner graduated magna cum laude from the University of Pittsburgh with B.A.’s in film studies and fiction writing. He holds a master’s degree with distinction in film and television studies from the University of Glasgow, Scotland. When not teaching, he travels around the world working in freelance film and television production for networks such as PBS, ABC, National Geographic and HBO.

Richard, studies show that the need for cine-literacy is long overdue. What were your key goals with the IB film curriculum?

We wanted to enable students to explore film in both a practical and academic sense. I don’t believe there is a young person across the world that isn’t a film fan. Our goal was to develop that passion into an awareness of how film is constructed and how meaning is developed when you work with audiovisual imagery. By understanding that process, students develop a greater awareness of how film communicates to them. For example, a film may have a particular agenda; students need to develop the ability to question that agenda. This isn’t just an academic study. It is something they need to be able to carry into their everyday lives so that they can watch a film with the pleasure that comes with greater experience and understanding.

“This isn’t just an academic study. It is something they need to be able to carry into their everyday lives.” — Richard Harvey

Nick, as a film major in university and in real life, how has this helped you teach the IB film curriculum to high school students?

As someone who has been privileged enough to connect to film as both student and theorist in the undergraduate and graduate classroom, and as a crew member on productions worldwide, I revere the IB program for recognizing the value of coupling the practice of formal academic film analysis to practical film creation. I find it necessary to stress to students early in the program that cinema possesses its own language of concepts, techniques and codes, and the more they understand that language, the better prepared they are to create effective works of their own. Having examples set before them that expose them to innovation within the medium very often triggers “eureka moments” that inspire them, not only to draw connections between various films throughout cinema’s global history, but to also attempt to adapt similar stylistic and narrative techniques in their own works.

Richard, what key elements did you build into the curriculum to realize the IB film goals?

Filmmaking has never been easier for young filmmakers. We wanted the IB film course to include films originated by students as well as the study of films made by their favorite contemporary filmmakers and filmmakers of the past, whom may not be encountered in the normal experience of a young film fan. We wanted students to learn the different aspects of filmmaking. Understanding film techniques from the past gives students a better understanding of where films are today. Students learn that nothing is a totally new invention. They learn to explore old ideas in new and different formats. They learn that the critical analysis of an existing film and making their own are two sides of the same coin.

Nick, studies show that reading literacy is fading while film literacy is thriving with kids today. How might you suggest teachers respect both?

I would fear imagining that teachers cannot recognize the symbiotic relationship between the written word and celluloid. At the end of the day, both are simply means of sharing humanity’s ideas, and I’d like to believe the ideas themselves should remain the key focus, rather than concerns about competition. Across many disciplines, over the past century, it has been argued that film, (and the cinematic language it has inspired across various forms of visual media) is the most important art form of our times. While I won’t shy away from agreeing with that statement, I think that it is crucial to understand that cinematic language shares many commonalities with the written word, and owes much of its form to our literary traditions; a point I believe should always be stressed to students.

“I love exposing students to the techniques of filmmakers globally, and working with them to trace the influence of those innovations across borders.” — Nick Lindner

Richard, how do you recommend teachers balance the subject discipline while nurturing innovation at the same time?

We don’t recommend teachers start with the theory. Students are allowed to explore films first. The class should explore questions such as: What have you noticed about the way the story is being told in this film? What elements draw you in? Teachers might show students very brief sequences of only a few seconds each from a variety of films and ask: What kind of a film do you think those excerpts came from? What ideas are being communicated in such brief extracts? As students explore the process of past work, the teacher is preparing and encouraging them to play with different ideas. How would you shoot this in a more thoughtful, different or creative way? That then needs to be carried into the assessment process in which no copyrighted material whatsoever may be used in anything they create. They must learn to create their own sound effects; they can commission their own music, etc. And so the process moves from what they have learned into the exploration of new experiences that explore international perspectives; for example, looking at films that are outside their immediate cultural experiences. The beauty of the film program is that it encourages individual initiative but also collaborative work.

Nick, what has surprised you most and least about teaching the IB curriculum?

Perhaps what has surprised me least is just how technologically savvy the majority of the students are. The accessibility of tools that provide them outlets to create films of their own exist all around them in devices ranging from their mobile phones to their home computers. As a result, they bring a level of confidence to the production phases of the curriculum that I find is very often based upon their own self-taught experiences. What surprises me most however, is those very same technologies that they use as tools for film production, very often also serve as devices of absolute media bombardment that provide audio-visual information at an intense pace through outlets such as YouTube. Drawing the students away from this form of audience reception, and engaging them in challenging films that require patience is very rewarding. I take great joy in seeing a class of 17-year-olds wholly engrossed by a foreign, silent, black and white film that was created before many of their grandparents were born.

“Five years from now students might not be making a film within their own school but might be collaborating, sharing ideas and making a film with students across continents.” — Richard Harvey

Richard, how do you assess students’ original work?

Assessing creativity is not easy. Young people come up with great original ideas in this course. We look for ideas that are fresh that don’t necessarily take the easiest route. We look at the process a student has worked through. We look at the way a student questions the approach of doing something. How have they used their imagination to communicate their message to an audience? Is there a special spark or recognizable flair? Our hearts sink sometimes when students say I want to make something that throws out all the rules. It’s obvious that the rules need to be understood before they are rejected and that rejection must have purpose.

Nick, how have you made the IB film curriculum truly international in its content in your classroom?

I believe the greatest asset of an IB education is its true internationality in the modern world. To teach a comprehensive series of film studies courses, it is necessary to not only stretch beyond the boundaries of Hollywood cinema, but western cinema as well. I love exposing students to the techniques of filmmakers globally, and working with them to trace the influence of those innovations across borders. Furthermore, I can think of few art forms that invite students to immerge themselves in other cultures as wholly as film, through its unique combination of visual, performance, technological, musical and narrative elements. This cultural immersion is conducive to the curiosity of high school students, as I find they often take more from their foreign viewing experiences then their domestic ones, simply because they are eager to expose themselves to something that they perceive as different or new. 

Richard, five years down the road, what additional development would you like to see to the IB film curriculum?

There is already an excited buzz about the film program and IB has dynamic drive to look forward with its programs. From a personal point of view, I would like to see film in five years as part of a much broader spectrum of the arts. I’d like to see the barriers between the assessment elements of film, art, dance, and music become much more interdisciplinary. With global communications advancements, I’d like to see filmmaking become a form of education without frontiers so that five years from now students might not be making a film within their own school but might be collaborating, sharing ideas and making a film with students across continents.

For more information on the IB Film Program

                          C. M. Rubin

Photos courtesy of The Dwight School, Richard Harvey, and Nick Lindner.

In The Global Search for Education, join me and globally renowned thought leaders including Sir Michael Barber (UK), Dr. Michael Block (US), Dr. Leon Botstein (US), Professor Clay Christensen (US), Dr. Linda Darling-Hammond (US), Dr. Madhav Chavan (India), Professor Michael Fullan (Canada), Professor Howard Gardner (US), Professor Andy Hargreaves (UK), Professor Yvonne Hellman (The Netherlands), Professor Kristin Helstad (Norway), Jean Hendrickson (US), Professor Rose Hipkins (New Zealand), Professor Cornelia Hoogland (Canada), Mme. Chantal Kaufmann (Belgium), Dr. Eija Kauppinen (Finland), State Secretary Tapio Kosunen (Finland), Professor Dominique Lafontaine (Belgium), Professor Hugh Lauder (UK), Professor Ben Levin (Canada), Lord Ken Macdonald (UK), Professor Barry McGaw (Australia), Shiv Nadar (India), Professor R. Natarajan (India), Dr. Pak Tee Ng (Singapore), Dr. Denise Pope (US), Sridhar Rajagopalan (India), Dr. Diane Ravitch (US), Sir Ken Robinson (UK), Professor Pasi Sahlberg (Finland), Andreas Schleicher (PISA, OECD), Dr. Anthony Seldon (UK), Dr. David Shaffer (US), Dr. Kirsten Sivesind (Norway), Chancellor Stephen Spahn (US), Yves Theze (Lycee Francais US), Professor Charles Ungerleider (Canada), Professor Tony Wagner (US), Sir David Watson (UK), Professor Dylan Wiliam (UK), Dr. Mark Wormald (UK), Professor Theo Wubbels (The Netherlands), Professor Michael Young (UK), and Professor Minxuan Zhang (China) as they explore the big picture education questions that all nations face today. 

The Global Search for Education Community Page

C. M. Rubin is the author of two widely read online series for which she received a 2011 Upton Sinclair award, “The Global Search for Education” and “How Will We Read?” She is also the author of three bestselling books, including The Real Alice in Wonderland.

Follow C. M. Rubin on Twitter: www.twitter.com/@cmrubinworld

I applaud Dr. Howard Gardner for his op-ed in theWashington Post — “When Ambition Trumps Ethics” — relating to the current alleged and evolving cheating scandal at Harvard University.

In a recent interview with Dr. Gardner, we discussed a number of the moral break-downs in our education system, including the problem of cheating (The Global Search for Education: What Is Good?).

According to a survey of 24,000 high school students in grades 9-12, 95% of students said they cheated during the course of their education, ranging from letting somebody copy their homework to cheating on tests.

Before we can begin to find solutions to cheating, we need to ask the right questions. With the intent of furthering the conversation, here is my list of questions with regard to cheating:

• What can be done to better address students compromising ethics as they deal with performance pressure?
• Do our children really understand the difference between what is cheating and what is not?
• If students’ business, sports and political role models cheat and get away with it, can we expect students not to cheat?
• If students’ teachers, parents and peers are cheating, can we expect students not to cheat?
• Has cheating become an indelible part of our culture?
• How much blame can we place on standardized testing for the problems with cheating?
• Do we believe society needs to challenge our culture’s current definition of success in order to help our children better understand why cheating leads to a precarious life and a precarious society?
• What should be the punishment for someone who cheats?
• Who should take responsibility for the increasing number of cheating scandals over the past few years? Students? Parents? Educators? Society?
• Is it time to focus more on the research of ethics leaders like Dr. Gardner in order to find solutions to cheating?

In The Global Search for Education, join me and globally renowned thought leaders including Sir Michael Barber (UK), Dr. Michael Block (US), Dr. Leon Botstein (US), Professor Clay Christensen (US), Dr. Linda Darling-Hammond (US), Dr. Madhav Chavan (India), Professor Michael Fullan (Canada), Professor Howard Gardner (US), Professor Andy Hargreaves (UK), Professor Yvonne Hellman (The Netherlands), Professor Kristin Helstad (Norway), Jean Hendrickson (US), Professor Rose Hipkins (New Zealand), Professor Cornelia Hoogland (Canada), Mme. Chantal Kaufmann (Belgium), Dr. Eija Kauppinen (Finland), State Secretary Tapio Kosunen (Finland), Professor Dominique Lafontaine (Belgium), Professor Hugh Lauder (UK), Professor Ben Levin (Canada), Professor Barry McGaw (Australia), Shiv Nadar (India), Professor R. Natarajan (India), Dr. Pak Tee Ng (Singapore), Dr. Denise Pope (US), Sridhar Rajagopalan (India), Dr. Diane Ravitch (US), Sir Ken Robinson (UK), Professor Pasi Sahlberg (Finland), Andreas Schleicher (PISA, OECD), Dr. Anthony Seldon (UK), Dr. David Shaffer (US), Dr. Kirsten Sivesind (Norway), Chancellor Stephen Spahn (US), Yves Theze (Lycee Francais US), Professor Charles Ungerleider (Canada), Professor Tony Wagner (US), Sir David Watson (UK), Professor Dylan Wiliam (UK), Dr. Mark Wormald (UK), Professor Theo Wubbels (The Netherlands), Professor Michael Young (UK), and Professor Minxuan Zhang (China) as they explore the big picture education questions that all nations face today. The Global Search for Education Community Page

C. M. Rubin is the author of two widely read online series for which she received a 2011 Upton Sinclair award, “The Global Search for Education” and “How Will We Read?” She is also the author of three bestselling books, including The Real Alice in Wonderland.

Follow C. M. Rubin on Twitter: www.twitter.com/@cmrubinworld

“Without an arts base, many of our students would not be able to access learning.”— Robert Newall, Principal, Port Phillip Specialist School

In Search of Special Education

By C. M. Rubin with Harry Rubin and Michael Freeborn

There are over 400 special schools in Australia, educating around 20 percent of the 150,000 students with special educational needs or a disability who are enrolled in schools nationally. The other 80 percent are enrolled in mainstream schools.

A new book published by the Australian Council for Educational Research (ACER), An Extraordinary School: Re-modelling Special Education, tells the story of the innovative Port Phillip Specialist School in Melbourne. The school, which caters to children aged two to eighteen years with a wide range of severe disabilities, has set high standards of best practice in special education models in that country. Today in The Global Search for Education series, I discuss how this pioneering model approaches special education for children with the book’s editor, award-winning foreign correspondent and mother of a child at the school, Sara James, and Robert Newall, the school’s principal.

Sara, how does the Port Phillip model improve on other specialist school models?

The reason Port Phillip Specialist School (the PPSS) is extraordinary by any international measure is a result of the trio of philosophies at its core, as well as the diversity and excellence of its staff and facilities.

Firstly, the school is fully serviced - meaning it has a wide-ranging staff of teachers, therapists, specialists, a social worker, psychologists, and other experts all available under one roof. That is unusual in a specialist school. Secondly, the school offers an integrated approach, overseen by a central committee. Scarce resources such as occupational or speech therapy are integrated in various ways so that they are spread throughout the day. Furthermore, the staff work together to ensure that they meet the needs of each and every child, as well as helping the children’s families. This comprehensive, systematic integration is crucial to the school’s success. And finally, there is the cutting-edge, arts-based curriculum, which offers a range of music, dance, drama and art classes, as well as music, art and drama therapy. The children are more engaged in their learning, and consequently can learn more and learn more easily.

“It’s because the arts are so enjoyable that they have such potential to be used in education.”— Sara James

Can you describe some examples of how the PPSS educational model specifically helped your daughter Jacqueline to thrive?

Our daughter Jacqueline has complex epilepsy and an intellectual disability, with certain behaviors and characteristics that are consistent with autism. She didn’t begin to speak until she was nearly four years old, and sometimes struggles to control her behavior.

While Port Phillip’s interdisciplinary, holistic approach helps every day of the year, Jacqueline’s situation this past April provides a valuable window on the school’s approach. Jacqueline had suffered a major seizure the month before, and her attention span was extremely short - she could only focus for about five minutes. She was swinging her arms constantly and wandering around the room. Her behavior was also highly challenging - she was spitting at other children and the teachers.

Port Phillip has a large, diverse and talented staff, and many of them were involved in getting Jacqueline back on track. The school’s occupational therapist determined that Jacqueline’s arm swinging indicated her sensory needs weren’t being met. So during recess, Jacqueline got lots of time on the school’s trampolines. The therapist also brought a mini trampoline into the classroom for Jacqueline. It travels with our daughter when she goes to other classes during her school day, such as art, music, choir, and drama. If Jacqueline can’t focus, she jumps on her mini-tramp for five minutes, after which an aide reintegrates her into the activity. Those brief sessions aren’t play-time, but a crucial way to ensure that Jacqueline gets what she needs so that she is available to learn.

The holistic approach of tackling our daughter’s medical, psychological and sensory needs, of helping her to control her behavior, and of coordinating with one another at the school and with us at home, was a powerful force. Jacqueline got much, much better. Port Phillip Specialist School not only educates our daughter, but also has given us wonderful guidance on how best to reach and teach our daughter. The child we enrolled at the age of three who had virtually no language and was incredibly frustrated has become a nearly eight-year-old girl who is happy, confident and settled. Learning will always be challenging for Jacqueline and her medical picture is complicated. But she is in a school environment which helps her achieve her greatest potential and which celebrates who she is as well as what she learns.

“So what do our results look like? They look like students who are happy to come to school, who are able to engage with other people and share communications with others.” — Robert Newall

Rob, Port Phillip (PPSS) is an extraordinary school - what’s the cost per year?

PPSS is a government school that is funded by the taxpayer, so the costs to parents to send their child to PPSS each year is nominal, ranging between $400 - 800 per year. Cost to the government is obviously fairly considerable as our staff to student ratio is very different from a mainstream school. We have around 60 or so staff with an enrollment of about 120 students. Each class has a teacher and an assistant for about 8 students. Size of a class varies according to student profile in each group, from 5 up to 14 students. There are many specialist staff such as therapists and specialist teachers for dance, music, drama, swimming, etc. For a student to access a special school in Victoria, they must have an IQ score below 70. This helps to limit access to schools that are a fairly expensive resource.

How does the cost of this school compare with a typical special education school? What do you believe differentiates you?

Programs at PPSS are no more expensive than at any other special school. What really differentiates us is that PPSS uses an arts base. Our key teaching areas are the development of each student’s communication skills, living skills and numeracy as applicable. Each of these 3 key areas are delivered using the arts - dance, drama, music, and visual art, which provide the engagement hook that enables many of our students to engage with learning. Without an arts base, many of our students would not be able to access learning.

How do the results of students at a school like PPSS compare to the results of other special ed schools in Australia?

Assessing student development using an arts base has always been difficult. In Victoria, all schools have for many years been mandated to use a state sanctioned curriculum, called Victorian Essential Learning Standards (VELS). PPSS has never used VELS and instead we developed our own response to student needs. This is our arts-based curriculum called the Visual and Performing Arts Curriculum (VPAC). VPAC has been the centerpiece of our practice since its inception in 2005.

So what do our results look like? They look like students who are happy to come to school, who are able to engage with other people and share communications with others. Our results look like parents who breathe a sigh of relief when they can see their child flourish as they had been unable to do before. Can this be quantified? Perhaps. This is what we will continue to work on so we can carry our message of the power of an arts-based education for all students, not only for special needs students.

“The reason PPSS is extraordinary by any international measure is a result of the trio of philosophies at its core, as well as the diversity and excellence of its staff and facilities.” — Sara James

Sara, do you believe there are aspects of the Port Phillip approach that could be applied in schools for children without disabilities?

There are many aspects of the Port Phillip curriculum that could be applied to any student, anywhere. Let’s start with VPAC - the Visual and Performing Arts Curriculum. Not only are the arts intrinsically valuable, but also the arts offer opportunities for teaching core subjects like mathematics and English. I have first-hand experience of how the arts can help not only a child with an intellectual disability, but a bright 11-year-old like our older daughter, Sophie. When Sophie was tackling her multiplication tables, a process I remembered as sheer drudgery, I instantly went on the hunt for a musical alternative. Thanks to a CD which set the times tables to various catchy tunes, we quickly sang our way to 12 x 12 = 144. I wound up giving the CD to numerous friends.

What did you learn about the value of the arts in a curriculum from this personal experience?

What always strikes me at Port Phillip is how engaged the students are in their learning, and how happy they seem. These are children for whom learning is very difficult. Yet they are smiling. Paying attention. Working very hard, but enjoying the process immensely. Not only does an arts curriculum help them learn, but also their self-esteem grows exponentially. I think the arts can be a fabulous tool for reaching children who struggle using a more conventional curriculum. I would also say to parents not to worry that it looks like too much fun. It’s because the arts are so enjoyable that they have such potential to be used in education.

For more on An Extraordinary School: Re-modelling Special Education

                             Robert Newall, C. M. Rubin, Sara James

All photos courtesy of Port Phillip Specialist School.

In The Global Search for Education, join me and globally renowned thought leaders including Sir Michael Barber (UK), Dr. Michael Block (US), Dr. Leon Botstein (US), Professor Clay Christensen (US), Dr. Linda Darling-Hammond (US), Dr. Madhav Chavan (India), Professor Michael Fullan (Canada), Professor Howard Gardner (US), Professor Andy Hargreaves (UK), Professor Yvonne Hellman (The Netherlands), Professor Kristin Helstad (Norway), Jean Hendrickson (US), Professor Rose Hipkins (New Zealand), Professor Cornelia Hoogland (Canada), Mme. Chantal Kaufmann (Belgium), Dr. Eija Kauppinen (Finland), State Secretary Tapio Kosunen (Finland), Professor Dominique Lafontaine (Belgium), Professor Hugh Lauder (UK), Professor Ben Levin (Canada), Professor Barry McGaw (Australia), Shiv Nadar (India), Professor R. Natarajan (India), Dr. Pak Tee Ng (Singapore), Dr. Denise Pope (US), Sridhar Rajagopalan (India), Dr. Diane Ravitch (US), Sir Ken Robinson (UK), Professor Pasi Sahlberg (Finland), Andreas Schleicher (PISA, OECD), Dr. Anthony Seldon (UK), Dr. David Shaffer (US), Dr. Kirsten Sivesind (Norway), Chancellor Stephen Spahn (US), Yves Theze (Lycee Francais US), Professor Charles Ungerleider (Canada), Professor Tony Wagner (US), Sir David Watson (UK), Professor Dylan Wiliam (UK), Dr. Mark Wormald (UK), Professor Theo Wubbels (The Netherlands), Professor Michael Young (UK), and Professor Minxuan Zhang (China) as they explore the big picture education questions that all nations face today.
The Global Search for Education Community Page

C. M. Rubin is the author of two widely read online series for which she received a 2011 Upton Sinclair award, “The Global Search for Education” and “How Will We Read?” She is also the author of three bestselling books, including The Real Alice in Wonderland.

Follow C. M. Rubin on Twitter: www.twitter.com/@cmrubinworld

“Moving image education is essential in preparing students for career and college readiness.”— Beth Janson, Tribeca Film Institute

Education in Film

By C. M. Rubin with Harry Rubin and Michael Freeborn

Part 1 of the Education in Film series

Last year, the Museum of the Moving Image in Astoria, New York saw 50,000 students and 5,000 teachers from 13 different states and 12 different countries walk through its doors — an increase of nearly three times in school group attendance since 2001.

While the Museum of the Moving Image (the only museum in the United States dedicated to exploring the art, history and technology of the moving image) believes the growth can be accredited to its rapid expansion and innovative, cutting edge programming, it also believes the 21st century technology revolution has substantially increased public awareness of moving images and interest in creating them. The result is that more educators want to include film as part of an arts curriculum.

Some 95 percent of teens, 12-17, use the Internet, according to a survey conducted by the Pew Research Center’s Internet & American Life Project in 2011. In that study, 27 percent of teens, 12-17, record and upload video to the Internet. A major difference between this study and one conducted in 2006 is that online girls are just as likely these days to upload video as online boys. A sample of high school students I spoke with all knew what a green screen is, and many confirmed to me they have used the relatively inexpensive software now available to create, enhance and manipulate images. Digital tools have revolutionized the way kids express themselves and the way movies are now being made. “Today, many kids are editing videos on their mobile devices,” explains Christopher Wisniewski, Deputy Director for Education at the Museum of the Moving Image. “They understand the concept. They don’t necessarily understand why a professional editor might cut away from a scene at a certain point, or change the pace of his or her edits, or use a specific transition. Increasingly, the goal is to bridge the gap between a basic knowledge of the tools and process to a richer understanding of how each decision made affects the product — and the audience.”

“Creation of original films and animation allows students to have a distinct and powerful voice that honors their own opinions and allows them to explore other points of view and cultures.”— Paul King, Department of Education

In October 2009, a partnership between Mayor Bloomberg’s office of Media and Entertainment and Tribeca Films resulted in the creation of the first Blueprint for Teaching and Learning in the Arts: The Moving Image. According to the Department of Education, one hundred teachers representing about 60 schools with a range of film and media programs have since participated in the Moving Image Blueprint training and support. The schools represent grades pre-kindergarten to 12, as well as special needs schools. I asked Beth Janson, Executive Director of the Tribeca Film Institute, Paul King, Executive Director of the Department of Education’s Office of the Arts and Special Projects, and Chris Wisniewski, Deputy Director for Education at the Museum of the Moving Image, to share their insights, including some of the challenges they face when educating students in film.

Beth, what do you want children to gain from a moving image education?

The Tribeca Film Institute (TFI) youth education programs give students the knowledge and tools to create works of art through storytelling - transforming them from passive consumers of media to thoughtful creators and designers of it. With the rapid shift of technology, students often arrive at school as informal media producers through various Internet channels and daily engagement with computers and mobile devices. Knowing this, we challenge our students to re-examine how they think about the media messages they are confronted with every day, and in the process, create learning experiences that can bridge social and cultural differences, and create a sense of community among students. Moving image education is also essential in preparing students for career and college readiness, and we hope to help students develop a fluency in technology skills that will be paramount to their future success.

“Few teachers have formal training in media production or media studies, but they realize how powerful a tool the moving image can be for teaching and learning.”— Christopher Wisniewski, Museum of the Moving Image

What were the key elements built into the curriculum?

The Blueprint curriculum was not developed to provide step-by-step instruction, but rather to provide developmental guidelines, suggested learning experiences and resources that will allow teachers to customize these concepts to their classroom’s skill level, interests and available materials.

How are students assessed in this curriculum?

Both students and teachers are asked to complete pre and post-program assessments that measure improvements in critical thinking, communication, teamwork and skills gained. Perhaps the best measure of success for many of these programs are the students’ final projects - they really demonstrate how well students are grasping concepts and making the stories their own.

What is your vision for ongoing film education in educational institutions in the next 5 to 10 years?

TFI sees the role of film expanding and heightening in purpose and scope. In addition to traditional filmmaking models, as the Internet’s importance increases in student’s lives, there will be a shift towards producing for web spaces and teaching new media skills, including coding and programming. This fall, TFI is piloting three programs that integrate this technology with filmmaking at the elementary, middle and high school levels.

Additionally, filmmaking as a medium is expanding in its accessibility through smart phones, and computer-based and Internet-based production tools. Harnessing this student interest and widespread availability of technology, TFI is piloting programs in informal learning spaces in order to meet students outside of the traditional learning track. These spaces include correctional facilities, transfer schools and community organizations, making the instruction of film and new media available to all students, regardless of life circumstance, academic prowess and economic conditions.

“In addition to traditional filmmaking models, as the Internet’s importance increases in student’s lives, there will be a shift towards producing for web spaces and teaching new media skills.”— Beth Janson, Tribeca Film Institute

Chris, a changing curriculum requires professional development for teachers in the education system. How has the Museum of the Moving Image contributed to teacher training?

Teacher training has been an essential aspect of what we have done since the Museum’s founding. Outside of media education programs, few teachers have formal training in media production or media studies, but they realize how powerful a tool the moving image can be for teaching and learning. For over twenty years, we have been helping teachers across curricular areas to build the comfort level and expertise they need to bring the moving image into their classrooms.

I also suspect that because young people are so savvy when it comes to media and technology, their teachers might worry about using media in class. It can be quite unsettling for teachers to feel that their students are more adept and have a deeper skill set than they do, so that confidence building is an important part of teacher training.

With the rollout of the Blueprint, we have three teacher training workshops for media instructors. Those workshops were a part of a series that has been developed in collaboration with the Department of Education (DOE), TFI, the Mayor’s Office for Media and Entertainment, and other cultural partners. It’s important for us at the Museum to make certain that the cohort of educators working to adopt the Blueprint knows about the Museum and its resources, and to help create a forum where educators can share their ideas with one another. Educators are often looking for more technical training, but in these workshops, we have tried to emphasize the broader pedagogical challenges of teaching young people how to make media, particularly in the classroom.

Paul, what is the Department of Education’s vision for a moving images program over the next 5 years?

Given that students are increasing facile and familiar with media and creating their own media pieces, we want to provide teachers and school leaders with the content and expertise that they need to assist students to make informed decisions about their own work and the vast amounts of media they encounter.

Creation of original films and animation allows students to have a distinct and powerful voice that honors their own opinions and allows them to explore other points of view and cultures. We aim to assist them in doing this in a responsible and critical manner.

As media programs continue to be developed in New York City Department of Education schools, we will support school-based programs and cultural partners in this work with the goal of increased student media opportunities and ongoing training for teachers.

“Increasingly, the goal is to bridge the gap between a basic knowledge of the tools and process to a richer understanding of how each decision made affects the product - and the audience.”— Christopher Wisniewski, Museum of the Moving Image

Photos courtesy of the Museum of the Moving Image and the Tribeca Film Institute.

In The Global Search for Education, join me and globally renowned thought leaders including Sir Michael Barber (UK), Dr. Michael Block (US), Dr. Leon Botstein (US), Professor Clay Christensen (US), Dr. Linda Darling-Hammond (US), Dr. Madhav Chavan (India), Professor Michael Fullan (Canada), Professor Howard Gardner (US), Professor Andy Hargreaves (UK), Professor Yvonne Hellman (The Netherlands), Professor Kristin Helstad (Norway), Jean Hendrickson (US), Professor Rose Hipkins (New Zealand), Professor Cornelia Hoogland (Canada), Mme. Chantal Kaufmann (Belgium), Dr. Eija Kauppinen (Finland), State Secretary Tapio Kosunen (Finland), Professor Dominique Lafontaine (Belgium), Professor Hugh Lauder (UK), Professor Ben Levin (Canada), Professor Barry McGaw (Australia), Shiv Nadar (India), Professor R. Natarajan (India), Dr. Pak Tee Ng (Singapore), Dr. Denise Pope (US), Sridhar Rajagopalan (India), Dr. Diane Ravitch (US), Sir Ken Robinson (UK), Professor Pasi Sahlberg (Finland), Andreas Schleicher (PISA, OECD), Dr. Anthony Seldon (UK), Dr. David Shaffer (US), Dr. Kirsten Sivesind (Norway), Chancellor Stephen Spahn (US), Yves Theze (Lycee Francais US), Professor Charles Ungerleider (Canada), Professor Tony Wagner (US), Sir David Watson (UK), Professor Dylan Wiliam (UK), Dr. Mark Wormald (UK), Professor Theo Wubbels (The Netherlands), Professor Michael Young (UK), and Professor Minxuan Zhang (China) as they explore the big picture education questions that all nations face today.
The Global Search for Education Community Page

C. M. Rubin is the author of two widely read online series for which she received a 2011 Upton Sinclair award, “The Global Search for Education” and “How Will We Read?” She is also the author of three bestselling books, including The Real Alice in Wonderland.

Follow C. M. Rubin on Twitter: www.twitter.com/@cmrubinworld

“It is impossible to overestimate how important educational institutions are to society. We need to invest in them.” — Lord Ken Macdonald

International Thinking

By C. M. Rubin with Harry Rubin and Michael Freeborn

The technology revolution continues to play a significant role in making it easier for students to think internationally in terms of their higher education options. The Internet has made it simpler for students to research and apply to universities. Interviews can be done by Skype. At a time when President Obama has raised awareness for the rise in U.S. college costs, American students are increasingly thinking international and seeking their degrees across the pond (in England) according to HESA. Not only are there in many cases savings to be made in tuition fees, the top UK universities rival the best American ones in terms of prestige (see Times Higher Education World University Rankings and U.S. News World’s Best Universities Rankings). Putting aside finances and rankings, what price would you put on the cultural experience of studying in one of the oldest and most famous universities in the world?

“Architecture aims at Eternity,” said Sir Christopher Wren — astronomer, mathematician, the greatest architect of his age and an alumnus of Wadham College, University of Oxford. One definitely gets the sense, when talking with other illustrious alumni of this institution, that it has been built and sustained to last for eternity. Wadham College was founded by Nicholas and Dorothy Wadham in the reign of King James I. Nicholas Wadham (a Somerset landowner) died in 1609, leaving his fortune to endow an Oxford college in the very capable hands of his 75-year-old widow Dorothy. This remarkable lady overcame numerous challenges to open the college within four years of her husband’s death and continued to support and sustain it until her own death in 1618. The college only accepted men initially, but it went on to become one of the first colleges at Oxford to allow women as full members in 1974.

“Oxford now sets its own entry exams, that is, tests for individual subjects.” — Lord Ken Macdonald

On September 1, 2012, Lord Ken Macdonald, one of the UK’s top criminal lawyers and a former Director of Public Prosecutions, will commence as Warden (head of the college). Lord Macdonald was Director of Public Prosecutions for the UK from 2003-2008. In 2007 he was knighted for services to the law. In July 2010, he became a Liberal Democrat Peer and a member of the House of Lords, with the title Lord Macdonald of River Glaven QC. He is a visiting Professor of Law at the London School of Economics and member of the Advisory Board of the Center for Criminology at the University of Oxford. I had the opportunity to chat with him about his international thinking for Wadham College, among other things.

What do you see as the most important contributions an Oxford education makes to the intellectual and character development of the individual?

Oxford is about education at a very high level. Broadly speaking, entry is very competitive. We’re looking to attract the brightest kids from the broadest possible backgrounds. Once we understand our incoming students’ potential, we deliver a pretty intensive program of work designed around developing that potential fully. We want them to be the best that they can be. Right from the start of their careers as freshmen, our undergraduates are taught by college fellows who are world leaders in their field of interest, either one-to-one or in tutorial groups of two or three. So they are getting the benefit of very high level, personalised intellectual input from the start. This approach to teaching is one of Oxford’s great strengths. Essentially, we want to provide an environment in which people can progress as far as they are capable of going.

“We want to provide an environment in which people can progress as far as they are capable of going.” — Lord Ken Macdonald

What are your views about standardized tests and the university admissions process? How do you ensure you are getting the brightest kids out there for Wadham?

Let me give you my view of this from what I have seen at Wadham. All the young people who enter Wadham from the UK will have done very well in their A Level examinations. They will have achieved Grade A or A* in their subject areas.

Additionally, we have reverted to what used to happen thirty or forty years ago. Oxford now sets its own entry exams, that is, tests for individual subjects. For example, if a student wants to read English, the student has to take a specific test. There are also special tests for Law, Politics and Philosophy, languages and so on. The examinations are very good at assessing people’s potential as much as their past experience. The tests include things that the students may have studied at A Level but there may also be questions that are well off the school syllabus. Students will be expected to show some creativity when answering them. That’s an important part of our assessment process. The next part of our assessment process is that every candidate under consideration is interviewed. They are interviewed by the world-renowned tutors who will be teaching them should they be accepted. I sat in on some interviews with students who wanted to study German as well as interviews for students who wanted to study Classics. In each interview, the candidate was given a poem in English twenty minutes before he came in to see the tutor. The tutor then asked him to deconstruct the poem and to critique it. The process gives the tutor an opportunity to assess the student’s ability to think creatively and of course, under pressure. It is a challenging process but it is designed to evaluate what a person may be capable of in the future as well as where that person is at the moment.

“Putting aside the challenges, I believe that technology is going to be at the heart of how education is delivered during the course of this century.” — Lord Ken Macdonald

I assume you want to attract students from anywhere in the world? Those students are going to have studied different curricula in different education systems. How will you assess those students?

Wadham is very relaxed about students coming from a different kind of education background. That’s not a problem for us. Let’s suppose you had a student coming from the United States. Their school curriculum is going to be different from ours in the UK. In the United States, students do not specialize in subject areas while in secondary school as they do in the UK, and so American students may not yet be at the level of those students coming from an English school. That doesn’t necessarily trouble our fellows because they are looking for future potential as well as the good examination results that you will have received to date.

We have world-class universities in the UK and I think we see the rest of the world as a big opportunity in continuing to develop them. UK universities have as high proportion of international students as any other country in the world, and that is particularly true at Oxford. For instance, Wadham accepts a group of students from Sarah Lawrence College in the US every year. This has been a very successful program. I teach graduate classes at the London School of Economics and I would say 70% of my students are from outside the UK. Wadham is one of the strongest colleges academically at Oxford and I am particularly keen that we increase the number of incoming students from North America because there is obviously so much talent in those countries. Many of our foreign graduate students come from North America. We also have many undergraduates from around the world, especially from China, Hong Kong, India and Europe. Obviously, the larger the pool of bright students you have to select from, the higher the intellectual quality of your student body.

What’s your view on international assessments such as the IB?

I am quite keen on the International Baccalaureate and some schools in the UK have now introduced it. I personally think A Levels are a little too specialized. For example, my son is currently doing A Level English, History and French. If he was doing the Baccalaureate, he’d be doing more subjects and I personally think that is better. UK academic institutions are very aware of the international marketplace. A bright student applying from a North American school to Wadham will be assessed firstly in terms of the context of the education they have had to date and secondly in terms of the potential they show through the special Wadham assessment test and the interview. We would not necessarily turn down a student because they were not at A Level standard in a particular subject. If we thought they were capable of getting up to speed and of thriving at Oxford, that would be sufficient and we would welcome them with open arms.

“What I want Wadham to be is a beacon for high academic achievement, for fairness in selection and for creating an international community.” — Lord Ken Macdonald

Technology presents opportunities and challenges. How do you view the role of technology and the Internet in higher education?

First of all, I believe the Internet is a fantastic resource for students. Students now have information at their fingertips that I only dreamt of when I was a doing my A Levels. I had two or three textbooks and what you could get out of the library. So students now have fantastic resources. Secondly however, this easy availability may present a risk, which is the temptation to get everything you need at the last minute — you may become over-reliant and get out of the habit of thinking for yourself. The third thing is the problem of plagiarism and that’s an issue all universities face. We have to be vigilant. The internet, when properly used, is a fantastic resource for students. Additionally, the ways in which students can communicate with each other, with their teachers, throughout the college and the world are brilliant. Putting aside the challenges, I believe that technology is going to be at the heart of how education is delivered during the course of this century.

Picking up the reins in your new role as Warden of Wadham, any final thoughts you would like to add?

I think educational institutions are wonderful things. They are capable of building communities, spreading knowledge, developing civilization — all of these important things. It is impossible to overestimate how important educational institutions are to society. We need to invest in them. I don’t just mean in financial terms but in intellectual and emotional terms as well. What I want Wadham to be is a beacon for high academic achievement, for fairness in selection and for creating an international community in which students, fellows, and graduates can come together in intellectual drive. I think the universities in Britain are absolutely integral to the way we British see ourselves. They are important institutions and we need to nurture them.

More information on Oxford tuition costs for international students.

        Lord Ken Macdonald and C. M. Rubin

Photos courtesy of Wadham College, University of Oxford.

Thanks to HESA and the Times Higher Education World University Rankings.

In The Global Search for Education, join me and globally renowned thought leaders including Sir Michael Barber (UK), Dr. Michael Block (US), Dr. Leon Botstein (US), Professor Clay Christensen (US), Dr. Linda Darling-Hammond (US), Dr. Madhav Chavan (India), Professor Michael Fullan (Canada), Professor Howard Gardner (US), Professor Andy Hargreaves (UK), Professor Yvonne Hellman (The Netherlands), Professor Kristin Helstad (Norway), Jean Hendrickson (US), Professor Rose Hipkins (New Zealand), Professor Cornelia Hoogland (Canada), Mme. Chantal Kaufmann (Belgium), Dr. Eija Kauppinen (Finland), State Secretary Tapio Kosunen (Finland), Professor Dominique Lafontaine (Belgium), Professor Hugh Lauder (UK), Professor Ben Levin (Canada), Professor Barry McGaw (Australia), Shiv Nadar (India), Professor R. Natarajan (India), Dr. Pak Tee Ng (Singapore), Dr. Denise Pope (US), Sridhar Rajagopalan (India), Dr. Diane Ravitch (US), Sir Ken Robinson (UK), Professor Pasi Sahlberg (Finland), Andreas Schleicher (PISA, OECD), Dr. Anthony Seldon (UK), Dr. David Shaffer (US), Dr. Kirsten Sivesind (Norway), Chancellor Stephen Spahn (US), Yves Theze (Lycee Francais US), Professor Charles Ungerleider (Canada), Professor Tony Wagner (US), Sir David Watson (UK), Professor Dylan Wiliam (UK), Dr. Mark Wormald (UK), Professor Theo Wubbels (The Netherlands), Professor Michael Young (UK), and Professor Minxuan Zhang (China) as they explore the big picture education questions that all nations face today.
The Global Search for Education Community Page

C. M. Rubin is the author of two widely read online series for which she received a 2011 Upton Sinclair award, “The Global Search for Education” and “How Will We Read?” She is also the author of three bestselling books, including The Real Alice in Wonderland.

Follow C. M. Rubin on Twitter: www.twitter.com/@cmrubinworld

“We are thrilled that Penguin made the decision to embrace us because we believe we are now a significant part of the publishing industry.” — Kevin Weiss

Once upon a time, the power of an author was not solely dependent on the strength of her words to inspire the human spirit. A conflict which made her talent powerless was the likelihood of discoverability. Then along came a knight in shining armor called technology. Technology innovated the way her words were written, produced, marketed and even enjoyed. Perhaps most important of all, technology handed the author the power (should she choose) to control the destiny of her words.

Penguin (owned by the global media company, Pearson plc) is part of one the world’s big six traditional publishers. Author Solutions Inc. is the world’s leading provider of self-publishing services (the company has published 190,000 books by 150,000 authors). When Penguin embraced self-publishing by acquiring ASI this July, publishing industry experts scrambled to their technology platforms to debate what it all meant. I asked Kevin Weiss, President and CEO of Author Solutions, to discuss the Penguin union and in particular, what it might mean for the power of an author.

“We build platforms for authors and we can build them at a lightning pace compared to the pace of a traditional publishing company. I think Penguin saw those services as important.” — Kevin Weiss

What brought Penguin and Author Solutions together? What synergies were seen?

Traditional publishers have been watching the fast changing developments in the publishing landscape. Four or five years ago self-publishing was a very dirty word. I tell my staff that I could pick a fight on any street corner because of where I worked. Today I can’t do that because self-publishing has gone mainstream.

The time was right for us to look for a new parent. We are thrilled that Penguin made the decision to embrace us because we believe we are now a significant part of the publishing industry. We don’t do what Penguin does in terms of curation and aggressive distribution of content. However, we do things that they do not do. We build platforms for authors and we can build them at a lightning pace compared to the pace of a traditional publishing company. I think Penguin saw those services as important in terms of how their business model will transform moving forward.

Author Solutions sees the Penguin process as one we can continue to learn from. For example, three years ago we made the decision to take our business model to traditional publishers such as Harlequin and Thomas Nelson. Thomas Nelson embraced our model (in WestBow Press — a Christian self-publishing imprint) and it has been a very successful imprint for them. Compared to our own self-publishing imprints such as AuthorHouse and iUniverse, partner imprints like Westbow Press give authors unique access to services not available on other imprints and the parent watches the titles for potential pick up. In fact, Westbow Press has had five titles picked up by traditional publishers and only three of them have been by Thomas Nelson. Based on that example and other successful imprint models, we believe that traditional publishing will continue to be a part of what we are doing.

“I think in the future the traditional publishers are going to become far more transparent with authors about what they can and cannot do.” — Kevin Weiss

The number of manuscript submissions to Penguin must run into 5 figures each year. Only a small percentage of those submissions ever get published. Did you see an opportunity to convert rejected authors into self-published authors?

We are very careful not to redirect unsolicited manuscripts. Over time we may have to think about whether there is a way to help authors with rejected manuscripts find another route to develop them. Penguin has been trying to do something like that with Book Country (on-line writing community owned by Penguin). At Author Solutions, we are developing an early warning system for self-published authors that are doing well so that we can share that information with our parent. We will only do this for authors published by our owned and operated imprints. Our partner imprints will be off-limits to our parent.

Recently an author in the WestBow Press imprint got picked up by another traditional publisher — not Thomas Nelson. Regardless of who issues the contract, I think it’s a good thing for indie authors when they are discovered.

Author Solutions has a global network of POD printers and distributors. You also have a great deal of expertise and resources in the digitization of books. Did you see operational synergies here?

I think Penguin is moving into the POD business strategically with their backlist titles. I think our experience in this area will be beneficial to them. We are currently one of the largest global companies in POD in terms of the number of books we handle. We also have published more than 100,000 e-book titles so we believe our experience in digital will also be an asset. One other thing that is exciting to me is that we will have access to great in house designers at Penguin. Our team is looking forward to learning from them.

When will print on demand reach cost parity with offset printing?

It is getting there. HP just came out with some incredible new printers. Costs are coming down dramatically. I’m not sure if or when POD will reach cost parity with the bigger offset runs, but with shorter runs, we are not far away from being comparable to offset.

“I’m not sure if or when POD will reach cost parity with the bigger offset runs, but with shorter runs, we are not far away from being comparable to offset.” — Kevin Weiss

Would you say five years time?

I’d say maybe even less.

Once that happens would you agree the risk would be significantly lowered for authors who want to take the plunge and self-publish?

Yes, but of course there’s a tremendous amount of work that goes into making a successful book such as editing, cover and interior designs, and marketing and promotion. I think in the future the traditional publishers are going to become far more transparent with authors about what they can and cannot do. At that point it will be time for authors (especially up and coming authors) to understand how things work. Instead of thinking they have a publishing contract so they don’t have to do anything, they will understand that from an economic standpoint, that just isn’t the case.

Author Solutions hopes to work with Penguin in the same way we work with our other traditional publishers. We do a tremendous amount of data analytics in our business. This enables us to see where books are being sold so that we can explore new opportunities for authors. We hope we’ll be able to assist authors in terms of building their platforms through the services we offer. Once an author has built a large following, the publisher is able to make a greater investment in terms of marketing the author’s book.

Any new predictions on market share for physical books versus e-books going forward?

ASI has not seen a decline in our physical books in the retail channel. We’ve seen a rapid growth in the units we have that are digital. I know that traditional publishing has seen a lot of pressure on hard cover but at the same time e-books have grown. What’s interesting to me is that although e-books are still growing, they now appear to be growing at a slower rate. This is despite the fact that tablets continue to grow. I don’t have a crystal ball so I can’t tell you at this point if e-books are going to be 30%, 40% or 50% of the market.

“We are developing an early warning system for self-published authors that are doing well so that we can share that information with our parent.” — Kevin Weiss

Why should an author publish for a fee when he/she can publish for free?

There are a lot of free services in the marketplace. ASI has a free service (Booktango) and I think we’ve got one of the best platforms in free publishing. The tools are fairly good in the marketplace for free publishing because they’re easy, the process is fast, it’s online, and so why would somebody spend $1500 to publish their book when they can do it for free? The primary reason is our focus on quality. We work with authors to make each book the best that it can be. We are there for authors 24x7x365. We are a one-stop shop for all of the services needed to make your book successful in the marketplace. In the free publishing space, there is still work to be done to increase the depth and quality of the offerings. We have years of book publishing experience and we are working to embed that experience in our Booktango offering, but one thing that we do offer are the highest royalties in the industry with the broadest distribution network of any of our competitors. As I’ve said before, it’s the best time ever to be an author. Authors are able to do a tremendous amount of research on the publishing process and make choices depending on the goals they want to achieve.

Will ASI be developing partnerships with other traditional publishers going forward?

During our discussions with Penguin, it was important to us that we were able to continue to expand our partnerships with other publishers. Penguin was emphatic that we do this. I was an IBM sales rep when IBM announced the PC in 1981. At that time, many believed that PC’s had no future as business tools. We know now that not only did PC’s have a future, but the innovation and adjacent product lines that followed were unbelievable. In five years time, when people look back on what we’ve done with Penguin, I believe they’ll see this as a watershed moment - this will be the moment traditional publishers and Penguin in particular recognized that self-publishing is a real and a vital part of the industry.

               Kevin Weiss and C. M. Rubin

Photos courtesy of Penguin Group (a division of Pearson plc) and Author Solutions Inc.

C. M. Rubin is the author of two widely read online series for which she received a 2011 Upton Sinclair award, “The Global Search for Education” and “How Will We Read?” She is also the author of three bestselling books, including The Real Alice in Wonderland.

Follow C. M. Rubin on Twitter: www.twitter.com/@cmrubinworld

“I think our key strategy to engage students in learning is to have good teachers, those who understand their students, tailor teaching strategies according to their students’ profile, and make lessons interesting.” — Dr. Pak Tee Ng

More From Singapore

By C. M. Rubin with Harry Rubin and Michael Freeborn

Singapore is recognized globally as a high-performing education system. Singapore students fared very well in the 2009 Program for International Student Assessment (PISA). Out of 65 countries that took part in these tests, Singapore students ranked fifth in reading, second in mathematics and fourth in science. “Singapore also had the second highest proportion (12.3 percent) of students who are top performers in all three domains,” according to a press release from Singapore’s Ministry of Education.

How do teachers motivate students in the Singapore school system? How do they level the playing field between rich and poor students? How do they handle behavioral problems? Are they obsessed with testing?

These are some of the questions I received from readers after the last Q and A we did on the Singapore education system in May. This week we are honored to once again share the views of Dr. Pak Tee Ng on these questions. Dr. Pak Tee Ng is Associate Dean, Leadership Learning, Office of Graduate Studies and Professional Learning, and Head and Associate Professor, Policy and Leadership Studies Academic Group, at the National Institute of Education, Nanyang Technological University, Republic of Singapore.

What methods of motivation does the Singapore school system use to keep kids engaged in learning?

Student motivation in learning is a challenge in many education systems, including Singapore’s. We do not have a standardized way or a best practice of addressing this challenge. But I often ask educators to reflect: “How do we expect inspired learners if we do not have inspired teachers?” I think our key strategy to engage students in learning is to have good teachers, those who understand their students, tailor teaching strategies according to their students’ profile, and make lessons interesting. I also think we need to challenge our mindsets regarding students’ motivation to learn. Young children start off with a natural curiosity and willingness to learn. But many seem to have lost their motivation after some years of schooling, despite teachers’ motivational efforts. Why? Perhaps, we have gotten the wrong end of the stick. The challenge is not to find methods of developing their learning motivation. The challenge is not to extinguish it! Educators should continuously cultivate and tap children’s innate interest in learning. A different philosophy suggests different strategies!

“There was recently an increasing awareness of the importance of pre-school education in a child’s development and therefore an effort on the part of the government to improve the quality of pre-schools in Singapore.” — Dr. Pak Tee Ng

How does your education system nurture the theme of innovation? Can you share some examples from schools in Singapore that are already doing this?

In 2004, the Education Ministry launched an initiative called “Innovation and Enterprise” (I&E) to focus educators’ attention on the theme of innovation. However, we do not focus on innovation for the sake of innovation. Instead, it is a reminder to educators to allow our students to try new things and to use their enterprising spirit to undertake projects that can be beneficial to others. It is to encourage students to be intellectually curious about matters beyond textbooks or examinations, have the courage to live with ambiguity and to take calculated risks, and be passionate, persistent and resilient. Moreover, I&E is a platform for values inculcation, as part of its aim is to help students develop a sense of teamwork and contribution to the community, grounded in a set of timeless values such as integrity, social responsibility and respect for others. In other words, we are developing character traits that will be helpful to our next generation, whether they become scientists, businessmen or public officers.

Each year, the Education Ministry organizes the MOE ExCEL Fest (ExCEL stands for Excellence through Continuous Enterprise & Learning), which is a platform to celebrate and share innovative practices in schools. During the two-day event, various schools show their students’ innovations to other schools and the public. Examples of student innovation for the 2012 festival ranged from mathematics games that were designed by pupils of Chua Chu Kang Primary School to complement the teaching and learning efforts by their teachers, to a prototype for an “Ultra Flu Relief Mask” comprising a disposable surgical mask with an inbuilt semi-permeable membrane that secretes a medication such as Vicks, by two students of Pei Hwa Presbyterian Primary School.

How do teachers and leaders in your school system handle behavioral issues?

Most behavioral issues (especially persistent ones) are symptoms that have deeper root causes. Teachers and leaders in our schools handle students with behavioral problems by first trying to understand the deeper problems that these students face. They usually take a problem-solving and counseling approach to work out long-term solutions that can help these students grow in maturity.

In Singapore, the philosophy toward student discipline is that discipline is an educational process to develop students’ values and moral faculties. The aim of discipline is not to punish but to develop self-discipline in them. But this does not mean that students can escape punishment for wrongdoing. However, educators recognize that meting out a punishment is not equal to solving the problem.

Singapore schools are allowed to cane students if necessary. This applies to boys only. However, there are strict guidelines to determine the appropriateness of such punishment and clearly defined procedures for meting out the punishment. It is one of the last courses of action rather than the first line of remedy. The caning may be administered only by the Principal or Vice-Principal, or by a specially designated and trained discipline teacher. Other teachers do not cane students. The parents of the errant student are informed of his misbehavior and punishment.

Prevention is better than cure. Our schools now teach students Social Emotional Learning, comprising 5 core competencies of self-awareness, social awareness, self-management, relationship management, and responsible decision-making, so that they may acquire the skills, knowledge and dispositions to be mature and productive individuals who can manage themselves and relate well with others.

“If a school or school system continues to assess students in a way that is not relevant to the industries, that school or school system will become redundant.” — Dr. Pak Tee Ng

What are your thoughts on what many call an obsession with testing? If there were less testing, wouldn’t teachers and educators be able to focus on a more holistic education?

The key word here is “obsession.” Fundamentally, there is nothing wrong with a test. With appropriate feedback and follow through, students can learn from a test. However, what many educators are concerned with now is an obsession by various stakeholders (including educators themselves) with testing and the test results. Such tests are not really motivated by learning but come with high stakes and consequences, real or perceived, related to one’s future paths. The challenge is therefore to gradually increase the number of alternative pathways for students and widen the definition of success. Testing can then indeed become a tool for learning, and not a driver for obsessive behaviors by stakeholders of education. This of course is easier said than done. I think holistic education does not refer to an education without test. I think holistic education aims to help each person find identity, meaning, and purpose in life. Suitable levels and amount of testing, focused on learning, can play a positive role in it.

How in your view should 21st-century students be assessed in a competitive world?

It is quite fashionable nowadays to say that 21st century students should learn and be assessed in 21st-century skills. However, beyond this broad statement, there does not seem to be an authoritative answer to what this assessment should look like in practice, taking into consideration contextual differences and the difficulties in accurately assessing certain types of learning. But I think a model of 21st-century assessment will emerge in due course, not because of what we think it should be from a theoretical perspective, but because of changes driven by the increasing proximity between schools and industries.

I feel that in the future, education will be brought closer to working life and the industries. The closer interaction between schools and industries will bring about a change in the way that students are assessed. If a school or school system continues to assess students in a way that is not relevant to the industries, that school or school system will become redundant. On the other hand, if a school or school system assesses students in a way that is closely aligned to industrial needs, the qualifications given out by the school or school system will be sought after by various stakeholders. Students who can demonstrate competence in such assessments will definitely find themselves needed by the world after they leave school. Therefore I think 21st century assessment is not a static picture but an evolving one, as schools and industries come more closely together.

“What has been done in Singapore to make education more equitable is to allow students access to educational pathways based on their merit and to give financial aid to poor but deserving students.”— Dr. Pak Tee Ng

How does your education system level the playing field between children from rich and poor families?

Children from rich families have more resources at their command compared with those from poor families, and the field is never completely level. However, what has been done in Singapore to make education more equitable is to allow students access to educational pathways based on their merit (not on financial abilities), and to give financial aid or subsidies to poor but deserving students, so that they are not denied access to education because of financial difficulties.

For example, the Ministry of Education provides a Financial Assistance Scheme to needy Singapore citizen students so that all Singaporeans, regardless of their financial background, can benefit from education. Under this scheme, needy students receive full waiver of school fees and miscellaneous fees, and receive free textbooks and school uniforms. The government also provides a School Advisory Committees’ Fund to allow more targeted aid to students who need even more assistance. Interestingly, there was recently an increasing awareness of the importance of pre-school education in a child’s development and therefore an effort on the part of the government to improve the quality of pre-schools in Singapore. A government committee was immediately set up to examine the issue of removing barriers which prevented children from low-income families from attending pre-school.

Realistically, I think we will never be able to level the playing field completely. But, there are mechanisms to make it possible for a child from a poor family to overcome financial barriers to pursue education according to his or her potential. Singapore is too small to afford wastage in human resources.

           Dr. Pak Tee Ng and C. M. Rubin

Photos courtesy of Dr. Pak Tee Ng.

In The Global Search for Education, join me and globally renowned thought leaders including Sir Michael Barber (UK), Dr. Michael Block (US), Dr. Leon Botstein (US), Professor Clay Christensen (US), Dr. Linda Darling-Hammond (US), Dr. Madhav Chavan (India), Professor Michael Fullan (Canada), Professor Howard Gardner (US), Professor Yvonne Hellman (The Netherlands), Professor Kristin Helstad (Norway), Jean Hendrickson (US), Professor Rose Hipkins (New Zealand), Professor Cornelia Hoogland (Canada), Mme. Chantal Kaufmann (Belgium), Dr. Eija Kauppinen (Finland), State Secretary Tapio Kosunen (Finland), Professor Dominique Lafontaine (Belgium), Professor Hugh Lauder (UK), Professor Ben Levin (Canada), Professor Barry McGaw (Australia), Shiv Nadar (India), Professor R. Natarajan (India), Dr. Pak Tee Ng (Singapore), Dr. Denise Pope (US), Sridhar Rajagopalan (India), Dr. Diane Ravitch (US), Sir Ken Robinson (UK), Professor Pasi Sahlberg (Finland), Andreas Schleicher (PISA, OECD), Dr. Anthony Seldon (UK), Dr. David Shaffer (US), Dr. Kirsten Sivesind (Norway), Chancellor Stephen Spahn (US), Yves Theze (Lycee Francais US), Professor Charles Ungerleider (Canada), Professor Tony Wagner (US), Sir David Watson (UK), Professor Dylan Wiliam (UK), Dr. Mark Wormald (UK), Professor Theo Wubbels (The Netherlands), Professor Michael Young (UK), and Professor Minxuan Zhang (China) as they explore the big picture education questions that all nations face today.
The Global Search for Education Community Page

C. M. Rubin is the author of two widely read online series for which she received a 2011 Upton Sinclair award, “The Global Search for Education” and “How Will We Read?” She is also the author of three bestselling books, including The Real Alice in Wonderland.

“How do we preserve some sense of Truth, Beauty and Goodness at a time we have so much change going on?” — Howard Gardner. Photo by Megan Morr, Duke Photography

What is Good?

By C. M. Rubin with Harry Rubin and Michael Freeborn

Truth, Beauty, Goodness — what do they mean to young and old in a 21st century world experiencing dramatic technological and philosophical change? A man who understands the difficulty in educating for the virtues in a challenging new age is perhaps better known around the world for his theory of multiple intelligences than for his decades of study of a topic which is arguably the most pertinent of our times.

I wondered how the theories and views expressed in Dr. Howard Gardner’s book, Truth, Beauty and Goodness Reframed: Educating for the Virtues in the Age of Truthiness and Twitter, might apply to some of the egregious moral break-downs such as the sexual abuse, invasion of privacy, standardized test cheating and plagiarism scandals which have haunted some of our most respected institutions recently. He agreed to discuss this with me.

Howard Gardner is the John H. and Elisabeth A. Hobbs Professor of Cognition and Education at the Harvard Graduate School of Education. Among numerous honors, Gardner received a MacArthur Prize Fellowship in 1981. He has received honorary degrees from 26 colleges and universities. In 2005 and 2008, he was selected by Foreign Policy and Prospect magazines as one of the 100 most influential public intellectuals in the world.

What inspired you to write Truth, Beauty and Goodness Reframed: Educating for the Virtues in the Age of Truthiness and Twitter?

I began as a psychologist. When educators showed interest in my work, I began to reflect on my own educational vision. 15 years ago, I began working on a book called The Disciplined Mind. In that book I argued that the purpose of education, beyond the acquisition of literacies, is to give us the tools to determine what’s true and what’s not, what’s beautiful and what’s not, and what’s good and what’s not. To make it concrete, I used three examples. For truth, I used the theory of evolution. For beauty, I used the music of Mozart. For goodness and badness, I used the Holocaust. I was interested in how we could make use of our multiple intelligences to convey these very rich topics.

Critiques came from two different directions. On the one hand, there were philosophical and epistemological critiques from postmodernism, which basically said; “Who are YOU to say what’s true? Beauty is an old fashioned idea. Goodness is relative.” So I got a pretty severe postmodern critique. The second critique came from the emerging technologies. At the time the book was written, no one had thought about the web, social networks, Twitter and virtual realities. And yet each of these inventions challenges traditional notions of truth, beauty, goodness. I realized I had to go back to the drawing boards. If Truth, Beauty and Goodness are to be the backbone of education, I had to be able to respond to the philosophical critiques on the one hand and to the technological revolution on the other. So that is what inspired me to write the book.

“Either you say thi

What is the principal message of Truth, Beauty and Goodness Reframed?

The right question: How do we preserve some sense of Truth, Beauty and Goodness at a time we have so much change going on?

1. With respect to truth, we need to understand the METHOD by which people make their assertions. What is the basis, what is the evidence, for truth claims?

2. With respect to beauty, the canon is gone. The good news is that we have access to all the works of art ever created and we can each form our own portfolio (physical, virtual or just in your head) of beauty. These will be things that we find interesting and memorable, things we wish to revisit. Our portfolio of beautiful things can be very diverse and it will also change over time.

3. With respect to goodness: When it comes to how you treat your neighbor, the answer is contained in the Ten Commandments. But when it comes to how you deal with people in a complex, division of labor, hyper connected world, we have to reinvent our relations to other people. In our study of good play (see goodworkproject.org) we ask how, in the 21st century, we reinvent things like privacy, intellectual property, identity, trust-worthiness, and what it means to belong to a community.

Competition to succeed has become more intense than ever. How do we balance competition in our lives? How might the views in your book apply to some of the standardized test cheating scandals that continue to make headlines?

In Truth, Beauty and Goodness, I recommend the creation of what I call “commons.” Within schools (both physical and virtual) we need places where people can talk honestly about the problems that arise in our contemporary world with respect to the mission of that institution — for example a school, or a newspaper.

Consider, for example, how to use a commons when there is an epidemic of cheating. We bring together parents, students and teachers, and it’s often a revelation. For example, the parent might say, “You know you should not cheat. I told you cheating was wrong.” The child might reply, “Yes, but when I came home with a B you said I don’t want any more B’s.” The child says to the teacher, “Sam and I told you that Johnny cheated but you did nothing about it.” Or, “You wrote the same thing on all of our papers rather than reading each paper carefully.” And so you need to have very open conversations, skillfully moderated, leading to viable policies that are enforced.

An example discussed in the book. Some years ago the Dean of Admissions at a major university had been fired because she had lied about her credentials. In the group of 20 students I was working with, nobody endorsed the firing of the Dean. Either the students said, “Well, if she was doing a good job, why fire her?” Or they said, “Everybody lies on their resume.”

To answer your question, here are the simple choices. Either you say this is the way things are and there is nothing more we can do OR you say this is the new world and we can do better. We need vivid examples of good work, and vivid examples of the consequences of bad work — both for the bad worker and for the larger society. When the head of a large bank in England recently got in trouble because of tinkering with the interest rates, he was forced to resign. If teachers or presidents of universities submit the work of others as their own, they should be fired.

“There need to be norms and rules that emerge from the discussions of the principal stakeholders in an organization.” — Howard Gardner. Photo courtesy of Harvard Graduate School of Education

You have said that “the odds of ascertaining the truth about something are better than ever…” Would this apply to the Murdoch hacking scandal?

There is a huge amount of information on the internet and there are many claims. If somebody makes a claim, you have to ask what kind of evidence do they have? If they have evidence, they are credible. If they do not, you should ignore it. Twenty or thirty years ago, there were only a few recognized media. There were also things that journalists knew but that they did not publish. That has all changed. The delicious paradox of the Murdoch case is that he was using technology tools to get information but now those technology tools are been used on him.

How do the views expressed in your book apply to some of the egregious moral break-downs within our most respected institutions such as the child abuse scandal at Penn State and the alleged abuse at the Horace Mann School in Riverdale?

My distinction between neighborhood morality and the ethics of roles is helpful here. Abusing children is always wrong. These are immoral acts that need to be identified and punished the way any violations of the Ten Commandments are. Anybody who would defend pedophilia would be foolish.

The ethics of roles comes in when the question is raised about organizations that do credentialing of other professional organizations. On what basis can they remove either the individuals who work at those institutions (like a coach or a president) or the institution itself (removing its degree granting powers)? How do you deal with a large institution in cases where a Dean lies about her credentials or the higher-ups ignore the reports of child abuse? In my terms, those are ethical issues not moral issues. It is easier to deal with a situation if you already have an operating ethical code like the Hippocratic oath.

“When somebody violates a core principle, that person needs to be punished and that punishment needs to be known.” — Howard Gardner. Photo by Megan Morr, Duke Photography

When we create a culture that is highly competitive, i.e. success is based on results - are we setting ourselves up for some of the issues we’ve discussed today?

Absolutely. When the word goes out that you are going to be judged by how much money you bring in, and in addition, someone is indicating “I’m not interested in how you are going to do it, just go for it!”, there is a problem. If you see your life as a series of steps from an elite private school to an Ivy League School to Goldman Sachs or its equivalent, and you are going to keep blinders on from anything that might keep you from getting there, you are likely to end up in big trouble. One of the things I say in my book is this: If you want to be a journalist, the decision whether to work for NPR or for Fox is an incredibly important decision.

In the case of issues that institutions like News Corp, or Penn State or Horace Mann are facing today, I think the first question one needs to ask is: Is this damage control or does this require serious purging, rethinking, reinvention? If it’s damage control, how we get better press releases, and what we do to correct the immediate problem, then I can predict the next crisis is at hand.

If we decide there is something seriously wrong with a community that could do this kind of thing, and that we need to reflect, rethink and perhaps rework what we do and how we do it, then there is some hope for serious change. And here is where the “commons” comes in. There need to be norms and rules that emerge from the discussions of the principal stakeholders in an organization. In a school, that may include the college admissions officer, the teachers, the parents and the students in the same room. Policies must have “buy in” from all these groups. One of the reasons some institutions don’t prosecute kids for cheating is that the parents threaten to sue. The consequences have to be publically known and the stakeholders, including parents, have to support them.

When somebody violates a core principle, that person needs to be punished and that punishment needs to be known. As far as I know, in 375 years, Harvard has never fired a tenured professor for plagiarism. But today you can’t keep things secret anymore and that is what’s good.

How should we assess truth and goodness?

Someone in India took my work very literally and came up with a ten point scale for goodness. I responded. Rather than quantifying, why don’t we just have an arrow instead? If something looks healthy and ethical, we’ll let the arrow point up. If it looks like it’s getting worse, we’ll let the arrow point down. To me, that’s a far better way to think about the moral fiber of a place, and not 1 to 10. I’d be happy if Goldman Sachs, Horace Mann, Penn State, or Harvard would install a commons with an arrow that could be reoriented in the center.

More information on Howard Gardner’s good work: The GoodWork Project

           Howard Gardner and C. M. Rubin

In The Global Search for Education, join me and globally renowned thought leaders including Sir Michael Barber (UK), Dr. Michael Block (US), Dr. Leon Botstein (US), Professor Clay Christensen (US), Dr. Linda Darling-Hammond (US), Dr. Madhav Chavan (India), Professor Michael Fullan (Canada), Professor Howard Gardner (US), Professor Yvonne Hellman (The Netherlands), Professor Kristin Helstad (Norway), Jean Hendrickson (US), Professor Rose Hipkins (New Zealand), Professor Cornelia Hoogland (Canada), Mme. Chantal Kaufmann (Belgium), Dr. Eija Kauppinen (Finland), State Secretary Tapio Kosunen (Finland), Professor Dominique Lafontaine (Belgium), Professor Hugh Lauder (UK), Professor Ben Levin (Canada), Professor Barry McGaw (Australia), Shiv Nadar (India), Professor R. Natarajan (India), Dr. Pak Tee Ng (Singapore), Dr. Denise Pope (US), Sridhar Rajagopalan (India), Dr. Diane Ravitch (US), Sir Ken Robinson (UK), Professor Pasi Sahlberg (Finland), Andreas Schleicher (PISA, OECD), Dr. Anthony Seldon (UK), Dr. David Shaffer (US), Dr. Kirsten Sivesind (Norway), Chancellor Stephen Spahn (US), Yves Theze (Lycee Francais US), Professor Charles Ungerleider (Canada), Professor Tony Wagner (US), Sir David Watson (UK), Professor Dylan Wiliam (UK), Dr. Mark Wormald (UK), Professor Theo Wubbels (The Netherlands), Professor Michael Young (UK), and Professor Minxuan Zhang (China) as they explore the big picture education questions that all nations face today.

The Global Search for Education Community Page

C. M. Rubin is the author of two widely read online series for which she received a 2011 Upton Sinclair award, “The Global Search for Education” and “How Will We Read?” She is also the author of three bestselling books, including The Real Alice in Wonderland.

Follow C. M. Rubin on Twitter: www.twitter.com/@cmrubinworld

Annelies Štrba - Nyima 438, 2009. Courtesy Annelies Štrba and Frith Street Gallery, London.© VG Bild-Kunst, Bonn 2012.

Ever since Lewis Carroll gave the original manuscript of Alice’s Adventures In Wonderland to 10-year-old Alice Liddell as an early Christmas gift in 1864, the visualization of the story has been an integral aspect of the work. From the late 19th century to the present day, visual artists around the world have found their own ways to reflect and portray the imaginative dreamlike world first discovered by an extremely curious and courageous little girl. So what do Carroll’s “Alice” books mean to Germans young and old?

The Hamburger Kunsthalle is now presenting its own Alice in the Wonderland of Art exhibition, a considerably modified version of the Alice in Wonderland exhibits shown earlier this year at the Tate Liverpool (UK) and the MART Rovereto (Italy). The exhibit features many new works drawn from Hamburger Kunsthalle’s own collection as well as from other major international museums and private collections. I asked the Curator of the exhibit, Dr. Annabelle Görgen-Lammers, to take me down the rabbit hole and talk me through the fantastic experience that visitors to the Hamburger Kunsthalle have in store.

Thorsten Brinkmann - Bertha von Schwarzflug mit Zahmesdunkel, 2010.Courtesy Galerie Mathias Günther. © VG Bild-Kunst, Bonn 2012.

What do Lewis Carroll’s “Alice” books mean to Germans young and old?

Most Germans seem to remember Carroll’s “Alice” from their childhood. Their parents have read it to them and they have read it to their children, or they have seen one of the multiple “Alice” films. Thus for most visitors, the first association with the exhibition is going back into their own childhood and rediscovering the childhood feelings and childhood questions. However, especially with the last popular film (by Tim Burton), “Alice” has become very popular with all people. Finally, with cult-films of the 1990s like Matrix referring to scenes from “Alice”, mid-life people started to rediscover the wide range of interpretations and different layers of the story. As “Alice” has become part of the collective memory worldwide, and this to a great degree based on the multiple films, we also placed an emphasis on film rooms with artistic interpretations of the story from the very first film (1903) onwards. We also added historical and recent popular theatre references — costumes and films — of productions our public in Germany remembers (e.g. a Robert Wilson show with music from Tom Waits).

What can visitors to the Hamburger Kunsthalle “Alice in the Wonderland of Art” exhibit expect to discover when they visit?

The broad range of media on show demonstrates the variety of approaches to this subject matter, and with a special mise-en-scene, the exhibition transforms itself into a striking visual wonderland. Visitors can thus expect to discover new information on the making and reception of the story and exhibits of the highest art-historical quality. In addition, they also can expect to dive emotionally and psychically into a wonderland themselves. They are confronted with very sensual art works, film rooms and whole room installations, in which their own bodies will seem to have shrunk together or expanded like Alice’s. With these corporal experiences they can start to understand in an emotional way all the metamorphoses Alice had to go through. They actually can experience what it is like to be confronted with repeated metamorphoses of the rooms, the language, the images, and their own bodies, and thus they can experience what it means to be confronted like Alice with the constant metamorphoses of your very self.

Pipilotti Rist - Das Zimmer, 1994. Friedrich Christian Flick Collection in Hamburger Bahnhof.© Courtesy Pipilotti Rist and Hauser & Wirth. Photo: Stefan Rohner.

What will make the Kunsthalle’s exhibit unique in contrast to the Mart and the Tate version?

The artistic reflections on the subject of Alice in Wonderland clearly show that hidden within this apparently simple children’s story is an intricate web of references to the history of ideas, principles of logic and philosophical concerns. At the same time it is a highly entertaining story that contains many absurd, alogical or nonsense elements, and it is also peppered with subtle wit and irony. The imaginative dream-like world of the narrative thus allows existential issues to be explored in a “playful way.” We took this “playful way” of experiencing highly philosophical questions “seriously.” We took it as a model for our additions and remodeling of the exhibition. We added more than 20 additional artistic positions. Amongst others, we added fascinating works of very well-known artists like Pipilotti Rist, Leonor Fini, and Sir John Tenniel. We added major works of well-known German artists such as Stephan Balkenhol, and room-installations of Stephan Huber, but we also included very playful, sensual works of unknown young artists such as an interactive installation of the Finnish artist Hanna Haaslahti. In addition, we arranged the exhibition in a completely new way. We quit the strict chronology and invented a course of metamorphoses that the visitor can experience himself. To help the public, which may not be completely clear anymore on the fascinating ideas and texts of the original book, we placed in every room one of the illustrations of John Tenniel, like a motto, introducing the specific topics and social or philosophical questions to which the artists displayed in the room refer.

Sir Peter Blake - Illustrationen für Through the Looking-Glass, 1970. Tate Collection.© Peter Blake 2002. VG Bild-Kunst, Bonn 2012.

Can you tell us about some of the German artists and writers that have been inspired by Lewis Carroll’s works? Are any of these important artists or their works featured in the Kunsthalle exhibit?

We added a lot of important works by international as well as German artists such as Max Ernst, Richard Oelze, Thorsten Brinkmann, Stephan Balkenhol, and Stephan Huber. Stephan Huber’s room installation for example consists of a tiny, secret door through which all visitors have to pass, to encounter behind this a giant hat of more than 2 meters size, which finally speaks to you, citing experiences that Alice had.

Do you think Germans are aware of the story behind the story, i.e. that Alice Liddell was Carroll’s inspiration for the story and also that many of the characters in the book were inspired by her family and her environment?

I think after the visit to the exhibition, which includes a lot of material on Dodgson and the Liddell family, the visitor’s view on Alice is enriched on not only this point. As I have already experienced in the first weeks of the exhibition, this information is of great interest to the public who want to learn more about the historical background of this most imaginative story. Finally, we even have a photo by Dodgson of Alice Liddell as our main marketing motif and thus everyone dives into the wonderland by first getting to know the context of its creation.

Kiki Smith - Pool of Tears II (after Lewis Carroll), 2000.© Kiki Smith/Universal Limited Art Editions, Inc.

What does this exhibit mean to you?

I think it is a great chance for every visitor to rediscover himself and his own childhood dreams — the fears as well as the hopes, the fantastic as well as the cruel sides of growing up. Thus it is a chance to reflect on one’s own life, in addition to discovering fascinating and historically prominent artworks. In the two years preparation, I myself had the chance by diving back into the book again to completely fall in love again with the story, its wit, and its deep content. Even if Wonderland is cruel in some parts, Carroll showed us that humor is a way to solve things. It is a highly philosophical book, which can be read on different layers like the exhibition we created about it and out of its spirit.

What are some of your personal favorites in the exhibits?

As I am a specialist on surrealist art, I highly respect and value the reflection of the book by the surrealists, such as in Max Ernst’s “Alice from 1941.” But I also love the room installations allowing the spectator to become a playful participant and forcing him or her to reflect on his or her own identity. I highly appreciate the fascinating art films on Carroll’s inventions, such as Jan Svankmeier’s film, Jabberwocky, or Gary Hills’ Come on Petunia. But indeed, as in Wonderland, it is not the single encounter or one single work which puts things into question, it is the whole deliberately incoherent flow of the story and thus the totality of our reworked exhibition which is my favorite.

For more information on the Hamburger Kunsthalle “Alice” exhibit

  Dr. Annabelle Görgen-Lammers and C. M. Rubin

All photos are courtesy of the Hamburger Kunsthalle.

Alice Community Page

C. M. Rubin is the author of two widely read online series for which she received a 2011 Upton Sinclair award, “The Global Search for Education” and “How Will We Read?” She is also the author of three bestselling books, including The Real Alice in Wonderland.

Follow C. M. Rubin on Twitter: www.twitter.com/@cmrubinworld

“Ruskin’s concern for art education applied to the development of the power of the hand and eye for everyone.” — Professor Robert Hewison

Art in Education

By C. M. Rubin with Harry Rubin and Michael Freeborn

John Ruskin was probably the greatest British critic of art, culture and society of the nineteenth century, in addition to being an educator. He believed that art and the development of imagination were profoundly important to an individual’s education. Ruskin was Oxford University’s first Slade Professor of Fine Art. I recently had the pleasure to connect with Professor Robert Hewison after reading his illuminating book, Ruskin and Oxford: The Art of Education. “Ruskin believed that everyone had visual as well as verbal capacities that needed to be developed in order to become a complete human being, and that the apprehension of truth depended on the power of observation,” explained Hewison. “His concern for art education applied to the development of the power of the hand and eye for everyone, not just people who hoped to become professional artists.”

My curiosity to discover more about John Ruskin’s legacy found me outside the great doors of the Ruskin School of Drawing and Fine Art on Oxford’s High Street. Would Ruskin recognize all the practices that went on there today, I wondered? I had the pleasure of discussing this with Dr. Jason Gaiger, Head of the school today and a Fellow of St Edmund Hall, Oxford.

“Drawing and painting are not just about producing beautiful objects. They are also about learning to look, and to learn to look is to learn to understand.” — Dr. Jason Gaiger

Jason, would you say John Ruskin’s legacy is evident in the Ruskin School today?

Ruskin’s legacy is not evident in the way that is sometimes thought. He has the historical status of being a great Victorian figure, so people sometimes think that the School is a very traditional center of painting and drawing techniques. In fact, it is a contemporary art school. Students here study everything from installation, performance, and video art to the latest multi-media technology. But they also have a strong grounding in traditional art skills. One of the things that makes the Ruskin distinctive is that it is now the only art school in the country where students still draw from the cadaver, made possible through the close connection with the School of Pathology here at the University of Oxford. There are also life-drawing classes that are open to the students and to other members of the University.

Where does the school fit in under the larger University of Oxford umbrella?

The School was founded in 1871 and was originally housed in what is now the Ashmolean Museum of Art and Archeology. The students at that time would draw from the casts and the sculptures there. For a long while, the School was not, perhaps, central to the main concerns of the University and it didn’t have degree awarding powers. In 1974, it moved from the Ashmolean to the current site on the High Street. In 1977 it was fully incorporated and the degree course was introduced, becoming a classified BFA honours degree in 1991. Equally importantly perhaps, all the students now have a college association. That means although they study here at the Ruskin, they also belong to one of the colleges, whether it be Christ Church or St. Edmund Hall or one of the others. Students here are being trained to be artists. However, because they are studying at the University of Oxford, their experience is different from that of students at some of the London art schools who can sometimes be trapped in a fine-art bubble where they only encounter other art students. Our students share college facilities with people who are studying a range of subjects across the University. Art is as much about ideas as it is about physical materials, and here at Oxford, students have direct access to a treasure house of ideas. The University is an incredible source of knowledge that artists can draw on and allow to feed into their art practice.

“New technology is definitely on the rise and students are of course interested in the possibilities it opens up.” — Dr. Jason Gaiger

What are your thoughts on the amount of focus given to the arts in K through 12 in the UK?

What we find during the admissions process is that students who come straight from A level (secondary school) aren’t always ready to study art at degree level. A school education is not usually enough and students generally need to do a foundation course after secondary school to bring them to the appropriate level. There may be a few exceptions of incredibly gifted students or students who have received unusually good support in the secondary school they have come from. An underlying question here is whether visual intelligence is valued in the same way as verbal intelligence in secondary schools. The Ruskin is perhaps unusual in that, as well as a strong portfolio, students need to get the same high A level grades as for any other academic subject at Oxford; the same criteria apply whether you want to study fine art, medicine or law. At the Ruskin, 25% of the BFA degree is in the history and theory of art, which means that a substantial part of the program is academic as traditionally conceived. We tend to attract students who are both verbally and visually gifted. But in the portfolio we’re really looking for potential. I think that’s where we feel we are not given the support we would like from secondary schools. Fine art teaching in secondary schools often takes the form of set projects. All the pupils in a class are given the same specified tasks to complete with the result that the work they produce ends up looking rather similar. In other words, the students’ individuality has not been fully developed. For this reason, we always interview candidates and ask the students to talk to us about the work they have produced.

“Ruskin believed that everyone had visual as well as verbal capacities that needed to be developed in order to become a complete human being.” — Professor Robert Hewison

What do you believe the role of the arts should be in education today?

It troubles me when the arts are treated as something supplementary or merely ancillary to the university’s core activities. My own view is that the arts are just as intellectually rigorous, just as demanding and just as exacting in their standards of excellence as any other field of learning. The students here at the Ruskin don’t feel they have any less standing than their peers working in other subject areas. As I mentioned, there is a substantial academic component to the BFA degree involving the study of art history and theory, but the studio-based component of the degree has its own intellectual value. Art does not have to rest upon the traditional methods of academic learning in order to justify itself as an independent mode of enquiry. Perhaps the appropriate comparisons are not to be made with other humanities subjects. The sorts of activities that take place in the studio are quite dissimilar to the largely text-based research that takes place in the history faculty, for example. But there may be points of commonality with the forms of research that take place in science labs or among mathematicians. We need to recognize that there are many different forms of rigorous intellectual enquiry (like studio art) that don’t involve sitting down and writing essays.

One of the leading education systems in the world — Finland — is planning to increase the number of hours allocated to the arts in secondary education. Does that surprise you?

It doesn’t surprise me. There is a difference, of course, between the attempt to develop a more holistic approach to educational development at school level and the inevitable degree of specialization that takes place at university. By the time students come to Oxford, they have already elected to study a particular subject. However, we encourage students not to isolate themselves in a specific discipline. One of the advantages of the collegiate system is that it allows students to make connections across disciplinary boundaries and thus to acquire a much broader sense of what constitutes knowledge. I strongly endorse providing greater support for the arts at school level. Drawing and painting are not just about producing beautiful objects. They are also about learning to look, and to learn to look is to learn to understand.

“The arts are just as intellectually rigorous, just as demanding and just as exacting in their standards of excellence as any other field of learning.” — Dr. Jason Gaiger

Technology has changed the arts enormously. How do you view the benefits and the challenges of this change?

Here at the Ruskin there used to be a large print making department. It was a slow, rather time-consuming process and the equipment took up a lot of space. Today that process has been replaced in part by the use of computer imagery and digital software such as Photoshop, though print making still remains. There is an element of organic evolution in this. New technology is definitely on the rise and students are of course interested in the possibilities it opens up. However, you still have to learn how to use the technology and even then the technology is not going to do the work for you. We encourage students to acquire the necessary skills to enable them to do what they want, but without becoming slavishly dependent on acquiring skills that aren’t deployed for some purpose. The world is full of people who are technically accomplished but this doesn’t suffice to turn them into artists. Nonetheless, technical skills are indispensible. Let me give you an example. Someone may have the most wonderful ideas for building a large-scale sculpture, but unless she has learned how to construct it properly, perhaps through making a maquette, she does not yet know whether it will be sufficiently stable to carry its own weight.

For more information about the Ruskin School

          Dr. Jason Gaiger and C. M. Rubin

Photos courtesy of the Ruskin School of Drawing and Fine Art.

In The Global Search for Education, join me and globally renowned thought leaders including Sir Michael Barber (UK), Dr. Michael Block (US), Dr. Leon Botstein (US), Professor Clay Christensen (US), Dr. Linda Darling-Hammond (US), Dr. Madhav Chavan (India), Professor Michael Fullan (Canada), Professor Howard Gardner (US), Professor Yvonne Hellman (The Netherlands), Professor Kristin Helstad (Norway), Jean Hendrickson (US), Professor Rose Hipkins (New Zealand), Professor Cornelia Hoogland (Canada), Mme. Chantal Kaufmann (Belgium), Dr. Eija Kauppinen (Finland), State Secretary Tapio Kosunen (Finland), Professor Dominique Lafontaine (Belgium), Professor Hugh Lauder (UK), Professor Ben Levin (Canada), Professor Barry McGaw (Australia), Shiv Nadar (India), Professor R. Natarajan (India), Dr. Pak Tee Ng (Singapore), Dr. Denise Pope (US), Sridhar Rajagopalan (India), Dr. Diane Ravitch (US), Sir Ken Robinson (UK), Professor Pasi Sahlberg (Finland), Andreas Schleicher (PISA, OECD), Dr. Anthony Seldon (UK), Dr. David Shaffer (US), Dr. Kirsten Sivesind (Norway), Chancellor Stephen Spahn (US), Yves Theze (Lycee Francais US), Professor Charles Ungerleider (Canada), Professor Tony Wagner (US), Sir David Watson (UK), Professor Dylan Wiliam (UK), Dr. Mark Wormald (UK), Professor Theo Wubbels (The Netherlands), Professor Michael Young (UK), and Professor Minxuan Zhang (China) as they explore the big picture education questions that all nations face today.
The Global Search for Education Community Page

C. M. Rubin is the author of two widely read online series for which she received a 2011 Upton Sinclair award, “The Global Search for Education” and “How Will We Read?” She is also the author of three bestselling books, including The Real Alice in Wonderland.

                     ”I mark this day with a white stone.” - Lewis Carroll

On a special day in the town where Lewis Carroll (aka Charles Dodgson) lived and wrote his famous fairy tale, where would an author dream of sharing her book? Where would an author want to show off her carefully selected outfit while browsing through hundreds of other books thoughtfully and tastefully displayed to complement her book event? Where would an author expect to discover savvy booksellers while savoring the scent of freshly brewed coffee? Where would an author get the chance to connect with another talented author, a Victorian historian, a Carrollian expert, a celebrated screenwriter, enthusiastic book fans…oh, and not to mention a rabbit and a dormouse? Where else in the world but the wonderland that is Waterstones book shop in Oxford?

The name’s James. James Daunt.

When I interviewed the charismatic Chief Executive of Waterstones in November of last year (see here), he had recently taken over the job of reorganizing the troubled chain. We spent a fair amount of time talking about the difficulty for books to continue to compete with alternative forms of entertainment and for book shops such as Waterstones to remain vibrant and successful in a publishing age of disruptive innovation led by the new game changers on the endcap, Amazon and Apple. “There is a clear dynamic within Amazon to dominate its markets,” commented Daunt.

Since that interview, this mover and shaker in the world of books has proved to be a bit of a game changer himself. He changed the book chain’s name (Waterstone’s became Waterstones). He changed the cornerstone of the book chain’s sales strategy by doing away with its renowned discount (three books for the price of two).

Do you know that expression, “Keep your friends close and your enemies closer”? James does. Unlike Barnes and Noble, which chose to take on Jeff Bezos with their multi-million-dollar investment in the Nook, James felt his chain had neither the time nor expertise for that. He recently announced a tie-up with Amazon in which Waterstones will stock Amazon’s Kindle plus offer free Wi-Fi so that customers can buy or download books in-store. Daunt prefers to focus his efforts on improving the book shop experience for his customers — a special day out that would be memorable for both authors and readers. To ensure that is the case, James Daunt is spending his multi-millions on sprucing up more than 100 of Waterstones book shops with enhancements that include dedicated Kindle areas as well as Waterstones’ own brand of café and cakes. Ladies and gentlemen, coming soon to a Waterstones near you: Café W.

Now, once the digital enemy has been let inside the wonderland that is Waterstones, which of the two strong brands will dominate? Will Jeff be able to steal away James’ precious customers despite all those stimulating store improvements and knowledgeable, helpful Waterstones staff, once those patrons are linked up to Amazon? That depends a lot on us, the book customers. Will we continue to support the places of recreation which we all grew up loving? Will we seek out Waterstones special events and a chance to live a little, show off our finery, schmooze with new friends, meet talented people, sample a café, nibble a cake and at the end of it all, take home our personally signed copies for our deeply cherished bookshelf? Alternatively, will we prefer to stay indoors and browse the Internet, save several pennies, shop around in comfy pyjamas, click on a mouse, download a file or wait a few days for the physical purchase to arrive in its functional little brown box?

Ever the optimist and always the romantic, I can’t help thinking that now Jeff and James are metaphorically under the covers together, meaning they must have schmoozed and figured out that jointly they represent the perfect world for writers and lovers of books. Jeff has bragged about the fact that his best-selling authors smile when his company is their publisher. Amazon authors are ecstatic about the number of customers Amazon can deliver without a lot of hard promotion work on the author’s part.

But authors, like customers, are complicated people. Of course, we like to sell lots of books and make lots of money. But I don’t know an author who doesn’t cherish a book signing in a lovely store to present her hard work to the enthusiastic people who come to meet her. A day so special she would want to “mark it with a water stone”; indeed, a day so special she would also need to mark it with a Huff post.

                             C. M. Rubin, Gaynor Arnold, Gabriella Rubin

Photos courtesy of Henmead Enterprises, Inc.

Alice Community Page

C. M. Rubin is the author of two widely read online series for which she received a 2011 Upton Sinclair award, “The Global Search for Education” and “How Will We Read?” She is also the author of three bestselling books, including The Real Alice in Wonderland.

Follow C. M. Rubin on Twitter: www.twitter.com/@cmrubinworld

More Technology, Please!

By C. M. Rubin with Harry Rubin and Michael Freeborn

Disrupt and Conquer! How far can technology go to ensuring no child gets left behind in school? In America’s race to eliminate the domestic and international achievement gaps, when will blended learning models be effective enough to disrupt the existing mainstream classroom system?

In 2008, Michael Horn and Clayton M. Christensen co-authored the book Disrupting Class: How Disruptive Innovation Will Change the Way the World Learns (McGraw-Hill). Today, as executive director of the Innosight Institute, Horn leads a team that studies the innovative ways technology is already transforming America’s education system into one in which every student, whatever his/her learning needs, can realize his/her full potential. Heather Staker is a senior research fellow for the Education Practice at Innosight Institute and the author of “The rise of K-12 blended learning: Profiles of emerging models.”

I asked Michael and Heather to share their insights on blended learning in this week’s edition of The Global Search for Education.

Heather, can you briefly describe the term “blended learning” and the four different types of models that serve as blended learning?

Blended learning is a formal education program that includes two components. The first is online delivery of content and instruction, where the students have at least some control over the time, place, path, and/or pace of their learning. The second is that the students also attend a supervised brick-and-mortar location.

Through our research, we are observing four main models. The Rotation model is any time students rotate on a fixed schedule between online learning and other modalities for any given course. In the Flex model, student schedules are more fluid and content and instruction are delivered primarily by the Internet. The Self-Blend model is any time students take one or more courses entirely online to supplement their traditional courses. The Enriched-Virtual model involves students dividing their time within each course between attending campus and learning remotely online.

“The Flex model also creates natural and potentially rich opportunities for students to interact with other students.” — Michael Horn

Michael, which of the four models do you believe is best?

None of the models is “the best” per se. At this point, different schools will be able to put in place different models depending on their distinct needs and capabilities. Long term, I am most intrigued by the Flex model and believe that a combination of it and the Self-Blend model will likely represent the ideal educational model. The reason is that it most naturally puts students first so that all students can personalize and own their learning, which should mean more motivated students and more effective learning for all. The Flex model also creates natural and potentially rich opportunities for students to interact with other students to engage in challenging projects based on each student’s needs while preserving and potentially strengthening activities such as fitness and the arts.

Can you give me a real life example of the Flex model?

One of the best examples I have seen of the flex model was in Morgan Hill, California. This is a district south of San Jose where about a third of its students are Hispanic and I believe over a third of its students are on free-and-reduced price lunch. The school is called the Silicon Valley Flex Academy - Grades 6 through 12. As you walk into the school there are a couple of huge open spaces on either side where every student has his/her own office. In this space, each student has his/her own computer. The students are encouraged to decorate their own space with things they like (in the same way an adult might decorate an office at work). There are break out classrooms around the perimeter of the building. Here teachers are getting the data on how the kids are doing. Teachers can pull students into these break-out classrooms in very small groups. The teacher is then able to focus on a student’s individual issues. The teacher’s job is totally different in this arrangement. The fascinating thing was how much ownership the students have over their learning. They all knew exactly what was expected of them the entire year. They knew exactly how they were doing at any point. Their job was to learn the material. If they could get the work done during the school day there was no homework. So it was up to the individual students to make those decisions.

“Because online learning allows for modularity, it can in theory customize learning for each student’s individual needs.” — Michael Horn

You say “the teacher’s job is totally different in this arrangement.” Were teachers learning on the job? Did you see any challenges in terms of educating teachers to use the Flex model?

The teachers I spoke to explained that they had been trained to do lesson planning, lectures to large groups of students and classroom management — none of which they were now doing. They explained that the adjustment was difficult. Training has not been built into the formal teacher training system for programs like this, and few are really thinking about it at the moment. Now, the teacher is still doing teaching or tutoring when pulling students out into small groups for project-based work, but instead of this being determined by a pacing guide, this is now being determined by where the students are in their learning. What was so interesting was that in this model, teachers were able to do the tutoring and value enrichment work that teachers really like to do but don’t always get time to do in a classroom. One of the challenges the teachers mentioned was staying on top of scheduling. How do you keep track when you have students at different places in the curriculum? Those were tough decisions for teachers to make and they were, as you say, learning on the job.

What feedback did you get from the students in terms of being motivated to learn?

A number of students said to me: “Last night I was so bored. It was a three-day weekend and I decided to jump on my computer and do some math.” So I said, “You decided to jump on during the weekend and do math?” One student explained she thought it was fun to go on and get ahead a little bit. When I asked them if they ever did that in their old school model, they replied, “Not a chance!” When students own their learning, they feel responsible for it and motivated to do it. What they also appreciated was that the teacher was no longer there to “punish them” or “grade them down”. Instead the teacher was there to help them reach their goal. This is much more of an environment built around success and motivation versus failure.

“Several schools are already delivering highly customized blended-learning environments, and the results are promising.” — Heather Staker

How far can online learning in blended systems go towards leveling the playing field for different types of learners?

At the moment, it appears that the sky is the limit but we also don’t fully know. Because online learning allows for modularity, it can in theory customize learning for each student’s individual needs. However, we are just in the early days of leveraging this as well as leveraging the enormous amounts of data we can receive in real-time about how a student is doing, which should allow us to adapt our approaches in exciting ways also in real time for each child. Today we’ve grasped the power of online learning to individualize for students, particularly those struggling ones, along the dimension of pace. But we haven’t come close to grasping the power to vary the paths for students.

Heather, what do you believe is the effectiveness of a blended learning school versus a brick and mortal school and versus a school that uses some tech but is not blended?

By many measures, America’s traditional brick-and-mortar classroom model is failing. The Program for International Student Assessment (PISA) in 2009 ranked U.S. students as 14th in reading, 25th in math, and 17th in science compared to students in other industrialized countries. One cause of this underperformance is that the system is inflexible. Students move through grade levels in standardized batches and monolithic curricula, regardless of how each child learns best. School leaders often think technology will help. They add bling with electronic whiteboards, iPads, and digital lesson plans, but none of these on its own transforms the factory structure. The attraction of blending online learning into schools is that online learning allows for modularity. It can customize around the learning pathway each student follows, who teaches them, and how fast they master each concept. Several schools are already delivering highly customized blended-learning environments, and the results are promising.

Michael, what challenges do you see with blended learning systems?

I think one challenge is executing it well. I think the changing role of the teacher is profoundly challenging. It is unfair that a huge percentage of what teachers have been taught is irrelevant in this learning environment. The beauty of this system is that computers are able to do what computers do well. Humans are freed up to do what humans do best.

I also think the assessment system that we have in place in schools is a problem for this learning system going forward. Assessment needs to be based on where each individual child started and then grew to and finally ended up in a particular year, versus a snapshot once a year view of an entire school.

For more information on the Innosight Institute: http://www.innosightinstitute.org/

                                 Michael Horn, C.M. Rubin, Heather Staker

Photos courtesy of Silicon Valley Flex Academy and Stern + Associates.

In The Global Search for Education, join me and globally renowned thought leaders including Sir Michael Barber (UK), Dr. Michael Block (US), Dr. Leon Botstein (US), Professor Clay Christensen (US), Dr. Linda Darling-Hammond (US), Dr. Madhav Chavan (India), Professor Michael Fullan (Canada), Professor Howard Gardner (US), Professor Yvonne Hellman (The Netherlands), Professor Kristin Helstad (Norway), Jean Hendrickson (US), Professor Rose Hipkins (New Zealand), Professor Cornelia Hoogland (Canada), Mme. Chantal Kaufmann (Belgium), Dr. Eija Kauppinen (Finland), State Secretary Tapio Kosunen (Finland), Professor Dominique Lafontaine (Belgium), Professor Hugh Lauder (UK), Professor Ben Levin (Canada), Professor Barry McGaw (Australia), Shiv Nadar (India), Professor R. Natarajan (India), Dr. Pak Tee Ng (Singapore), Dr. Denise Pope (US), Sridhar Rajagopalan (India), Dr. Diane Ravitch (US), Sir Ken Robinson (UK), Professor Pasi Sahlberg (Finland), Andreas Schleicher (PISA, OECD), Dr. Anthony Seldon (UK), Dr. David Shaffer (US), Dr. Kirsten Sivesind (Norway), Chancellor Stephen Spahn (US), Yves Theze (Lycee Francais US), Professor Charles Ungerleider (Canada), Professor Tony Wagner (US), Sir David Watson (UK), Professor Dylan Wiliam (UK), Dr. Mark Wormald (UK), Professor Theo Wubbels (The Netherlands), Professor Michael Young (UK), and Professor Minxuan Zhang (China) as they explore the big picture education questions that all nations face today.
The Global Search for Education Community Page

C. M. Rubin is the author of two widely read online series for which she received a 2011 Upton Sinclair award, “The Global Search for Education” and “How Will We Read?” She is also the author of three bestselling books, including The Real Alice in Wonderland.

Follow C. M. Rubin on Twitter: www.twitter.com/@cmrubinworld

                                Scholarship ceremony at Peking University

By C. M. Rubin with Harry Rubin and Michael Freeborn

During the course of a visit to Yale University, I had the pleasure of meeting up with Yale student Lun Pei Ng.

Lun Pei is a 1st year graduate student at Yale School of Public Health, concentrating in Epidemiology of Microbial Diseases. She graduated from Peking University Health Science Center as a medical student in 2011. Her interests lie in infectious disease control as well as health care management. As a Hong Kong resident, she is passionate about applying her knowledge in medicine and public health to promote health and wellness in Hong Kong and China after graduation.

I invited Lun Pei, with her China/US education perspectives, to contribute to this week’s edition ofThe Global Search for Education.

What did you find to be the best parts of your Chinese secondary school in your preparation to pursue your life goals? What would you like to have seen more or less of?

We have a high standard for quantitative subjects like math, physics and chemistry. We go deeply into each question and try to understand the origin of the most important formulas before using it in different settings. These practices help us view problems in a more detailed and logical way, even for those who later pursue a career in arts. Moreover, since we go deeply into these subjects and students have the chance to participate in the Nationwide Olympic Games for Science (which requires knowledge comparable to university level), this overall approach is a good platform for students to see if they really have interest in these areas.

However, I think we could do more to integrate the things we learn into solving practical problems, for instance, using theories in physics and chemistry to explain real life problems and encourage students to think on their own.

Also, I think it would be better if we had fewer requirements of formula memorization, and were allowed to use calculators for complex calculations in tests. In this way, learning would be more efficient and more focus could be put on methods instead of results.

           Graduation from Peking University

What are your views about standardized testing in high school? How much reliance should be placed upon it to measure the effectiveness of teachers and the capabilities of students?

Personally I think it’s fair to use a uniform system to test all students in a single subject, especially for a country with as big a population as China. The tests also serve as a guide for teachers to find where their emphasis should be. Although the result for a single exam may not fully represent your capabilities, the long-term record does help explain the difference in students’ abilities. In terms of measuring the effectiveness of teachers, I think it’s somewhat useful if we look at the trend of the whole class instead of just comparing the mean score of different classes.

I think it is important for universities to set benchmarks for test scores for admission. But once a person passes the benchmark, more emphasis should be put into evaluating a person’s experience, and whether he/she would be a good fit for the field.

Based on your personal experience, how would you compare your first tier Chinese university experience at Peking University with your first tier university education in the US at Yale University?

Since I was studying medicine at Peking University and changed to Public Health at Yale, it’s not a direct comparison with regard to curricula. But based on my personal experience and information from my classmates, I think the courses at Yale are more practical and applicable to real life, and the curriculum content is updated much faster (e.g. new articles on the effectiveness of HPV vaccine were introduced while we were learning the topic). The homework, case studies and projects require a combination of different skills rather than text memorization, designed to give us the chance to apply theories to practice. Also, this provides a good platform for idea sharing and group assignments. I think my abilities in creative and critical thinking have significantly improved at Yale.

The courses are well connected to each other. More resources are given to the individual, e.g. everyone has an advisor to help answer academic questions and guide his career choices. Professors are very accessible and encourage different ideas from students. The program gives you the basic skills you need in your future work and helps you figure out what your real interest is.

Interaction among different schools and majors is highly encouraged; for example, there are joint courses provided to Public Health and Law School students, and you can select courses from different schools. One thing that impressed me a lot is the efficient use of different media tools (like email and facebook) in spreading academic news, and you can get almost all the information you need from the Internet.

However, I think sometimes the atmosphere of classes in the US is too loose and random. Students are encouraged to raise questions but in my opinion this is excessive. Students in China tend to think twice before raising a question. Maybe that’s due to the cultural difference but this actually helped improve the efficiency of a class.

                      Yale 2012 healthcare conference

What do you think can be done to better address the emotional well-being and intellectual potential of the individual, which appear to be suffering under current secondary school education systems in China?

First of all, I think professional career offices are needed in schools to help students figure out what their real interests are and provide more information on relevant programs in different universities. Students would have strong motivation to study if they realized the things they are learning were useful for their future goals, and maybe the learning process itself would be less stressful. Many high school students in China apply for a program in the university with little information about it.

Also, it’s important to gradually change the admission evaluation system for higher education in China to have a more comprehensive view of an applicant. This would include taking into account achievements in sports, arts and community service in addition to test scores. However, the system should be clearly communicated and documented to avoid being abused by some institutes or individuals. It may also be a good idea to put more weight on the test score of subjects related to the future interests of the applicant instead of just looking at the score as a simple result.

What advantages and disadvantages does a US university degree have compared with a Chinese university degree for a Chinese person?

If you plan to stay in the US, a US university degree would help you better adapt to the environment and culture, and also build up your network of contacts.

If you are planning to pursue your career in China, a degree in a Chinese university will give you a deeper understanding of the country’s political, economic, and other systems and a better network of contacts. Since there are increasing opportunities for Chinese students to study in the US today, if the university in US is not well known in China, people might think that you have chosen to study abroad only because you cannot get into a first tier university in China.

I think that in the first one or two years of university, you will gain knowledge in more areas in the US universities and then you can focus on one or two majors. In China, you will get involved in a specific area at the very beginning. So it may be good for people still searching for their interest to begin their journey in a university with a US like system, but if you already have a clear goal in mind, you may save some time studying in the Chinese universities (for instance, you can save 4-5 years to get a medical degree in China.)

           Yale Repertory Theater

From a broader perspective, does your country’s definition of educational excellence take into account the quality of life of individuals and of society?

I think educational excellence has a different definition and emphasis for the different stages of education. Before university, more focus is placed on a student’s ability to get higher scores, which may lower the quality of an individual’s life since he may need to sacrifice his interests in the arts or social work to make room for study. The test result is the main concern in terms of educational excellence.

In higher education, the general perception of successful education is that what you learn will equip you to find a good job or get into a lucrative industry. I feel that the quality of life, which includes the balance between one’s interest and job pay, is a broader concept related to a society’s standard of success and not just educational excellence. In a developing country like China, the scale tilts to the side of payment.

The quality of society, in my opinion, must always be considered in educational excellence. If one can use his knowledge and creativity to better serve the community, help address social problems, and improve public health, this should be viewed as representative of an excellent educational system.

However, China’s definition of educational excellence has changed a lot and more attention is also placed on whether one is enjoying his job rather than just on his productivity. But still there’s a gap in the definition between secondary and higher-level education, which could be a barrier in preparing our future generations to achieve their goals.]

                  Lun Pei Ng and C. M. Rubin

Photos courtesy of Lun Pei Ng

In The Global Search for Education, join me and globally renowned thought leaders including Sir Michael Barber (UK), Dr. Michael Block (US), Dr. Leon Botstein (US), Professor Clay Christensen (US), Dr. Linda Darling-Hammond (US), Dr. Madhav Chavan (India), Professor Michael Fullan (Canada), Professor Howard Gardner (US), Professor Yvonne Hellman (The Netherlands), Professor Kristin Helstad (Norway), Jean Hendrickson (US), Professor Rose Hipkins (New Zealand), Professor Cornelia Hoogland (Canada), Mme. Chantal Kaufmann (Belgium), Dr. Eija Kauppinen (Finland), State Secretary Tapio Kosunen (Finland), Professor Dominique Lafontaine (Belgium), Professor Hugh Lauder (UK), Professor Ben Levin (Canada), Professor Barry McGaw (Australia), Shiv Nadar (India), Professor R. Natarajan (India), Dr. Pak Tee Ng (Singapore), Dr. Denise Pope (US), Sridhar Rajagopalan (India), Dr. Diane Ravitch (US), Sir Ken Robinson (UK), Professor Pasi Sahlberg (Finland), Andreas Schleicher (PISA, OECD), Dr. Anthony Seldon (UK), Dr. David Shaffer (US), Dr. Kirsten Sivesind (Norway), Chancellor Stephen Spahn (US), Yves Theze (Lycee Francais US), Professor Charles Ungerleider (Canada), Professor Tony Wagner (US), Sir David Watson (UK), Professor Dylan Wiliam (UK), Dr. Mark Wormald (UK), Professor Theo Wubbels (The Netherlands), Professor Michael Young (UK), and Professor Minxuan Zhang (China) as they explore the big picture education questions that all nations face today.
The Global Search for Education Community Page

C. M. Rubin is the author of two widely read online series for which she received a 2011 Upton Sinclair award, “The Global Search for Education” and “How Will We Read?” She is also the author of three bestselling books, including The Real Alice in Wonderland.

Follow C. M. Rubin on Twitter: www.twitter.com/@cmrubinworld

“What is a Caucus Race?” said Alice.

“Why,” said the Dodo, “the best way to explain it is to do it.”

Saturday, July 7 and Sunday, July 8, 2012 will be the fifth Alice’s Day event (celebrating 150 years since Lewis Carroll’s first telling of Alice’s Adventures in Wonderland) in the historic city of Oxford, England.

While the majority of Alice’s Day activities will take place on Saturday July 7, The Caucus Race, a free outdoor event on Sunday, July 8, is also expected to attract thousands of visitors to the historic city the day before the Olympic flame for London 2012 passes through.

“We are proud to be selected to feature in the London 2012 Festival, part of the Cultural Olympiad,” says Cath Nightingale, Communications Director of the Story Museum. “Our Caucus Race is different from any other race since everyone can take part and there are no rules!”

The Caucus Race — a madcap re-enactment of the race featured in chapter three of Lewis Carroll’s classic story, Alice’s Adventures in Wonderland — will take place on Merton Field, part of Christ Church where Lewis Carroll originally penned the novel. This very different multi-art-form kind of race is presented by the Story Museum in collaboration with Big Dance, and is directed by Cirque Bijou.

Dance, music, street theater, and creatures ranging from the Dodo to the Dormouse, promise spectacular Wonderland entertainment for young and old that is not to be missed. And those wanting to get into a Caucus Race musical mood can do so the day before. The Caucus Race story will be presented by the renowned Oxford Girls’ Choir, featuring opera singer baritone Roderick Williams as the Dodo. This is the first time that Williams, who wrote the children’s opera, Alice in Wonderland, will also be performing in it. I had the opportunity to chat with Williams about the production.

Roderick, please tell us about your children’s opera, Alice In Wonderland.

I wrote the full-scale children’s opera, adapting Lewis Carroll’s novel, which was first performed by the Oxford Girls’ Choir in 1992. There were dozens of solo parts for the singers, choral set-pieces, dances and the like, and it was accompanied by a chamber orchestra of 16 players. The opera was in two acts, with the first concerning Alice’s fall down the hole and her attempts to get into the garden, and with the second act describing her adventures when she finally finds her way in. Since then, the entire opera has been performed several times. I have also transcribed the piece for piano and smaller ensemble. The extract that we are performing on Saturday, July 7 is a short scene from the first act, The Caucus Race, where Alice meets various animals who have been swimming to safety from the pool of tears she created when she was larger. The Caucus Race comes about as an attempt to dry themselves off.

What inspired you to write the opera?

I had performed Dido and Aeneas alongside the Oxford Girls’ Choir several times and had seen first hand how well they could sing, act and dance. Richard Vendome, Musical Director of the choir, and I discussed a project that would make the most of the Oxford connection, a story based specifically around a young girl rather than a boy, which would make the most of all the talent in the choir. He then commissioned me to write the opera.

What for you is most special about the choir’s performance?

It is always a special and priceless experience to see anyone else perform something you have written. The act of taking a piece which was once mine and making it theirs is in essence what music is about, and I find that process profoundly exciting.

Why do you think the world is still crazy about Alice’s Adventures in Wonderland,147 years after its original publication?

I think all of us have tried to make sense of an adult world which is fundamentally crazy. In Alice we see the world from her innocent point of view, and while it is magical, it is also utterly bizarre. I think all of us can relate to Alice’s struggle. Lewis Carroll, for all his quiet, academic existence, seems to have been able to empathize directly with his child heroine, and I think that is why his story is so completely absorbing.

The Caucus Race story, an extract from the children’s opera Alice in Wonderland, will be presented by the Oxford Girls’ Choir featuring Roderick Williams in the courtyard of the Story Museum, Oxford on Saturday, July 7 at 11 a.m., 12 p.m. and 2 p.m. For more information on Alice’s Day:http://www.storymuseum.org.uk/the-story-museum/alice

          Roderick Williams and C. M. Rubin

Photos courtesy of The Story Museum and Roderick Williams

Alice Community Page

C. M. Rubin is the author of two widely read online series for which she received a 2011 Upton Sinclair award, “The Global Search for Education” and “How Will We Read?” She is also the author of three bestselling books, including The Real Alice in Wonderland. 

Follow C. M. Rubin on Twitter: www.twitter.com/@cmrubinworld

“What is fundamentally different today is that education systems now need to equip all teachers, and not just some, for effective learning.” — Andreas Schleicher

In Search of Professionals Around the World

By C. M. Rubin with Harry Rubin and Michael Freeborn

“It is very clear that high performing systems generally have a high performing teacher population.” — Andreas Schleicher

Professional Capital, Andrew Hargreaves’ and Michael Fullan’s recently released book, proposes an action plan for teachers, administrators, schools, districts, and state and federal leaders as to how to create a 21st century generation of professional teachers.

Countries around the world are undertaking reforms to better prepare teachers to teach in 21st century classrooms. Today in part four of our series, The Global Search for Education - In Search of Professionals, I have asked Andreas Schleicher, given his extensive global educational perspective, to weigh in on what the US and other nations can learn from some of the high performing education systems that are doing this.

Andreas Schleicher is Deputy Director for Education and Special Advisor on Education Policy to the OECD’s Secretary-General. He also provides strategic oversight over OECD’s work on the development and utilization of skills and their social and economic outcomes. This includes the Programme for International Student Assessment (PISA), the OECD Survey of Adult Skills (PIAAC), the OECD Teaching and Learning International Survey (TALIS), and the development and analysis of benchmarks on the performance of education systems (INES).

What steps or changes do you believe we should make in the US in order to further advance the quality of teachers and the teaching profession going forward?

Part of the answer lies in the changes in the demands placed on teachers. In every country, there have always been great teachers, and many of us are here today because we had great teachers. But what is fundamentally different today is that education systems now need to equip all teachers, and not just some, for effective learning. In the past, when you only needed a small slice of well-educated workers, it was sufficient, and perhaps efficient, for governments to invest a large sum into a small elite to lead the country. But the social and economic cost of low educational performance has risen very substantially and the best performing education systems now get all young people to leave school with strong foundation skills, which is what you see in the PISA results. When you could still assume that what you learn in school will last for a lifetime, teaching content and routine cognitive skills was at the center of education. Today, where you can access content on Google, where routine cognitive skills are being digitized or outsourced, and where jobs are changing rapidly, education systems need to enable people to become lifelong learners, to manage complex ways of thinking and complex ways of working that computers can’t take over easily. That requires a very different caliber of teachers. When teaching was about explaining prefabricated content, you could tolerate low teacher quality. And when teacher quality was low, governments tended to tell their teachers exactly what to do and exactly how they wanted it done, using prescriptive methods of administrative control and accountability. What you see in the most advanced systems now is that they have made teaching a profession of high-level knowledge workers, and that, not higher salaries, is what makes teaching so attractive in countries as different as Finland, Japan or Singapore. But people who see themselves as candidates for the professions are not attracted by schools organized like an assembly line, with teachers working as interchangeable widgets. You therefore see a very different work organization in high performing systems, with the status, professional autonomy, and the high-quality education that go with professional work, with effective systems of teacher evaluation and with differentiated career paths for teachers. That is perhaps the biggest challenge for the US.

“Singapore’s new TE21 Model seeks to enhance key elements of teacher education.” — Andreas Schleicher

In general what common characteristics have you observed in the high performing systems relative to their teaching profession?

High performing systems have common characteristics:

1. Their teachers are well-versed in the subjects they teach and adept at using different methods and, if necessary, changing their approaches to optimize learning.
2. They have a rich repertoire of teaching strategies, the ability to combine approaches, and the knowledge of how and when to use certain methods and strategies.
3. Their teachers have a deep understanding of how learning happens, in general, and often also of their individual students’ motivations, emotions and lives outside the classroom, in particular.
4. Their teachers work in highly collaborative ways, with other teachers and professionals or para-professionals within the same organization, or with others in other organizations, in networks of professional communities and in different partnership arrangements, including, for some, mentoring teachers.
5. In some countries teachers acquire strong technology skills and skills to use technology as effective teaching tools, both to optimize the use of digital resources in their teaching and to use information-management systems to track student learning.
6. Their teachers have the capacity to help design, lead, manage and plan learning environments in collaboration with others.
7. Last but not least, their teachers reflect on their practices in order to learn from their experience.

Consider three advanced education systems: Finland, Singapore and Japan. What do you see as the strengths of the Finnish system?

Teacher education in Finland has several distinguishing qualities:

1. It is research based. Teacher candidates are not only expected to become familiar with the knowledge base in education and human development, but they are required to write a research-based dissertation as the final requirement for the masters degree. The rationale for requiring a research-based dissertation is that teachers are expected to engage in disciplined inquiry in the classroom throughout their teaching career.
2. It has a strong focus on developing pedagogical content knowledge. Traditional teacher preparation programs too often treat good pedagogy as generic, assuming that good questioning skills, for example, are equally applicable to all subjects. Because teacher education in Finland is a shared responsibility between the teacher education faculty and the academic subject faculty, there is substantial attention to subject-specific pedagogy for prospective primary as well as upper-grade teachers.
3. There is ample training for all Finnish teachers in diagnosing students with learning difficulties and in adapting their instruction to the varying learning needs and styles of their students.
4. It has a very strong clinical component. Teachers’ preparation includes both extensive course work on how to teach - with a strong emphasis on using research based on state-of-the-art practice - and at least a full year of clinical experience in a school associated with the university. These model schools are intended to develop and model innovative practices, as well as to foster research on learning and teaching.

“What’s interesting in Japan is their approach to build on the knowledge of the profession.”— Andreas Schleicher

What are your thoughts on the Singapore system?

Singapore is easy to understand because the system is well documented and highly institutionalized. Singapore’s National Institute for Education as a university-based teacher education institution provides the theoretical foundation to produce “thinking teachers” but has strong partnerships with key stakeholders and the schools to ensure strong clinical practice and realities of professionalism in teacher development. Singapore’s new TE21 Model seeks to enhance key elements of teacher education, including the underpinning philosophy, curriculum, desired outcomes for our teachers, and academic pathways. These are considered essential prerequisites in meeting the challenges of the 21st century classroom. Their model focuses on three value paradigms: Learner-centered, Teacher Identity and Service to the Profession and Community. Learner-centered values puts the learner at the centre of teachers’ work by being aware of learner development and diversity, believing that all youths can learn, caring for the learner, striving for scholarship in content teaching, knowing how people learn best, and learning to design the best learning environment possible. Teacher identity values refer to having high standards and strong drive to learn in view of the rapid changes in the education milieu, to be responsive to student needs. The values of service to the profession and community focuses on teachers’ commitment to their profession through active collaborations and striving to become better practitioners to benefit the teaching community. The model also underscores the requisite knowledge and skills that teachers must possess in light of the latest global trends, and to improve student outcomes.

Finally what are your thoughts on the Japanese System?

What’s interesting in Japan is their approach to build on the knowledge of the profession, through regular lesson studies in which all teachers take part. The Japanese tradition of lesson study in which groups of teachers review their lessons and how to improve them, in part through analysis of student errors, provides one of the most effective mechanisms for teachers’ self-reflection as well as being a tool for continuous improvement. Observers of Japanese elementary school classrooms have long noted the consistency and thoroughness with which a math concept is taught and the way in which the teacher leads a discussion of mathematical ideas, both correct and incorrect, so that students gain a firm grasp on the concept. This school-by-school lesson study often culminates in large public research lessons. For example, when a new subject is added to the national curriculum, groups of teachers and researchers review research and curriculum materials and refine their ideas in pilot classrooms over a year before holding a public research lesson, which can be viewed electronically by hundreds of teachers, researchers and policymakers. The tradition of lesson study in Japan also means that Japanese teachers are not alone. They work together in a disciplined way to improve the quality of the lessons they teach. That means that teachers whose practice lags behind that of the leaders can see what good practice is. Because their colleagues know who the poor performers are and discuss them, the poor performers have both the incentive and the means to improve their performance. Since the structure of the East Asian teaching workforce includes opportunities to become a master teacher and move up a ladder of increasing prestige and responsibility, it also pays the good teacher to become even better.

       Andreas Schleicher and C. M. Rubin

Photos courtesy of the OECD.

In The Global Search for Education, join me and globally renowned thought leaders including Sir Michael Barber (UK), Dr. Michael Block (US), Dr. Leon Botstein (US), Professor Clay Christensen (US), Dr. Linda Darling-Hammond (US), Dr. Madhav Chavan (India), Professor Michael Fullan (Canada), Professor Howard Gardner (US), Professor Yvonne Hellman (The Netherlands), Professor Kristin Helstad (Norway), Jean Hendrickson (US), Professor Rose Hipkins (New Zealand), Professor Cornelia Hoogland (Canada), Mme. Chantal Kaufmann (Belgium), Dr. Eija Kauppinen (Finland), State Secretary Tapio Kosunen (Finland), Professor Dominique Lafontaine (Belgium), Professor Hugh Lauder (UK), Professor Ben Levin (Canada), Professor Barry McGaw (Australia), Shiv Nadar (India), Professor R. Natarajan (India), Dr. Pak Tee Ng (Singapore), Dr. Denise Pope (US), Sridhar Rajagopalan (India), Dr. Diane Ravitch (US), Sir Ken Robinson (UK), Professor Pasi Sahlberg (Finland), Andreas Schleicher (PISA, OECD), Professor Dr. Wolfgang Schneider (Germany), Dr. Anthony Seldon (UK), Dr. David Shaffer (US), Dr. Kirsten Sivesind (Norway), Chancellor Stephen Spahn (US), Yves Theze (Lycee Francais US), Professor Charles Ungerleider (Canada), Professor Tony Wagner (US), Sir David Watson (UK), Professor Dylan Wiliam (UK), Dr. Mark Wormald (UK), Professor Theo Wubbels (The Netherlands), Professor Michael Young (UK), and Professor Minxuan Zhang (China) as they explore the big picture education questions that all nations face today.
The Global Search for Education Community Page

C. M. Rubin is the author of two widely read online series for which she received a 2011 Upton Sinclair award, “The Global Search for Education” and “How Will We Read?” She is also the author of three bestselling books, including The Real Alice in Wonderland.

Follow C. M. Rubin on Twitter: www.twitter.com/@cmrubinworld