(GLO — March 2010 — Reflecting back on this entry of a year ago, “Inspiring Education” has mostly come and gone. I participated at a local “community conversation”, and I attended two days of the fall provincial conference. I don’t believe the conversation engaged Albertans, en masse… I would say it engaged “the usual Albertans”, being the usual educators… the “usual suspects”. But, upon reflection, it was not… as I wrote initially… a mere rehash of the excellent Learning Commission. Inspiring Education was a genuine attempt to jump 20 years out into the future… out past the politics and the labour dynamics and the cesspool of self-interest that is government schooling day by day… and freely imagine what schooling the generation-after-this ought to be and will need to be for their optimum service (and our optimum preservation). This conversation, in a no-doubt painful, sausage-manufacturing way, will turn into “policy” and ultimately into “practice” within Alberta schools… possibly even before that next-next generation goes to school. If they “go” to school at all, that is… and schooling does not more often come to them. Whatever may come to pass, the impression I got from my participation in “Inspiring Education” is that the world of government schooling which has mostly stayed the same for the past century-plus, will mostly change over the next two decades, and change in ways that the “usual suspects” really cannot yet embrace. And I believe that those changes will be good things.)
Here in Alberta… for no particular reason given the excellent work of the Learning Commission a short few years ago… the government’s education department has announced a schedule for widespread community discussion about the future of government schooling hereabouts.
Entitled “Inspiring Education: A Dialogue With Albertans”, the work was introduced as follows:
“The Inspiring Education dialogue is about our hopes, dreams and aspirations for the children of Alberta, and the future of our province,” said Minister Hancock. “It will examine how education in Alberta can help tomorrow’s students find their passions and prepare for success in the future.”
Using an innovative generative dialogue approach, Inspiring Education will engage Albertans in extensive discussions about education as a foundation for the future societal and economic success of the province. The perspectives and ideas gathered through this process will be used to develop a policy framework which describes the overall direction, principles and long-term goals for education in Alberta over the next two decades.
Not sure why they have to go to all this trouble… they already have all my letters…
And in addition to my helpful advice and direction, they also have the Report of the Learning Commission from a short few years ago. I described the good work of that commission as “the best million dollars ever spent on public education in Alberta”. It generated just under 100 (about 93, if memory serves) recommendations crafted to be both visionary AND practical in their application. It was a Commission dedicated to having its work not just sit on a shelf and be ignored, and their recommendations were wholeheartedly accepted by the Government of the day (which was basically the government of today).
Those recommendations were costed out and scheduled for adoption and incorporation, generally with the “renovation work” intended to be completed within a short few years after the Commission’s Report. Nobody really publicly objected to any of the Commission’s initiatives or proposals. Funding was even earmarked and added to budgets to accommodate a goodly amount of the work that needed to be done.
I’m thinking maybe the effort met with some resistance after all. I’m thinking the Commission’s recommended renovations haven’t quite been completed yet. And the discussion, apparently, is going to begin again.
Renovation work in government schooling is a lot like the renovation work at Candace Bergen’s home in the old TV series “Murphy Brown”. Her resident painter/contractor never actually finished. He was easily distracted. He had ideas of his own. Murphy was always pretty busy with other things herself.
How are children supposed to be expected to apply themselves to their schooling, when schoolers themselves are so easily distracted and redirected in their efforts? Wouldn’t it be nice to complete the work of the Learning Commission before embarking on further “inspiration”? Wouldn’t it be nice to be able to SAY that work has been attended to?
Check the government of Alberta’s website for information on where, when and how you might participate in that innovative dialogue.
I expect I’ll send them all my ideas. (Just try and stop me….)
And, if I can dig up a spare copy around here somewhere, maybe give them their Learning Commission report from a short few years ago. I thought that was pretty darned inspiring at the time.
GLO
gordotto@parentsnschools.com
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