I am sitting in my hotel room overlooking the fading light over the Potomac River. There is about three inches of icy snow on the ground here in the DC area as the first storm of the season came very early down here two days ago.
Fortunately, I arrived after the storm as I understand that many folks south of the Mason Dixon Line have a real tough time with frozen precipitation. I did not want to be here to witness their winter driving misery; it was bad enough at home this past week.
It has also been uncharacteristically cold for these parts and I am starting to develop "a complex" as it seems every time I interact with the ASCD staff - no matter where - there is some form of unusual weather event. Perhaps we should consult with Al Roker.
Anyway I am here for an Executive Directors meeting and am writing to share my enthusiasm for a webinar I participated in this morning as part of the meeting. This was not a real webinar in the "real time" sense, but a broadcast of one that had already taken place. Nonetheless, this was one of the more exciting parts of a busy day and I'm really feeling the need to share.
The topic was Leading in 24/7 and presented by a consultant named Sally Helgesen, who is an author and speaker on organizational development. I have to admit that I am not easily moved by these kinds of presentations, but this one was clearly excellent with insights into the current state and future of organizations that every educator (check that - everyone) in the country needs to hear.
This was not one of your cries for teaching kids "21st Century Skills" - this was cold hard reality; the facts about the nature of business and organizations in the current world, about innovation and success. Very much designed as a workshop for business and organizational leaders, the message is pretty clear and blunt, so much so I am going to bring this to the Maine ASCD Board of Directors as "required viewing." The message is loud and clear, we can't wait.
I found myself reflecting on the state of public education in American schools and wondering how we are going to prepare students for this new economic and organizational reality. And, I am thinking about what we need to be doing for the elementary aged students so they will be ready for this new world in, say ten years. But the reality is these changes have already happened. The change has already taken place. There is no time to plan for the change. It already happened.
Most educators don't have any idea about the marketplace or the changing landscape. Perhaps the most striking comment was framed under the five observations about the current state of the marketplace. Number two on the speaker's list was "Organizations must do more with less."
Sound familiar? Strike a note?
I immediately started thinking about Maine ASCD and how we have struggled to keep our toehold. But then I got to think about schools in Maine and how the pressure to do more with less permeates every school board discussion, teacher contract and, yes, every classroom. There never are the resources that we need to do the job that needs to be done.
Well I'll leave that as a tease and not tell you what Sally Helgesen recommends as solutions - you'll have to buy her book, or take this webinar.
At the very least it motivated me to realize that my thinking that change was a coming is passe. It's already here. And this has already changed my thinking.
~John Brandt
I just ran across a website called Not on the Test which is a call to keep music, sports and arts programs in the curriculum and one more voice against "teaching to the test." The site, owned and operated by Tom Chapin, features a cute music video of the site theme song, "Not on the test." 
