1. For Whom the School Bell Tolls: When Riding a Dead Horse—Dismount!
Dr. John Draper
Engaging Presentations About Public Schools

2. My Grandmothers were both school teachers—certified in 1918!
They had what was required:
8th grade education
Proof of good moral character
Teaching certificate
School Bell
Ask not for whom the bell tolls, the bell tolls for thee! There are practices today for which we need to ring the bell. Too often we continue to do things because we have always done them. These artifacts suck up valuable resources and fail to move us toward our vision and our aspirations. You are perfectly positioned to help long-time educators recognize and understand the artifacts that hold us back. You hold the unique position of trusted advisor and respected expert in an arena that most educators find baffling and illogical—because they have the Curse of Knowledge. It’s up to you to gently open their eyes!

3. Dakota tribal wisdom says that when you discover you are riding a dead horse, the best strategy is to dismount.
In education we have a distressing tendency to jump on every bandwagon that comes clanking down the hall and ride it to death. Open classrooms, whole language, zero tolerance, We are reluctant to declare the horse dead. In fact we come up with a multitude of ways to deny the death of the horse . . .

4. Ways to Improve Dead Horses . . .
Buy a stronger whip
Change riders
Re-classify dead horses as “living-impaired”
Say “This is the way we have always ridden this horse”
Appoint a committee to study the horse
Arrange site visits to other districts to see how they ride dead horses
Pass board policy that declaring that “This horse is not dead”
Increase standards for dead horse riders
Set up an after-school program to revitalize the dead horses

5. Ways to Improve Dead Horses . . .
Develop remediation plans for dead horses
Blame the horse’s parents
Harness several dead horses together to increase productivity
Do a cost-analysis study to see if contractors can ride the dead horse cheaper
Declare that the horse is “better, faster and cheaper” dead
Develop a new evaluation system to provide more effective dead horse professional development plans
Revamp the performance requirements for all horses
Do a productivity study to see if lighter riders improve dead horse performance
Promote the dead horse to a central office administrator

6. When Riding a Dead Horse:
Dismount!
Education is a big ship that turns very slowly
Many times our biggest challenge is ‘in-house’; take care of the in-house before the outhouse

7. Organizations that never identify absolutes will elevate artifacts to absolute status. Rigid organization in a changing context is doomed to obsolescence.
If we do something long enough, we begin to treat it as sacred
Must get past that- the one constant we have is that everything is changing

8. Three Major Trends Affecting Public Schools
Trophy Children
Individualization
Choice

9. Fertilizer and Farm Machinery
Big farms with big tractors were more profitable
Families moved into cities and towns for jobs
My Mom is one of 13 children . . .
Children on a working farm were a financial asset!
CHILDREN ARE NO LONGER A FINANCIAL ASSET!
Mom is one of 13—she’s a middle child. There were 7 sisters and 6 brothers. When my grandfather died in his will he divided the land between 5 of the sons and each daughter got $300. The will was re-written! Children changed from asset to liability since my mother was born.
Change in public schools can be traced back to fertilizer. Big advances in fertilizer and farm machinery after WWII; large families with big machineries became more profitable
Before WWII, families lived and worked on small farms; after WWII, farm jobs dried up and factories began to grow

10. More Loved But Less Liked
Trophy Children are . . .
More Loved But Less Liked
Studies show that children in towns and suburbs are considered more spoiled, more entitled, less courteous. They become an investment. They are trophy children and many parents judge their success by the success of their children.

11. Trend: Smaller families and Trophy Children
As a table, write down three things that will be impacted in your school and your job because of this trend.

12. Trophy Children Trends . . .
Higher expectations for public schools
Increased accountability for public schools
Parents unreasonable in their defense of student misbehavior
Parents competing through their children’s success
Spoiled children
Over-protective parents

13. Family-Church-School “It takes a Village to Raise a Child”
Parent’s job is to protect the child from the village!
The village has changed some. The village used to be a farm/place we didn’t even lock our doors. Bullying is a big deal. Parents are not afraid of their children’s safety at school; they’re afraid of bullying at school (PDK poll). The village is different

14. Institutional Trust is Dying!
In a recent poll the greatest threat to our national economy was identified as Congress! Falling trust in banks, schools, hospitals . . .

15. Three Major Trends Affecting Public Schools
Trophy Children
Individualization
Choice
Education is perceived as governmental, and government is perceived negatively, so education=negative

16. Trend: From Standardization to Individualization
Another outgrowth of small families is the rise of the individual, fueled by technology and lack of institutional trust.

17. American families come in all designs
American families come in all designs. There is less Standardization today.
Modern family; fueling the trend for individualization

18. Trend: From Standardization to Individualization
As a table, write down three things that will be impacted in your school and your job because of this trend.

19. Trend: From Standardization
to Individualization
Impacts testing, instructional delivery, course credits, K-12 grading design, graduation options and more

20. Latest PDK poll cites growing dissatisfaction with state testing
Students are More than a Test Score!

21. SAT Test Scores are Declining?
Average SAT scores are declining but every sub-group is up! Simpson’s Testing Paradox

22. USA is Falling Behind on International Tests?
The countries with the highest scores have fewer patents, copyrights and Nobel Prize winners.

23. International Test Scores Are NOT a Valid Predictor of National Success!
USA
High
QUALITY OF LIFE
Low
There are some things that you don’t want to have the highest score Golf, Teen suicide, cholesterol, and obesity!
Low TEST SCORES High

24. International Test Scores are not like a football game—they’re more like weight!
When it comes to fat we have led the world for decades, but we recently fell from 1st place to 2nd place!

25. Personalized Education Plan for all students
A PEP for Every Child!

26. Time is becoming a variable . . .
Technology allows us to be fully self- paced!
K-12 grades need to disappear and the trend to individualization is going to drive it.

27. Three Major Trends Affecting Public Schools
Trophy Children
Individualization
Choice

28. CHOICE is a new American Value

29. Trend: Choice is a new American Value
As a table, write down three things that will be impacted in your school and your job because of this trend.

30. Public Schools have had two goals since they were created:
Trophy Children/Individualization/Choice Trends are impacting Public School Support
Public Schools have had two goals since they were created:
No Child Left Behind
My Child Ahead of Yours

31. Two Goals of Public Schools hurt us . . .
NCLB
Is being perceived as “Mediocrity for All”
My Child Ahead of Yours Is imposing a win- lose template on public schools
These dueling goals are promoting private schools, Charters, home schools, and home/public school blending.

32. Latest PDK Poll cites continuing support for . . .
Charter Schools (68% favor)
Home Schooling (60% favor)
Home School/Public School Blending
Part time Public (75% favor)
Athletic Participation (80% favor)
Special Ed services (90% favor)

33. Every Child Every Chance Every Day
Parents want individual and Social success simultaneously, but emphasis must be on the individual to move to abundance mentality!
Every Child Every Chance Every Day
Every Child a Graduate— Whatever it Takes
Don’t lead with the societal goal; not resonating with choice parents
Need to provide for every child individually; collectively, society will benefit; all boats will rise

34. Strong Schools Strong Students Strong Communities
Lead with the individual, not the community
Texas- 152,0000 inmates; cheaper to educate than incarcerate
We must change the Win-Lose mindset associated with Public Schools.

35. The Bridgebuilder
How building/helping one individual helps us ALL

36. For Whom the School Bell Tolls: When Riding a Dead Horse—Dismount!
Dr. John Draper
Engaging Presentations About Public Schools