Are
Our Children Becoming Well-Schooled or Well-Educated?
By Jay Wilke
Event Management Services
Clearwater, FL
Almost
everyone from parents to politicians are concerned
about the quality of public schools. What kind
of leadership is necessary to produce “good”
schools? Can we “engineer” excellence
into the schools or do they require a different
kind of leadership? Do test score numbers tell
the story about whether our students are becoming
educated? Is there a difference between being
well-schooled and becoming well-educated? Should
schools be run like businesses or do they require
something more?
Increasingly, in the last few decades, schools
have evolved into businesses focused on numbers,
instead of havens of learning directed by the
needs of children. In the era of “no child
left behind” it has become apparent that
many children are being left behind as test scores
seem to drive teachers and the curriculum. “Getting
the numbers” has become an obsession that
denigrates other important aspects of education.
Leadership is essential to producing “good”
schools. ”Schools and corporations cannot
rely on 16th-century thought to structure their
organizations,” says George A. Goens , PhD,
Senior partner with Goens/Esparo, LLC, which works
with public and private sector organizations in
leadership searches, leadership development, and
accountability. ”How we think determines
how we behave and we have to think differently
about schools and education so that our children
can live lives of promise.”
Goens insists that students yearn to belong to
something larger than themselves, something noble
and with purpose, and which gives them a sense
of efficacy. As a school superintendent for 15
years, Goens learned firsthand that “leadership
is a human and philosophical endeavor. It is not
about things, systems, processes or data. It is
about people -- you and me -- and who we are and
what we can become together.”
His new book, Soft Leadership for Hard Times,
proposes an entirely different metaphor for schools
than the business/accountability model based on
metrics alone. “Control is a mirage,”
Gordon says. “Force can move people in the
short term, but it does not motivate them. Relationships
are at the core of leadership. Developing creative,
imaginative, and passionate schools that can truly
educate children and help them begin to gain wisdom
is what education is all about. It takes strong
leadership to develop schools like that.”
For a review copy of the book or to set up an
interview with Dr. Goens for a story, please contact
Jay Wilke at 727-443-7115, ext. 223 or at jayw@event-management.com.
His book is available on www.amazon.com or at
www.romaneducation.com
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