What is the value of a public education?

What is the value of a public education?  I ask because we are about two weeks away from voting on a school levy in our community that could very well determine which path our district turns.  Our district’s “story” to be shared with the community does not worry me.  Frankly, I don’t think we could make up a better story if we tried.  Our district is in the top 1-2% in the state of Ohio in terms of achievement, we have been recognized at the national level by organizations such as Newsweek, U.S. News & World Report, the Washington Post, and the U.S. Department of  Education (three Blue Ribbon Schools).  Fiscally, we are a great value as we have the lowest expenditure per pupil ratio,  best administrator to student ratio, and the lowest taxes relative to 17 local school districts we compare ourselves against.  I could go on, but the point I am trying to make is that even with a great story, and in a community that values education,  it is a 50/50 coin flip to decide if we will pass our school levy and  therefore be able to continue providing the type of education our students are currently receiving.  I asked myself, “How can people not see the value of a public education?”, “Why is there even a question?” and then it started to hit me.

The original purpose for public schools was to educate a large population in order to get them ready to be part of a system during the industrial revolution.  The design of public schools served the purpose and “the value of public education” was unquestioned.  A little over 100 years later, a very similar system is in place yet we are no longer at the forefront of an industrial revolution.  On the contrary, the internet has changed everything,  we are now on the forefront of a technological revolution and the purpose of public education has shifted to  “preparing students to work at jobs that do not yet exist, creating ideas and solutions for products and problems that have not yet been identified, using technologies that have not yet been invented” (Darling-Hammond, 2010, p. 2).  In this new light, I am not as confident inquiring  “How can people not see the value of public education?” and “Why is there even a question?”.  However, I still believe public education is the pathway for our kids to be successful in the future, we just need to approach it differently which will naturally lead to there being no question of its value.

Earlier in the year I had the privilege of attending a lecture (which you can hear at this link) at the City Club of Cleveland featuring Yong Zhao (@YongZhaoED) in which he addressed Education in the Age of Smart Machines. I reflected on this earlier on a post titled Promoting NCLmB (No Child Left in my Basement) to support the Black Collar Class, but what I did not mention in this post was that, in his lecture, Zhao pointed out that we didn’t strap rockets to covered wagons in order to get to the moon.  Instead we had to come up with a completely different design to meet the needs of a new era.  Similarly, I believe we should question the current design of public education before we question the value of it.  Of course, I am not the only one to think that way and arguably  one of the most famous  is Ken Robinson (@SirKenRobinson).  

Robinson’s 2013 TED Talk on “How to Escape Education’s Death Valley” is probably his most clear rationale for the value of public education done right.  I went back and re-listened to it recently and I was amazed by how on target he was with today’s needs.  He points out that there are three principles on which human life flourishes and the current culture of education contradicts each.  The first is that humans are naturally diverse and schools emphasize conformity.  The second is kids are naturally curious and schools over emphasize compliance. The third is human life is inherently creative and that education is about learning and awakening those powers of creativity, but this is not supported by the current culture of schools.  In fact, Robinson goes on to discuss culture as something that is organic which reminded me of adopting a greenhouse philosophy for schools.  Robinson also points out in his 2009 book titled “The Element” that “The greatest discovery of my generation is that human beings can alter their lives by altering their attitude of mind...If you change your mind, you can change your life.” (p. 82).  I can’t think of a better argument for the value of public education than this statement.  Schools with the right culture can provide the opportunities for our kids to change their lives.  However, if that is the case, then  before we ask ourselves “What is the value of a public education?” and “Why wouldn’t our communities support our schools?” , we should ask ourselves “Where is the value of schools for our kids?” and  “Are the schools a place that nurtures the three principles under which human life flourishes?”.  Once we can address these questions the others will not need to be asked.

References

Darling-Hammond, Linda (2010).  The Flat World and Education.  New York, NY: Teachers College

Press.