We welcome you to our online discussion group. Please tell us your thoughts on improving student learning by teaching less reading...or start a new thread on another education reform topic.

Based upon the article, it seems the problem isn't teaching reading but finding a common information base for which to build. If you speak Chinese and I teach in German I think we may have a disconnect. The reading material itself must find common ground with the knowledge base of the student in order to make sense...we can worry about the quality of the material being taught once we know they can actually comprehend what they read.

If the knowledge base of the average student is one of poverty or trial, then get or write books that take what they know, adversity, and build the message of perseverance. It's not where the book starts that's important but where it takes you in the end.

IKW

I've still been thinking about this problem, even though it appears nobody else is. How about a creative writing course where the students, with the facilitation of a teacher or creative writer, spend their time writing a story? As the ideas are pulled from the students, the teacher writes the lines on the board and at the end of each class period, the last 10 minutes or so are spent reading what has been created. The students then write down the lines as practice which eventually turn into a little story/book to be used by other classes around the country as examples. You feed your own machine so to speak in that you do not have to find books to teach...Edison students write them. With any luck the stories will be really good, and it can also turn into an economics lesson as well.

Can you see the next step with this??? Contests, recognition, more creativity, etc. Remember, as with books AND children, it's not where they start that is important but where the journey takes them in the end.

IKW

I teach in a charter school that requires 90 minutes of reading daily in addition to 45 minutes of achievement test prep. It is an Edison school. I agree with the 'read less' theory. The students with which I teach are very low academically. I have less than 25% of my class actually reading on grade level. It is very difficult for them to comprehend what they read because of a combination of a lack of basic skills learned in previous grades, as well as not practicing at home. The administration requires us to drill and kill the reading concepts that they will be tested on daily, with a weekly assessment. I honestly feel that if they do not understand the material they are reading, how can we expect them to answer the questions accurately? For those students who really struggle with reading, they develop a dislike for reading. Then when we change the schedule to teach a straight 2 hours and 15 minutes of reading, targeting 3 or more different skills daily, they, as well as the teacher, will become very burnt out, and all too quickly. I believe that great teaching should span all subject areas. There are many opportunities to tie in specific reading skills in different content areas. Not being able to teach these content areas due to the increase of reading time is doing these students an injustice. They will eventually be lacking the necessary skills to perform well in these content areas. I wish that this article was emailed to all staff of Edison Schools. And I am particularly interested to see if anything will be done as a result of this article in regards to the current curriculum and schedule. I became a teacher for several reasons. The most important reason is to see the young minds of today flourish in learning everything they possibly can, while growing a love for learning. Through this tedious schedule, I see a decline in student interest in reading and school in general, as well as teachers' passions for shaping the minds of today's youth.

Love of learning comes from success in learning, and each success, no matter how small, brings with it fuel for the spirit…a love of knowledge. If a teacher/school/organization does not lead students to success then all they are really teaching is failure, and doing so in an extremely efficient manner at two hours and fifteen minutes per day. By having student successes on a daily basis, no matter how small, the student will begin to believe in themselves and the teacher will fuel their own fire for success in order to achieve a common goal; critical achievement.

Every winning streak begins with a single win. Show them how to win and they will be winners for a lifetime, blame a faulty system without taking action and we are all made into victims, not just the child.

IKW:

I want to begin by thanking you for sharing your thoughts and beginning the conversation on this subject. This forum is an opportunity for readers to share their ideas and spark discussion, which you have definitely done!

I agree with your comment regarding the "disconnect" between what students know and what they are being asked to read, comprehend, and respond to in class and on state assessments. While I also agree with you that educators should seek and use reading material that builds upon students' background knowledge and appeals to them, because they are familiar with the concept and content, I also believe that Dr. Chubb's article takes a different spin. Focusing only on what students know and is familiar to them will not assist them with meeting the demands of the kinds of reading they will be asked to do, not only on the state assessments, but as they grow into adulthood. Instead, what Dr. Chubb seems to be proposing is that less time be spent focusing on skill instruction done in isolation and that more time be spent on building students' knowledge of the concepts that are taught in the content areas. Teachers can address students' needs by teaching and exposing students to new and challenging reading material, robust vocabulary and unfamiliar concepts while, at the same time, assist them in comprehending these by providing students opportunities to practice the use of the reading skills and strategies they are learning.

Again, thank you so much for launching this conversation. I look forward to reading more of your comments!

Gladys Diaz
Vice-President, Reading & Langauge Arts

bback:

I also want to thank you for joining in the conversation regarding this hot topic. I hope that you will share news of the the ReForum with your colleagues so that we can hear from them as well!

I absolutely agree with you that "great teaching should span all subject areas." Reading is not something that is learned or performed by implementing isolated skills. It is a metacognitive process that requires the use of multiple skills and strategies as one reads, interprets, and navigates through a text. As you suggest, one of the best ways to ensure that students have numerous opportunities to practice the skills they are learning in Reading/Language Arts is to allow them to utilize the skills and strategies in a variety of contexts and in the content areas. If every teacher in a school is focused on teaching the content required of their content areas, as well as ensuring that students are utilizing the skills and strategies that they have learned in reading and language arts, the entire school is promoting both learning to read and reading to learn.

As I mentioned, I encourage you to share the article and the forum opportunity with your colleagues and the administration at your school. As you shared so well in your response, what educators want more than anything else is to assist their students in life-long learners. Together, we can find ways to continue working toward this goal.

Gladys Diaz
Vice-President, Reading & Language Arts

Dear Gladys:

You are very welcome and I am glad to be of service. There are not many things I enjoy more than solving problems with those willing to challenge established principles through the application of reason and logic.

Regarding the comment you made, "Focusing only on what students know and is familiar to them will not assist them with meeting the demands of the kinds of reading they will be asked to do, not only on the state assessments, but as they grow into adulthood," I should clarify my point. Focusing on what students know is just the starting point, from here we start the long journey to Wisdom through the gathering of Knowledge and the application of Information.

Before I offer up any more of my point of view or potential solutions, I would like to ensure we are focused on the core problem at hand instead of fiddling around with symptoms. Based upon the article and comments made, I see the following as the root of what is trying to be accomplished:

1. Teach students to read
2. Teach content areas
3. Pass tests
4. Increase class participation

Would you consider this an accurate interpretation of the issue?

IKW

Very insightful. My question to you then is what is the best way to take action regarding this issue at my school without fear of being terminated for going against authority? I have tried to in the past, but since I am not in an administrative position, I can say how I feel, but in the end it ultimately does not matter at all. Personally, I have a big issue with people holding administrative positions without the appropriate credentials. I am currently obtaining my Master's Degree at the University of Dayton in Literacy. I have spoken with many university professors, as well as a few literacy coaches throughout the Dayton Public School District regarding how they administer their test prep for reading and math. The way my school is focusing on test prep is ultimately taking away critical time for writing, social studies, and science; however, they 'told' us not to stop teaching these subjects, but what is implied is that if the reading and math test prep are not taught, then either are the other subjects. The students are already getting burnt out, and so are the teachers. Teachers are responsible for making worksheet packets for every day of every week. Everything we go over must look like the test. Teaching worksheets is NOT the most effective way to teach young children! Especially when we must cover at least 6 different skills a week! Don't get me wrong, I am doing everything in my power to make each and every lesson as effective as possible, but I do not agree with this at all. What would you do if you were in my shoes and the shoes of every testing grade teacher in my school?

bback,

Are you asking me or Ms. Diaz?

IKW

I'm sorry. Yes it was intended for you IKW; however, if Ms. Diaz would like to comment as well, it would be greatly appreciated.

Dear bback:

Your passion and desire for your craft is beautiful, and I commend you for your courage. You have covered a lot of ground in your comment so I will attempt to further the conversation systematically.

When searching for the best way to take action, one cannot do so without an action plan. An action plan should be directed to accomplish “something,” therefore the first step is to specifically define the objective. My previous entry to this forum is focused on what I believe is the objective, but only through consensus will I ever attempt to solve a problem with a group of people. So while we are at it, what do you think about the four points? Are they accurate, close or just completely in the “cheap seats?”

As far as credentials of authority, personally I could care less about someone’s credentials. If the logical answers come from a two-headed dancing chicken it means that WE asked the right questions, but kudos on furthering your education…one cannot accumulate knowledge or wisdom without an abundance of information. Regarding the “test prep” issue, if one critical activity is taking away from another critical activity, one must find a way to efficiently combine them in a manner that will enable the resources to effectively accomplish the task. This is what I am attempting to facilitate so let’s have some fun by whipping things at the wall to see what sticks.

You mentioned the "burn-out" factor and getting burned out happens because people insist on using routines that are not only agonizing but ineffective as well. Have you ever heard of anyone getting burned out because everything is working as it should? If one makes an attempt to change the status quo too rapidly then nothing works right and chaos ensues. However, if light is shown on the specific problem then hope has freedom to live and it can be contagious under the right conditions…this requires leadership not “managership.” We are all leaders and followers, the skill comes in knowing which one you are at a given time.

So to answer your question, what would I do? Let’s find out! My goal is always to first establish common ground and from there achieve mutual understanding.
“…small moves Ellie, small moves.”

Dear IKW:

Thank you for your input thus far. I still haven't been quite clear on how things work at my school, which I think is why you may not fully understand what I am asking. The administration tells us what to do and how to do it. There is no room for creative lessons in teachers' lessons because it is either "not in the manual" or there is no time for it. Every teacher in my grade level are expected to teach the same material at the same time to everybody, and addressing the exact same skills in the process. What is the difficulty with doing this? My classroom makeup is not like the other 3 classes. We also don't learn at the same pace as the other students, sometimes they learn skills slower and sometimes faster than the other classes. Yet we are still required to teach the same thing, at the same time every single day. If we notice our students are struggling with a certain skill, there is no room/time to reinforce this skill because it is either not in the manual or there is no time! It is like a double edged sword. We are teachers and want nothing more for our students to succeed, especially in reading; however, it is difficult to do our job as we have been trained to reach our students because the administration wants things run their way, no exceptions. What happened to reaching every single kid and their specific learning styles? What happened to enrichment activities and/or engaging activities that teach the same skill just in a different way? In fact, we get in trouble if we are teaching something to our students that is not in the manual, even though it is addressing the skills, engaging our students, and is a teaching style that the students obviously learn best with! This is why I feel I am becoming burnt out, as well as other teachers in the building. It is as if we can't win! We are required to find our own material based on the 'weak skills' that we have to address daily. We have to focus on at least 6 different skills weekly. We have to create our own worksheet packets, our own assessments, and all of it has to be in the achievement test format (look as if it would on the actual test). All of this is in addition to what we already have to do. Time for writing has been depleted to almost nonexistant. And I'm sorry, but how do they expect third graders to pass the extended response and short answer questions correctly if there is no more time for formal instruction in spelling and grammar within their writing?! Time for Social Studies and Science has been depleted. When they are tested in these subjects in later grades, how can they achieve success if the material/background knowledge they were supposed to learn in third grade wasn't covered due to extra reading and math time?

You had stated your opinion that credentials don't really matter as long as what is planned is logical. Is that a good interpretation of what you said? If so, then yes I agree with you; however, I see no logic in this plan of action for test prep. I do not see it working as effectively as they would have liked. My team and I believe there are other areas that we should be focusing on, but our ideas are pushed to the side, even though we are the ones who teach these kids daily and know specifically their strengths and weaknesses. I personally believe that teachers should be trained professionally with an accompanying degree. Just like a doctor should have a degree in his/her area of study, a lawyer should have a degree and pass the bar exam, and the president of the country should have some type of degree regarding government and law. People who practice their profession should be well trained. That way the most effective decisions could be made regarding the common good. I believe this is especially true when it comes to school administrators. They should be well trained in the art of teaching as well as hold some type of degree as proof that they studied this area of concentration and are qualified to be in that position.

Addressing your 4 points: I think your points are pretty accurate. I think 1) teach students to read and 2) teach content areas should be placed together as 'teach students to read through the content areas. Reading never ceases, no matter where you are. So I believe that those two should go hand-in-hand. I also think that class participation should be hierarchically higher than pass tests. Since I have been a teacher, everything I hear is "pass the test, pass the test". I think that if you have a high-quality teacher, that teacher should be able to teach at least 90% of the class the appropriate content to be learned in that grade level in order to pass the test. I think more emphasis should be on the content learned instead of passing the test. It creates quite a bit of anxiety not only in the teachers, but especially the students. And in such schools, it feels as if certain people want the students to pass the test so they can receive a bonus. Personally, I could care less about earning a bonus. My bonus is knowing that I have taught, the students have learned, and they have succeeded and feel good about themselves.

So, back to my original question. What would be your plan of action to change this 'ineffective' test prep plan? I have an idea in mind, but know that nothing will be accomplished by myself. I know I would need the support of the other teachers in the building regarding this issue, but then again, it's hard to speak up against authority when the norm is 'nothing will change'.

I think you have done a very good job at explaining your situation, and I certainly understand your perspective as it has been explained. I think you may be looking for a “golden egg” answer instead of a means to nurture and feed the “golden goose.” If my goose is happy she will make many eggs, but if she isn’t and doesn’t produce then my goose is cooked! We need to stay focused on the core problem while understanding the fact that pain comes from symptoms. All of the things that you pointed out, while I am sure they are painful, valid and hold great significance, are merely noticeable effects of the cause. The cause of all this pain is that our kids are not learning how to read as quoted in the article, “Only a third of all students nationwide score where they should score—what NAEP labels “proficient”—if they possess the skills that experts deem appropriate for their grade level.” By that statement we have a failure rate of 66%, and by those numbers I would say the goose is getting VERY nervous!

My immediate response to your comments about credentials was that maybe you should get a different chicken, but since this is serious I’ll save the silliness for another time. Of course I believe that one should be properly educated and trained in order to hold a particular position, but we both know that is not always the case. I won’t let them bother me if you don’t, and besides eventually they will either learn what they need or will be gone. What are the ideas that are pushed to the side when your team is discussing issues? For the time being they must be kept separate and categorized, but are equally important and should be discussed…maybe another forum topic perhaps?

When it comes to doing things a “certain way,” I agree with the administration because the only way one can standardize something is to know where you are in the process at all times. If they left it up to arbitrary sources then the results across the company would be very inconsistent and ineffective overall. Some schools would be great and others would be swamp water, and I’m thinking the stock holders may take issue with that! The company must deal with issues on a macro level where you and your team are on more of a micro level so there will be differences in opinion based purely on perspective. It is the confluence of perspectives which will bring logical answers to the issues both large and small, but only if the focus is maintained on a specific issue. My grandfather always told me that catchin’ ‘em one at a time is a good day fishin’.

Regarding “passing the test,” I must believe that it is the hope and interest of every single person in the education business for students to learn. However this is a business and whether we believe it or not it is the best way for our education system to take the next step in the evolutionary chain. I may not like the fact that things will not improve until there is a dollar sign attached to it, but it doesn’t matter what I wish, it’s what IS that counts and here is where we can make a difference. You want to know my plan of action? We, you and I, are working on the plan right now and when we have the real problem completely identified we can plan how to solve it. I will give you a little bit of what I am thinking...open book tests except for in math. What are you thinking?

IKW

I have been watching these exchanges with great interest. I was hoping that some REAL answers to the problems at hand would actually be addressed. I was wrong. Unfortunately, this is indeed a corporation where money is the main issue. Waxing poetic about teaching a child to read is wonderful, but if the bottom line is still money, and making lots of it, then why bother? We teachers are "in the trenches", doing the dirty work, going against everything our wonderful universities taught us about NOT teaching to the test. Edison Schools pride themselves on being "research based" and yet EVERY district surrounding these schools in my area that are proficient or excellent according to the state standards DO NOT give up science and social studies in their curriculum. They DO NOT have huge chunks of the day devoted to test prep in reading and math, so much so that other subjects suffer. Of course, none of this matters. As a now jaded teacher, I know that so long as the numbers (scores) continue to go up, the means to which this happens does not matter. It is all about appearance. In the meantime, while everyone is so busy patting each other on the backs and cashing their bonuses, our inner-city children are not able to read and write as they should. We are not preparing them for adulthood, for college, for decent jobs. We are setting them up for failure.

Is this what teacher burn out sounds like? Most definitely. I am tired of watching my student's frustrated faces when they take a monthly test on subject matter they haven't been taught yet. I've grown weary of the question "why can't we do science?" I am sick of the neverending lines to the copier to make the upteenth packet for test prep when I have perfectly good, wonderful curriculum in my room,unused.

So, you may be asking, deano, what's your point? My point is, TALKING about how to teach a child to read is great, but actually DOING it the right way is another thing altogether. There are a great deal of mistakes being made in the name of "numbers" and so far, I have yet to see anyone from New York or anywhere else acually coming in and doing anything about it. Why? Because the numbers are good, and that's what really counts. In the meantime, Edison, in my neck of the woods, does not have a long line of certified teachers knocking at it's doors, nor does it have certified teachers wanting to stay. Can anyone blame them?

Dear Deano:

You are still looking for REAL answers before we have the problem completely identified, and if it is then let’s get to work! Your input was excellent and certainly shines a little more light on the issues I have been searching in order to solve this problem. I would say that we may have another issue to add to the list in corporate apathy, but the fact that the article exists and this discussion is taking place yanks the teeth out of the argument. The Chief Education Officer is the one whom put the article together in order to officially recognize the problem…this is one of the most encouraging aspects to this endeavor and without it I wouldn’t bother.

I see two groups of people, the teachers and the administration, with a common problem although the perspectives are significantly different. The perspective alignment must be accomplished, but I don’t want to spin cycles on that right now. There are too many aspects to be dealt with there, and if we look at them now before the issue is defined then we may be shooting ourselves down before we even get in the air! Right now we don't need to understand the other sides' perspective, we just have to be mindful that it exists.

I have but one agenda, improving the process of teaching children how to read…that is all I represent in this exercise.

IKW

The REAL problem is that there are too many other problems going on at this school to even begin addressing the "real" problem with these children learning how to read. What I had said in my first comment is that I agree with the 'teach less reading' theory. In doing so, more concentration in classrooms should be on all subject concepts, not just reading. What I am saying ultimately is that at my school, this theory will always be just that, theory. Nothing will ever be put into plan to help foster the reading abilities and advance reading abilities at our school because we are focusing too much time on reading skills and math skills. They are not given enough time in the day to actually explore what they may or may not be reading about. For example, simply reading about science topics with the purpose of advancing reading skills will never set in because the students will focus more on the interesting science aspect than the reading skill that is being focused on (for example sequence or compare and contrast). Where are the science experiments so that they may gain the 'background knowledge' of this content area, which the Chief Education Officer said is very important to have in order to comprehend what is read? Where are the activities that go along with writing and social studies that will create the background knowledge the Chief Education Officer believes is necessary in order to help students to read and want to learn to read? In our school, it doesn't exist in reality, only in theory. Administrators are too set in their ways to even acknowledge that background knowledge is not only important, but necessary in order for our students to comprehend what they are reading. All they care about is making sure they (the students) have the reading skills down for whatever text is put in front of them in order to get the numbers they need to achieve their rate of success for that bonus check. The administrators also want this achieved by their means, and their means ONLY! There is no individuality in teaching at this school. Even the reading curriculum which is not supposed to be scripted, is being scripted by the administration because they feel it should be taught that specific way (even though they were never trained by the officials of the curriculum or even taught it themselves!) This is corrupt! Why be an educator if you are not educating the whole child? Why be an educator if you show that you do not care about the education of the child and make sure that they are achieving excellence in EVERY ASPECT of ALL curriculum?

IKW:
I want to be able to teach my students how to read in the most effective way possible. The way my school is making me try to do this is not according to the "Edison Way", nor to the curriculum used. I can not begin to start attacking my problem of how best to teach the students how to read until the administration agrees to let teachers in the building actually teach in their own way, myself included. There way is NOT working. I understand keeping things in order with the purpose to see what actually works and what doesnt, but what they do not realize is that it is NOT working. The students aren't learning to read any better, and the teachers are becoming more and more agitated and frustrated that we are not able to help the children read better. So for me it's not a matter of what to do to help them read better, it's how do we (my fellow teachers and myself) create a better working environment first from which to begin to devise a plan of action to further the actual reading skills of our students?

Dear bback:

Only patience, perseverance and intelligence will enable the best solution to take flight. Although it may seem like there are too many problems to solve, the largest problem is a belief that success is impossible. The only things we cannot do are the things we think we cannot do. I am searching for a universal way to teach reading in our schools that will enable all subjects to be taught to proficiency no matter how many children there are, what part of the world they live on or what color jellybeans they prefer!

I’m a little confused on your statement, “…the students will focus more on the interesting science aspect than the reading skill that is being focused on.” Are you worried they will be so focused on “the interesting science aspect” that they won’t realize they are learning to read? In the movie “Karate Kid,” do you think the old man really cared which way the wax went on? No, it was the exercise that built the muscles necessary to make an impact. We are building the muscles of the brain even if we have to trick it a bit, and if they are not careful they just may learn how to read out of necessity. That’s just crazy talk!!! 

As far as the administration being “too set it their ways,” I think they haven’t been presented with any viable alternatives in their native language. One can have the cure for cancer in their back pocket, but without a means to extract the information it’s just a crinkled piece of paper.

As far as the bonus check, get over it, unless that is truly what you want…jealousy and petty argument will not force change it will only solidify the status quo. (bback, I know that is not your focus, but please allow me to make a point at your expense.) As far as the administrators wanting things done “by their means only,” of course they do, it’s their paycheck and career on the line. You don’t have to like it but you must learn to deal with it…and then use it to your advantage.

IKW

Here is the beginning of an idea and I hope somebody out there will beat it like a rented mule!

I had it in a much better format, but the file was too big to upload.

Problem(s) - Solution Activity

Pass Tests, Teach Reading - Open Book Tests - The reason for open book tests is to ensure they are all getting the exact information from the same source. Especially at such a young age, I believe that our goal is not so much mastery as it is familiarity of a subject. The “subject” or “content area” as you put it will serve as the mechanism to teach reading.

Pass Tests, Teach Content Areas - Identify Specific Goals - I think most people think they already do this, but I believe it could be significantly improved. Those who follow me in an endeavor will always be reminded of the objective of our activities. Tactics may change based upon situational variables, but the objective will be voiced, printed, reminded and most importantly achieved. “Aim small, miss small.”

Pass Tests, Teach Reading - Vocabulary Test – Our objective to vocabulary is to teach new words. If they have to read them, write them, look them up in a book for the test, read them again, write them down on the test paper they may actually pick something up out of all of that repetition. I was called sophomoric by my father at the age of seven, and I really wish I had gained a little more Wisdom instead of just Information before I made the next comment…”Gee, thanks Dad!” …the day went from bad to worse, but knowledge was certainly gained!

Class Participation, Teach Content Areas - Introduce Specific New Topics – This is another repetitive exercise because the students heard of the topic at the beginning of the semester, and if the plan is followed this will be the second time they have heard the topic. The purpose of the discussion is to link the new Information for which you are about to cover to the Information you have already covered. Simply put, learning is the linking of new Information to already learned Information. I think a moment should be taken to purposefully link the pieces of the puzzle instead of assume it will occur simply because it was covered in class. Leave nothing to chance if success is truly your goal.

Class Participation - The “Wish List” – Here is the chance for the teacher to get a little creative and to inspire them a bit to improve their methods. When looking at the semester curriculum, I’m sure there are many other sub-topics teachers wish they could teach if they only had the time that are pertinent to the curriculum. This is where the Knowledge of the teacher actually gets used because they have the experience in life that will enable little details to be discussed that nobody will find in a text book, per se.

I think of learning in relation to three things Information, Knowledge and Wisdom.

Information – Every single stimulus that the human mind can interpret through the sensory organs of the body. Words, books, temperature of the room, the hiss of the air conditioner are all examples of information, and it also includes every single concept or term introduced in a school setting.

Knowledge – The result of applying information. It doesn’t even matter if you apply the information effectively! If it was not applied effectively at least you have discovered a way to NOT make it work just like Thomas Edison did over a thousand times when making that pesky little light bulb.

Wisdom – This is the decision engine that is used to determine one course of action versus another. The question to ask is, do we currently have the knowledge to successfully accomplish that which we have set out to accomplish? If not, we need to go get more information for which to use in order to attain another piece of knowledge.

The wise man will shamelessly admit he does not have an answer, but the knowledgeable man will believe all that he knows is all he needs to know, spending the rest of his life defending his position despite the presence of truth, despite the absence of logic.

IKW

I have presented a small fragment of an idea, but I am certain that I do not have the necessary information or knowledge to be successful...I must count on you, the educators, to provide both so we can all see the wisdom and make the obvious choice.

This problem can and will be solved, but not until the pain of illiteracy has eclipsed the pleasure of the status quo.

IKW

That "status quo" is starting to look a little shaky isn't it?

http://www.cnn.com/2007/EDUCATION/02/14/no.child.commission.ap/index.html

One thing I will give the "education industry" is that you are not short on research resources and alternative ideas...just on doing anything about it, that takes wisdom and courage.

I thought this one was interesting, and I hope from here to Jesus that somebody is paying attention. In the attachment, my only complaint is that they are using the word "Knowledge" too quickly...they should use the word "Information" until quadrant "D" is discussed.

http://www.leadered.com/pdf/Successful%20Schools%206-05.pdf

Good Luck.
Peace