The NY Times
The one thing that stuck out for me was that statement made by Donald Cooke, cheif scientist at Tele Atlas North America. He stated that "some people are potentially going to do really stupid things with these tools." This stuck out for me because of the amount of errors that I make as I learn how to master new software. Usually after the error is made, I then must figure out how to retract it. The learning curve for me has to include errors. I learn more in my mistakes.
I do realize that that wasn't what Mr. Cooke meant, but it is always assumed that people will use new software for stupid purposes. He also believes that it is good and I agree but I believe that it can be good because this stupidity allows me to look smarter because I avoid looking that way as much as I can.
P-12 Change
It is hard to pick one thing from this reading that hit home the most. All of the chapter pertains to what KPS is doing at this moment. With AYP looming over our high schools, what else can be done. We have instituted most of the changes using a piecemeal method that includes leadership that is tiered. We are also trying for social environment change with buildings.
There is so much that we are doing that is in this chapter, how can I identify one. I do have one concern as I read this chapter. Are we instituting this change correctly? It is acknowledged by the authors that this type of change model can be used along with others. They strongly suggest that this model presented works best because it creates inclusion of the community and all staff involved with students and their education. I agree and I also see a need to explore the avenues presented in all scholary works.
Back to the question that I asked earlier. After reading the article, I have yet to conceed that what we are doing is the method that will work. This is always hard to see because we are still in process. Being in the process makes reflection difficult. Reflection can only happen when data is provided and we are behind on our data and unfortunately we are still in the first year of data collection, so what can you compare that to?
2 comments:
It looks like your school is doing a lot to improve upon the product it is sending out now. Change is always hard, but it is usually worth it in the end, especially when it helps with the students education. You say your school has a tiered leadership structure and you are working on social environment changes, which seem to be good things according to the book. All in all, it looks like you guys are going in the right direction.
Hi, Clifton,
I know what you mean about the learning curve - mine has looked more like a loop-dee-loop than a curve, but that's OK. Good point about how being in a change process makes it hard to reflect - especially since some of the changes are piecemeal, it's even harder to gauge long-term efforts. I agree that your question, "Are we doing this right?", should be asked throughout the change process, because that's what keeps us vigilant enough to, as you say, keep exploring our options.
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