At least that is the basic message in a Forbes article titled
"The Single Best Idea for Reforming K-12 Education" by Steve Denning. (Thanks to ASBO member
Rick Gay for pointing me toward this article.)
If you take a few minutes to read this article, you'll find yourself nodding in agreement. Who can argue with the goal of inspiring lifelong learning? But the concept of "radical management" that Mr. Denning espouses is great when it works. When it doesn't work and failure persists and you find yourself asking your investors (or in the case of schools, taxpayers) to "hang in there," what then?
Take a read, do the head nodding, but then ask what would it take to not only inspire lifelong learning, but to also inspire your community to have confidence in your efforts to work toward this hard to measure goal. I think that requires a trust that is hard earned.
Speaking of hard to measure---loved this take away from the article. It's a term you may be familiar with but one I had not heard before. "
Goodhart’s Law: when measure becomes the goal, it ceases to be an effective measure."
**As an extra to this, I decided to share my thoughts with the author by commenting on his article--read my comments and his response to me on the third page of the comments under ths article.**