Barriers to Change

What is preventing your vision of schools from becoming a reality more often for more people? What barriers and challenges do you recognize that stand in the way of the change that you would like to see?

What is preventing your vision of schools from becoming a reality more often for more people?

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The structure of the school day and the structure of classrooms can be a barrier to change in education

9 votes

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Students describe barriers to change.

http://linoit.com/users/bardyck/canvases/Barriers%20to%20Change
from http://blogs.hsd.ca/learningproject

7 votes

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Teachers as Gate Keepers and Maintaining the Status Quo

Too often teachers become supports of the status quo. We begin trying to figure out the art of teaching and classroom control and understanding what it is that we need to do to comply with the expectations of others. Once find our groove, it is very difficult to break out of the comfort zone we have created and take risks to implement new ideas, to attempt new strategies and so forth. We are confronted with demands to try new things just when our lives outside of the classroom force us to make time for spouses, aging parents, children and so forth. We hunker down and strive for that even keel in the classroom so that we can deal with the demands of our lives outside.

Too often teachers become supports of the status quo. We begin trying to figure out the art of teaching and classroom control and understanding what it is that we need to do to comply with the expectations of others. Once find our groove, it is very difficult to break out of the comfort zone we have created and take risks to implement new ideas, to attempt new strategies and so forth. We are confronted with demands to try new things just when our lives outside of the classroom force us to make time for spouses, aging parents, children and so…

6 votes

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The lack and unequal distribution of resources can be a barrier

5 votes

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Education is at present a ******* exploited by politicians, unions and school boards for self-serving purposes

3 votes

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The lack of information and training about beginning reading instruction.

I left teaching in the public and catholic system to immerse myself in learning about effective beginning reading instruction teaching approaches (mortified by the number of students who were struggling along with only band-aid solutions rather than true remediation and therapy). This information is not difficult to find. I now get calls WEEKLY from parents with the same story - their children are doing okay in kindergarten, grade one, and grade two (despite the parents' disbelief), but then are told that their children are struggling as the enter grade three or four. Students with dyslexia or other specific language impairments are not being caught early enough, nor are teachers being trained well enough (using Orton-Gillingham approaches to teaching reading). This is not even touched on in Teacher's College, and when i present workshops to teachers (i have been doing this for 15 years), most teachers are thrilled (no exaggeration) to recieve information about the structure of the english language and basic phonemic awareness (and systematic and explicit phonics) principles and practices.
So good quality training for teachers, along with the bureaucracy of the system (beginning with the Ministry of Education, and flowing down through the literacy consultants in schools) that prevents quality beginning reading instruction training, is the biggest problem preventing schools from being successful.

I left teaching in the public and catholic system to immerse myself in learning about effective beginning reading instruction teaching approaches (mortified by the number of students who were struggling along with only band-aid solutions rather than true remediation and therapy). This information is not difficult to find. I now get calls WEEKLY from parents with the same story - their children are doing okay in kindergarten, grade one, and grade two (despite the parents' disbelief), but then are told that their children are struggling as the enter grade three or four. Students with dyslexia or other specific language impairments…

3 votes

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Large class sizes are a barrier to many changes that teachers wish to see.

If class sizes were smaller, teachers would be better able to individualize programming for students. We could provide more support students with special needs and those for whom English is a second language. We would be able to follow student interests through inquiry projects, making learning more authentic. Teacher's mental health would improve, making them better resources for their students.

3 votes

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Poor Leadership (I would use the phrase "Barriers to Improvement" rather then "Barriers to Change")

Leadership is about service and responsibility. Some in education see Leadership as about privilege and prestige. Many simply do not know how to Lead.

Check out Simon Sinek's talk based on his book "Leaders Eat Last: Why Some Teams Pull Together and Others Don't":

http://vimeo.com/79899786

Teachers are the key. According to research (Gallup & CEA) most Teachers are not engaged in their practice.

Our Leaders need to do everything in their power to properly train and support all Teachers. Create and implement systems that put this as the functioning priority.

Check out: http://edge.ascd.org/blogpost/15-things-every-teacher-needs-from-a-principal

When the people in power figure out how to Lead properly. That is put the needs of the educational system ahead of their own, or the few; improvements will come about organically.

It is my personal opinion that all are good people, just not aware of (not trained properly), and/or practicing (walking the talk) the proper Leadership skills.

Education is all about leadership in that Teachers are Leaders.

Each of the other suggestions posted here would be solved by the provision of better Leadership.

Leadership is about service and responsibility. Some in education see Leadership as about privilege and prestige. Many simply do not know how to Lead.

Check out Simon Sinek's talk based on his book "Leaders Eat Last: Why Some Teams Pull Together and Others Don't":

http://vimeo.com/79899786

Teachers are the key. According to research (Gallup & CEA) most Teachers are not engaged in their practice.

Our Leaders need to do everything in their power to properly train and support all Teachers. Create and implement systems that put this as the functioning priority.

Check out: http://edge.ascd.org/blogpost/15-things-every-teacher-needs-from-a-principal

When the people in power figure out…

2 votes

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My vision of education is prevented by the idea that educationally defensible objectives can only be secured by setting ends for others.

What is required to change education for the better is nothing short of a proverbial paradigm shift. Such change always requires questioning fundamental presuppositions. The root presupposition, in this case, is nothing short of the seventeenth century notion that the universe and its parts form a giant mechanism; and that, consequently, all of its parts are similarly mechanical. (I expect the connection of such a grand idea to education to be somewhat mystifying. In such a short space I can only hint at the connection).

Education, in its current form, requires end-setting FOR others (e.g., teachers and students) - see, for example, the student comments in a post above. This requirement condemns education to mediocrity. Since the ends that I must set are not my own, I need to be coerced to adopt them (e.g., by pay, grades, or fear of some punishment). In this case, I adopt the educational end - the task at hand - merely as the means and, consequently, engage in it to the minimum extent required to attain my true end (the promised incentive). By setting ends for others educators, thereby, hinder engagement.

The current system embodies a lack of faith that fundamentally organic systems (students, teachers, classrooms and schools) might "know where they are going" - or contain ends of their own toward which they tend. What is required, in nut shell, are some of the core ideas that are contained in Ministry of Education document "Living and Learning" (1968) and which are, incidentally, indefensible on a standard mechanical view of the universe (e.g., teacher, school and classroom autonomy).

There is nothing inherently wrong with objectives or with the measurement of the extent to which they are attained. These objectives should, however, be set WITH others and not FOR them. "What shall we do?" is far better than "We are going to... - that is, because the objectives have been set for us."

What is required to change education for the better is nothing short of a proverbial paradigm shift. Such change always requires questioning fundamental presuppositions. The root presupposition, in this case, is nothing short of the seventeenth century notion that the universe and its parts form a giant mechanism; and that, consequently, all of its parts are similarly mechanical. (I expect the connection of such a grand idea to education to be somewhat mystifying. In such a short space I can only hint at the connection).

Education, in its current form, requires end-setting FOR others (e.g., teachers and students) - see,…

1 vote

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"Higher education" has developed an overwhelming status that can negate objectivity, diversity... change.

60 years ago, Benjamin Bloom and his peers wrote about what they perceived as a barrier facing the Taxonomy of Educational Objectives – Cognitive Domain. In part they wrote:
‘There is an unmistakable trend pointing toward a hierarchy of classes of behavior. Yet, in the cognitive domain especially, it appears that as the behaviors become more complex, the individual is more aware of their (behaviors) existence. If the level of consciousness is an important dimension it would pose a great range of problems and point to a whole new range of relationships. Perhaps… why some affective behaviors are so difficult. Perhaps it would help explain the extraordinary retention of some psychomotor skills.
Universities have participated in creating an “unmistakable trend” by doing a wonderful job of positioning themselves as higher learning. In the past 60 years this higher learning attitude has resulted in the removal of (expensive) psychomotor or physically-literate curriculum from our schools. (Note: We are now at the point where children are being born with symptoms of inactivity - obesity.) This has a homogenizing impact on learning environments whereby the lecture hall represents the pinnacle and physically-literate pedagogy the also-ran.
In fact the only physical-literacy remaining in grade 7 or 8 are music and sport. Additionally, secondary technological curriculum is quickly becoming equally sedentary. While the cognitive domain is important, alone it remains unconscious. The challenge and the questions become 1) how do we work past the epistemological status of sedentary learning styles 2) (re)engage authentic ‘affective’ and ‘extraordinary psychomotor skills’ at an earlier age 3) diversify by (re)engaging blue-collar educators 4) all without breaking-the-bank?

60 years ago, Benjamin Bloom and his peers wrote about what they perceived as a barrier facing the Taxonomy of Educational Objectives – Cognitive Domain. In part they wrote:
‘There is an unmistakable trend pointing toward a hierarchy of classes of behavior. Yet, in the cognitive domain especially, it appears that as the behaviors become more complex, the individual is more aware of their (behaviors) existence. If the level of consciousness is an important dimension it would pose a great range of problems and point to a whole new range of relationships. Perhaps… why some affective behaviors are so difficult.…

1 vote

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More sophisticated and individualized programming takes more time per student, needs fewer students per teacher

The system expects a revolutionary increase in individuation of programming, without reducing class size to allow more time per child. It doesn't matter how much you inservice teachers on new more complex methods when those methods require more time than the teacher has. Classes are more diverse now, students' are more complicated, discipline options are more constrained, and expectations of individualized service continue to intensify. All of this points to the need for smaller schools to reduce anonymity and mob behaviour, and smaller class sizes -- if you want more time spent on each child, then you need fewer children per teacher. If you want staff to know the nuances of the children's emotional and cognitive shifts from day to day, you need smaller schools where the kids are not just faces in a vast crowd. Schools of 1000 children are simply not effective. The Cleveland School Board found that splitting failing 1000-child schools into self-contained 250-student configurations, raised the children's scores from the bottom quartile to the top one.

The system expects a revolutionary increase in individuation of programming, without reducing class size to allow more time per child. It doesn't matter how much you inservice teachers on new more complex methods when those methods require more time than the teacher has. Classes are more diverse now, students' are more complicated, discipline options are more constrained, and expectations of individualized service continue to intensify. All of this points to the need for smaller schools to reduce anonymity and mob behaviour, and smaller class sizes -- if you want more time spent on each child, then you need fewer children…

1 vote

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Barriers to Change

What is preventing your vision of schools from becoming a reality more often for more people?

There are two ways to get more votes:

The structure of the school day and the structure of classrooms can be a barrier to change in education

Students describe barriers to change.

Teachers as Gate Keepers and Maintaining the Status Quo

The lack and unequal distribution of resources can be a barrier

Education is at present a ******* exploited by politicians, unions and school boards for self-serving purposes

The lack of information and training about beginning reading instruction.

Large class sizes are a barrier to many changes that teachers wish to see.

Poor Leadership (I would use the phrase "Barriers to Improvement" rather then "Barriers to Change")

My vision of education is prevented by the idea that educationally defensible objectives can only be secured by setting ends for others.

"Higher education" has developed an overwhelming status that can negate objectivity, diversity... change.

More sophisticated and individualized programming takes more time per student, needs fewer students per teacher

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