The Education Crisis: What It Is and How to Fix It

10. What can you do to transform education?

Host Thembi Duncan [https://thembiduncan.com/] speaks with education expert Dr. Charles Reigeluth [https://www.reigeluth.net/], author of Vision and Action: Reinventing Schools through Personalized Competency Based Education [https://www.solutiontree.com/vision-and-action.html], about the ways that listeners can help their schools transform to the personalized, competency-based paradigm of education. Dr. Reigeluth describes what a school board member, superintendent, principal, teacher, parent, student, and community member can do.  In all cases, the process should start by convincing a colleague or friend to meet with you to learn more about the new paradigm of education and learn about a school that has already transformed.   Then, if you are a board member, you should talk one-on-one with other board members to get them interested in learning more.  When enough board members are interested, the board should appoint a study committee to explore pros, cons, and options, and to make specific recommendations.  This should lead to forming a prelaunch team, as discussed in Chapters 8 and 9. If you are a superintendent, you and your study partner should eventually talk to the most receptive board members individually to get them interested in learning more, and they can help you get other board members interested. If you are a principal, you and your study partner should try to get other principals to learn more, and then talk with the superintendent to get her or him interested.  And you can support the superintendent in recruiting board members. If you are a teacher, you and your study partner should try to get other teachers to learn more, and then talk with your principal to get her or him interested.  Then you can support the principal in recruiting the superintendent. If you are a parent, you and your study partner should try to get other parents to learn more, and then talk with your children's teachers and/or principal or assistant principal, depending on your comfort with them and their receptivity.  The parent-teacher's association is also a good option. If you are a student, you and your study partner should try to get your friends interested in learning more.  Also, try to get your parents and teachers interested, and help them get the principal and superintendent interested. If you are a community member, you and your study partner can try to get friends and neighbors interested.  If you know any board members or administrators, try to get them interested.  If you are a member of a church or civic group, try to get them interested.  When you generate a lot of interest, board members and administrators will listen. Next, this episode features Jeff Wetzler from Transcend Education [https://transcendeducation.org/] and Scott Frauenheim from Leap Innovations [https://www.leapinnovations.org/], two non-profit organizations that help school systems to transform.  They offer additional advice for each of these stakeholders to get their school system interested in transforming t Special Discount for our Listeners: The discount for the book,Vision and Action by Dr. Charles Reigeluth and Dr. Jennifer Karnopp, expired on January 31, but the price is still good! Check out the description at Reigeluth's website [https://www.reigeluth.net/vision-and-action]or buy the book at Amazon [https://www.amazon.com/s?k=Vision+and+Action&i=stripbooks&crid=I6LKSZIAHKXQ&sprefix=vision+and+action%2Cstripbooks%2C134&ref=nb_sb_noss]! Give today to our GoFundMe Campaign: https://www.gofundme.com/f/help-end-americas-education-crisis-now [https://www.gofundme.com/f/help-end-americas-education-crisis-now] so we can keep this podcast online!

9: How can a school transform?

Chapter 9 of 10. Host Thembi Duncan [https://thembiduncan.com/] speaks with education expert Dr. Charles Reigeluth [https://www.reigeluth.net/], author of Vision and Action: Reinventing Schools through Personalized Competency Based Education [https://www.solutiontree.com/vision-and-action.html], about the ways that a school can transform itself to the personalized, competency-based paradigm of education. Dr. Reigeluth describes some fundamental principles that guide a successful transformation process for a stand-alone school that's not controlled by a school district or charter organization.  The principles are similar to those for a school district, such as involving many stakeholders in a learning process that helps them to evolve their mindsets or mental models about education, reaching consensus on values about education for their transformed system to live up to, the kind of leadership needed, and more.   Then he describes some specific sequential activities, such as assessing and enhancing readiness, bringing in an experienced facilitator, creating a small prelaunch team that later expands into a larger leadership team, and more.  The leadership team develops a shared ideal vision for their school, and it develops a strategy for evolving ever closer to that ideal.   Next, Dr. Reigeluth describes continuous activities that should be done throughout the transformation process.  They are the same as for transforming a school district and include maintaining trust, motivation, communication, self-evaluation, learning, and more. This episode features Jeff Wetzler from Transcend Education [https://transcendeducation.org/] and Scott Frauenheim from Leap Innovations [https://www.leapinnovations.org/], two non-profit organizations that help school systems to transform. Huge thanks to our Chapter-9 GoFundMe [https://www.gofundme.com/f/help-end-americas-education-crisis-now] Donors: Roberto Joseph, Fred O'Neal, Eun-Ok Baek, and Nari Kim. Special Discount for our Listeners: The discount for the book,Vision and Action by Dr. Charles Reigeluth and Dr. Jennifer Karnopp, expired on January 31, but the price is still good! Check out the description at Reigeluth's website [https://www.reigeluth.net/vision-and-action]or buy the book at Amazon [https://www.amazon.com/s?k=Vision+and+Action&i=stripbooks&crid=I6LKSZIAHKXQ&sprefix=vision+and+action%2Cstripbooks%2C134&ref=nb_sb_noss]! Give today to our GoFundMe Campaign: https://www.gofundme.com/f/help-end-americas-education-crisis-now [https://www.gofundme.com/f/help-end-americas-education-crisis-now] so we can keep this podcast online!

8. How can a school district transform?

Chapter 8 of 10. Host Thembi Duncan [https://thembiduncan.com/] speaks with education expert Dr. Charles Reigeluth [https://www.reigeluth.net/], author of Vision and Action: Reinventing Schools through Personalized Competency Based Education [https://www.solutiontree.com/vision-and-action.html], about the ways that a school district can transform itself to the personalized, competency-based paradigm of education. Dr. Reigeluth describes some fundamental principles that guide a successful transformation process for a school district, such as involving many stakeholders in a learning process that helps them to evolve their mindsets or mental models about education, reaching consensus on values about education for their transformed system to live up to, the kind of leadership needed, and more.   Then he describes some specific sequential activities, such as enhancing readiness, bringing in an experienced facilitator, creating a small prelaunch team that later expands into a larger leadership team, and more.  The leadership team develops a shared ideal vision for their school, and it develops a strategy for evolving ever closer to that ideal.  Next, Dr. Reigeluth describes continuous activities that should be done throughout the transformation process, such as maintaining trust, motivation, communication, self-evaluation, learning, and more. This episode features Jeff Wetzler from Transcend Education [https://transcendeducation.org/] and Scott Frauenheim from Leap Innovations [https://www.leapinnovations.org/], two non-profit organizations that help school systems to transform. Huge thanks to our Chapter 8 GoFundMe [https://www.gofundme.com/f/help-end-americas-education-crisis-now] Donors: Fred O'Neal, Eun-Ok Baek, Sinem Aslan, and JiYeon Lee. Special Discount for our Listeners: The discount for the book,Vision and Action by Dr. Charles Reigeluth and Dr. Jennifer Karnopp, expired on January 31, but the price is still good! Check out the description at Reigeluth's website [https://www.reigeluth.net/vision-and-action]or buy the book at Amazon [https://www.amazon.com/s?k=Vision+and+Action&i=stripbooks&crid=I6LKSZIAHKXQ&sprefix=vision+and+action%2Cstripbooks%2C134&ref=nb_sb_noss]! Give today to our GoFundMe Campaign: https://www.gofundme.com/f/help-end-americas-education-crisis-now [https://www.gofundme.com/f/help-end-americas-education-crisis-now] so we can keep this podcast online!

7. How does school structure need to change?

Chapter 7 of 10. Host Thembi Duncan [https://thembiduncan.com/] speaks with education expert Dr. Charles Reigeluth [https://www.reigeluth.net/], author of Vision and Action: Reinventing Schools through Personalized Competency Based Education [https://www.solutiontree.com/vision-and-action.html], about the ways that the structure of a school needs to change in order to transition from the Industrial Age educational paradigm to a paradigm that prepares learners for the Digital Age. Dr. Reigeluth explains how small, collaborative, teacher-led schools that share administrative duties provide a strong alternative to the top-down bureaucracy of the Industrial Age education model. This episode features Orly Friedman and Nikita Khetan from the Red Bridge School [https://www.redbridgesf.org/], as well as Jim Wartman and Nick Ryan from the Minnesota New Country School [https://www.newcountryschool.com/]. Huge thanks to our Chapter 7 GoFundMe [https://www.gofundme.com/f/help-end-americas-education-crisis-now] Donors: Roberto Joseph, Eun-Ok Baek, Olga Morrill, and Nari Kim! Special Discount for our Listeners: The discount for the book,Vision and Action by Dr. Charles Reigeluth and Dr. Jennifer Karnopp, expired on January 31, but the price is still good! Check out the description at Reigeluth's website [https://www.reigeluth.net/vision-and-action]or buy the book at Amazon [https://www.amazon.com/s?k=Vision+and+Action&i=stripbooks&crid=I6LKSZIAHKXQ&sprefix=vision+and+action%2Cstripbooks%2C134&ref=nb_sb_noss]! Give today to our GoFundMe Campaign: https://www.gofundme.com/f/help-end-americas-education-crisis-now [https://www.gofundme.com/f/help-end-americas-education-crisis-now] so we can keep this podcast online!

6. How does school culture need to change?

Chapter 6 of 10. Host Thembi Duncan [https://thembiduncan.com/] speaks with education expert Dr. Charles Reigeluth [https://www.reigeluth.net/], author of Vision and Action: Reinventing Schools through Personalized Competency Based Education [https://www.solutiontree.com/vision-and-action.html], and his co-author Dr. Jennifer Karnopp [https://education.sdsu.edu/directory/jennifer-karnopp] about the ways that school culture needs to change in America. Dr. Reigeluth and Dr. Karnopp explain how, in order to achieve the learner-centered paradigm, schools much adopt a culture of strong, caring relationships, multi-year mentoring, multi-age grouping, getting rid of grades, and so much more. This episode features Orly Friedman and Nikita Khetan from the Red Bridge School [https://www.redbridgesf.org/], as well as Dee Thomas, Jim Wartman, and Nick Ryan from the Minnesota New Country School [https://www.newcountryschool.com/]. Huge thanks to our Chapter 6 GoFundMe [https://www.gofundme.com/f/help-end-americas-education-crisis-now] Donors: Roberto Joseph, Fred O’Neal, Eun-Ok Baek, Ji-Yeon Lee! Special Discount for our Listeners: The discount for the book,Vision and Action by Dr. Charles Reigeluth and Dr. Jennifer Karnopp, expired on January 31, but the price is still good! Check out the description at Reigeluth's website [https://www.reigeluth.net/vision-and-action]or buy the book at Amazon [https://www.amazon.com/s?k=Vision+and+Action&i=stripbooks&crid=I6LKSZIAHKXQ&sprefix=vision+and+action%2Cstripbooks%2C134&ref=nb_sb_noss]! Give today to our GoFundMe Campaign: https://www.gofundme.com/f/help-end-americas-education-crisis-now [https://www.gofundme.com/f/help-end-americas-education-crisis-now] so we can keep this podcast online!