Riding the Reform Rapids

By Marianne B. Cinaglia

The slow, inexorable course of reforming the schools can bear a surprising resemblance to a more exhilarating pursuit: rafting down the Yellowstone River. How stimulating it is, as a tourist on the river, to view centuries of geological evolution, to feel the sheer power of water rushing down a steep gradient and swirling in deep eddies around underwater rocks. The unremitting power of this mass of flowing water corresponds, in a way, to the force and relentlessness with which large organizations such as our education system move along: How futile are the efforts of a small boatload of tourists on the Yellowstone to do anything but take a semi-controlled ride down the river. And how unavailing are small and partial reform efforts set on redirecting the course of students through the steep gradient of the K-12 education system.

The goal of our present school reform is to educate productive citizens for the 21st-century economy. This will require teachers capable of implementing state and national standards. But while legislation has been written to address student testing and teacher responsibility, few strategically planned programs are in place to guarantee that classrooms will function any differently in 10 years than they do now.

One of the reasons for the slow progress of writing and implementing effective standards is the ubiquitous culture of schools and teaching. As an illustration of its longevity, I offer the following anecdote. While I was participating in a professional-development activity recently, a 30-year teacher, jovial and articulate, shared with me the origin of his classroom methods. "I have modeled myself after one of my favorite teachers," he said. "I present material, evaluate students, and manage my classroom just about...