Opinion
Education Letter to the Editor

Who Is the Royal ‘We’ in Reform Prescriptions?

July 17, 2007 1 min read
  • Save to favorites
  • Print

To the Editor:

Mike Schmoker and Richard Allington’s Commentary “The Gift of Bleak Research” (May 16, 2007) made me think of the old joke about the Lone Ranger and his sidekick Tonto. Inevitably, the masked hero’s plans for doing away with bad guys began, “Tonto, first we must …” But in the joke, Tonto’s response was: “What’s this ‘we,’ Kemosabe?”

Messrs. Schmoker and Allington, adopting the Lone Ranger’s “we,” propose an “urgent question”: “Why do we create strategic plans that interfere with effective teaching, make no arrangements for teachers to work in teams to improve their lessons, and fail to ensure that instruction is at least occasionally monitored, so that we can celebrate progress and identify areas for further improvement?” They then reveal with another question what we need to do to answer it: “[W]ill we take the simple, direct actions sure to make schools vastly better, and more relevant and engaging for tens of millions of children?”

Moreover, in suggesting why such questions aren’t being asked in the first place, the Commentary notes that, at the core, we have “incredibly limited visions of what good teaching looks like.”

What’s missing here? The authors are asking the right questions. But, unfortunately, they have left a critical hole in the proposed answers. In each case, they suggest that we have to build each of those processes into every classroom’s instructional process.

But who is that “we”? What person in schooling is accountable for responding to that all-inclusive scope and nature, and also has the power to envision and support “good teaching”? What “simple, direct actions” can he or she take to “make schools vastly better, and more relevant and engaging”?

Now those are questions for which there are “answers” out there. There are school systems creating sustainable districtwide processes that support a simple model of effective learning and teaching at scale.

But there’s still a “we” problem: how to get the “we’s” focusing on systemic reform, to start asking some different “right questions,” so that they can find systemic answers that are already out there.

Lewis A. Rhodes

Silver Spring, Md.

A version of this article appeared in the July 18, 2007 edition of Education Week as Who Is the Royal ‘We’ In Reform Prescriptions?

Events

This content is provided by our sponsor. It is not written by and does not necessarily reflect the views of Education Week's editorial staff.
Sponsor
School & District Management Webinar
Harnessing AI to Address Chronic Absenteeism in Schools
Learn how AI can help your district improve student attendance and boost academic outcomes.
Content provided by Panorama Education
This content is provided by our sponsor. It is not written by and does not necessarily reflect the views of Education Week's editorial staff.
Sponsor
Science Webinar
Spark Minds, Reignite Students & Teachers: STEM’s Role in Supporting Presence and Engagement
Is your district struggling with chronic absenteeism? Discover how STEM can reignite students' and teachers' passion for learning.
Content provided by Project Lead The Way
Recruitment & Retention Webinar EdRecruiter 2025 Survey Results: The Outlook for Recruitment and Retention
See exclusive findings from EdWeek’s nationwide survey of K-12 job seekers and district HR professionals on recruitment, retention, and job satisfaction. 

EdWeek Top School Jobs

Teacher Jobs
Search over ten thousand teaching jobs nationwide — elementary, middle, high school and more.
View Jobs
Principal Jobs
Find hundreds of jobs for principals, assistant principals, and other school leadership roles.
View Jobs
Administrator Jobs
Over a thousand district-level jobs: superintendents, directors, more.
View Jobs
Support Staff Jobs
Search thousands of jobs, from paraprofessionals to counselors and more.
View Jobs

Read Next

Education Quiz Education Week News Quiz: Dec. 5, 2024
Test your knowledge on the latest news and trends in education.
1 min read
President Donald Trump listens during a "National Dialogue on Safely Reopening America's Schools," event in the East Room of the White House, on July 7, 2020, in Washington.
President Donald Trump listens during a "National Dialogue on Safely Reopening America's Schools," event in the East Room of the White House, on July 7, 2020, in Washington.
Alex Brandon/AP
Education Quiz Education Week News Quiz: Nov. 26, 2024
Test your knowledge on the latest news and trends in education.
1 min read
Small Business Administration administrator Linda McMahon attends a cabinet meeting in the Cabinet Room of the White House on Aug. 16, 2018, in Washington.
Small Business Administration administrator Linda McMahon attends a cabinet meeting in the Cabinet Room of the White House on Aug. 16, 2018, in Washington.
Andrew Harnik/AP
Education Briefly Stated: October 23, 2024
Here's a look at some recent Education Week articles you may have missed.
9 min read
Education Briefly Stated: October 2, 2024
Here's a look at some recent Education Week articles you may have missed.
8 min read