Last night I had the pleasure of attending a lecture by Steven Brill as part of REEP’s Lecture Series. I was captivated by the ease with which Brill crafted and shared stories from his book on ed reform cleverly titled, Class Warfare: Inside the Fight to Fix America’s Schools. He candidly explained his experiences within America’s public school reform. I spend a good part of my week as it is surrounded by educators who have experience on the front lines of school reform. Steven Brill, as a journalist, provided a unique take on education reform through the eyes of someone on the outside looking in.
Every story he told depicted a scene from his book. Several of his stories and observations struck me as solid truths about ed reform in America. Brill advocated for an attitude of success among teachers. Essentially, he supported a stance that believes all students can learn and achieve if they have effective teachers, regardless of student’s socioeconomic and academic backgrounds. Additionally, Brill explained that he felt leaders in education need to develop a sense of urgency, because, “…we are in an emergency…we are failing students…”
These are just two of the many ideas I heard last night from Brill which continue to occupy my thoughts. For those of you who were at the lecture last night as well, what did you take away from Brill’s speech? And for those who were unable to attend, how do you feel about what Brill advocated above? I am excited to read your opinion!
Thanks for sharing your thoughts, Micaela! His stories were an effective way to illustrate what he learned on this exploration of education. He didn’t have all the answers. He did include everyone in the solution set (unions, teachers, administrators, parents, students, business and community). The sense of urgency is so important. Read Eric Schmidt’s blog on change. We often think of change as negative. Yet, every day we learn something new, we have changed. I think of all the possibilities that are still ahead. The learning that can and will take place.