Ohhhhhhhhhhhhhh the big C word

It seems that change is a recurring theme in the world today. In almost every aspect of life there is a desire for change. The presidential election was won on Obama touting a change in government. Because of the economy and desire to make a buck at someone else's expense, there have been changes in business structures, from those in power to those at the bottom, and also in the way those businesses produce. All we have to do is look at the car companies to see that traditional structure has outlived its usefulness, and now is the time for companies to redefine their goals, values, and output. That appears to be what governments need to do as well. Families, and what have been traditionally considered to be families, have changed. More and more children come from broken homes, indeed, that has become the norm. More children are coming from families that have situations that would have been wholly unacceptable not so many years ago (and are still struggling in some areas) whether that acceptance is in step-brothers and sisters, racially mixed parentage, or same-gender parenting. Yet the one area where we apparently are lacking in change is in the public school system.

This view of education is from both perspectives; inside and outside. Ideas about education and what should happen in education were readily apparent last night at the high school parent teacher conference. Interesting input. And overall? I believe that most parents believe that public schools are not much different than they were when most of them were kids twenty years before. And frankly, even though from a teacher's perspective it is a bit different, public schools have hardly changed at all and the parents are right....to a point. And that is what I see if I step outside myself and look in. Yet from the inside, it seems like goals, values, ideals, all that encompasses education keeps changing, and has been changing, yet nothing seems to last long, and nothing seems to dig too deeply beneath the surface. It is almost like plexiglass...it can take all kinds of scratching yet to break through and make a real hole it takes an awful lot, or a different way through. If we were going to really change the public education system, as the media is wont to dictate when they continually offer negative reviews of the public school systems, as we need to do to incorporate new technology to keep our students current, then we need to reassess what we want, we need to rethink, we need to refresh, renew, and replan, and we need the financial means to ensure change will take place. Where that is going to come from I have no idea. We can bail out Wall Street, we can try to help the car companies...but education? Good, positive change that will break through the plexiglass? What can we do about that?