If Educational Reformers Are So Smart, How Come They Always Fail?
Learn The Flaw in Academic Elite Thinking
Do you consider yourself an academic elite?
If you graduated from college, graduate school or have a doctorate in any field, you might consider yourself part of this class of people. If you believe earning a college degree is the be all, end all of intelligence, you will suffer one fatal flaw.
That flaw is the reason why academic elites WILL NEVER fix our schools. If you want to know what that flaw is then read the rest of this article.
The Education Reform Movement
The American public school education system was created in the late 1870s, but by the turn of the century there were already people who wanted to reform the system.
As you will see “education reform” isn’t a movement to improve school quality, it’s just a form of American ADHD.
Let’s begin in 1998, when Dr. Richard DuFour and his research partner Dr. Robert Eaker published the seminal book titled, “Professional Learning Communities at Work.”
Right from the first chapter, these two highly respected educational researchers lay out how reform effort after reform effort has failed to work, improve quality or even push the argument forward.
As you will see, the Academic elite keep running into the same wall and instead of saying “ouch! that hurt,” they take a few steps back and run harder into the same wall saying, “please, may I have another go?”
What’s Wrong with the Academic Elite?
As I stated before, the academic elite have one fatal flaw that prevents them from being successful. And that fatal flaw is not having 21st century leadership skills.
What you need to know is that I became one of the first superintendents in the country to adopt a 21st century skills curriculum back in 2011. In the 21st century leadership course that my students learned, there are six objectives of leadership. One of those objectives is learning “how to listen.”
Can you see the problem now?
Academic elites live inside a bubble. Educational researchers call this the “education silo.” There are two major problems that happen when academic elites go inside the silo. One, they don’t always share information with each other, and two, when they do share information they refuse to LISTEN to each other.
More importantly, academic elites NEVER listen to anyone that is outside the academic elite circles. If you graduate from an Ivy League doctoral program, the likelihood that you will LISTEN to anyone that didn’t graduate from an Ivy League or doesn’t have a doctorate in education is very unlikely.
This is what’s wrong with the academic elite and one of the main reasons they love to run into brick walls without any plan or idea about what they are doing.
The Restructuring Movement
Here’s a real world example that will show you how the academic elite think and why they will NEVER be successful. In Chapter One of Dr. DuFour and Eaker’s book, they lay out how the “Restructure Movement” began in the late 1980s right after the “Excellence Movement” had just failed to fix our schools.
This movement thought it had “learned” from their previous mistakes, but as you now know, the academic elite live inside a bubble and NEVER listen to other people.
The “Excellence Movement” was a top-down approach, so the “Restructure Movement” decided to take a two-pronged approach to fixing schools. What they wanted to do was combine federal and state legislation with local school autonomy.
The first step they took was to convene the Governors of all 50 states who sat down with then President George H.W. Bush (aka Bush 41) in 1989.
From that meeting, the academic elites created a list of goals titled “Goals 2000” and those goals were:
- All children will start school ready to learn;
- The high school graduation rate will increase to a least 90%
- American students will leave grade four, eight and twelve having demonstrated competency in challenging subject matter, including English, mathematics, science, history, and geography, and every school in America will ensure that all students learn to use their minds well, so they be prepared for responsible citizenship, further learning and productive employment in our modern economy;
- U.S. students will be the first in the world in mathematics and science achievement;
- Every adult will be literate and will possess the knowledge and skills necessary to compete in a global economy and exercise the rights and responsibilities of citizenship; and
- Every school in America will be free of drugs and violence and will offer a disciplined environment that is conducive to learning. (United States Department of Education, 1994)
Sounds good?
Whether you agree or disagree with these six goals, what’s important to understand is the Restructuring Movement failed! The academic elite were unsuccessful in reaching any of these six goals.
Why Do the Academic Elite Always Fail?
The purpose of this article is to show you the flaw of the academic elite and why they should NOT lead any more education reform efforts going forward. If we want to fix our schools, we need NEW leadership from people outside the academic elite circles.
What you need to understand is that the academic elite always fail. And the reason they ALWAYS fail is because of their major flaw. If you don’t have 21st century leadership skills, you will NEVER succeed. This doesn’t just apply to academic elites, it applies to everyone.
We are living in the 21st century. The year is 2022, anyone that doesn’t get on board and start learning 21st century leadership skills is shooting themselves in the foot on purpose.
If you don’t learn 21st century leadership skills, you are being foolish.
It’s not hard to learn 21st century leadership skills. In fact, I broke down 21st century leadership skills into six objectives. If you want to know what those six objectives are, then you can watch two FREE webinars that I hosted for Leaf Academy in 2021.
That’s right, there are two FREE webinars, which means you have zero excuses for not watching them. After you watch the FREE webinars, you can decide to register for the Beginner Leadership 101 course, which will help you develop your 21st century leadership skills.
That means overcoming the major flaw of academic elites. When you learn 21st century leadership skills, you learn HOW TO LISTEN the right way. You also learn how to do proper reflections, so you avoid making the same mistakes twice.
If academic elites had 21st century leadership skills, they would AVOID making the same mistakes they have been making for the last 75 years. Will they or won’t they learn something new?
It’s ironic that we have to ask that question. The academic elite believe so much in education and life-long learning and yet when I suggest they learn 21st century leadership skills — they refuse to learn.
Can you trust people who refuse to learn new things? Can you trust people that don’t listen very well? Can you trust people who live inside a bubble?
A New Way Forward
For 20+ years I worked inside the K12 system. I know how the system works, but I also know how the system does NOT work. In 2017, I was recognized as an expert 21st century educator because I developed three winning strategies that fix schools.
I researched and studied why academic elites have failed for the last 75 years. I understand their fatal flaw better than they do. And when I set out to fix and modernize the K12 system, I took a different approach.
For two solid years, from 2007–2009, I listened to teachers and principals from hundreds of schools and districts. That’s right, I listened. Because I took the opposite approach from academic elites, people thought I was odd and strange.
Can you see how people would react that way? I am not inside the academic elite circles. I did not earn a doctorate and I do not have an advanced degree from an Ivy League school. Academic elites do not want to include me in their bubble.
But that’s also a huge advantage for me. I don’t have the same biases and mindset. I don’t have the same major flaw.
At the heart of my success is 21st century leadership skills.
That is why I was invited to give expert testimony before the NJ Joint Legislative Committee on the Public Schools. And New Jersey was ranked #1 in education by the US Department of Education in 2020.
At some point, the academic elite will have to stop being so stubborn. At some point the academic elite will HAVE to listen to a different voice.
I’m not saying I’m smarter than the academic elite. Let me be clear, I am NOT smarter than them, but I am WAY more successful. If you want to fix your school, if you want a modern 21st century school, I have already done it.
I turned the K12 district I ran into one of the most respected and inspiring 21st century programs in the country. Teachers, principals and school districts from a 50-mile radius all were calling and emailing me to share my secrets.
If you’re not asking questions, think about the bubble you live inside.
I have already proven the solution works. I started this journey back in 2009 and ran the K12 district until 2019. That means for 10 years, I proved this new school model works.
Thank you for listening! And I hope to see you at Leaf Academy.
Works Cited: Dufour, R., & Eaker, R. E. (1998). Professional learning communities at work : best practices for enhancing student achievement. Solution Tree.
About the Author:
D. Scott Schwartz, M.Ed. is a former teacher, principal, superintendent and school business administrator who spent 20+ years inside the K12 system. He was one of the first superintendents in the country to adopt a 21st century skills curriculum and he was recognized as an expert 21st century educator in 2017. He heads an education think tank that does educational research and helps superintendents and school districts follow the research and make better data-driven decisions. If you want to learn more, follow the link in the bio.
