'You Just Heard It!' We Must All Join the Great Truth-Telling Conversation
We often hear that public education suffers from a "culture of compliance." I often add that the refusal of education leaders to speak obvious truths is due to the "blame game," which has created a culture of powerlessness. What I mean, but don't dare articulate, is that education across much or most of the nation is paralyzed by a culture of fear that gags even the best school leaders.
So, I was stunned by Oklahoma City Superintendent Rob Neu who proclaimed on the front page of the Daily Oklahoman that "We must face our current reality with brutal honesty." The constant criticism of the OKCPS has "stifled risk-taking and created an atmosphere of fear." Administrative turnover has created "a real-life game ofSurvivor."
Neu said that district's overall student performance is "bleak" and African-American students are "simply dying on the vine."
Then, the new superintendent addressed the "Great Conversation," which brings together students, civil rights and civil liberties organizations, religious coalitions, the Chamber of Commerce, the AFT/OK, conservatives, and liberals. He continued to express truths that I have never heard articulated in public (even though they are often expressed privately, off the record.) After a half dozen accurate, but daring statements, Neu punctuated his candid appraisal with the words, "You just heard it!"
We first heard the revelation that "African-American students are being passed on" while "Hispanic students are being exited." Superintendent Neu told stakeholders in our nearly 90% low-income district, "poverty is not a disability."
Neu said that the "blame game" could no longer be an option. Then, he tackled the issue which has inflicted the most pain on teachers. He began with the common statement that there is "no such thing as student failure." At that point, teachers across the nation tend to flinch reflectively, expecting to be blamed for each of our students' failure. But, the superintendent then asserted that a student's failure is "the system's failure!"
When he tackled sensitive issues, Mr. Neu was refreshingly explicit. He described complaints against the district by the United States Office of Civil Rights. Moreover, even if 46 percent of OKCPS students were not Hispanic, we would still need the dual language school initiative that is being introduced.
Mr. Neu was just warming up his honesty campaign. He described the problems created by the top-down management that too often accompanied grants by Silicon Valley entrepreneurs. He condemned the loss of 45 days of schooling, in part or in 'You Just Heard It!' We Must All Join the Great Truth-Telling Conversation | John Thompson:
