Alpine School District and Education Reform Framing the issue in a constructive way Daniel Zappala
Jul 29, 2015
Alpine School District and Education Reform
Framing the issue in a constructive way
Daniel Zappala
This is a response to talk given by Oak Norton called Total Transformation – A Roadmap to Local Control of Education http://www.agencybasededucation.org/total-transformation-roadmap-local-control-education/
How Reform is Being Framed
Oak Norton, Total Transformation – A Roadmap to Local Control of Education, http://www.agencybasededucation.org/total-transformation-roadmap-local-control-education/
Oak Norton, Total Transformation – A Roadmap to Local Control of Education, http://www.agencybasededucation.org/total-transformation-roadmap-local-control-education/
This framing aligns the proponent of reform with “good” ideas and those who oppose him with “evil” ideas such as communism, socialism, fascism, and anarchy.
This framing inaccurately aligns current education practices and current reform with 100% government control.
Framing the Issue Constructively
Federal HomeState District School
There is a spectrum of control across different institutions and types of schools.
Federal HomeState District School
Federal Schooling
A school system run by the federal government, like the healthcare system in Great Britain. All teachers federally employed, all schools using the same books, tests, course materials, lecture slides, schedule, etc.
Federal HomeState District School
Unregulated Home Schooling
Pure home schooling with no regulation by the state.
Neither of these exists in practice in the United States.
Federal HomeState District School
Home Schooling
Parents have a great deal of control over the education of their children. There is some state regulation of home schools in a variety of areas.
Federal HomeState District School
Private Schools
The primary control with a private school lies with the ownership. Parents retain control over teaching in their home and have some leverage with the private school because they can threaten to withdraw. Private schools have some state and federal regulation.
Federal HomeState District School
Public Charter Schools
The primary control with charter schools is the school’s board. Parents retain control over teaching in their home and have some leverage with the charter school because they can serve on or appeal to the school’s board. They have a greater level of state and federal regulation than private schools.
Federal HomeState District School
Public School System
The primary control is with the local school, with other control exercised at the district, state, and federal levels. Parents retain control over teaching in their home and have input and representation on school, district, state, and federal levels.
Actual amounts of control not drawn to scale. The main point is that our current school systems exist on a spectrum.
Parents may choose the model that works for them.
This framework avoids casting one point of view as good and the other as evil. Instead it focuses on the issue at hand: how much control different entities exercise.
Oak Norton’s Proposal
Oak Norton’s Proposal
The primary control with is the school’s board. Parents retain control over teaching in their home and have some leverage with the charter school because they can serve on or appeal to the school’s board. They have less parental control than charter schools because the board is elected by all residents within a school’s boundaries rather than an election among the school’s parents.
Federal HomeState District School
Federal HomeState District School
Public Charter Schools
Federal HomeState District School
Oak Norton’s Proposal for Public Schools
Federal HomeState District School
Public School System
Oak Norton’s framingcurrent public school system, current reformers = 100% government control = socialism/fascismvsOak’s proposal = agency-based, free will, parent and family oriented = capitalism, free market, republic, limited government
and, unregulated home school = anarchy
A constructive framingcurrent public school system = control divided primarily among district, local school, and parentsvsOak’s proposal = shift most control to local school and parents through a board elected by residents
essentially, convert all schools to charter schools with some reforms
Why Is Framing Important?
The difference between Oak Norton’s proposal and our current school system is not equivalent to the difference between capitalism and socialism.
Properly framing the issue shows this is a discussion of different balances of control along a spectrum of possibilities.
Parents often give up some control by necessity or by choice. This may be because they do not have the time or skill to instruct their children in the home on every topic. This may be because they choose to trust professionals who have been trained in education to provide strong academic preparation for their children.
We should respect different choices parents make, including the choice to affiliate with a district-based public school system.
To make public schooling work, parents must cooperate with each other and reach compromise. Framing the issue properly will hopefully lead to more productive conversations among parents, teachers and administrators.