I don’t typically post twice in one day, but this blog “Open Letter” on Huffington Post caught my eye and I thought it should be shared. The focus is on education, and there are a number of themes we can see in the letter.
First, the author, Diane Ravitch, has an academic background and insight, but states that she has abandoned the reform efforts of the day because the favored reforms among politicians are “useless and counterproductive….” What she seems to be staying is that the story she has and supports is different that the politicians have and support.
Second, the audience for the open letter are influential actors in the education debate. Mark Zuckerberg is a billionaire with a history of donating for educational efforts. Dr. Priscilla Chan is pediatrician who is married to Mr. Zuckerberg. Her parents were ethnic Chinese who fled Vietnam in refugee boats. She is a former educator and has volunteered in causes related to eliminating gang violence impacts on students. Both are hugely committed to charity and have pledged to donate 99% of their Facebook shares to charity. The sheer magnitude of their resources and interest make them a target for other stories.
Third, Dr. Ravitch has an incredible academic and public service pedigree, with a story honed by decades of engagement in the field, including serving at the pinnacle of U.S. educational policy, the U.S. Department of Education.
As I am currently learning, it takes a long time for us to change the way we conduct our public policy on any level. Her policy recommendation is to work to eradicate poverty. My story is that we should be working to eliminate the root cause of poverty, and that a substantial portion of that root cause is childhood acquired trauma.
I have recently become aware of the work being done by Dr. Mark Jaben in the area of resistance to change. [LINK HERE] Now this video doesn't discuss ACEs, or trauma. And the material is discussed in the context of resistance by executives and employees to the introduction of a management system referred to as “Lean Thinking.” I have spent over 12 years learning the Lean Management system and introducing it, or attempting to introduce it, to nonprofit, for-profit, educational and government organizations. I have only one success. My story will tell you that introducing the management system will produce outstanding results that you will appreciate. But most of you wouldn’t support its introduction into your workplace. Dr. Jaben explains why.
What he explains in the context of introduction of a management system is, I believe, the same process that happens when we try to introduce a trauma-informed approach to public services in medical, government, social service, non profit and educational organizations. Our trauma story does not match up with the personal responsibility, or American exceptionalism, or genetic abnormality stories. I realize there are a lot more stories out there, but I hope this helps you understand my story a bit.
So what Dr. Ravitch is doing is attempting to alter the education story by interjecting additional thoughts about what might be successful. Will she achieve any change? Perhaps. She is contributing to a dialogue, and that dialogue is reaching a lot of people. But their minds will resist if their story is different.
Movement is slow when you are trying to align millions of stories to address one issue. It’s also slow when you are trying to align a workplace of employees towards a worthwhile goal like improved safety and working conditions, higher quality products and services, greater profitability or any of the myriad workplace goals we set. This Lean Management system sets what Toyota, the company that developed the Lean Management system, describes as its “True North.” What is our True North?
What I like about the personal stories of the Mr. Zuckerberg, Dr. Chan and Dr. Ravitch is that their story engages with children and intervening. They are already on board. I am there with them. What Lean Management would do next is identify what processes exist and what defects are inherent in that process. The story of this blog looks at the education system and the part it plays in development of our children. Notice that Dr. Ravitch refers to facts and data to try and change the existing political narration about the “Big, Bad” public education system. Many children are successful and do graduate, with test scores higher than they have ever been. So we do have some evidence that our education system is functional. That means we can work with the best elements of the existing system and make changes that should improve outcomes.
And we should notice that the education system interacts with multiple other systems and the linkages are strong. We have evidence of that in the work done by Jim Sporleder at Lincoln High School in Walla Walla, WA, where trauma-informed and resilience-building practices based on ACEs reduced suspensions 85% in one year, and resulted in kids achieving higher grades, test scores and graduation rates. One part of his intervention strategy involved a health clinic at the school. Interconnected systems. When I listened to a story about the floods in New Orleans, one topic included the school nutrition program and its role in preparing children to learn.
I am going to stop here and encourage you to listen to Dr. Jaben’s story about “The Hidden Brain” and the obstacles it places in front of us when we consider change. If you do, let me know what you think.
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