Kim Bater is the Chair of the Canadian Rockies School District and an innovator and leader in innovative public education governance in Alberta. The Inspiring Hearts and Minds project of this Board is a breath of fresh air. It is ahead of its time and will prove to be a model for other school boards to consider and adapt as they move towards a more modern, effective accountable and transparent governance structures.
Kim is running for re-election and has posted a helpful blog on why we need school board trustees. I recommend you read it.
New generative governance is an concept envisioned by the Inspiring Action on Education process instigated and developed by Dave Hancock Alberta's Minister of Education. This re-visioning process for public education in Alberta also sees more public engagement and awareness of the role of citizens in setting the goals and means to achieve them in an even more vibrant, inclusive, effective and responsible public education system in Alberta.
Alberta is recognized as the second best public education system in the world, just behind Finland. Alberta and Finland are working together at the teacher levels and increasingly at political and administrative levels. Kim Bater is part of this collaborative effort with Finland and the OECD and has taken the Inspiring Hearts and Minds to Europe to show what is being done in his district at the school board level.
COME TO REBOOT ALBERTA 3.0 "TAKING ACTION FOR A PROGRESSIVE POLITICAL CULTURE IN ALBERTA" If you want a progressive political culture in the Next Alberta register now for RebootAlberta 3.0 at www.rebootalberta.org
Showing posts with label Inspiring Education. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Inspiring Education. Show all posts
Tuesday, September 21, 2010
Tuesday, July 20, 2010
Alberta Needs to Design a New Future for Itself
Nice to see the op-ed in yesterday's Edmonton Journal written by economist Todd Hirsch. Todd is turning into a first rate public intellectual with his op-ed writing. Now he and Rob Roach of the Canada West Foundation are planning a new book on the creative economy entitled Re-writing the Code: Changing Canada's Economic DNA. I am looking forward to it.
With all the changes happening in the world it is imperative for Canada - and Alberta especially - to shift from a virtually sole focus on a resource extraction economy into a more right-brained economy and society. The Dave Hancock Inspiring Education initiative as Minister of Education has been a step in the right direction. The new Literacy Policy and framework for Alberta is now established and needs life breathed into it as a key part of this shift in consciousness.
I have been involved with others in a new initiative that addresses this overarching concern about the future of Alberta in a series of public dialogues entitled Learning Our Way to the Next Alberta. I encourage you to visit the site and see what we are up to in this effort to influence the future direction of Alberta.
The Premier's Council for Economic Strategy has a discussion paper out that starts to reshape the thinking around Alberta's future too. The Council is focused on six key questions:
With all the changes happening in the world it is imperative for Canada - and Alberta especially - to shift from a virtually sole focus on a resource extraction economy into a more right-brained economy and society. The Dave Hancock Inspiring Education initiative as Minister of Education has been a step in the right direction. The new Literacy Policy and framework for Alberta is now established and needs life breathed into it as a key part of this shift in consciousness.
I have been involved with others in a new initiative that addresses this overarching concern about the future of Alberta in a series of public dialogues entitled Learning Our Way to the Next Alberta. I encourage you to visit the site and see what we are up to in this effort to influence the future direction of Alberta.
The Premier's Council for Economic Strategy has a discussion paper out that starts to reshape the thinking around Alberta's future too. The Council is focused on six key questions:
- What must Alberta do to earn a global reputation as a responsible energy producer and natural resource steward?
- How can we ensure the Alberta of the future has a robust, stable economy and fiscal position?
- What steps can Alberta take to create new wealth through knowledge and innovation?
- How do we ensure we have the healthy skilled and engaged citizens needed to drive innovation and sustain prosperity?
- How do we ensure Alberta's urban and rural communities are vibrant, supportive and inclusive?
- How can we engage more strategically with the rest of Canada and the world?
All of these question integrate into each other - which is a good thing, We need a robust and vibrant discussion amongst Albertans on each and every one of them. There is a place to share your thoughts on these and other concerns with the Premier's Council here. I strongly recommend you engage and exert some influence on the future of Alberta in this way. I will be engaging on these questions over the next weeks through this blog and my public speaking opportunities.
Thursday, June 17, 2010
Some Thoughts on Governance Teams for Alberta School Boards
This blog post has been a long time coming with all the meetings, events scheduling and traveling I have been doing. So while it has been promised a few times other priorities have taken precedence. So now here is my take on the Inspiring Education Dialogue with Albertans report on Governance in public education. For the record, I did not participate in the process except to attend one day to listen to some key speakers including Daniel Pink, author of A Whole New Mind.
SOME CONTEXT ON INSPIRING EDUCATION REPORT:
There is much more to the Inspiring Education document than governance. So a brief overview, without commentary, I expect will be helpful for context to those who have not read the report. It was a process about setting a long-term vision for public education in the province. Minister Hancock wanted to raise awareness of the importance of education in the life of Albertans and its contribution to a prosperous society and economy. He wanted to “develop a clear understanding of what it will mean to be a successfully educated Albertan” in the future and finally, to develop a broad policy framework around the overall direction, principles and long-term goals for public education in Alberta.
PRINCIPLED-BASED TRANSFORMATION OF PUBLIC EDUCATION:
The goal was to be “transformational” about the education system by empowering educational innovation throughout the province. Time will tell if that is going to happen, but the governance provisions in the report are one fertile place to focus for transformation to occur in public education.
The underlying aspect of governance transformational directions in Inspiring Education is a “principles based” approach instead of rules based. There is merit in this but if it is to be effective the school trustees are going to have to pick up their game and be more engaged in policy development and execution.
The over reliance on the Carver governance system that has been adopted by many school districts is a significant barrier to school trustees being principled based governors. This old-fashioned and outmoded governance model is antithetical to a principles shift in accountability for learning excellence and away from accountability to bureaucracy. In a horizontal networked connected community engaging world the centralizing narrow approach to governance in the Carver model is more than a barrier, it is a danger to realizing the transformational direction Inspiring Education is all about.
There is a shift in focus to local direction form central influence which is a good thing too but that means school trustees are going have to be much more engaged in the overall life of the communities they serve, beyond the limited interests of schools and students as isolated form community. The potential for more direct and collaborative engagement of the local schools and school districts in other critical aspects of their communities is where the transformational change in public education needs to happen first.
GOVERNANCE TEAMS AND WHAT THEY COULD MEAN:
These principles based shifts is very significant but received scant attention compared to the more politically contentious provision for “Governance Teams.” This idea was seen by some as a provincial government power move to replace locally elected school boards, or at least to dilute and decrease the role and power of local school boards.
I don’t think that is the intent of this Minister, but political power is so centralized in the Premier’s office in Alberta and Cabinet shuffles happen. Who knows what might happen in the future that sees local school boards eliminated or at the very least, even more eviscerated? Regional health authorities were eliminated overnight an unceremoniously without advanced warning or consultation so it would be naive to think the same could not happen to local school boards in one way or the other.
My take is the potential for effective governance teams is that they can be the key to the culture change in public education that needs to happen so other changes can be enabled and empowered as well. More public engagement and involvement in the political culture of the province can start with the local schools and municipalities. That is where the citizen’s concerns are closest to the politicians and policy-makers. Adding talent and expertise to school boards in governance teams, on an as needed basis, to serve the greater good of the community by integrating schools and increasing learning capacity is a critical issue for the future prosperity of Alberta is there ever was one.
The key questions are who decides the need for a governance team, who sets the objectives for the team and who selects the team members? It the Minister or the provincial bureaucracy who makes these decisions then we have a serious governance problem. It will be paternalism at best and more likely lead to the eventual elimination of effective local governance in public education. That is a policy decision that needs to involve all Albertans and not just the unilateral imposed action by the government of Alberta, as they have done in the past.
If the essential issues about governance teams are in the control of the local school boards then we can see public education transforming and finding renewed relevance as a positive political force and as effective public policy instruments to enhance local communities. This is the preferred option in the execution of governance teams. The reality is that most school boards and individual trustees are not nearly prepared, experienced, engaged, focused or even competent enough at present to take advantage of this transformational opportunity emerging with governance teams.
There is a lot more to say on the subject but for now, I think cautious optimism is the appropriate response to governance teams. That optimism is justified so long as Dave Hancock continues as Minister. There is a reasonable likelihood of another Cabinet shuffle before the next election so time is of the essence for enlightened school boards to embrace governance teams. Not every board has to take on the challenge and opportunity inherent in governance teams but those with the inspiration to do so need get at it.
I will be doing a number of blog posts on the Inspiring Education implications in the weeks ahead as my part in increasing citizen engagement in school board and municipal elections coming this October. In the meantime there is energy and effort available to transform public education for the better but it needs more and continuing citizen engagement to be realized and effective. Elections are a great time for citizens to get informed and engaged and Inspiriting Education is healthy fodder for that to happen.
SOME CONTEXT ON INSPIRING EDUCATION REPORT:
There is much more to the Inspiring Education document than governance. So a brief overview, without commentary, I expect will be helpful for context to those who have not read the report. It was a process about setting a long-term vision for public education in the province. Minister Hancock wanted to raise awareness of the importance of education in the life of Albertans and its contribution to a prosperous society and economy. He wanted to “develop a clear understanding of what it will mean to be a successfully educated Albertan” in the future and finally, to develop a broad policy framework around the overall direction, principles and long-term goals for public education in Alberta.
PRINCIPLED-BASED TRANSFORMATION OF PUBLIC EDUCATION:
The goal was to be “transformational” about the education system by empowering educational innovation throughout the province. Time will tell if that is going to happen, but the governance provisions in the report are one fertile place to focus for transformation to occur in public education.
The underlying aspect of governance transformational directions in Inspiring Education is a “principles based” approach instead of rules based. There is merit in this but if it is to be effective the school trustees are going to have to pick up their game and be more engaged in policy development and execution.
The over reliance on the Carver governance system that has been adopted by many school districts is a significant barrier to school trustees being principled based governors. This old-fashioned and outmoded governance model is antithetical to a principles shift in accountability for learning excellence and away from accountability to bureaucracy. In a horizontal networked connected community engaging world the centralizing narrow approach to governance in the Carver model is more than a barrier, it is a danger to realizing the transformational direction Inspiring Education is all about.
There is a shift in focus to local direction form central influence which is a good thing too but that means school trustees are going have to be much more engaged in the overall life of the communities they serve, beyond the limited interests of schools and students as isolated form community. The potential for more direct and collaborative engagement of the local schools and school districts in other critical aspects of their communities is where the transformational change in public education needs to happen first.
GOVERNANCE TEAMS AND WHAT THEY COULD MEAN:
These principles based shifts is very significant but received scant attention compared to the more politically contentious provision for “Governance Teams.” This idea was seen by some as a provincial government power move to replace locally elected school boards, or at least to dilute and decrease the role and power of local school boards.
I don’t think that is the intent of this Minister, but political power is so centralized in the Premier’s office in Alberta and Cabinet shuffles happen. Who knows what might happen in the future that sees local school boards eliminated or at the very least, even more eviscerated? Regional health authorities were eliminated overnight an unceremoniously without advanced warning or consultation so it would be naive to think the same could not happen to local school boards in one way or the other.
My take is the potential for effective governance teams is that they can be the key to the culture change in public education that needs to happen so other changes can be enabled and empowered as well. More public engagement and involvement in the political culture of the province can start with the local schools and municipalities. That is where the citizen’s concerns are closest to the politicians and policy-makers. Adding talent and expertise to school boards in governance teams, on an as needed basis, to serve the greater good of the community by integrating schools and increasing learning capacity is a critical issue for the future prosperity of Alberta is there ever was one.
The key questions are who decides the need for a governance team, who sets the objectives for the team and who selects the team members? It the Minister or the provincial bureaucracy who makes these decisions then we have a serious governance problem. It will be paternalism at best and more likely lead to the eventual elimination of effective local governance in public education. That is a policy decision that needs to involve all Albertans and not just the unilateral imposed action by the government of Alberta, as they have done in the past.
If the essential issues about governance teams are in the control of the local school boards then we can see public education transforming and finding renewed relevance as a positive political force and as effective public policy instruments to enhance local communities. This is the preferred option in the execution of governance teams. The reality is that most school boards and individual trustees are not nearly prepared, experienced, engaged, focused or even competent enough at present to take advantage of this transformational opportunity emerging with governance teams.
There is a lot more to say on the subject but for now, I think cautious optimism is the appropriate response to governance teams. That optimism is justified so long as Dave Hancock continues as Minister. There is a reasonable likelihood of another Cabinet shuffle before the next election so time is of the essence for enlightened school boards to embrace governance teams. Not every board has to take on the challenge and opportunity inherent in governance teams but those with the inspiration to do so need get at it.
I will be doing a number of blog posts on the Inspiring Education implications in the weeks ahead as my part in increasing citizen engagement in school board and municipal elections coming this October. In the meantime there is energy and effort available to transform public education for the better but it needs more and continuing citizen engagement to be realized and effective. Elections are a great time for citizens to get informed and engaged and Inspiriting Education is healthy fodder for that to happen.
Saturday, April 03, 2010
Anticipating Alberta's Inspiring Education Report as a Game Changer
I know it is tough to herd cats. Imagine trying to do that with informed, articulate and engaged cats. That is a near impossible challenge but only if you are presecriptive about the desired outcome in advance. These kind of cats are near impossible to direct in any predetermined way once they are deployed. That has to be a metaphorical description of the task of the committee reporting on the outcomes of Dave Hancock's Inspiring Education consultation process.
Will we get a distilled report from a department perspective that is designed to be politically safe (a.k.a. bland and pointless). Or will the informed, articulate and engaged cats from the larger community have the pen and rule the day? If so, then I expect we be given a feast for thought and a call for further citizen engagement in public education. I will then anticipate some definite declarations of what ought to be our educational aspirations for Alberta moving forward..
Alberta's political culture is in turmoil and turbulent. It has retreated from good governance into a command and control topdown governing philsophy motivated by partisan political survival. Intimidation, coersion, pressure and threats from politicians, power brokers and even program managers against vulnerable citizens, community organizations, agencies and public service providers are becoming all too prevalent. It is more proof of the mounting evidence that our government, and many of our governing institutions, have lost their way; policy-wise, politically and morally.
In such a corrosive political culture we can expect meaningless double-speak and obfuscation if the government gets to politically frame the outcomes of an Inspiring Education report. On the other hand, if educators, Trustees and community members hold the pen, I hope for an expansive, inclusive, dynamic, comprehensive, generative warts-and-all aspirational and challenging report. I want to know from the report on the Inspiring Education process what our best minds think we need to do about the protecting and adpating public education in Alberta so our students are ready to face the future.
There are thousands of Albertans who know and care about the future of public education and many of them came together in the Inspiring Education process. We in Alberta, and Edmonton in particular, have a public education system that is the envy of the world. It has survived the attacks from those shallow thinkers who imposed simple minded "solutions" like competition and test standardization. That was no way to adapt a complex systems like public education to meet the changing world of the 21st century.
The open question going forward is will those Albertans who know and care about public education become engaged and rise to the political and public policy challenges ahead? In particular will they have the courage and character to rise to resist the partisan, self-preserving, politically motiviated challenges that are emerging and threatening to undermine and destroy public education in Alberta?
The great paradox of self-preserving political "leadership" is its tone deafness and ineptness for authentic communication with citizens. The problem, and the solution, is always seen by those who see their power and authority in decline, as a failure to communicate. When the citizens are way ahead of the politicians and the bureaucracy in understanding the problems, priorities, preferences and solutions the self-preserving politicians become paralyzed.
That is the cause of the real failure to effectively and authenticaly communicate. It is pretty much the political situation in Alberta today. It is not new. It was this way in the late 80's early 90's over debt and deficit. The Alberta population was way ahead of the political class on those issues. The communications broke down and the population expressed their displeasure. It eventually lead to the end of Don Getty's Premiership.
Polls tell us public confidence in the institutional powers-that-be and the political leadership in Alberta is now at, or approaching, an all time low. Systems are breaking down at a time when Alberta is poised to be one of the most compelling, renoun and quite possibly most celebrated places on the planet, thanks to the oilsands. All of this transformational possiblity can and will be squandered if Albertans don't get seriously re-engaged and reaffirm the rights and responsibilities of our citizenship.
We have to Reboot Alberta. We can do this by Progressive citizens taking Control back from the politicians, the media and the behind- the door power-brokers in the energy industry. We have to create Alternative 21st century institutions based on horizontal inclusive governance models that is citizen based and working in networked connected inclusive communities. We have to Delete concentrated political power that is centralized topdown command and control by reckless and feckless leadership supported by anemic and self-serving political parties.
How do we Progressives do it? There are a number of ways. One way is to take over the existing political institutions and change them from within. Another is to create new political institutions that can replace the old, tired, tedious and self-serving groups we have now. Then there is a citizens movement that is reminescent of the many social change movments of the 1960s. But now, thanks to the Internet, such movements can be more effective, dynamic and generative. They can actually create and deliver new ideas and express the citizen-based aspirations for the next Alberta.
We have to be up for all of these efforts, and more. But time is a-wastin' and times are a-changin'. Reboot Alberta is becoming a gathering place for Albertans who are not only mad as hell and not going to take it anymore, but who may be ready to do something to change the world or at least Alberta's place in it. If this describes you, then I suggest you join the citizen's movement known as Reboot Alberta. Dust off your citizenship, park your cynicism, bring your best self and start to Press for Change about where Alberta is going and how we will get there.
Will we get a distilled report from a department perspective that is designed to be politically safe (a.k.a. bland and pointless). Or will the informed, articulate and engaged cats from the larger community have the pen and rule the day? If so, then I expect we be given a feast for thought and a call for further citizen engagement in public education. I will then anticipate some definite declarations of what ought to be our educational aspirations for Alberta moving forward..
Alberta's political culture is in turmoil and turbulent. It has retreated from good governance into a command and control topdown governing philsophy motivated by partisan political survival. Intimidation, coersion, pressure and threats from politicians, power brokers and even program managers against vulnerable citizens, community organizations, agencies and public service providers are becoming all too prevalent. It is more proof of the mounting evidence that our government, and many of our governing institutions, have lost their way; policy-wise, politically and morally.
In such a corrosive political culture we can expect meaningless double-speak and obfuscation if the government gets to politically frame the outcomes of an Inspiring Education report. On the other hand, if educators, Trustees and community members hold the pen, I hope for an expansive, inclusive, dynamic, comprehensive, generative warts-and-all aspirational and challenging report. I want to know from the report on the Inspiring Education process what our best minds think we need to do about the protecting and adpating public education in Alberta so our students are ready to face the future.
There are thousands of Albertans who know and care about the future of public education and many of them came together in the Inspiring Education process. We in Alberta, and Edmonton in particular, have a public education system that is the envy of the world. It has survived the attacks from those shallow thinkers who imposed simple minded "solutions" like competition and test standardization. That was no way to adapt a complex systems like public education to meet the changing world of the 21st century.
The open question going forward is will those Albertans who know and care about public education become engaged and rise to the political and public policy challenges ahead? In particular will they have the courage and character to rise to resist the partisan, self-preserving, politically motiviated challenges that are emerging and threatening to undermine and destroy public education in Alberta?
The great paradox of self-preserving political "leadership" is its tone deafness and ineptness for authentic communication with citizens. The problem, and the solution, is always seen by those who see their power and authority in decline, as a failure to communicate. When the citizens are way ahead of the politicians and the bureaucracy in understanding the problems, priorities, preferences and solutions the self-preserving politicians become paralyzed.
That is the cause of the real failure to effectively and authenticaly communicate. It is pretty much the political situation in Alberta today. It is not new. It was this way in the late 80's early 90's over debt and deficit. The Alberta population was way ahead of the political class on those issues. The communications broke down and the population expressed their displeasure. It eventually lead to the end of Don Getty's Premiership.
Polls tell us public confidence in the institutional powers-that-be and the political leadership in Alberta is now at, or approaching, an all time low. Systems are breaking down at a time when Alberta is poised to be one of the most compelling, renoun and quite possibly most celebrated places on the planet, thanks to the oilsands. All of this transformational possiblity can and will be squandered if Albertans don't get seriously re-engaged and reaffirm the rights and responsibilities of our citizenship.
We have to Reboot Alberta. We can do this by Progressive citizens taking Control back from the politicians, the media and the behind- the door power-brokers in the energy industry. We have to create Alternative 21st century institutions based on horizontal inclusive governance models that is citizen based and working in networked connected inclusive communities. We have to Delete concentrated political power that is centralized topdown command and control by reckless and feckless leadership supported by anemic and self-serving political parties.
How do we Progressives do it? There are a number of ways. One way is to take over the existing political institutions and change them from within. Another is to create new political institutions that can replace the old, tired, tedious and self-serving groups we have now. Then there is a citizens movement that is reminescent of the many social change movments of the 1960s. But now, thanks to the Internet, such movements can be more effective, dynamic and generative. They can actually create and deliver new ideas and express the citizen-based aspirations for the next Alberta.
We have to be up for all of these efforts, and more. But time is a-wastin' and times are a-changin'. Reboot Alberta is becoming a gathering place for Albertans who are not only mad as hell and not going to take it anymore, but who may be ready to do something to change the world or at least Alberta's place in it. If this describes you, then I suggest you join the citizen's movement known as Reboot Alberta. Dust off your citizenship, park your cynicism, bring your best self and start to Press for Change about where Alberta is going and how we will get there.
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