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by Bob Thompson
Posted by Valerie Strauss

American public education has been in trouble for a lot longer than many people believe, according to the author of the following post.  He is Marion Brady, a classroom teacher for years who has written history and world culture textbooks (Prentice-Hall), professional books, numerous nationally distributed columns (many are available here), and courses of study.  His 2011 book, “What’s Worth Learning,” asks and answer this question:  What knowledge is absolutely essential for every learner?  His course of study for secondary-level students, called Connections:  Investigating Reality, is free for downloading here. Brady’s website is www.marionbrady.com.

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Drawing from over 30 years experience working with boards of education I see the following recurring phenomena.

  1. In the vast majority of cases, trouble does not spring up overnight, it grows over time.
  2. What appears to be the cause of dissension is rarely the real cause.  It is usually a symptom of a deeper dissatisfaction.
  3. The root cause of the trouble is usually emotional rather than factual and the facts are used only to bolster a conclusion already reached.
  4. The reason trouble is able to take root and grow in the minds of others not on the board is almost always rooted in a lack of deep and abiding trust of the board.  If they trust you (i.e. the board) they will believe the best about you.
  5. Everyone always makes the right decision in his/her own eyes, based on:
    • the data at hand
    • the person’s value system
    • his/her objective

The circumstances at the time.(To understand why a board member votes the way he/she does, you must understand the data he/she is using, his/her value system, what his objectives are, and what were the circumstances when he/she made the decision.)

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Logic never trumps emotion.  If a board member is upset, statistics and rational arguments (i.e. that are rational to you) will almost never change his/her mind.

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Everyone’s psychological make-up includes a set of unmet needs.  Some of us, for example, crave attention.  Unless you deal with my need for attention, I am not likely to respond to your entreaties to change my mind or behavior.  You have to identify my needs and accommodate them before I will be willing to deal with your problem.