You never change things by fighting the existing reality. To change something, build a new model that makes the old model obsolete. – Buckminster Fuller
It is only natural to want to change things within the current reality. We want to improve things by tweaking and adding to what we already have. To truly change things, we must provide a model . . . an experience . . . that doesn’t yet exist.
Henry Ford said that if he asked people what they wanted, they would have said faster horses. He built a new model – the Model T. Steve Jobs created the iPod and iTunes model to revolutionize the music industry. Netflix has put Blockbusters out of business. The existing reality fights and holds on, but something new makes it obsolete.
In public education we have been dabbling around the edges of change; we have been nibbling at what is socially tolerable. The question is, “what’s the new model?” It isn’t all digital; we’ve tried that with unimpressive success rates. Relationships are too important; we must cultivate connections and trust. It isn’t an industrial-aged, Leave it to Beaver model, that doesn’t prepare students for tomorrow. There will be a new model for public education; we have an opportunity to build it. Public education is the silver-bullet for the next generation, but we need a new reality.
We still have transportation, music, and movies. We still have actors, musicians, and bands. We will still have schools and teachers, but we must push for the new model. It is up to us to make the current model obsolete. It’s up to us to create a better future.