The Right Questions

Mike Miles

23 Oct 2023

I’ve come to appreciate press conferences and the Q&A section at community forums.? They provide me with an opportunity to clarify policies or initiatives, to understand the impact and pace of change, and to consider how to make things better for students and teachers.? I also try to use these events to paint a larger picture of transformation and the urgency to prepare for a fundamentally different world and workplace.? Unfortunately, that last piece – the part about vision and urgency – usually gets lost in the minutia of the everyday.

It amazes me, for example, that very few people have asked about the following statement that I have made dozens of times:? This is the last generation of children before the skills gap is locked in for the next 30 years.? It’s as if I said that we’re headed for an iceberg, and people want to know if breakfast on the ship will still be served at the same time as always or complain that we’re turning the wheel too fast.

Over the last several months, many of the questions I have received about the Houston Independent School District (HISD) have been similarly myopic.? The overwhelming majority have focused on small group grievances, drama, anecdotes related to unique situations, or simply manufactured nonsense.? Only a handful of people will ask me “second-order” questions such as:? Has the district used its federal Covid relief aid effectively? How did HISD start the school year with no teacher vacancies after having 800 such vacant positions in June? Is there a better way to compensate teachers than the “step and lane” salary schedule?? Why hasn’t the nation been able to narrow the achievement gap in the last 20 years? And why has HISD’s new instructional model been so successful at campuses run by Third Future Schools in other Texas communities?

Part of the myopia is probably a result of decades of 24-hour news cycles abetted by a generation of people conditioned to consume 280-character texts.? People don’t seem to have the time nor the appetite for nuance or the factfinding needed for serious discourse.?

To be sure, it is the responsibility of district leaders to help people see beyond the horizon and work with the community to develop a shared vision.? And leaders must use different forums and mediums to reach different audiences and to communicate different messages.? Still, the overreliance on social media as a main source of information and the assault on both truth and reason in public discourse are crimping educators’ ability to hold serious discussions about charting a different course at a time when the broader and just-over-the-horizon questions need our collective attention.?

The education system is in crisis – we have a broken system that is ill-prepared for the changes a modern workplace requires and will require.? The right questions will help people understand what is required and maybe prompt them to seek collective answers to facilitate change.? Your community may have different questions; for Houston, here are some that are important:

·?????? Why is this the last generation of children in public schools before the skills gap is locked in?? What can we do to narrow the skills gap?

·?????? How does HISD’s new staffing model take advantage of workforce trends, and why do we have to change the typical model districts use?? Why do you claim the new approach can be sustained?

·?????? Why are you not worried about a teacher shortage as so many districts are?

·?????? What is unique about the instructional model used in HISD’s New Education Schools?? How has this model been proven to narrow achievement gaps in other places?

·?????? HISD’s Destination 2035 plan is designed around Year 2035 competencies. What are those competencies and how will HISD help students gain proficiency in those areas?

·?????? Why does “experience” and “perspective” matter and how does the New Education System model advance these characteristics for underserved students?? Does public education need to change how it looks at graduation requirements to include experience, perspective, and Year 2035 competencies?? What would that take?

·?????? What should be the average teacher salary in a new public education system; how can that be achieved; and how is it that HISD is able to significantly raise salaries without a significant increase in revenue?

·?????? Why was the pay-for-performance plan in Dallas ISD so successful when other pay-for-performance plans failed?? Why has no Board or administration gotten rid of the Dallas pay-for-performance plan?? How is HISD’s plan similar to the evaluation system in Dallas?

·?????? What will be the impact of generative AI on public education and what is HISD going to do to integrate AI while limiting the negative effects of AI??????????????????????

·?????? In a typical district, will AI increase or narrow inequity?

And many others.? I plan to share my thoughts on each of the topics above through a series of posts on LinkedIn in the coming weeks, and I welcome discussions with you and others on these important issues.

Education leaders and supporters of education across the country will have to ask themselves similar questions if we are going to help our schools evolve and help prepare students for a Year 2035 world and workplace.? Collaborate when you can, but you will probably have to lead.? Hopefully, the conversation will at least focus on the right questions.