"Sand, Bricks, and Seeds."Positive.
The article titled “Sand, Bricks, and Seeds: School Change Strategies and Readiness for Reform” written by Robert E. Slavin raises some unique points about the educational system. Slavin is presenting the idea that educational reform is necessary but it does not have to be limited into one idea or one method, several methods exist and could be used effectively. One argument that Slavin makes and that I agreed with is the idea that change within schools has to be within reason, that schools have funding restrictions as well as potential personnel problems. Moreover, in other words change can only occur in a school if the school can either afford it or maintain it. The reason why I like this point is because Slavin is outlining specific realistic obstacles. It is easy for anyone to say change has to happen but they forget the potential problems. This adds to the strength of the argument made by Slavin. Slavin presents three unique ideas about how to classify different types of school. The first being “Seeds,”which are schools that have capacity to translate a vision or idea. The second being “Bricks,” which are schools that want to make change by themselves with little external help. The last being “Sand,” this is the school that is doomed to fail, in particular the foundation not being able to last, hence the comparison to sand. These three classifications add to the effectiveness of his argument. Cole. |
Negative
In “Sand, Bricks, and Seeds: School Change Strategies and Readiness for Reform,” Robert E. Slavin pushes for the multi-faceted reform of the education system but warns that funding restrictions and personnel problems may limit progression in the effort to reform. Here it would appear as though Slavin is attributing the ability to change within a specific school to that school’s possession of or ability to garner money (i.e. funding). Despite this outlining of real obstacles standing in the way of progressive reform, Slavin presents the idea of “Seeds,” “Bricks,” and “Sand,” explaining the latter as being schools not yet ready for reform. While the obvious factors of poor funding and unsatisfactory personnel within a school greatly restrict the ability to prepare for educational reform (especially when attempted in multiple directions), it is unfair for Slavin to merely categorize such establishments as being just withering, old, dying institutes which can simply be called “sand.” On top of this, Slavin’s analogy seems completely illogical. For the author it would appear as though the seed is everlasting and that the sand is basically dead already. This makes little sense as seeds grow naturally but ultimately die, bricks are created but eventually crack and crumble to sand, and sand itself remains the same except when outside forces (e.g., wind, rain, or even a person stepping) require it to change – at which point the sand is able to conform to whatever shape best suits the current purpose. Ryan Clairmont |
Negative Aspects
The overhaul necessary to improve schools is, according to Slavin, are costly, political and lengthy. In LEAD our teacher mentioned that Ontario’s school system is just beginning to recover from the “Harris days”, which exemplifies the time necessary to reform an education system. Systemic reform seems similar to the idea of following a structured curriculum province wide, minus the punishment suggested for the American reform policy. Also, our public schools are not failing and the possibility/necessity of attending a charter school or private school is very restricted to Canadians and therefore does not translate. Organizational reform shifts responsibility to the teachers and administrators to follow the model and brainstorm ways to make it work for their specific needs and students. This can work, but it places heavy emphasis on cooperation and also assumes that most or all of the teachers are willing to participate and incorporate change. If it were true that all teachers were capable of and wanted to reform, I doubt there would be such a stark decline in quality of public schools. Comprehensive reform models and single-subject models seem too restrictive to make national or state educational policies from. Slavin stresses the need for reform while stressing personal interests of schools, which makes it difficult to find a common goal. The possibility that some schools are already reformed, some could be, and some will never change, identifies this issue along with many others in terms of which schools are really ready. Caitlin |
Positive Aspects
Robert E. Slavin, in his article titled "Sand, Bricks and Seeds: School Change Strategies and Readiness for Reform", presents two very different approaches to reform that have surfaced over past years. `The first states that reform should consist of more government polies and standards complemented with a "reward/punish" system for schools that are or are not achieving standards. The second reform lies on the basis that schools should collaborate and share ideas about effective to change. Slavin makes a good point saying that reform begins with the "certain characteristics of individual schools." Bernard Novic's book titled "Building Learning Communities with Character", states "the more you think about the potential of your organization's members to participate in the change process, the fewer surprises you find as the process unfolds." The book includes a survey that audits a school's organizational culture and it can be used in conjunction with Slavin's three categories of readiness (seeds, bricks and sand). If your school reflects more trends on the right side of the survey, then their readiness for change is highest. This is likely where "seeds" would fall in Slavin's approach. If your school's readiness falls in the middle or to the left of the survey, this would translate into bricks and sand categories. "When considering your organizational culture, it is not important to think of how you want it to be, but how it is now", states Novic. According to Slavin, if a reform is forced upon a "sand school", it is doomed and the energy and enthusiasm of all concerned is drained. Rick source: http://www.ascd.org/publications/books/101240/chapters/Readiness@-Assess-Your-School's-Potential-for-Change.aspx |