The Most Dangerous Phrase

Recently, I've been seeing a proliferation of edu-wonks decrying change - which strikes me absurdly funny, since the very notion of policy work is to seek change.

The charge appears to be (and I'm oversimplifying in my paraphrasing): we need to return to doing things the way we used to.

A better argument would be: let's stop changing for sake of changing.

Instead, casting the argument as a whole-scale rejection the current state, at best detracts from the treatise that there are effective ways and means which have already been employed, and at worst casts the argument in terms of being a luddite.

[There are other - seemingly obvious - risks with presenting the argument calling for a return to the way things used to be. Top amongst those is that we didn't achieve great results in the past. In fact, there were (and I'm purposefully using hyperbole) a lot of bad results in the past, caused in no small part by the purposeful inequality of the system at that time. These are problems that we are still posed with today.]

In juxtaposition, to present the argument that the most dangerous phrase in education is we've always done it this way, is to minimize (or even erase) the lessons, methods, and materials, of the past.

Change is both important and constant in system improvement. Simultaneously, so is reflection and analysis. Just as we shouldn't rush to change for the sake of change, so too we shouldn't avoid change because we have a method that works.

We owe it to ourselves as professional practitioners to do just that - practice.

Purposeful change should reflect Alvin Toffler's notion of learning, unlearning, and relearning. This is not a rally cry to throw out the baby with the bathwater and to dispense with everything we've always done. On the contrary, we should carefully examine what we do, and then keep, modify, or revise those actions that are aligned with our purpose.

I take just as much umbrage with those who want to rush to adopt the latest fad, or who cry out for innovation and creativity as I do with those who are the proverbial ostriches with heads in the sand, who lament the way things used to be. The former has no compass, while the latter has no map - together, they lack purpose.