I just finished watching this video on improving rural community schools in North Carolina.
After watching it I was left with a vague feeling of disappointment. Why is it that so many people out there who ardently try to make a difference fail? And why is it that those who go out for a profit so often make a difference?
In the video the speaker goes out to improve school programs by redesigning their rooms to allow better communication and getting the kids in shop class involved in fixing community problems. The question is of course political, because no politician wants to say that the most important factor in a child success is probably their family environment, and maybe even natural ability. That won't get you re-elected...but as the Superintendent in this video lost his job, I guess hiring San Francisco design firms won't get you re-elected either.
So, one reason so many of these school improvement programs don't work is a simple flaw in democracy. Politicians want to point to fancy new rooms and projects to get the voters' approval.
Another reason is that no one else has any real idea of how money can fix education problems. Can money really change a child's attitude? What is the impact of school anyway? What is the most effective way to teach real world skills that can effectively benefit the people who employ them and society at large?
Why does consulting so often fail?
I remember back when I worked in the corporate world that every year we would listen to a new consultant and then nothing would change. One year we got a consultant who promised that it would be different, but 2 months and 20 grand later he left and nothing changed. In so many ways, the outside perspective doesn't work. Another explanation is that sometimes the system is so far broken it can not be fixed without a total re-design.
