Remember to Listen to the Students!
by Diane Sandifer 2 Comments December 2, 2010
PDF 
Are you planning for your school system long-term?
Strategic plans are a must in today’s education world. We have to decide what we believe, who we are, where we’re going, and how we’ll get there.
Who do you bring to the table for this planning? ALL stakeholders. Board members, parents, teachers, principals, central office staff, community leaders, business people, and STUDENTS!
It’s a best practice to plan. But in an industry where we should be about customer service, and students are our customers, remember to get their input! They are in the trenches. They are in tune with day-to-day happenings in the education world, and chances are that they are socially connected to peers around the world. So, listen to them. Their voices are the most important and they really want to be heard…just ASK them!
Examples:
- Georgia’s Vision for Public Education project did indeed include students and their thoughts about the future of our learning communities! Click here to read the Summary Report of the 4 2-hour Student Conversations!
- Also, we can continue to learn from blogs written by students as demonstrated in this response to an instructional leader from a student on the topic of Why does school have to be so boring?
Please share your ideas on how you have involved students in YOUR planning!
Gr8 student advice from Project Tomorrow podcast http://bit.ly/cvYXs7 at #ISTE (at 53:16 in) “Don’t underestimate yourself”
(on behalf of David Ligon)
In the School 2.0 framework, all stakeholder voices are equally important–especially students. I was fortunate to attend the taping of the Project Tomorrow podcast from ISTE2010 in Denver, where the student panel discussed their views on education, technology and distance learning. They explained how, due to their unique life circumstances, that traditional brick-and-mortar concept of K-12 education was simply not meeting their needs as learners. They turned to an online virtual academy, became really engaged w/their education and avoided dropping out of High School altogether. Now their lives are on track for success.
The new Strategic Long Range Educational Technology Plan for the State of Arizona has made Student Learning one of the four main components of the plan, which local education agencies must align to, for programs involving edtech funding. In the plan template for schools and districts, they provide the following quote from the National Ed Tech Plan draft:
“The challenge for our education system is to leverage the learning sciences and modern technology to create engaging, relevant, and personalized learning experiences for all learners that mirror students’ daily lives and the reality of their futures. In contrast to traditional classroom instruction, this requires that we put students at the center and empower them to take control of their own learning by providing flexibility on several dimensions…”
As educational leaders, we must make sure the focus stays on students and listening to their needs–in order to meet their needs as learners. There is presently a national call to action initiative, begun by Michelle Rhee, under the StudentsFirst.org organization. I urge other educators to join voices in supporting student-focused edreform through this noble cause.