This past weekend I had the pleasure of sitting on a panel discussing the future of education. The moderator asked a number of thoughtful and provocative questions but there is one that I now wish would have been added: What if teachers went on strike? But instead of asking for the usual things — more money; better pensions; smaller classroom sizes, etc. the teachers instead demanded innovation.
I stole this question from Seth Godin who asked a version of this question in his outstanding and inspirational book, Linchpin, but related it to the automotive industry. To wit, he wondered what would have happened if, in 1990, the UAW had gone on strike in Detroit and demanded that the American automotive industry innovate.
It is hard to imagine such a thing, and it may be just as difficult to imagine teachers going on strike to demand innovation. Nevertheless, I'd argue that our educational system would be better off if such a strike were waged.
One of the best strategies for unlearning is asking new questions and, given the abysmal state of education in this country, this is question worth asking: What if teachers went on strike to demand that the U.S. Department of Education (and their respective state boards of education) innovate.
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