Plain English, Please

The state's two main newspapers wrote perfunctory stories on the appointment of a new acting commissioner of education, Bill Talbott.  Vermont Public Radio ran a longer story, with this disappointing quote from Mr. Talbott:

Number one stay the course the state Board has a vision and mission revolving around student centered 21st century learning with what they call transformation which is working with school districts facilitating and enabling them to move in that direction

(VPR could have done a better editing job when they put the verbal quote into print, but I'll ignore that.)  We spend about $1.4 billion on education in Vermont--nearly 50% of all the taxes we pay--and taxpayers need to know more about how that money is being spent.  One thing I would like to see from a commissioner is less educational jargon and more plain language, which is sadly not in evidence here.

Comments

[Jack Harding]

Try speaking that way to shareholders and then clean up your resume....

[G. Cross]

What Talbott said was that he would continue to work on the mission that the State Board of Education has laid out. If one does not like that mission, it is the SBOE that needs to be chastised, not the CEO.

[T. Shea]

"Number one stay the course the state Board has a vision and mission revolving around student centered 21st century learning with what they call transformation which is working with school districts facilitating and enabling them to move in that direction"

Reminds me of the old joke (with several versions) about corporate 'mission statements' that "create value in a cross functional, vertically integrated, matrix organization, leveraging synergies..." that say NOTHING about the actual mission of the company.

Would be absurd if it wasn't so scary that these people are responsible for molding young minds.

[Retta Dunlap]

VPR: During this period, Talbot says his primary focus is to move forward on a plan to better prepare students for the challenges of the future:

TALBOT: Number one, stay the course. The State Board has a vision and mission revolving around student centered 21st century learning - what they call transformation. Which is basically working with school districts facilitating, enabling them to move in that direction. Removing barriers, obstacles, [and] regulations that might get in the way.

I do not find this difficult to understand.

I went and listened to Talbot’s quote online and added in, as best I could, the punctuation. I included more of the quote that Talbot had made, which I would like to focus on, which is “removing barriers, obstacles [and] regulations” that do indeed get in the way of educating children.

This is a key piece of what the board is talking about doing. If they can really pull this off then maybe licensed teachers can get back to teaching and not rely on so much on para educators to work with kids. Teachers are getting stuck with the paper work demanded by the regulations. This could then increase the student/teacher ratio and possibly reduce costs. Unfortunately, this will only work with state regulations – federal regulations are out of our reach.

We should cheer them on and let them know we will hold them accountable for not completing this much needed task and will hold them accountable for not completing it quickly enough.

Lastly, a state board does not mold the minds of the young but they can make it hard on those that do (parents, teachers, peers, etc.). Hence, another reasons to reduce the regulations and soon. Regulation is the quickest way to kill innovation.

[T. Shea]

"TALBOT: Number one, stay the course. The State Board has a vision and mission revolving around student centered 21st century learning - what they call transformation. Which is basically working with school districts facilitating, enabling them to move in that direction. Removing barriers, obstacles, [and] regulations that might get in the way."

Transformation to what exactly?
...that might get in the way of what exactly?

This is pure gobbledygook. I got through advanced calculus, biochemistry and physics, but cannot understand what he is advocating.

"Regulation is the quickest way to kill innovation."

I assume you support vouchers for non-government schools, including home-schooling then?

"Lastly, a state board does not mold the minds of the young ..."

But they are *responsible* for doing so.

[Retta Dunlap]

First, it is difficult to know what government is really doing if all we rely on for information is what the news media puts out there. It would actually be better to sit in the meetings and listen. No one could understand advanced calculus, biochemistry, or physics either if they had to rely on the news media for information about those subjects. It requires actually sitting in class and/or the use of a detailed textbook. Unfortunately, government does not come with a detailed textbook that one can read so we are left with attending multiple long boring meetings to find out what they are really up to.

Transformation is about getting the kind of education each child needs TO each child. Currently, we herd them through classrooms regardless of whether they are learning or not. We do not care what level they are at as long as they are passed from grade to grade with their peer group. To change the system we currently have into a system that actually provides a better educational situation to a child is going to be extremely difficult and will require a “transformation.” This means the status quo must change.

Is this gobbledygook? Maybe… but hey it is the most thought provoking thing I have heard them talk about in a very long time that might actually do some good for the children of Vermont. Add to this the encouragement of parental empowerment through choice and they might just have something.

Secondly, I support the ability of parents to be able to choose the best educational situation for their child. This may include a public, private, or home school situation. We can argue how it is funded (vouchers, grants, scholarships, or tax credits) but I think that what parents in the 90-tuitioning towns have here in Vermont should be available to ALL parents in Vermont. For example, parents should be able to choose ANY non religious high school in the state for their child to attend and the town pays for it.