Public education in Michigan can learn from Ford -- 'Change or die!'
Tom Watkins
In the late ’70s during my stint in the Ford Rouge complex, foreign car companies were trouncing domestic brands. In 10 short years starting in the mid 1970s, Japanese auto makers acquired 30 percent of the U.S. market.
American carmakers reacted in then-classic fashion: denial, then blame, scapegoating and, finally, protectionism. Today, under Bill Ford and Alan Mulally, leadership at Ford is executing a transformational plan to cut costs, enhance quality, innovate, stabilize market share and restore the company to profitability.
Like Ford, schools need to change.
Public education is far behind the domestic auto industry in accepting the new reality and crafting a new course in a changing world. Far too many of our schools are acting like nothing has changed -- when everything has changed.
The protectors of the educational status quo are similarly at a crossroads, spinning through the same responses: denial, blame, scapegoating and protectionism, when what they need to do is to adopt Ford’s mantra of “Change or die!”
Consider the parallels between the paths the domestic car companies have taken and the journey yet to be taken by our schools:
Auto executives received raises and bonuses despite losses in profit and market share. This nonsense was finally stopped until their companies returned to profitability. During the past lost decade, superintendents, principals and teachers received raises and contract extensions, along with golden healthcare and pensions, even as the state’s revenue plummeted and student performance remained stagnant at best.
Auto company boards of directors behaved like ostriches, sticking their heads in the sand and enjoying the good life as losses mounted. Knowing the state faces a minimum $1.8 billion deficit and local districts suffer falling tax collections, school boards continued to enter into multiple-year contracts that are unsustainable and reduce the number of hours of instruction.
The auto industry realized its cost structure and legacy costs were unsustainable and took action to address the imbalance. To date, in far too many schools actions taken to address these issues border on anemic to non-existent.
At first, the domestic automakers blamed their market share losses, poor quality and declining profits on their competitors and the unions. Today, schools blame academic decline on the kids, parents, unions, school choice, lack of money from Lansing and charter schools.
“It’s not my job” was the chorus on the factory floor back in the day. That was later replaced with a gulp and, “It’s not my job that is disappearing, is it?” Now management and labor work together as a team to understand that quality and affordability are everyone’s job. Michigan educators, however, work to contain change instead of working together to innovate.
Manual labor was replaced by technology to the point that today’s auto factories have become some of the most technologically advanced spaces on the planet. But today, it seems, digital, personalized and e-learning opportunities are fought against by those anchored to the old ways of education, holding back our children and Michigan’s collective future.
Today, innovation and the ability to adapt to changing market conditions have been hotwired into Ford’s DNA. The same cannot be said about our schools.
The domestic auto industry has fought through change, modified its approach and cost structure, and emerged once more to compete as a global innovator.
Like the auto industry, we are past the point where incremental changes are sufficient. Major change is now required to get many schools out of financial distress and educational bankruptcy. Competition and educational improvement on the world stage are on steroids even as we in struggle with incremental change.
Gov. Rick Snyder promised during his State of the State Address to deliver a special message on education to the Legislature this month. It couldn’t be more timely. The ticket to making Michigan competitive again is education.
Michiganders, we have a choice. Like the auto industry of the past, we can continue to delude ourselves into thinking we have a divine, preordained right to be a great state that is economically and spiritually secure. Or we can harken back to our roots and realize those achievements must be earned all over again through imagination, ingenuity, innovation, hard work and risk.
An education transformation must be part of the reinvention of our state. This requires more than minor tweaks to the current education system. Education in Michigan cannot be reformed, it must be transformed. Like the auto industry, education is in need of a major overhaul to prepare our children for the future.
Ford has a better idea, the right idea -- will Michigan? Like Ford, it is time for Michigan and our schools to change or die.
Tom Watkins, EducationNews.org’s 2010 Upton Sinclair Award winner, is a business and educational consultant in the U.S. and China. He served as state superintendent of schools from 2001 to 2005. He can be reached at: tdwatkins88@gmail.com.
Comments
Dennis
Thu, Apr 7, 2011 : 3:46 p.m.
Really? Maybe you should do some real research....It was bad management decisions that led to the problems at the Big Three. It's the same decisions that have also placed our State and our Educations system at risk. For years the UAW has struggled with keeping the good middleclass jobs in this State and in the Country while they (Big Three Companies) continued to receive "tax breaks". All this time they kept shipping jobs out of the State and out of the Country eroding the jobs and causing the tax base to decline. The Union did not have any say in products manufactured, the choice of suppliers, the schedule for manufacturing, the over-use of overtime...the first clause in the contract is "Managements Rights". Even with the two tier wage and transferring the cost of healthcare and retirement to the UAW jobs have not come back. All you need to do is count the number of workers at these companies and add up the total wage (not benefits) then you'll begin to understand why we are struggling to pay our teachers, maintain our cities and the services we receive from them. Having worked for Ford Motor Company for 31 years I understand quite well why they are making billions in profits...do you? I also understand where the jobs went and why we are struggling now.
Mary
Tue, Apr 5, 2011 : 7:48 p.m.
Some are educators are already making the needed revolutionary changes. Clonlara, Rudolf Steiner, Ann Arbor Academy, and Little Lake Learning Community are all local options that are bucking the mainstream trends in education. Let's stop nit-picking the system and start giving our kids what they really need: freedom, democracy, and the chance to openly critique, and revolutionize, our social structures.
catfishrisin
Tue, Apr 5, 2011 : 2:15 p.m.
Ford's cost cutting measure....have parts made overseas. Perhaps we can change with the times by having our kids taught by via web cam by a Chinese teacher.
johnnya2
Tue, Apr 5, 2011 : 4:55 a.m.
This is the dumbest article ever written. You do understand there are fundamental differences between a for profit car company and a NOT FOR PROFIT school system. 1. Ford can sell off unprofitable units (Jaguar). Public schools can not sell off the unprofitable task of educating special needs students (which is why private schools do better) 2. Would you like to look at what a FMC worker is making in profit sharing? Let's see you offer that to teachers. 3. Ford answers to shareholders and can set their price based on anything they choose. Schools are limited by Headlee amendments, a legislature and Prop A 4. Have you seen a FMC balance sheet. The amount of debt is amazing. They are NOT required to balance a budget ever. 5. if Ford is not selling enough, they stop production. I guess in your head if AAPS does nto have enough money they can just stop production. 6. By the way, FMC poured TONS of dollars into R&D an developing cars, while the right wing hatchet men INSIST on putting less money into these things. 7. Finally, here is the actual facts about the product Ford turns out: <a href="http://money.cnn.com/2011/02/23/autos/ford_f150_recall/index.htm" rel='nofollow'>http://money.cnn.com/2011/02/23/autos/ford_f150_recall/index.htm</a> <a href="http://www.torquenews.com/106/ford-recalls-2011-edge-f-series-lincoln-mkx-wiring-fire-risks" rel='nofollow'>http://www.torquenews.com/106/ford-recalls-2011-edge-f-series-lincoln-mkx-wiring-fire-risks</a> This is just for 3 months into 2011. So go ahead, keep comparing something that has NOTHING to do with another. I wonder how many people would want a teacher who had never been in a classroom to teach. It is what those who voted for Rick Snyder got. A man who PROUDLY claims to have never been a politician. Would Gateway hire a CEO who knew nothing of computers?
DonBee
Tue, Apr 5, 2011 : 1:14 p.m.
1) Detroit is doing that with 41 charters. It may not be special education but with the various support programs, I doubt Special education is a money losing proposition. 2) AAEA got exactly that in last year's contract, and merit pay has been discussed for years. 3) Schools are not limited by the Headlee amendment, they have sinking funds, bond funds, special education millages, foundations, and enhancement millages available. 4) Debt is not a budget and they choose debt, many schools in Michigan carry massive capital debt too - that is why they have bond millages. 5) Selling means production (units) - In education it is students not revenue. You have mixed two things here. 6) No, show me where Real experiments are underway in education. I can show you budget money at the Federal level for R&D. I did not see any R&D in the enhancement millage, that would have interested me. 7) So schools can't graduate 12 percent of students, half of students who enroll in college need remedial education.
snoopdog
Tue, Apr 5, 2011 : 2:09 a.m.
Another great article Tom, I appreciate your insight and knowledge regarding public K-12 education. No question that change is coming because the state of Michigan is broke , I just hope that the MEA/local unions will help make the change more about protecting the kids and less about their checking accounts and early retirement. Good Day
Edward R Murrow's Ghost
Tue, Apr 5, 2011 : 1 a.m.
Michigan ranked 5th in the nation in SAT scores in 2010. Source: <a href="http://www.commonwealthfoundation.org/policyblog/detail/2010-sat-scores-by-state" rel='nofollow'>http://www.commonwealthfoundation.org/policyblog/detail/2010-sat-scores-by-state</a> Considering this, what, exactly, needs to be fixed on a statewide basis? Good Night and Good Luck
Mark S.
Wed, Apr 6, 2011 : 3:35 a.m.
ERMG: With regards to the first website, additional working hypotheses could include: 1. Michigan was only able to prepare 5% of its students to take the SAT; whereas South Carolina succeeded in preparing 66% of its students, North Carolina 63%, Georgia 74%, Texas 53% and Virginia 67%. 2. East Coast and Southern colleges and universities tend to prefer the SAT; therefore only those Michigan students interested in attending those schools will take the SAT. I have no proof, but I would not be surprised if these self-selected Michigan students have higher SAT scores than the general population. In support of this, it is suspicious that the highest ranked states have very low participation rates (all top 11 states have less than 10% participation; all top 24 states have less than 25% participation). With regards to your second website, if the state ranking by SAT is invalid, then any ranking using combined SAT and ACT scores is also invalid (GIGO).
Edward R Murrow's Ghost
Tue, Apr 5, 2011 : 2:33 p.m.
WOW. A union that cannot bargain. Like that undermines the point. And now we are back to "A2 teachers can cash in their sick bank" Good Night and Good Luck
DonBee
Tue, Apr 5, 2011 : 1:07 p.m.
EMG - They have a union, I have been on the website, I know people who are members. They just cannot bargain for wages. I did not say they could bargain, only they had a union. I pointed to the level of wages. Not that they had bargained for them.
Edward R Murrow's Ghost
Tue, Apr 5, 2011 : 12:28 p.m.
You are correct, there is no causal link in the stats I cite. Yet the 5 states that do not permit any form of collective bargaining are in the bottom 7 in SAT/ACT test scores. States like Michigan, Wisconsin, Minnesota, and Iowa are among the highest. And so my question remains: given where Michigan stands in college prep test scores, where, exactly is the statewide systemic problem that Mr. Watkins and others think needs a statewide fix? Good Night and Good Luck
Edward R Murrow's Ghost
Tue, Apr 5, 2011 : 12:25 p.m.
See also: <a href="http://www.nctq.org/tr3/scope/#interactiveMap" rel='nofollow'>http://www.nctq.org/tr3/scope/#interactiveMap</a> Good Night and Good Luck
Edward R Murrow's Ghost
Tue, Apr 5, 2011 : 12:22 p.m.
@donBee: Wrong. Texas does not permit ANY public employees to bargain collectively. Source: <a href="http://www.enotes.com/everyday-law-encyclopedia/teacher-s-unions-collective-bargaining" rel='nofollow'>http://www.enotes.com/everyday-law-encyclopedia/teacher-s-unions-collective-bargaining</a> Good Night and Good Luck
DonBee
Tue, Apr 5, 2011 : 3:09 a.m.
But all have teacher's unions. Texas starting pay is better than all but 15 states. The average pay is better than about 1/3 of the states. All 5 of the states have teacher's unions. So how do you make the causal link from the rank you cite and the test scores. Not correlation but causal link?
Edward R Murrow's Ghost
Tue, Apr 5, 2011 : 1:09 a.m.
When one considers ACT and SAT scores combined, Michigan is 13th. Source: <a href="http://law2.umkc.edu/faculty/projects/ftrials/states/uschartsat.html" rel='nofollow'>http://law2.umkc.edu/faculty/projects/ftrials/states/uschartsat.html</a> So, again, where is the statewide systemic problems. BTW, Looking at the above chart, the following states are the only ones that do not permit collective bargaining for their teachers. Their ranks: South Carolina 50 North Carolina 49 Georgia 48 Texas 47 Virginia 44 So, yes, let's bust those teacher's unions so that we can join this august list. Good Night and Good Luck
aataxpayer
Tue, Apr 5, 2011 : 12:30 a.m.
It is certain that schools will be changing since funding does not exist to maintain the status quo. So what change do we want? Larger class sizes, or do we try to avoid this by using videotaped or computer based instruction? Do we reserve precious teacher contact time to teaching kids content and eliminate the teacher's role in child development, or should we do the opposite? We have asked schools to be all things for all people for some time but they no longer have the funding to do it without cutting teacher pay by at least $10,000 per teacher. I honestly think that's too much to ask. Brace yourselves for serious changes and... Please support the special education millage.
aataxpayer
Wed, Apr 6, 2011 : 6:17 p.m.
DonBee, Smaller administration is fine, but I don't think AAPS need to consolidate with anybody to achieve economies of scale.
DonBee
Tue, Apr 5, 2011 : 3:02 a.m.
How about taking the overhead down aataxpayer? Fewer districts, fewer accounting departments, fewer HR departments? That would be a good start at fixing the structural problem.
TeddyLumber
Tue, Apr 5, 2011 : midnight
Yes, more like Ford in the 70's. Change or Die. Literally: <a href="http://www.commondreams.org/headlines02/1127-02.htm" rel='nofollow'>http://www.commondreams.org/headlines02/1127-02.htm</a>
Edward R Murrow's Ghost
Mon, Apr 4, 2011 : 11:35 p.m.
It appears that Mr. Watrkins is STILL lobbying for a position in the Snyder administration. Good Night and Good Luck
say it plain
Tue, Apr 5, 2011 : 1:11 a.m.
and apparently only on an "increase online and e-learning" platform. I still don't get the deep dedication to this position, unless it's essentially lobbying for either a GOP-created gig that would entail pushing for budget-cutting via the ending of whole categories of course content taught by humans and replacing these with on-line and "e"-courses, or it's essentially selling somebody's version of the 'right' online and e-courses to a whole lot of new customers! Because he never explains why this is what will save us all from ineffective methods and mediocre instructors!
DonBee
Mon, Apr 4, 2011 : 10 p.m.
While Watkins might have a point, I don't see it. He is right on one point, education needs to change in Michigan - Michigan throws away roughly 12 percent of the children, they never graduate from high school. That is a problem. We also seem to poorly prepare children for college, more than half of the children who start college in Michigan never finish. More than half require remedial classes. Now people will scream, just give us more money and we will fix this. Well we have been giving more money for more than 50 years and the needle is hardly moving. It is time to rethink education. Should we: 1) Track children into college, trade and non-trade options - matching capabilities and interests with classes, as Germany does? 2) Separate children by ability rather than age and teach groups of children a subject based on where they are, changing the groups as the subject changes (e.g. reading, and math might have different groupings of children)? 3) Challenge children to excel from Kindergarden on, with gifted and talented classes, so they don't get lazy early in their career? 4) Require parents to take classes on parenting? 5) Hold teachers and schools to performance standards? 6) Remove tenure and remove under performing teachers? 7) Change class sizes based on ahead/on/behind schedule - so the students that are the furthest behind get a smaller class? 8) Allow non-traditional teachers in the classrooms and encourage more tutors in K-12? 9) Privatize the whole thing? 10) Bring on-line classes into all the schools? I don't know if any of these will work, but what I don't see are education professionals analyzing the issues and trying something new. Most "experiments" are timid at best. Reinvent Education, absolutely the 12 percent we throw away today deserve it. Let the screaming begin.
northside
Tue, Apr 5, 2011 : 1:32 p.m.
All I'm saying is that there are factors beyond the control of a school that impact how students perform. You seem intent on interpreting that as my saying that teachers don't care and schools "throw away" students.
DonBee
Tue, Apr 5, 2011 : 1:05 p.m.
KJMClark - #4 on my list.
KJMClark
Tue, Apr 5, 2011 : 12:14 p.m.
It's not a bad list, but northside is right. I have no problem whatsoever saying whatever you want to the 12 percent who drop out. My dad dropped out when he was a kid. He regretted it later, but at the time he thought it was the best decision. Those kids aren't "thrown away", they "drop out". If you want someone to blame for dropouts, I suggest you talk to their parents and their peers along with their teachers. I suspect the parents and peers will tell you to shove off. That's the problem you need to fix.
DonBee
Tue, Apr 5, 2011 : 3 a.m.
So northside - You claim that you are not in control and not responsible for the success of your students? I wonder how Jaime Escalante would answer you? He was a teacher, an inspiring teacher working in one of the worst schools in the US. He worked with less support, lower pay and fewer resources than you do. But that is OK, you can toss out 12 percent of the young people, after all it is not your fault. This is why the system needs deep reform. If I offended you, good, now go take that anger and fix the system. Fix it for that 12 percent you help toss out.
northside
Tue, Apr 5, 2011 : 12:58 a.m.
I disagree that a student not graduating is because their school "threw them away." There are no shortage of kids who come from very troubled backgrounds that make getting through school difficult. Can a school always overcome that type of external obstacle? Schools may have influence and some control over what goes on in a student's life from 8-3 but not the other 17 hours a day. As for the completion rate at colleges that varies widely by school and correlates with factors such as class background. Students who come from well off backgrounds and don't have to work to get through? High graduation rates. Students who come from working class or poor backgrounds and have to work 30+ hours/week? Much lower. Again, that's an external factor that a school itself has little control over.
DonBee
Tue, Apr 5, 2011 : 12:32 a.m.
Northside - Tell that to the 12 percent who never graduate. Tell that to the 50% who start college and never finish. We need to do better, throwing any child away is horrible. We throw more than 10,000 away every year in this state.
northside
Mon, Apr 4, 2011 : 10:57 p.m.
Don while we don't always see eye-to-eye I respect that your posts are and thoughtful and don't attack people. Here are my thoughts: If Michigan's graduation rate is 88% I'll suggest that's impressive considering all the problems teens face, especially those in highly impoverished areas. Unfortunately it may be bolstered by schools just passing kids, as the pressures against holding someone back a grade are immense. You're right that too many kids aren't well prepared for college but keep in mind that a generation or two ago far fewer kids attended college. It's a relatively recent thing that a B.A. is needed to have a decent shot; decades ago someone could enter into a stable factory gig and support a family. As for education professionals not analyzing the issues? Most I know think about these issues a lot but restructuring your entire workplace isn't exactly easy. And it may not be necessary. Kids who come out of most public schools do fine; it's schools in areas with high concentrations of poverty that show disturbingly low results.
Stephen Landes
Mon, Apr 4, 2011 : 10:07 p.m.
DonBee -- I think you got Mr. Watkins point with precision: education in Michigan (and the rest of the US) needs to change. Ford isn't a model of what to do, but maybe it is of how to do it. The Company recognized the need for change back in the 80's when Don Peterson was running the shop and he finally agreed to do what W. Edwards Deming told him was required. He made a commitment to change and the Company made a real science out of doing that. As the 90's and 00's proved, this isn't a "one shot and you're good" effort, but must be done continuously to prevent bad habits from creeping back in. We tell students and teachers to work harder at the system and we keep coming up with the same results. Maybe the system has to change. A good dose of Deming would do wonders for our school system.
Stephen Landes
Mon, Apr 4, 2011 : 8:15 p.m.
Mr. Watkins: Thank you for a well-reasoned and well-written article. I hope the "deniers" will take a little time to stop looking inward and trying to preserve things as they are and look outward and learn what they need to do to thrive.
sbbuilder
Mon, Apr 4, 2011 : 7:38 p.m.
A2Reality, Lorie, John B: Say what you want about Ford, Wall Street seems to like what they've done: <a href="http://finance.yahoo.com/echarts?s=F+Interactive#chart10:symbol=f;range=2y;compare=gm+tatamotors.bo+fiat.du+tm+hmc;indicator=split+volume;charttype=line;crosshair=on;ohlcvalues=0;logscale=on;source=undefined" rel='nofollow'>http://finance.yahoo.com/echarts?s=F+Interactive#chart10:symbol=f;range=2y;compare=gm+tatamotors.bo+fiat.du+tm+hmc;indicator=split+volume;charttype=line;crosshair=on;ohlcvalues=0;logscale=on;source=undefined</a> This is a two year comparison with GM, Tata, Fiat, Toyota and Honda. The only car manufacturer to outperform Ford was Tata, arguably the most innovative of the bunch. In the brutal world of stock trading, and in this present day and age, if there is any whiff of weakness in a company you will get pounded. I realize the article is about schools, yet the comparison to Ford was used to bolster Mr Watkins' argument. I believe schools will be increasingly compared with one another on an international level. The growing disparity between US and foreign schools will not be able to be hidden much longer. On another comment I will post supporting data.
sbbuilder
Tue, Apr 5, 2011 : 1:04 a.m.
John B. Which was why I included three foreign car makers in the comparison. Ford has outperformed just about any car maker out there in the past three years, which is a near eternity in today's marketplace. Using Tata as an example, I would argue that India has jumped out in front of the pack with innovative engineering and marketing. Certainly they are consuming a large percentage of their own products, yet Tata is making significant headway in other countries as well. That type of innovation is founded on good schooling, both at the primary and secondary level. India is ahead of us in educating their youth, and the gap is widening considerably. They have the products and services to proove it.
John B.
Mon, Apr 4, 2011 : 10:17 p.m.
I hope Ford thrives, because we need it to be sustainable, going forward. I'm not saying Ford hasn't made some good changes, and I think Mr. Mullaly has done much to shake Ford up (and just got paid almost $50 Million for last year's work, as did Bill Ford), but going from near-bankruptcy stock pricing to what it is now doesn't really prove much (when compared to other similar companies during the same timeframe). It just proves that the stock market is a crapshoot (especially now, more than ever...).
Topher
Mon, Apr 4, 2011 : 6:55 p.m.
Mr. Watkins - Yes, the education system needs change! If you look at the Michigan Board of Education, they outlined as far back as 2002 major changes to the Michigan system. There are some really great ideas that never were implemented (perhaps they were tried but failed?). It is now 9 years later since some of the initial documents that talked about high expectations for teachers (things like National Board Certification) and retaining good teachers. We need to examine what happens between theory and practice and how we as a state can bridge the gap in policy. I have two radical ideas for change: 1. Pay teachers a $75k base teacher salaries (what our state reps get), rigorous evaluations and expectations, and hold administrators accountable for their jobs. This requires major training and recruitment of young, ambitious, dedicated teachers. This also requires actual evaluation and accountability. We implement longer work hours and bring up the status of teachers in Michigan. If doctors were paid 40k/year would there still be as many people going into medicine? 2. Or go the opposite way and lower the expectations of teachers - do they really need a bachelor's or master's degree to teach? Many people think it's babysitting and does not require a degree. If we lower the standards we can pay teachers much, much less (think 15k/year). If we make schools into Ford factories we will save so much money.
Macabre Sunset
Mon, Apr 4, 2011 : 6:44 p.m.
True enough. Teaching will be outsourced, sooner or later. The government can protect this entitlement class only so long. With projections showing the deficit will reach $20 trillion by 2020, far more drastic cuts will be necessary simply to avoid financial ruin. I would imagine all but those in poverty will be paying most education costs directly ten years from now, and at that point they will choose private options for schooling unless the schools can reinvent themselves.
speravi
Tue, Apr 5, 2011 : 12:04 a.m.
And at that point, the demise of our democracy will be complete. The best education will go exclusively to those who can afford it, and people will be tracked from an early age for a predetermined career as they were in other totalitarian states.
pseudo
Mon, Apr 4, 2011 : 6:37 p.m.
with all due respect, Ford has not changed nearly enough and will probably meet its fate with the next downturn. Short and medium term gains when the other car companies are in bankruptcy do not a turn-around make. - A white collar review system so inadequate it compounds the good ol' boy network with terribly skewed results that ends up rewarding bad behavior with unintended consequences. There is an educational equivalent: teching by memorization to a test...think MEAP.. - WAYYYY over paying its white collar workers - not being honest enough about the future of cars in a country that is shifting to mass transit - too many brands - still, and too many cars within brands - in short: bad tactics based on bad strategy. - and, too many engineers for what they are accomplishing (by almost twice what used to be the productivity). If Michigan schools "change' like Ford has, we will define what "unsuccessful" means.
Will
Mon, Apr 4, 2011 : 6:25 p.m.
Facile and ridiculous analogy. Automaking == educating. I suggest they are not the same and operate under completely different sets of rules. If the output of the educational system (or automaker) is a well educated citizen (or a quality car), then perhaps the educational system should be allowed to select which citizens receive an education, just like auto producers control the raw materials and components used to manufacture a vehicle. Any school that imposes a rigorous selection process on who will be educated can raise achievement simply by filtering out disruptive or ill-prepared students. Of course, this is generally considered inequitable, and denies citizens equal access to a good education. Public schools are barred from doing this (however, private and charter schools are not). They are given a mandate to provide an education for all. The use of "robotic education" in the form of online courses is also highly overrated. As a father of three students who have each taken such courses (once in Biology, in Civics, and in Math) I think it delusional to believe that the quality of learning from these courses is anything like learning in a classroom. While it may depend on the student, in my experience it was inferior, and required parental involvement to a degree that seemed like home-schooling. I am a little more sympathetic to Watkins' criticism of school superintendents and administrators. As a group, the position is highly politicized. I seen no objective criteria for measuring administrator achievement (while student achievement scores are proposed to measure teacher performance). If there is an evaluation process, it is far from transparent. However most of Watkins' comments are merely vague buzz-laden exhortations at best: "change! innovate! be sustainable! reinvent yourself! there's a new-reality! think synergistic! be proactive! hurry for empowerment! Most of his comments are cheap conservative claptrap.
Will
Mon, Apr 4, 2011 : 7:39 p.m.
More to the point, buzzwords are NOT useful advice and provide no clear direction forward.
Terminal
Mon, Apr 4, 2011 : 7:31 p.m.
All the business seminar buzzwords in the world never made a job or a car.
sbbuilder
Mon, Apr 4, 2011 : 6:40 p.m.
jms If "...change! innovate! be sustainable! reinvent yourself! there's a new-reality! think synergistic! be proactive! hurry for empowerment..." is conservative claptrap, does the opposite hold true as well? Therefore, for example, status quo, no innovation, unsustainability, etc. are liberal claptrap?
John B.
Mon, Apr 4, 2011 : 6:21 p.m.
Ford mostly got lucky, pure and simple. They pawned everything (including the blue Ford oval symbol) for a multi-billion Dollar credit line prior to the economy crashing. Had they failed in riding out the Recession financially and improving their operations, Ford would have been sold off in pieces by now. Fortunately, they didn't fail, but the key was/is the timely establishment of that credit line. Ford still has about a $1000-$1500 per-car disadvantage to GM due to their debtload. I fail to see how that correlates to the Michigan School System, quite frankly. Are you saying that the School System should borrow $22 Billion?
sbbuilder
Mon, Apr 4, 2011 : 6:35 p.m.
John B Not so fast. In hind sight, it may look like Ford got lucky. But it took real guts to do what they did, long before the market bottomed out. Many said that Ford was making a big mistake. However, not only did they borrow on the farm, but, significantly, they simultaneously completely revamped their 'time to market' strategy. That took real innovation. Do a little research next time before trotting out the old platitudes.
northside
Mon, Apr 4, 2011 : 6:19 p.m.
Public education = 1970s era Ford? Wrong. Performance at U.S. public schools (K-12) is comparable to the best nations in the world, with one exception: schools located in areas with high concentrations of poverty. Call me crazy but that leads to a conclusion that public schools aren't providing an outdated, 70s-era Ford style education. And that poverty, not public education, should be the area of concern. And as for higher ed? Our system remains among the world's best. If we had a lousy, outdated higher ed system than why would hundreds of thousands of students from other nations enroll in the U.S. every year?
DonBee
Wed, Apr 6, 2011 : 3:37 a.m.
Northside what you said was: "Performance at U.S. public schools (K-12) is comparable to the best nations in the world"
northside
Tue, Apr 5, 2011 : 1:24 p.m.
Don you're distorting what I said. I said (from memory) that the U.S. ranked No. 15-20 in scores, so wasn't far off if it is No. 23. I never said it was No. 1 or in the top group. I did say that it would be but for one notable exception: scores at schools in areas with high concentrations of poverty. Which leads me to conclude that public schools, in general, aren't the problem, and do not need the value, ill-defined overhaul that Watkins is advising. There's something about poverty (obstacles students face, etc.) that is the real issue.
DonBee
Tue, Apr 5, 2011 : 2:55 a.m.
northside - Based on scores on international tests, the US is 23rd in performance, not the best in the world. When it comes to language skills the US is not even in the top 50 in the world. When it come to drop out rates, the US is higher than any Euro zone country. When it comes to the percentage of students ready to start college the US is not in the top 20. Yes, millions come to the US for COLLEGE education. And, a large number of folks from very poor countries come to the US for K-12 education. Now where did I get these numbers, why from the UN of course. In Michigan 12 percent of all students never graduate from High School - that is over 12,000 children the system tosses aside each year. Sound World Class to you? If you were a manufacturing organization it would get your plant closed. Six Sigma would never allow that level of defects in manufactured products.
northside
Tue, Apr 5, 2011 : 1:03 a.m.
AMOC from what I've read - and like I said to sb, sorry I can't cite a specific study right now - the top 80% of U.S. students compare well with the top performing nations around the world. It's the bottom 20%, the vast majority in areas with high concentrations of poverty, that don't do well. What I'm suggesting is that there are factors external to schools that influence how students perform. A school can't by itself eliminate poverty and all of the obstacles that go along with it. Give a public school students who don't face those obstacles and the school does fine. We can't expect schools to solve such larger social issues on their own.
AMOC
Mon, Apr 4, 2011 : 11:49 p.m.
Northside - If you take only our elite students, especially the ones in private schools like Emerson or Greenhills, or the kids at Community HS in Ann Arbor, we do indeed have an education that performs as well as the elite students of China or Hong Kong. BUT, if you take the average student scores, even from a well-off district like Ann Arbor, well, we'd score above the OECD average, but no way could our system be said to match "the best in the world".
northside
Mon, Apr 4, 2011 : 6:45 p.m.
sb if I have time to find data today I'll post it. It's in the 'read but not bookmarked' category so would take some digging. What I'm getting at is the U.S. often ranks around No. 15-20 in standardized test scores. The vast majority of U.S. schools have scores that would place us in the top 5; results from high poverty areas are what make us end up 15-20. I realize that's a tricky comparison, as other nations could also remove their lowest scoring schools and 'improve' their ranking. But what I think it points to is that most public schools do perfectly fine; it is only schools in high poverty areas where outcomes are low. In sum, I do not agree with Watkins' comparison of public schools to a failed business.
sbbuilder
Mon, Apr 4, 2011 : 6:24 p.m.
Northside That's quite a claim. Comparable to the best nations in the world? Care to back up that statement with some facts? Also the high concentrations of poverty exception may become the norm, not the other way around.
Top Cat
Mon, Apr 4, 2011 : 6:14 p.m.
As for "Change or Die", I read an interview last week of AFT President Randi Weingarten and she has chosen the latter.
PharmStudy
Mon, Apr 4, 2011 : 5:32 p.m.
Mr. Watkins, Thanks for your article. I think your opinion about rehauling our education system is pertinent to not only to just Michigan schools, but also for the numerous challenges we have as a nation during an era of globalization. With regards to education, you provided an example of change in terms of accepting greater e-learning opportunities. Perhaps this may help learning to be more accessible and efficient, but that's a benefit we'll see in the long term, not something we can really be concerned about at present. I guess I'm writing to ask if you have any more examples to point out where we need to really change, based on your past experience as superintendent. I agree with you that we might need to think outside the box in a situation like this, but I think we could use some more suggestions and specifics if we want to know what to change. Thanks, PharmStudent
sbbuilder
Mon, Apr 4, 2011 : 5:23 p.m.
Another significant change, or innovation at Ford is their focus on new product development time. Take the newly revised Taurus, which is winning awards. Months were shaved off development time. Ford took a very aggressive approach with this model, and it is paying off big time. Now, they are using the same technique to improve turn around on other models. How significant is this? For years, development time was highly structured. Bringing a new model to market varied only slightly. Now, Ford has proven that they can design a new platform in less time, and with an improvement in quality and customer satisfaction. The proof is in the pudding. Have a look at the past years' stock ticker F.
KJMClark
Tue, Apr 5, 2011 : 12:01 p.m.
Their domestic competition went belly-up and had the stigma of being government-owned (heard of "Government Motors"?), and just about all major companies went up significantly in the past year. Have a look at the past year for GE or CAT.
AMOC
Mon, Apr 4, 2011 : 11:44 p.m.
sbuilder- By that measure, the Washtenaw Technical Middle College (a charter school) is the local educational equivalent. They've shaved 2 whole academic years off the process of getting an Associate degree. But they are so over-subscribed they have to hold a lottery for entering students. This is the kind of innovation and improvement in efficiency we should be encouraging by providing vouchers and letting all qualified / accredited educational facilities compete for students.
Nikki River
Mon, Apr 4, 2011 : 4:55 p.m.
Let's see ... what made domestic automakers change? Competition. So, if public higher education is not competitive, then the very powerful private sector would put them out of business. When someone in the private sector figures out how to deliver education of comparably high quality and a comparably low price, THEN we can talk about the need for public higher education to change the way they do business. Meanwhile, get out of their way - they have a record number of customers to serve.
AMOC
Mon, Apr 4, 2011 : 11:41 p.m.
Nikki - You are mistaken. The accredited (meaning you can use your Federal education benefits at them) private colleges and universities that are the same price as Michigan's community colleges and state-funded universities can be counted on the fingers of one foot. In other words, there aren't any! In spite of costing more than even UM, my alma mater (a private engineering and management school) has 5 -8 applicants for every opening. Kalamazoo College is also quite selective, but costs even more. Unless maybe you're talking about the University of Phoenix and for-profit schools of that ilk. They are approximately the same price as Michigan's second tier of schools (CMU, NMU, WMU, etc.) and provide more convenience for students but less quality of education.
Nikki River
Mon, Apr 4, 2011 : 9:08 p.m.
Actually, Stephen, I'm talking about higher education and higher education DOES have "vouchers" - federally funded financial aid can be used anywhere, yet the masses pour into state unversities and community colleges. Even when they're effectively the same price, private colleges in Michigan don't draw the interest that our the public institutions do.
Stephen Landes
Mon, Apr 4, 2011 : 8:09 p.m.
Perfect. That's why we need vouchers. Ford would not have made the turnaround it has if everyone had to buy a Toyota and THEN a Ford. Public K-12 education does not have to compete with private education because we are all required to pay for public education no matter how we decide to educate our children. Let's have a voucher system first and then ask your question.
tim
Mon, Apr 4, 2011 : 4:50 p.m.
Snyder's budget proposal for public school certainly seems to support the die approach. Unlike building cars with high tech robots, education requires great parents and great teachers. Teaching is a learned skill that takes time to master, trying to replace older (more expensive) with younger ( less expensive) teachers is counter productive. I do agree that a transformation needs to take place. We need to push the best and the brightest to the top of their game in order to compete with the rest of the world ( a concept we seem to understand in sports but not in academics ).
tim
Mon, Apr 4, 2011 : 8:40 p.m.
The point is that kids that are bright should be allowed to go ahead of the rest of the pack. Yes-- unions keep some bad teachers teaching, but the great teachers ( with years of experience ) are encouraged to retire. Teaching is a learned skill and is seldom replaced easily with young inexperienced college graduates.
Independent_Thinker
Mon, Apr 4, 2011 : 6:10 p.m.
Gee, could that be because in sports, if you don't perform well you either never make the team or eventually do not get re-signed to the team or cut altogether. Your performance is quite easy to test. In education you get rewarded for having a pulse and simply "being there" for a certain amount of time because of unions. Your performance is hard to determine due to a bunch of convoluted union rules.
A2Realilty
Mon, Apr 4, 2011 : 4:48 p.m.
When you really look at the changes that Ford made, they aren't that significant. The biggest things that Ford did were: 1) Line up credit before credit became a problem; 2) Introduce new vehicles that involved hybrids; and 3) Improve quality (which is really related to the new vehicles). Bonuses still happen at Ford. Unions still rule at Ford. Truly very little has changed at the macro level. If education were to make similar changes it might involve: 1) A new, temporary millage for financing; 2) tweaking the curriculum to add some new elements; and 3) better parent involvement to improve education.
KJMClark
Tue, Apr 5, 2011 : 11:48 a.m.
It continues to amaze me that people utterly missed number one on your list. If Ford hadn't lined up financing before the crunch, they would have gone belly-up just like GM and Chrysler. However, I'd drop number 3 and change it to "got all the labor concessions that the bankrupt companies negotiated." Still, anyone who ignores that $25 billion line of credit in 2006 isn't paying attention to what's important. And I'd change your list for schools to 1) a state bond issue to cover current deficits (which is basically what Ford's credit line was about), 2) consolidate districts (remember Mercury?) and introduce e-learning, and 3) wage/benefit concessions, particularly and first in school management, to match the competition. I think the competition in this case is the wages/benefits in surrounding states, which we're probably close to already.
Stephen Landes
Mon, Apr 4, 2011 : 8:07 p.m.
You write like someone who wasn't a Ford employee. I was, and your assessment of the level of significance is astoundingly meager.