Our failing schools. Enough is enough Geoffrey Canada
I’m a little nervous because my wife
Yvonne said to me she said Jeffrey you
watched the TED talks I said yes honey I
loved TED talks she say you know they’re
like really smart talented guys I know I
know she said they don’t want like the
angry black man so I said no one would
be good honey imma be good I am but I am
angry and the last time I looked
this is this is why I’m excited but I’m
angry this year they’re going to be
millions of our children that we’re
going to needlessly lose that they that
we could right now we could save them
all you saw the quality of the educators
who were here do not tell me they could
not reach those kids and save them I
know they could it is absolutely
possible why haven’t we fix this
those of us in education have held on to
a business plan that we don’t care how
many millions of young people fail we’re
gonna continue to do the same thing that
didn’t work and nobody nobody is getting
crazy about it
right enough to say enough is enough so
here’s a business plan that simply does
not make any sense you know I grew up in
the inner city and there were kids who
were failing and schools 56 years ago
when I first went to school and those
schools are still lousy today 56 years
later and you know something about a
lousy school it’s not like a bottle of
wine right where you say like 87 was
like a good year right that’s not how
this thing I mean every single year it’s
still the same approach right one size
fits all if you get it behind and if you
don’t tough luck just tough luck why
haven’t we allow innovation that
happened do not tell me we can’t do
better than this look you go into a
place that’s failed kids for 50 years
and you say so what’s the plan and they
say what we’re gonna do what we did last
year this year
what kind of business model is that
banks used to open and operate between
10:00 and 3:00 they operate 10:00 to
3:00 they they will close for lunch hour
now who can bank between 10:00 and 3:00
the unemployed they don’t need banks
they got no money in the bank who
created that business model right and it
went on for decades you know why because
they didn’t care it’s not about the
customers
it’s not about it was about bankers they
created something that works for them
how could you go to the bank when you
were at work it didn’t matter then they
don’t care whether or not just as I’ve
said he can’t go to the bank go find
another bank they all operate the same
way right now one day some crazy bank I
had an idea maybe we should keep the
bank open when people come home from
work they might like that what about a
Saturday what about introducing
technology now look I’m a technology fan
but I have to admit to you all I’m a
little I’m a little old so I was a
little slow and I did not trust
technology and when they first came out
with those new contraptions these
tellers that you put in a card and they
give you money I was like there’s no way
that machine is gonna count that money
right I am never using that right so so
technology has changed things have
changed yet not in education why why is
it that when we had rotary phones when
we were having folks being crippled by
polio that we were teaching the same way
then that we’re doing right now and if
you come up with a plan to change things
people consider you radical they will
say the worst things about you
I said one day we’ll look if the science
says this is science not me that our
poorest children lose ground in the
summertime right you see where there are
in June okay there dear you look at him
in September they’re going down say whoa
so I heard about that and 75 when I was
at the edge school at Harvard there was
always an important study because it
suggests we should do something
every 10 years they reproduced the same
study says exactly the same thing poor
kids lose ground in the summertime the
system decides you can’t run schools in
the summer you know I wonder who might
mix up those rules for years I went to
look I went to the Harvard ed school I
thought I knew something they said was
the agrarian calendar and the people but
let me tell you why that doesn’t make
sense they never I never got that I
never got that because anyone who knows
if you farm you don’t plant crops in
July and August you plant them in the
spring so who came up with this idea who
owns it why did we ever do it well it
just turns out in 1840s we did have
schools were open or year open whole
year because there are a lot of folks
who had to work all day to have any
place where their kids to go with a
perfect place to have schools so this is
not something that is ordained from the
education God’s so why don’t we well
because our business has refused to use
science science you have Bill Gates
coming out and say look this works right
we can do this how many places in
America are gonna change none none okay
- all right yes there’ll be some place
there because some folks are due to do
the right thing
as a profession we have to stop this the
science is clear here’s what we know we
know that the problem begins immediately
right this is this idea zero two three
my wife Yvonne and I we have four kids
three grown ones and a 15 year old it’s
a longer story with our first kids we
did not know the science about brain
development we didn’t know how critical
those first three years were we didn’t
know what was happening in those young
brains we didn’t know the role that
language a stimulus and response
call-and-response how important that was
in developing those chip we know that
now what are we doing about it nothing
wealthy people no educated people no and
their kids have an advantage poor people
don’t know and we’re not doing anything
to help them at all well we noticed is
critical now you take pre-kindergarten
we know it’s important for kids poor
kids need that experience nope
lots of places doesn’t exist we know
health services matter people know we
provide health services that people are
always fussing at me about you know
because I’m all into you know
accountability and data and all of that
good stuff but will you do health
services I have to raise a lot of money
people used to say when it’s come
funders Jeff why do you why do you
provide these health services I said
make stuff up right I’d say well you
know a child who has cavities is not
going to be able to study as well and I
had to cuz I had to raise the money
right but now I’m older and you know
when I tell them you know I provide kids
with those health benefits and the
sports and the recreation arts because
actually like kids right actually my
kids
when they really get pushy people really
get pushy I say I do it because you do
it for your kid and you’ve never read a
study from MIT that says giving your kid
dance instruction right it’s gonna help
them do algebra better but you will give
that kid dance instruction and you will
be thrilled that that kid wants to do
dance instruction and it’ll make your
day and why shouldn’t poor kids have the
same opportunity it’s the it’s the floor
for these children so so here’s the
other thing I’m a tester guy I believe
you need data you need information cuz
we work at something you think it’s
working and you find that it’s not
working right I mean educators you work
you say if you think you got it you
great now and you find out they didn’t
get it but here’s the problem with
testing the testing that we do we’re
gonna have our test in New York next
week right this is an April you know
we’re gonna get the results back maybe
July maybe June and and so in the end
the results have great data they’ll tell
you Raheem really struggled couldn’t do
two digit multiplication and it’s a
great data but you’re getting it back
after school is over and so what do you
do you go on vacation to come back from
vacation now you’ve got all of this test
data from last year you don’t look at it
why would you look at it you’re gonna go
and teach this year so how much money
did we just spend on all of that
billions and billions of dollars for
data that it’s too late to use it I need
that data in September I need that data
in November I need to know you’re
struggling and I need to know whether or
not what I did corrected that I need to
know that this week I don’t need to know
that at the end of the year when it’s
too late because in my older years I
become somewhat of a clairvoyant
I can I can predict school scores you
take me to any school I’m really good at
inner-city schools that are struggling
and you
tell me last year 48% of those kids were
on grade level and I said okay what’s
the plan what do we do from last year
this year you say we’re doing the same
thing I’m gonna make a prediction this
year somewhere between 44 and 52 percent
of those kids will be on grade level and
I will be right every single time right
so we’re spending all of this money but
we’re getting what teachers need real
information right now about what’s
happening to their kids the high stakes
is today because you can do something
about it so here’s the other issue that
I just think we’ve got to be concerned
about
we can’t stifle innovation in our
business we have to innovate and people
in our business getting mad about
innovation they get angry if you do
something different if you try something
new people always value all in charter
school let’s try some stuff let’s see
this stuff haven’t worked for fifty five
years let’s try something different and
here’s the rub some of its not gonna
work you know people tell me air those
charter school a lot of them don’t work
a lot of them don’t they should be
closed they should be closed but we
can’t confuse figuring out the science
and things not working with we shouldn’t
therefore do anything right because
that’s not the way the world works you
think about technology imagine if that’s
how we talk about technology every time
something didn’t work we just do in a
towel and said let’s forget it
right you know they convinced me I’m
sure some of you would like me the
latest and greatest thing the Palm Pilot
they told me Jeff if you get this Palm
Pilot you’ll never need another thing
that thing lasted all the three weeks it
was over I was so disgusted I spent my
money on this thing did anybody stop
inventing not a person not a soul
the folks went out there they kept envy
the fact that you have failure that
shouldn’t stop you from from pushing the
science forward our job is educated
there’s some stuff we know that
we can do and we’ve got to do better the
evaluation we have to start with kids
are we have to make sure that we provide
the supports of young people we’ve got
to give them all of these opportunities
so that we have to do but this
innovation issue this idea that we’ve
got to keep innovating until we really
nail this science down is something that
it’s absolutely critical and this is
something by the way that I think is
going to be a challenge for our entire
field America cannot wait another 50
years to get this right we have run out
of time I don’t know about a fiscal
cliff but I know there’s an educational
cliff that we are walking over right
this very second and if we allow folks
to continue this foolishness about
saying we can’t afford this so Bill
Gates is gonna cost five billion dollars
what is five billion dollars to the
United States what did we spend in
Afghanistan this year how much how many
trillions when when the country cares
about something we’ll spend a trillion
dollars without blinking an eye when the
safety of America is threatened we will
spend any amount of money the real
safety of our nation is preparing its
next generation so that they can take
our place and be the leaders of the
world when it comes to thinking and
technology and democracy and all that
stuff we care about I dare say it’s a
pittance it’s a pittance what it would
require for us to really begin to solve
some of these problems so once we do
that I’ll no longer be angry so you guys
how ridiculous thank you all very much
so what is the high school dropout rate
at Harlem Children’s Zone well you know
John a hundred percent of our kids
graduate high school last year in my
school 100% of them went to college this
year seniors will have 100% graduating
high school last I heard we had 93%
accepted to college
we better get that other 7% so how do
you stick with them after they they
leave high school you know that one of
the bad problems we have in this country
these kids the same kids these same
vulnerable kids when you get them to
school they drop out in record numbers
and so we’ve figured out that you’ve got
to really design a network of supports
for these kids that in many ways mimics
what a good parent does they harass you
right they call you they say I want to
see your grades are you doing that last
test what are you talking about that you
know you want to leave school you’re not
coming back here so a bunch of my kids
know you can’t come back to Harlem cuz
Jeff is looking for you I didn’t like I
really can’t come back no you better
stay in school but but you know I’m not
kidding about some of this and it gets a
little bit to the grit issue when kids
know that you refuse to let them fail
right it puts a different pressure on
them and they don’t give up as easy
so then sometimes they don’t have it
inside and they’re like you know I don’t
want to do this but I know my mother’s
gonna be mad or that when that matters
the kids and it helps get them through
we try to create a set of strategies
that gets them tutoring and help and
support but also a set of encouragement
that say to them you can do it it is
going to be hard but we refuse to let
you fail well thank you dr. Canada
please give it up for him one more time