As we ponder the dismantling of our current school system due to the inablilty or will of the community to continue to pay for the runaway residential growth, I thought this story may spur some discussion. Our kids are paying the price for the the inablilty of the adult leadership of the community to solve the problems we face.
The Blueberry Story
I stood before an auditorium filled with outraged teachers who were becoming angrier by the minute. My speech had entirely consumed their precious 90 minutes of in-service training. Their initial icy glares had turned to restless agitation. You could cut the hostility with a knife.
I represented a group of business people dedicated to improving public schools. I was an executive at an ice cream company that became famous in the middle-1980s when People Magazine chose its blueberry flavor as the ''Best Ice Cream in America.''
I was convinced of two things. First, public schools needed to change; they were archaic selecting and sorting mechanisms designed for the Industrial Age and out of step with the needs of our emerging ''knowledge society.''
Second, educators were a major part of the problem: They resisted change,hunkered down in their feathered nests, protected by tenure and shielded by a bureaucratic monopoly. They needed to look to business. We knew how to produce quality. Zero defects! Total Quality Management! Continuous improvement!
In retrospect, the speech was perfectly balanced-equal parts ignorance and arrogance. As soon as I finished, a woman's hand shot up. She appeared
polite, pleasant. She was, in fact, a razor-edged, veteran high school English teacher who had been waiting to unload.
She began quietly, ''We are told, sir, that you manage a company that makes good ice cream.''
I smugly replied, ''Best ice cream in America, ma'am.''
''How nice,'' she said. ''Is it rich and smooth?''
''Sixteen percent butterfat,'' I crowed.
''Premium ingredients?'' she inquired.
''Super-premium! Nothing but triple-A.'' I was on a roll. I never saw the next line coming.
By Closet philosopher
The Blueberry Story
I stood before an auditorium filled with outraged teachers who were becoming angrier by the minute. My speech had entirely consumed their precious 90 minutes of in-service training. Their initial icy glares had turned to restless agitation. You could cut the hostility with a knife.
I represented a group of business people dedicated to improving public schools. I was an executive at an ice cream company that became famous in the middle-1980s when People Magazine chose its blueberry flavor as the ''Best Ice Cream in America.''
I was convinced of two things. First, public schools needed to change; they were archaic selecting and sorting mechanisms designed for the Industrial Age and out of step with the needs of our emerging ''knowledge society.''
Second, educators were a major part of the problem: They resisted change,hunkered down in their feathered nests, protected by tenure and shielded by a bureaucratic monopoly. They needed to look to business. We knew how to produce quality. Zero defects! Total Quality Management! Continuous improvement!
In retrospect, the speech was perfectly balanced-equal parts ignorance and arrogance. As soon as I finished, a woman's hand shot up. She appeared
polite, pleasant. She was, in fact, a razor-edged, veteran high school English teacher who had been waiting to unload.
She began quietly, ''We are told, sir, that you manage a company that makes good ice cream.''
I smugly replied, ''Best ice cream in America, ma'am.''
''How nice,'' she said. ''Is it rich and smooth?''
''Sixteen percent butterfat,'' I crowed.
''Premium ingredients?'' she inquired.
''Super-premium! Nothing but triple-A.'' I was on a roll. I never saw the next line coming.
By Closet philosopher
