Is Iowa a "good enough" state?

Speaking about our state's education system as a whole, the National Teacher of the Year challenged our Partners in Learning group (last Thursday 03/03) to consider if Iowa, indeed, is a "good enough" state. Based on what we've always heard, you'd think that Iowa has a pretty good education system. But is it "good enough?" The question got us to thinking.

Sarah Brown Wessling, the NTOY, said people ask her all the time how Iowa compares. 

I’m proud of my state. I’m a product of an Iowa school system and I live within 50 miles of where I was born. But I think we have to ask the question [Is Iowa a “good enough” state?].

For a long time, Iowa has seen itself as a state with a strong public education system of programs because of high test scores – the ITEDs and ACT, of course. Both of which were written in the state of Iowa. I think these test scores were given a lot of praise during a time when we were more homogenized as a population, and during a time when we were economically a favored population. So when I hear the rhetoric about 'We want to get back to where we were,' I kind of cringe. We don’t want to get back to where we were. In fact, what we need to do is re-envision.

There was a time that we were able to “rest” based on what we perceived to be a very high functioning public education system, but in reality there were other places in this country, places like Kentucky, that had a public education system that didn’t have high test scores, so they began to look very critically at where they were as a state - or weren’t. They’ve now become a model of innovation. There are many places in this country that are innovating in ways that I don’t know that we in Iowa are. I think we have 'pockets' of innovation, but I’m not convinced this state is ready for innovation because [too many people say] 'it was good enough for me, so it’s good enough for my kids.'

My hope is that we can do in public education what some folks are doing in experiments like charter schools. Where’s Iowa's 'project-based' school? I know we have pockets (DMPS downtown school, its charter, the lab school at UNI, etc.), but where’s our 'New Tech School'? Where’s our school that's tied closely to a teacher preparation institution? Where’s that for Iowa? We’re not good enough. I know the reality is that teachers are really tired. But we’re working really hard at the wrong things, not always by choice.

One member of our group, a university professor, suggested a way of reframing of the question for further discussion:

Part of the answer to this question [Is Iowa a “good enough” state?] is in the another question, 'What do Iowans really want?' and, 'In what state [condition] are we really in?' When we go into a public deliberation about public education, one approach we might consider is that 'We can do more, if we want more.' Another might be that 'We can do more about what we want.' And, a third could be that 'We can want less,' which raises the question 'Is less really more'? How would we pare down what we want in order for it to be better? 

From forums, we've found that citizens - especially parents - want schools that produce brilliant scholars, thoughtful citizens, AND skilled workers or inventive entrepreneurs. They want it all. Anything less, they say, short changes our kids.


Another member, an AEA board member who once taught school, registered his frustration with the notion that we are always confronted with "trade-offs' when the conversation turns to public education. 

There are many ways to fulfill a particular need, so looking for alternatives or  'trade-offs' is but one way. Introducing he possibility of a “trade off” signals that there is a contradiction, which can also introduce a pathway to invention, i.e. creating new things or doing things in ways different than we've previously attempted. Too often we make the assumption that there are limited resources. Resources are 'limited,' but only depending on what we really want. The answer may be in 'wanting less,' but not always.

All good questions and comments. Food for thought, and action. We didn't settle the question of whether/not Iowa is a "good enough" state, but we surely got our minds moving.