ERC Joins The Reciprocity Movement
We’re very proud to announce that ERC has joined the Reciprocity Project as a core partner.
What a great and deserving vision – that the primary role of public schools should be to make their communities healthier and more prosperous! Check it out.
For the full Reciprocity website, go here.
Since I’ve been in the business of school -work that I’ve always loved- we’ve been trying to patch leaks in the system. We don't seem to make progress toward greater equity in public education partly because schools and their leaders have stuck trying to make incremental changes when attacking huge problems, and because the design of our schools is intended to advance only a certain portion of the students. Ringing in my head are words from Ted Sizer, "The reason nothing seems to change in schools is because in order for something to change, pretty much everything must change”. Well, I’ve been ready for pretty much everything to change. I’m hopeful for the Reciprocity Project because it has a great chance to accomplish that by changing the role of school ---beginning with what communities value, and organizing our schools to reflect that.
The Sal Khan quote above helps to explain why we’ve been stuck with an institution that repeatedly lets down so many of our students and families. So many schools are infused with racism, and designed to sort young people into social castes and corresponding opportunities, despite the heart and labor of those who work within its systems. We have to do what we can –finally- to disrupt a system that operates this way. Senge /Unpacking the Industrial Age School
The “reforms” of the past 25 years have done little or nothing to make it better, it’s just hard for decision-makers to admit it. Sal Khan is correct.
The Reciprocity Project can become an anchor for people who see and experience the realities of inequitable schooling, a place where very different conversations happen, and where the focus is on addressing the needs of the community as stated BY the community. That’s what the Reciprocity Project is about.
Ready to reimagine your community’s school?