[speedgibson] Speed Gibson: 21st Century Communications

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Posted by Speed Gibson:
21st Century Communications
http://speedgibson.powerblogs.com/posts/1218523445.shtml


   Let me [1]excerpt the quotes regarding the upcoming capital referendum
   for technology and training in District 279:
     * Technology enables us to reach far and wide.
     * There is no reason students can't have the globe as their
       resource.
     * Technology allows students to contribute, share, and gather
       resources globally.
     * We must prepare our students for the world they inhabit.
     * Technology education fosters development in 21st-century skills.

   What's wrong with this? Well, it is a bit trite, wouldn't you say? It
   would be if he had said anything. These are what propagandists call
   glittering generalities.
   Such language was meaningful about twenty years ago, when the World
   Wide Web sprang from the forehead of Al Gore. That technology truly
   was breathtaking - at the time. Today it is a commodity. You buy a PC,
   call Qwest or Comcast, and have the Geek Squad hook it up if need be.
   Wi-Fi at your favorite coffee store is now expected, no longer
   remarkable.
   District 281 says this about their upcoming referendums:
     * Investing in the quality of local public schools is essential if
       we are to maintain a safe, thriving, vibrant community.

   Again, there was a time when our schools truly were a partner in a
   community's quality of life, but by and large, for whatever the
   reasons, those days are gone, too. Such a statement therefore doesn't
   really resonate with the taxpayers.
   It also seems off-message, making no mention of the students, missing
   the chance to resonate with the parents as well. Compare the above
   with this:
     * Investing in quality education for our children is essential if we
       are to maintain a safe, thriving, vibrant community.

   Either way, the word "invest" is particularly shopworn, used
   throughout the public sector these days, even for outright failures
   like Light Rail and Ethanol. Further, it implies that such investing
   is a new direction or strategy. Correcting this, with a little better
   phrasing at the end gives us:
     * Continuing to provide quality education for our children is a
       hallmark of of a safe, thriving, vibrant community.

   The first example spoke of students needing 21st-century skills. Our
   schools are going to need 21st-century communications skills to win
   back 21st-century parents and taxpayers, and not just for referendums.
   The "capture" ratio is dropping, giving way to charter schools,
   private schools, and home schooling. Even the Legislature seems to be
   tuning out.

References

   1. http://speedgibson.powerblogs.com/posts/1219377329.shtml