Our Educational System is Polluted

I just don’t get it. For years many organizations have been letting people go and then returning them as contract employees. In the recent years educational (K-12) Schools have been doing the same.

One of the main reasons is financial and it helps the company or school to save on paying benefits and pensions. This makes sense when the employee is valuable and continues to add value in their pride of workmanship.

However, this post is about the employees that are forced in to early retirement or let go and then brought back in as temporary or part-time employees. This group of employees is less than desirable for many reasons like an inability to change, poor work ethic and an attitude that destroys moral and cohesiveness.

It’s also about leaders who remove people from a position of authority or leadership and move them in to a new role instead of letting them go to start fresh somewhere else. I have experienced more times that not the employee being reassigned for being a poor worker is left to wallow in resentment, bitterness and pity for all to see, hear and to deal with for a long time that ultimately gets worse as time goes by for all workers involved.

Some of these people train new employees and corrupt them with their work ethic and environment remains polluted for years to come. Some survive; many will not make it and have to be closed because their profit margins and test scores are without merit to keep going on in the same direction.

Sometimes change is needed to clean up a polluted lake. The lake will stay polluted as long as those in charge refuse to believe it is polluted or won’t realize they are the ones polluting the lake with their decisions like the ones stated above.

So instead of creating a fresh clean lake and removing the waste upfront from the environment many organizations and educational institutions create a new lake and hope everyone will start keeping it clean.

The point is this, it’s a just a matter of time before the new clean lake becomes as polluted as the old because those in position of authority will not confront situations and make the tough decisions that are required for improvements to take place. They sit back and wait for someone else to do the right thing or they just hope the situation will go away by itself. Some will even block others who advocate change and improvements because they don't want to be exposed or just don't want to do the extra work that is required for real change to take place.

Our education system has started so many lakes but they have no filters or decision makers that will accept the current ways of leading and doing things will end in the same polluted manner over and over again.

                                                                                                                                                                        "No one has to change, Survival is optional" - Dr. Deming

"Not Invented Here Syndrome" - Goes for Education Too!

UPDATED 6/26/2011

Not Invented Here Syndrome or NIHS as we used to say back in the Quality Improvement days referred to those organizations or leaders who could not bring themselves to replicate/implement someone else's ideas because that would mean they are doing something wrong or mediocre.

That is the kiss of death in the business world. So the result is to just keep complaining about what is wrong in very good detail as if to further justify their ignorance for the sake of an ego. It's funny that a large group of educators like administrators, counselors and principles refuse to learn a new way of helping our students. That is right "Student Focus" is the optimum words that must be spoken at all times.

In the past two weeks (actually for years) I have read three articles about the sad state of affairs of our educational system. Each author elaborates on all the things wrong with the system and provides some lackluster and non-proven means for probable improvement.

How about taking some suggestions and giving credit for processes that are already implemented and working in a number of school systems. When we do find one we raise it so far up on a pedestal, and then leaders rather than replicate the process they ignore it because it won't work for them because there school system is unique. BS!!! Politicians won't endorse it unless there is something in it that relates back to them.

Get over yourselves educators and writers (many who are educational consultants) who think you have the answers. Get out and find some real processes that are tested and true to attack the failures of our system like not preparing our high school students for college and the working world. Below is a Link that identifies one of those processes others will not utilize because they did not invent it!

Each new administration whether it be governmental or educational sets forth a statement without a measurable "AIM" and convinces people for a short period of time they have the answers.

http://www.dreammentorprogram.com/

Even sadder is the Jesus Syndrome. That is where good processes exist and will not be recognized or implemented in the place of business or school system where they exist.

"Knowledge necessary for improvement comes from the outside" - Dr. W. Edwards Deming

I truly believe this  statement especially in my role in an educational environment. If you don't believe me re-red this post!

School Accreditation/Assessments - Another Process gone bad!

It continues to amaze me whether it is leaders in education, business or government on how they follow each other like Lemmings when it comes to creativity and innovation – THEY HAVE NONE!
I am referring to proposed cuts in education and job training. Why do we sacrifice our future for present and past mistakes? The reason is because our leaders have no foresight except the next election or the next bottom line quarterly report.

Another reason, it has to do with incompetence and taking the easy road out to make them look good. Why can’t for once you represent the people you SERVE! In case you don’t know who they are they are your constituents and employees.

We never learn, result measures for education improvement and business measures go month to month, quarter to quarter and year to year. Like traffic accident reports these are nice to know (What) but in education I never see action plans and measures (How) to improve the system.

Short term educational results are not an indicator of good leadership. Business leaders for years have shown us that it is easy to show results by cutting training, removing workers and providing meaningless measures.

Current educational result measures do not help students learn math or how to read. They make no contribution to improvement. They only make conversation of ignorance.

School accreditations and assessments are nice but the attention and focus given by leaders are before, during and for a short time after the accreditation or assessment is done. In between the visits, reports and so-called improvement measures it’s business as usual and no means of actual improvement is done except for annual standardized reports that are not process improvement but a means used for recruitment brochures.

Certifications and Assessments of an educational system (school) are result measures. School official’s year and after provide results and “cursory” plans that have no structure, time or means of measurement to show they are implementing process improvements or if they do that they actually work.

Education Improvement will not come from accreditations or certifications, it will only come through improvement to the on-going improvement of the system (end-to-end) and this can not be done through actions that are result driven and not a combination of process and result measures led by an “active” leader.

Many Governmental and Educational Leaders are EXPENDABLE. What value do they bring? Are they more important than your customer facing and producing employees?

Does Sara Lee “pay” more attention to their Finance VP because of the paper results or to the employee who makes and sells the company products? People who create and present paper results do not make bread.

I continually look to see some improvement in local, state and national educational systems. All I see are roller coaster plans, targets and goals with no one taking charge, responsibility or accountability.

Educational Czars and State Educational Leaders are like CEOs that come in from outside the system for a short-term and change direction that actually deprives the educational system for lasting improvement. Why does this happen? It’s simple, they do not know the interdependencies of the system nor do they take charge they delegate their responsibilities to committees, task teams and assessment teams that use subjective measures that do nothing but continue to tamper and already out of control system.

Cursive Writing should be taught in Art Class

Why do so many teachers still teach Cursive Writing? I have done a small sample simply asking why do you think we use Cursive Writing? The top answer was speed, followed closely by authorization.

How long will it take for people to understand that speed does not equal quality? Perhaps that is why all our textbooks, tests, newspapers, magazines, food and medicine labels, reading books, project reports, etc…

How about the computer, most people type in a printed font.

Authorization signature is outdated, if not why do many documents say sign and print your name? Is it because no one can read your writing and those people who do personality tests from writing will be out of a job? The time has come people to stop teaching this ancient script in English class and use our time more productively in teaching the concepts of reading, writing and grammar in English class so we do not fall further behind in Career and College Readiness. http://www.act.org/research/policymakers/pdf/ready_to_succeed.pdf

Who cares if K – 4 students can’t stay in the lines or if the loops are not correct. I say continue to teach cursive just do it in Art Class. Being able to draw those curvy lines and shapes make it ideal for Art Class (Which is also very important).

Governor Snyder of Michigan - "Dashboard Metrics" - HUH!

“The data collection process must be driven by the question that we formulate based on our needs. In short, know what the question is to be answered before collecting the data.” - Dr. J. M. Juran

Governor Snyder of Michigan is implementing "Dashboard Metrics" across the state of Michigan to measure progress. Great idea. However, do the people know what dashboard metrics are and what do they represent. Do the people collecting this data know what to collect.

Are the data being collected going to be shown as "Results" measures as opposed to also including Process Measures?

CRITICAL POINT 1: I suggest and hope the governor is aware of the difference between Common and Special Cause Variation. And, Dr. Deming's System of Profound Knowledge. If you really want to improve Governor Snyder please study and adopt the System of Profound Knowledge.

https://www.deming.org/theman/theories/profoundknowledge

Do any of you reading this know what I am talking about? Some of you will, the majority will not. We are all more concerned if the changes being introduced by the governor will affect us personally. Heck, we like change as long as it is not happening to us.

CRITICAL POINT 2: Before implementing these type of measure you must make sure you are using a systems thinking approach and by that I mean include all your principal people from each step of the process/system. By not including front-line/customer facing employees (Especially in the design stages) you are doomed to failure. Why? Because you will ultimately be a "Results Oriented" Leader which happens when you are surrounded by business/government bureaucratic who manage by the "Bottom Line" and do not take people in to consideration when making systemic changes be them small or large.

Dashboard Metrics
Perhaps the picture below will give the best example of what they are and what they look like if done correctly. The pictorial illustrates a company that needs to respond to a customer inquiry for service or repair. While the charts below show bar graphs I would also add control charts when the proper amount of data are collected to make sure the process is in control (Control can be good or bad).

Click on Pic to Enlarge

The following provides a method for setting up effective measures:
METHODOLOGY FOR DEFINING AND ESTABLISHING CUSTOMER

FOCUSED MEASUREMENTS

Measurements should track how well our processes are performing according to:
• Customer Expectations (including customer perception) and Organization Objectives
• Customer Satisfaction • Value Drivers
• Competitive Benchmarking • Employee Satisfaction The above stated types of measurements will help determine the overall quality, efficiency, and effectiveness of all processes.
The activities involved in defining and establishing measures include:
1. Determining effective measures
2. Reviewing and validating existing measures
3. Implementing new measurements
4. Install a measurement and reporting system
5. Establish a feedback and monitoring system
6. Monitor measurements

1. DETERMINING EFFECTIVE MEASURES
Purpose:

Effective measures provide an insightful means about the efficiency of a process. Measures of this type are meant to track and align performance (process) and results (quality) indicators of a business process.
Establishing Effective Measurements:

Create effective measurements based upon the following:
• Customer expectations/requirements
• Practical to implement
• Easy to comprehend
• Consensus of agreement by group
• Able to help drive culture change

What to Measure:

Establish measurements based upon customer expectations and business objectives. These measurements should measure what our customers care about and what will drive our Value Drivers toward exceeding Operational business objectives.

Develop objective measures of customer satisfaction. Without measures, we have no means by objectively assessing the magnitude by which our processes are performing to customer and business requirements, and whether or not our improvement efforts and newly implemented systems have improved the process.

These types of measurements should provide objective data that will drive decisions that will produce long-term customer preference.

If suppliers are included, be sure to measure input characteristics and services.

How to Measure:

Implement simple, easy to understand measurements whenever possible. Measurements that are complex will not be used.

It is vital that our measurements be easily defined, understood and communicated to assure common understanding.

A small amount of meaningful measures are worth 10 times more than a large amount of nice to know measures (non-value added).

It's OK to experiment with measures, if they don't tell you what you need, stop measuring and create new ones.

If at the beginning measured identification is difficult, start with customer satisfaction, every major process has a customer.

Don't just measure one aspect of a process. Your measurements should be balanced with variable, attribute and some subjective characteristics like time, cost, quantity and customer perception.

Evaluating Measures:

In the beginning it might be best to implement a few strategically based measurements. As stated before, it's best to experiment and monitor the effectiveness of few, rather than implementing a large amount and never monitor.

2. REVIEWING AND VALIDATING EXISTING MEASUREMENTS

Purpose:

Once we've identified and understood what makes effective measurement, it is necessary to assess measurements that are already in place. Effective measurements provide input data that drive motivation for continuous improvement. Those that do not measure up should be changed or eliminated.

Measurement Balance:

If current measurements are only measuring internal business objectives, move to measure the effectiveness of our processes or solutions from a customer perspective.

Measure Behavior:

Implement measures that level to desired behavioral results. Verify the measures do not drive undesired behavior by our workers or to your customers. For example, many companies have found that they speculated "speed of answer" as a desirable measurement for customer satisfaction. Customer survey and interviews found that quality of service provided was more important than speed of answer.

3. IMPLEMENTING NEW MEASUREMENTS
Purpose:

It is vital that any new measurements implemented are effective and efficient and that it is collected, analyzed, and used in a way that motivates positive behavior and not punitive threats to workers.

Data Collection:

Make sure those responsible for collecting or installing new measurements are familiar with data and are part of the implementation plan.

4. INSTALL A MEASUREMENT AND REPORTING SYSTEM
Purpose:

Installing a measurement and reporting system requires an action plan of implementation that identifies the roles and responsibilities of the Process Owner and Sub-Process Owners who will be accountable for the measures.

This also requires agreement on what measures will be reported and that method and system support is available. The Action Plan must include trend analysis and plans of who will respond to them in a timely basis.

Automation:

Whenever possible and cost effective, automate as many measurements as possible. The advantage is more accurate and timely data collection and analysis.
Share Measurements:

Post measurements data in visible places, so that results can be shared by workers in the process. It's also a good idea to keep everyone in the process informed from end-to-end.

5. ESTABLISH A FEEDBACK SYSTEM
Purpose:

By establishing a feedback system, employees will keep abreast of changing expectations and update the current process as required.

Sharing Feedback:

Corporate Quality, Marketing, Sales and Front Line customer facing employees must keep upper management aware of changing customer needs so that business objectives and measurements may be changed accordingly.
It's also important to share feedback with workers in the process as well as customers and suppliers.

6. MONITOR MEASUREMENTS

Purpose:

Employees identified as measurement owners must constantly evaluate their measurements, reassess customer needs, and continuously search for new ways to use data for continuous improvement.

Evaluate Measurements:

If your measurements are not accurately reflecting process performance or drive undesirable behavior, they should be removed. Update or install new measures as needed.

Benchmark Measures:

Benchmarking your process measurement performance relative to your competitors will be vital to competition. Benchmarking provides information to leaders that helps establish performance targets based on data from the marketplace. Benchmarking is a useful method to supply additional data and information but not to be used exclusively for changes or measurements. It's also important reminder that if you want ti use Benchmarking as a means to be the best please realize you will not obtain that goal by simply Benchmarking another company (They will always be better than you).