21st Century Communications PDF Print E-mail
Written by Speed Gibson   
Wednesday, 27 August 2008 07:31

Let me 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 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.

Cross-posted at Speed Gibson. Comments welcome.