Missouri Department of Elementary and Secondary Education

What We Do Matters

Note:  Following is the edited text of a keynote address given by Commissioner King during the annual back-to-school conference for public school officials, sponsored by the Department of Elementary and Secondary Education.  About 1,000 school superintendents and other administrators attended the meeting.

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This year’s theme, "What We Do Matters," provides an opportunity for us to think about a few things that make a difference for kids. Do we look at challenges as challenges, or do we look at challenges as opportunities? The subtitle of my remarks to you today is, "A Few of the Important People I’ve Met." In my job, I have the opportunity to meet many different types of people--some of whom think they’re important; some of whom are important; some of whom can do things that make a difference; and some of whom could do things that would make a difference but elect not to. What I want to focus on today, though, are some of the really important people whom I’ve met since last August.

One of the important people whom I’ve met is Eli Dowis. Eli is a student in the early childhood program in the Jefferson C-123 School District in Northwest Missouri. Why is he important? He’s important because he’s one of our kids. He’s important because his whole future is ahead of him. He’s important because our discussions about high school assessment, virtual schools, how we are going to determine whether schools are successful, and how to better align high school and college curricula will impact Eli. He’s important because he has important family members who support public education and want us to accept the challenge to create opportunities for him.

One of the important people I’ve met is James Simms, a 2006 graduate of Wellston High School in St. Louis County. In visiting with James, I learned how excited he was for the opportunity to take the ACT because it was made available to him and all Wellston’s seniors. He plays basketball but looks more like a football player. He plays basketball well enough that he has accepted a scholarship to attend a small college in North Carolina. Why is James important? He’s important because he’s one of our kids, who’s finished high school, who’s going to college, and who’s going to find out whether high school preparation leads to college success. We’re really hoping that James succeeds, but we also are a bit apprehensive about whether his preparation will enable him to succeed.

Another important person I met is Rita. She’s a 14-year old young lady I met in India. Rita lives in extreme poverty, as you can see from this photo taken outside her school. She’s probably nearing the end of her schooling career because women in India don’t attend college if they’re in the lower caste system. Rita is a very happy young lady even though she lives in poverty. She is a talented dancer. Why is she important? She’s important because she represents the fact that we, as a nation, must be involved internationally because the world is, in fact, getting flatter. She’s also important because she helps remind us that kids are still held back by circumstances over which they have no control.

The most important person whom I met, since we were together last, is Sam King. He’s our first grandson to go with the granddaughters you’ve heard about. Why is Sam important? Sam’s important for lots of reasons, but mostly because Sandy and I love him dearly, and we’ll have the opportunity to help mold him and guide him for awhile. But Sam also represents someone who will help make us successful, help cause us to understand that what we do with young kids, like Eli, will really matter.

Sam joins Kayla, Kelsi, Kathryne and Sarah as some great kids. You’ve heard about them in various stories in the past, and, rest assured, this won’t be the last time they are mentioned today.

I mentioned last year that Kayla was the benefactor of our revised graduation requirements. She will also be the benefactor of our high school assessment program.

The challenges that confront Eli, and Kayla, and Sam, present us with tremendous opportunities. What we do for them matters.

We need to do more for them than we did for James. We also need to do more for Eli and Sam than we did for Kayla because Rita and her classmates and young siblings are being given even greater opportunities. More children in India and China are being better educated than in the past, so Kayla faces a different world than James did. Eli faces a different world than Kayla faces, and Sam faces a different world than Eli faces.

As we think about a different world, I would like to share a couple of NASA photos taken from the shuttle. From space, earth looks like this [photo]  as much as this [photo], but we always view printed maps like this. We must realize that the world isn’t like this except in our minds; it isn’t like this either. The view changes constantly from space, and our view of what our kids need must change from a traditional view to one that demonstrates that we understand the world is changing. As you look at the world at night, you can see where the world’s population lives in this flat world, and that photo changes with the developing world.

We’ve been given some help in responding to a changing world. The Missouri General Assembly directed that we work to develop early childhood standards for our state. We’ve worked on that in the past and already have a start on those standards, but now it is state law. The goal is not to dictate; it is to create standards that can enable kids who go to early childhood programs to be guaranteed a quality program. You see, all kids aren’t as lucky as Eli, who goes to a very good early childhood program in a small school in rural Missouri. We want Sam to have a good early childhood program, wherever he may go; and we should guarantee that for all kids.

Getting Eli a good start, though, isn’t enough. What does he need to succeed? Can we help him reach his full potential? How about his classmates?

Is an educational plan for Eli in place? Does the curriculum challenge him? Does it challenge his classmates in the same way?

I hesitate to mention No Child Left Behind, but let’s look at the expectations created by that law. We are required to report test scores by building and district, and we discuss "underperforming" schools or "underperforming" groups of kids. The challenge created by No Child Left Behind is to focus on underperforming students, but the tremendous opportunity is to identify what we must do differently to help those "underperforming" students. Identifying underperforming districts, or buildings, or groups of kids, or individual students is a first step. It is an important step; but identifying a problem, whether it is educational or medical, doesn’t matter if we don’t try to solve it.

Let’s talk about what schools must do to make kids successful. Let’s create educational plans that will enable each student to, as Lee Ann Womack sang, "Never fear those mountains in the distance; never settle for the path of least resistance."

We have been given the opportunity to implement a virtual schools program. It could have helped James because he didn’t have the opportunity to take some of the more advanced courses. Through a virtual school that guarantees quality, he would have had that opportunity. James was in an urban area, but the need may be greater in many of our small schools, many of our rural schools. Can we provide every student with opportunities that really permit us to say, as the song goes, "I hope you dance"?

There is some anxiety about virtual schools out there; and I understand that, I think. But let’s look at it as a way to provide positive opportunities for kids. We have a year to figure it out, and I’m sure we’ll make a few mistakes along the way; but we want your help to avoid as many as possible.

Let me talk to you a minute about mistakes. We all make them. I’ll give you an example that hits real close to home. A few years ago, a student stopped by the Bloomfield High School principal’s office and turned in a lost sweater. The school secretary gave it to the principal. He looked inside for some information. Moments later, Kerwin Urhan went on the intercom: "Would Liz Claiborne please come to the office? We found your sweater."

Even principals make mistakes. See, everybody makes mistakes; everybody fails. But, how we look at failure, I think, is the key to whether we’re successful in meeting the challenges. See what happened to Kerwin, and we’ll use his help with the virtual schools program.  [Mr. Urban is the new executive director of the Missouri State High School Activities Association, effective July 1.]

The greatest mistake about virtual schools would be to ignore the opportunity that is presented.

Kids can access more courses.

Kids can have more flexibility.

Kids can catch up from earlier failures.

Kids who have not attended public schools can access quality programs.

Really, enrolling in virtual classes should be viewed as another option for kids, parents and schools.

Another important person I met last year was Jackie DeWeese, a state FFA officer and a second-year student at Mizzou. She was graduated by Brunswick High School, and MU granted her 29 hours for credit earned through dual enrollment and Advanced Placement. Jackie finished her second year, but she enters this fall as a senior.

Jackie had access to some options. James would have benefited from some options. Kayla will have some; and Eli will have many more, I believe.

We’re also working hard to bring the higher education community together to better align the curriculum. We don’t need to hear about numbers of kids who are required to take remedial classes at the university or community colleges. We need to hear about ways that high schools and colleges are working together to make sure that kids are prepared to succeed. And, no, we don’t need to hear about the kids who aren’t going to college and, therefore, don’t need a rigorous curriculum. That’s not an option. The only option we have is to prepare all kids so that, when they decide that they must get additional coursework, additional training, additional education, they’re given that opportunity. If we want our kids to believe that, "When one door closes, one more opens," we must have them all prepared to make choices.

As we discussed graduation requirements last year and high school assessment this year, we were often told to remember that all kids aren’t going to college. That is correct, but that ignores the real issue. The real issue is that the skills needed for all kids are similar, whether they’re going to college or not. We must convince the students, their teachers, and, most importantly, their parents of this new reality.

There is a lot of discussion around what have been called 21^st Century skills. These speak to rigor in English, mathematics and science—regardless of the career plans of the students. Algebraic skills are needed by college-bound and non-college-bound kids.

As we think about high school redesign and reforming schools, we need to acknowledge what all of our kids will need. They need rigorous academic preparation.

They also need financial literacy, a reason for the personal finance requirement. They also need a global awareness. Rita, the girl who lives in poverty in India, has a native language of Mansuit and is schooled in Hindi, but speaks English very well. Her parents, even though impoverished, and the parents of millions of her peers, know she needs English to have a chance. Do we truly understand the global needs our kids face?

Our granddaughter, Sarah, was 5 in June. Sandy and I helped her celebrate her birthday.  We will soon go back to Richmond, Virginia, to help her begin kindergarten. Her global awareness was obvious when she informed us that she wanted Thai food, Pa-Thai shrimp, in fact, for her birthday. She got it!! It is clear that we live in an international world.

Her sister, Kathryne, displayed her food preferences by getting to stop at McDonald’s to pick up a ketchup burger and French fries.

Other 21^st Century skills that have been identified include:

Critical thinking and problem-solving

Information and communication technology literacy

Life skills like leadership, ethics and personal responsibility

These skills are no different for college-bound students than for non-college-bound students. They all give kids the opportunity to dance.

Kayla is getting a good education and will be well prepared to succeed. But, a lot of her 65,000 classmates need a more rigorous education. Michael Lewis said, "When progress is moving as fast as it is now, recalling the victims is difficult."

We can’t afford to have any victims. Eli and Sam and Kelsi must be given preparation for the 21^st Century. A lot of our kids may not get to dance if we don’t accept the challenges we are given. We should be able to promise a true 21^st Century preparation for them. No student should have to sit out of the dance because he/she is not prepared.

When we think about the discussion that involves Eli, or James, or Sam, Chicago newspaper columnist, Sidney Harris, wrote: "An idealist believes the short run doesn’t count." So we can’t do anything to help James from Wellston. He’s already graduated. Harris also said that "A cynic believes the long run doesn’t matter," so the cynic believes we can’t help Sam.

He concluded: "What we do matters. Every challenge creates an opportunity to make sure what we do in the short run matters in the long run. A realist believes that what’s done or left undone in the short run determines the long run."

We really must be realists. What we do for Eli will matter. What we do for Kayla will matter for Kelsi and Eli. What we leave undone will create more to do later if we are to improve things for Sam. We must work to impact the long run.

We’ve lots of activities going on at the Department of Elementary and Secondary Education with the idea that we can help. Henry David Thoreau wrote, "It is not enough to be busy; so are the ants. The question is: What are we busy about?" Busy being busy isn’t enough.

We are currently mapping out the "help" we offer to districts, and we realize that sometimes too much help is as bad as too little help.

• We’ve led the effort to identify grade-level expectations.

• We are working with Governor Blunt’s Math and Science Alliance to help enhance the curriculum for math, science, and technology.

• We have raised graduation requirements.

• We have support teams at the Regional Professional Development Centers to assist districts, and the list can go on.

But, we know the success with our kids in Missouri depends on you. We know that what happens for kids is going to happen where you are. Actually, it’s probably not even going to happen where most of you are; it’s going to happen where your teachers deal with kids. We have to provide resources to teachers so there is more done and less left undone, to paraphrase Harris. What we do in the short run determines the long run. How we confront the challenges we face ultimately will determine our success as we go forward to do what matters for kids. We must remember those kids who have already graduated, but we must remember because we should make decisions that will improve the education we provide for Sam.

How can we help make the world better for our kids, but also the Rita’s of India, or China or the Sudan? Rita loves to dance, too. Every challenge does, in fact, create an opportunity. It calls for us to be willing to step forward to try to do the right thing, to try to give kids the skills and the desire to dance.

We want every one of them to choose to dance rather than to sit out. We also want every one of them to be able to "never fear those mountains in the distance."