22 INVITED CHAPTERS
child, school practices that work.... this is what he called the “basic school,” a place where
the basic virtues are taught by word and deed, and that the circle of community extends
outward to embrace parents, who are the child’s first and most important teachers. He thought
that the Basic School is committed to building lives as if they were works of art. (Incidentally,
his brilliant career extended to higher education and his work on “Scholarship Reconsidered”
should be mandatory reading for all higher education leaders and professors aiming to get
their work with schools better recognized in the academy.) (Boyer, 1991).
Boyer thought there were four basic attributes of a quality education, which are essential
building blocks: (a) A true community of learning...it must be purposeful, have a clear and
vital mission; be a communicative place where people care and listen to each other; a just
place where everyone is treated fairly; a caring place where students feel secure, and, a
celebrative place with ceremonies and other times when everyone in the school comes
together; (b). A curriculum with coherence, which begins with proficiency in language, which
is central to all learning, and rather than TEACH language, to build on what is already there
with children.... including speaking, writing, listening and reading...those skills the
Conference Board Report described earlier, including a wide variety of assessments of
learning stemming from a deep and rich curriculum; (c). A climate for learning which is both
active and creative, not passive and restrictive; and, (d) A commitment to character where
classroom lessons are related to the ethical and moral lives of students. These include many
elements also identified earlier by the Conference Board report: integrity, respect for others,
responsibility, compassion, self-discipline, perseverance, and giving to others through an act
of service. (1995).
That says it all for me. He was a genius in conceptualizing education issues.- RESPONSIBLE ACCOUNTABILITY
Time to put my money where my mouth is...based on all the “lessons” I have learned and
shared with you in this article. Taken together they give us many hints for a new form of
accountability that is comprehensive, thorough, and based on sound principles of learning.
This is my summary on what you can do tomorrow in your preparation program for future
school leaders, not to mention helping our children and grandchildren live fuller, successful
and richer lives:
Learning
Develop measures for a quality school, which cut across all levels of learning from
knowledge to Evaluation.... Bloom
Provide for multiple assessments of learning...don’t get stabbed by the single measure of
a test score on an imperfect test... Tyler
Design a school portfolio, which demonstrates the wide variety of learning, which occurs
in schools daily.... Martin, Damon & Goodloe
Intelligence
Measure individual rather than grade-level growth over time, and based on the concept of
multiple intelligences. ... Gardner