Because high schools have been so resistant to change, educational choices have expanded enormously. Why can’t high schools change? A provocative essay, “The Blind Men and the High School” descibes six strategies to change school. Each states a strategy, problem definition and theory of action. Here is one of the stategies as an example:
Strategy: Devise new institutional forms for secondary education: “Early college” high schools, small high schools, schools-within-schools, charter schools, “KIPP” high schools, virtual high schools. Much has been said and done on this front, and the innovations take many shapes, as do the choice schemes whereby young people and their parents can access the version that works best for them.
Problem definition: The circa-1950s, one-size-fits-all, “comprehensive high school” is dysfunctional and off-putting for many, besides being an inefficient, out-moded vehicle for teaching them what they need to learn.
Theory of action: Create new options for delivering and receiving secondary education, using technology, modern organizational theory, out-sourcing and the like, then give young people choices.
