Comments on: When school leaders adopt a problem-creation stance

By: Dennis Sparks

Dennis Sparks — Sat, 29 Dec 2012 17:39:18 +0000

Well said, Tom! I don’t think it’s possible to underestimate the power of our conceptual frames to determine what we think is possible and to shape our behavior.

By: setdebello

setdebello — Sat, 29 Dec 2012 17:26:23 +0000

I understand what Chuck Close is after and I appreciate the difficulty of sustaining the momentum of improvement efforts. In fact I think it tailors nicely to Alan Deutschman’s concept of “mental frameworks” that Dennis discussed in an earlier blog, “Reframing How We Think About Things.” Close left me with a “how” question. How can we get people to move towards a “problem -creation” mode? Dennis’ explanation of “reframing” provides that initial first step. Awareness of the influence of frames, or “deeply rooted, beneath-the-surface beliefs and ideas” is critical. At that point it becomes a back and forth challenge. It seems likely that we can’t get an interesting question without “reframing” and we can’t “reframe” without awareness of how we are influenced and limited by mental frameworks.

By: G. Michael Abbott

G. Michael Abbott — Fri, 28 Dec 2012 19:58:40 +0000

This is a very insightful essay. There are those who act as though they know all the answers in education and others who question, search for understanding, and act tentatively, continually searching, even if things appear to be going well. They are Problem Creators who ask, “How can I make this class better?” It brings to mind the “If it ain’t broke don’t fix it” statement. If we followed that advice there would be no progress. Similarly, “teacher proof” scripted classrooms of the reformers are assumed to have all the answers. There are too many variables, too much nuance and complexity in any classroom to make that assumption.

Mike