Dave Greene, WISE Services  

Vic, Susan Fitts Sibilia, Deborah Harris, and Dave Greene hear Linda Darling-Hammond speak at the first annual Thomas B. Sobol Lecture and conversation.

I was lucky enough to be at the Jazz Standard the day it reopened after Hurricane Sandy hit NY.  The musicians were wonderfully tuned to each other’s understanding of how the music needed to fit the evening’s mood of restrained enthusiasm.  It made me think of how WISE is jazz like. Free flowing, yet structured, the players work together to create a musical project, each interpreting, and listening to the leader who, in the case of WISE, is the student. After the set, I read the coaster my wine glass had been sitting on all evening. It was a quote from Louis Armstrong. “There are some people that if they don’t know you can’t tell them.” It struck a chord. There are so many people who don’t listen to what is good in education because they think they know. WISE is one of those good things.

Several days later I listened to Linda Darling-Hammond speak at the first annual Thomas B. Sobol Lecture and conversation. Dr. Darling-Hammond is one who knows and listens. She spoke about her concerns with the educational reforms facing us today. At the same time Dr. Hammond spoke of the many good things in Public schools, specifically including WISE.

She reminded us that the nations with the top PISA scores (Program for International Student Assessment) now use many of the techniques that made our education system #1 in the 60’s and 70’s. These “top” nations in the world focus on students’ abilities to: communicate, change, work collaboratively, analyze and synthesize, and reflect on their work to improve their performance and better manage themselves. Kids need to demonstrate to themselves and others that they can do what grown ups do.” These attributes of quality education are all part of a “WISE” project and have been since the program’s inception in 1973.

Thank you Dr. Darling-Hammond.

Read more about PISA at http://nces.ed.gov/surveys/international/ide/