Why We Should "Re-Brand" the Word "School"

Published April 09, 2009 @ 07:04AM PT

One of the books I'm reading right now is Richard E. Nisbett's The Geography of Thought: How Asians and Westerners Think Differently . . . and Why.¹ I had to drop it to share this passage with you:

Our word "school" comes from the Greek scholē, meaning "leisure." Leisure meant for the Greeks, among other things, the freedom to pursue knowledge. The merchants of Athens were happy to send their sons to school so that they could indulge their curiosity (Nisbett, 4).

Arne Duncan wants to "re-brand" No Child Left Behind by renaming it (but keeping its essence of high-stakes, high-pressure tests). He also wants, he says this week, to lengthen the school day, week, and year - six days a week, at least 11 months a year — if American students are to compete² with students abroad³ (says the AP).

Sort of makes me think we need to re-name "School." What we have now is certainly no thing of leisure and the indulging of curiosity.

So what's the new name, the new brand?

It's on the tip of my tongue. Starts with a "w." CEO runs it, businessmen shape it, marketing and branding are everything (so is "incenting"). It competes in test-score production, even pays some of its charges for good attendance and grades now. What's that thing called?

Of course: "Workplace."

¹ That my wife of little more than a year is Korean has absolutely nothing to do with that choice. I swear.
² Does anybody else hear Bush telling Americans to go shopping after 9/11 when they hear Obama and Duncan discuss education in terms of "competition in the global economy"? We've gone from "Go shopping!" to "Work harder!"
³ Though in all fairness, he wants to use those longer days for more arts and other non-academic pursuits.

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Comments (4)

What a great definition of school. The freedom to pursue knowledge. If only it were like that. Actually, now that I'm in university I think it is quite a bit like that, which is nice.

I always wished I lived in ancient Greece so school would involve sitting around discussing philosophy, except that I'm a girl so I wouldn't have been allowed to (right? I'm a computer scientist, not a historian...).

Posted by Lianne Lavoie on 04/09/2009 @ 07:35AM PT
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So rather than increase the quality of education we should inscrease the quantity. Since when did "more of a bad thing" become a possitive phrase? They are really down the rabbit hole at the DOE.

If they are going to to run education like a business, wouldn't it make more business sense to work smarter not harder? Eliminate waste and use resources more efficiently is good business. Companies that utilize their workers, techonology, and administration properly suceed. Those who would follow a business plan like Dunc is suggesting fail.

Enough with the wordsmithing. Let's do something substantial.

Posted by Derek Viger on 04/09/2009 @ 08:43AM PT
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I agree with Derek. You need to work smarter and not harder and Duncan needs to stop using the Detroit playbook here. Rebranding? Really? Isn't that what GM has done about a million times? How's that working out, guys?

Now, on some level I get the rationale for an 11-month year, but a six-day week? Who do you know in the business world working a six-day week?

Not to sound too cocky, but the property tax increase involved on the local level to implement this more or less ensures that this won't happen.

Posted by Tom Panarese on 04/09/2009 @ 08:16PM PT
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Being in school 6 days a week for 11 months a year would obviously give more time for students to learn... But how many of those students would be paying attention by the 6th day of the week? Working in schools has shown me that by Friday, kids are jumping out of their seats, so by the 6th day of the school week, can we imagine how difficult it would be for them to actually learn anything?

Posted by Lauren Carmichael on 04/13/2009 @ 07:39AM PT
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Clay is an American high school Humanities teacher, technology coach, and Apple Distinguished Educator who has taught for the last eight years in Asian international schools. According to law, he's married to his wife. According to his wife, he's married to his Mac.