An Adventure in Excellence:	E. Todd
A Community Portrait	Revised, 1999

"A significant characteristic of a dynamic society is its willingness to probe the unknown, to change its very structure. A dynamic society requires a futuristic school system, above all, a school system receptive to purposeful change when the dimensions of change are exerting considerable influence on the goals, character, and direction of America's education. If our way of life was static -- our needs unchanging, with no changes in our culture, economy, scientific advances, technological discoveries, and without any population growth or mobility -- then perhaps there would be no need for making changes in an educational system. . . . Another striking characteristic of a dynamic social system built upon changing needs is that the frontiers are constantly changing and the frontiers of yesterday become the familiar territory of today. In addition this social system is vibrant and alive when these human beings whose lives are affected by the system are not only willing to explore the new until the new becomes familiar but also explore the new frontiers emerging in the minds and hearts of these human beings. . . . The past must be related to the present. The present must be preparation for the future.

This preparation for the future is essential if those human beings whose lives are affected by the public schools are to control their destinies in the third millennium. The constant challenge of purposeful change for third millennium citizens will be to become successful surfers of the "tides of change." These "tides of change" can be the driving force for the creation of new civilizations or the destruction of existing civilizations present in the 21st century. (Todd, 1963,1996).

Rationale for Care Statement: . . . . . . .

Definitions: "Change. . . . " "Purposeful change. . . . ""Agent of change. . . . " "Agent of resistance. . . . . " "Agent of neutrality. . . . " "A changing community. . . . "

Consequences: If the human beings whose lives are affected by the school accept these definitions the following consequences will occur at _____________________________:

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"Whatever we do in a public school depends upon what we think civilized human beings are capable of accomplishing in their lives. The goals we seek, the things we do, the judgments we make, even the experiments we are willing to try, are determined by our beliefs about the nature of an individual and his/her capabilities." (Todd, 1985, 1995).

1. A. Belief: If we believe that third millennium citizens are uniquely different--in physical growth, in intellectual power, in social maturity, in emotional stability, in aesthetic sensitiveness, in readiness to become futurists, in any human attribute--then every effort should be made to facilitate civilized growth in those human beings whose lives are affected by the public school. (Todd, 1963, 1996).

B. Needed Actions:

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2. A. Belief: If we believe that passionate human being are uniquely different--in physical growth, in intellectual power, in social maturity, in emotional stability, in aesthetic sensitiveness, in readiness to become agents of change, in any human attribute--then every effort should be made to facilitate caring interactions between those human beings whose lives are affected by the secondary school. (Todd, 1963, 1996).

B. Needed Actions:

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3. A. Belief: If we believe that third millennium citizens should control their lives, their society, and the universes of the future--then every effort should be made to equip these citizens with the intellectual, social, emotional, and physical skills to be futurists in the 21st century. (Todd. 1996).

B. Needed Actions:

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4. A. Belief: If we believe that . . . .

B. Needed Actions:

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A public school has the potential for becoming a changing community when the following conditions exist:

a.) Purposeful Change evolves from a system of educational ideas.

b.) Instructional, administrative, and support personnel are selectively recruited, appropriately employed, meaningfully evaluated and continuous growth expected as a result of evaluative feedback.

c.) Persons affected by changes are systematically involved in making the changes.

d.) Authority and controls are decentralized to the lowest level of decision-making whenever possible.

e.) There is a harmonious balance between the needs of the community and the needs of the individual.

f.) Affected groups of human beings mutually share responsibility and pressure.

g.) Constant inquiry results in human, physical, and fiscal resources systematically related to each other anywhere and at any time.

h.) Instructional / administrative policies and procedures exist to facilitate an effective communication network between affected individuals in a variety of places and at different times.

i.) Parents, students, and taxpayers are considered as equal partners in the decision-make process with appropriate roles and responsibilities in this process.

j.) School Advisory Councils . . . .

k.) Local, state, and federal agencies . . . .

l.) School board members . . . .

m.) Continuous measurement and evaluation of purposeful charges . . . .

n.) . . . .

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"Debates about curriculum are as much debates about the nature of the communities in which we live as they are debates about the traditions from which we come. The choices we make define the nature of our common culture--they institutionalize sets of values, codify social and political hierarchies, define the center and the periphery. In times and places of cultural conflict and social change, debates about curriculum are thus likely to become emotional and politicized. In the United States today this is most evident in discussions of such topics as multiculturalism and the teaching of values. Such topics challenge the balance among competing interests within the larger community and have the potential to fragment the political consensus upon which the American common school tradition rests: For when we cannot agree on what is legitimately a common curriculum, particular communities either seek refuge outside of the public system or seek to impose their values on the public system itself.

In discussing curriculum, it is important to recognize the many layers of values that are involved in curricular decisions. Some of these layers are easy to recognize, because they have been the focus of widespread debate. These include issues such as evolution versus creationism, the treatment of homosexual lifestyles, and sex education. Other layers of values are more subtle, embedded in the particular discourse conventions that govern how students will learn to make meaning within a given curriculum--in the kind of knowledge-in-action that the curriculum encourages. Goals for education that emphasize thoughtfulness and independent thinking treat discourse as open to alternative interpretations and meaning as relative. For some communities within the United States, however, such a treatment of discourse runs counter to deeply held personal and religious convictions. . . .

. . . . When traditions of knowing are in conflict, educators are forced to recognize that the curricular choices they make reinforce one set of values at the expense of another. American schools are founded on premises of tolerance, diversity, non-sectarianism and inclusiveness; they have characteristically stressed qualities of thoughtfulness, reflection, and independent thinking. Such characteristics, however, are themselves values that are not universally accepted within American society. Communities with traditions as diverse as those of Quakers, Roman Catholics, Hasidic Jews, Muslims, and Christian fundamentalists have so rejected the premises inherent in public education that they have founded their own independent schools and academies where their children can be educated in alternative traditions. (Curiously, private systems of education founded in rejection of the values of public education are sometimes proffered as models for public schools to emulate.)

The point in highlighting such conflicting traditions is to remind ourselves that the curriculum we provide is always valueladen. It is better to be aware of the values that underlie our curricular choices than to pretend that our choices are somehow value-free. The books we ask students to read, the issues we pose for discussion, and the patterns of independence and authority that we establish within our classrooms all reflect particular traditions of knowing and doing that are valorized by our choices, just as the less obvious decisions about books we exclude and issues we do not discuss marginalize or devalue other traditions." (Applebee, 1996).

The activation and successful implementation of as community portrait provides an opportunity for appropriate curriculum development activities. The implications are as follows:

Elementary Schools:

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Secondary Schools:

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"The curriculum can be defined as the planned educational experiences offered by a school which can take place anywhere at any time in the multiple context of the school, e.g. public schools as caring communities, as scholarly communities . . . (Todd, 1965, 1992).

"The physical boundaries of changing classrooms exist only in the minds of those human beings whose lives are affected by the public schools." (Todd, 1956, 1995). "Teaching and learning can take place anywhere at any time." (Todd, 1963). "The world is the classroom." (Todd, 1969). "The universe is the classroom." (Todd, 1981,1995).

"The opportunities for demonstrating civilized behavior in changing classrooms are inseparably linked with the opportunities for demonstrating purposeful anger in instructional activities carried out in civilized communities." (Todd, 1996).

Since we can only speculate about the unlimited possibilities for educational experiences which could facilitate the nurturing of futuristic agents of change in the third millennium we believe that future classrooms can be described as follows:

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For a complete model of an Individual Classroom Community Portrait see Appendix A.

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"Imagine all the people whose lives are affected by the school . . "

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Political Risks of the Activation of Community Portraits by Curriculum Developers:

"Changes in a school system are often in direct conflict with the changes taking place in the community, thus creating a highly complex and political situation." (Todd, 1969).

Since there are different groups of human being whose lives are affected by the public school there are political risks for these persons responsible for the development and implementation of the community portrait. These risks are as follows:

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 Appendix A.