Public Schools and the Adjacent Possible

Today I want to discuss some misconceptions that some educational “reformers” have about public education.  I read in the papers and on the news that educational “reformers” (I like to call them “deformers”) believe that innovation in education cannot occur in public schools.  They believe that Charter schools and other private schools are the only spaces available for educational innovation to occur.  The unstated belief that underlies this viewpoint is that all public school districts are a morass of incompetent bureaucrats and teachers that do not care.  In my experience in public education this is simply not the truth.  There is a space for innovation to occur in public education and it occurring every day. There are pockets of innovation all over the public school landscape that need to be explored and reported on.

In my last blog I discussed “the adjacent possible”.   The adjacent possible is where innovation is occurring in public education.  Many school districts are facing unprecedented challenges.  Two of the biggest challenges are monstrous budget cuts and well intentioned (or not) educational reformers peddling tonics that will “fix” the system. Although I wish these two challenges did not exist, they have moved school districts into an adjacent possible.  School districts are currently considering solutions to problems that would never have been taken into consideration a few years ago.  I know of school districts that are starting their own charter schools, opening after school programs, operating virtual academies, designing challenging curriculum and offering ground-breaking, meaningful learning opportunities to their children all because they have entered the adjacent possible.  I wish that public schools did not have to face some of these challenges, but the important thing to remember is that the vast majority of school districts have risen to the challenge.  Overall, public education is doing well.  If we do not believe this simple fact then our society is in trouble.

I am incredibly optimistic that Penn-Trafford is already working in the adjacent possible.  I spent some time yesterday with the Trafford Middle School faculty.  The discussions they had about helping kids and how to improve their own practice showed me growth into the adjacent possible. There is a teacher-driven movement afoot at Harrison Park that, if realized, will significantly impact the learning opportunities of their students.  Of course we have the reinvention of school group which is not only operating in the adjacent possible, they are continually moving the adjacent possible to explore more possibilities.  Innovation occurs when individuals start to believe that they can make a difference for their organization and when they are shown the doors to the adjacent possible.  I know this is occurring at Penn-Trafford and in many other public school districts.

The Adjacent Possible

I would like to talk today about something that has been percolating in mind since I read Steven Johnson’s latest book, WhereGood Ideas Come From: The Natural History of Innovation. The idea is called “the adjacent possible”. This is basically the “space” that exists as a “next step’ in an innovation. In other words, what are the possibilities in the future for a particular innovation or good idea? As Johnson himself has written in an essay in the Wall Street Journal:


The scientist Stuart Kauffman has a suggestive name for the set of all those first-order combinations: "the adjacent possible." The phrase captures both the limits and the creative potential of change and innovation. ….The adjacent possible is a kind of shadow future, hovering on the edges of the present state of things, a map of all the ways in which the present can reinvent itself…The strange and beautiful truth about the adjacent possible is that its boundaries grow as you explore them. Each new combination opens up the possibility of other new combinations.

What does this mean for education and the Penn-Trafford School District? First, I want to state that public education can be a place of innovation. I would further state that public education (and our society) must have innovation in public education if democracy is to survive. Second, I am using innovation as a term that means more than the politicized mumbo-jumbo that Federal programs like Race to the Top have turned the term into. True innovation can only come from a grass roots development of ideas that meet the needs of a local community and school.

The nature of innovation indicates that it must develop slowly and that it builds momentum as good ideas emerge and develop into the “adjacent possible”. Public school systems must start the process of building momentum by developing innovative ideas that address local needs. The first step is to ground decisions in a school district based on local values and needs. This will assure that the decisions reflect local “flavor” (something that Race to the Top failed to take into account). Once this is done, a list of issues that are threatening the values of the school district or community must be made. Solutions to address these threats are then developed. This is somewhat simplistic, but I believe that you must start at a basic, grassroots level. Action is important. You cannot move close to the adjacent possible if there is no action.

We have started the journey to the adjacent possible at Penn-Trafford.  As I have mentioned in earlier blogs, there is a pilot project consisting of teachers and administrators that is looking at how to reinvent education.  These discussions have already walked us closer to the adjacent possible as more staff members become involved in the conversation and newer ideas and perspectives are added to the existing ones.  As we look into the future I anticipate that the adjacent possible will be explores with students, community members and staff.  Penn-Trafford will become the beacon of excellence for education in the United States and exploring the adjacent possible will help us get there.

Field Hockey Champions!

Congratulations to the field hockey team on becoming WPIAL Champs last night!  Great job and we are all proud of you!