Education's All-Star Game

The night couldn't have been better. The mid-summer classic was classic once again as the American League All-Stars beat the National League All-Stars in the 2009 Major League Baseball All-Star Game. The stars from both leagues were in St. Louis — the young guys who can hit the ball 500+ feet (as Prince Fielder did in the Home Run Derby) and some of the veterans, such as Tim Wakefield who, at 42, was the oldest player to make an All-Star team. The night began by honoring all-stars from communities around the country for various activities and programs that have been started. Then some of St. Louis' favorite players were honored, with the culmination of Stan "The Man" Musial receiving a standing ovation. He handed the ceremonial first pitch baseball to President Barack Obama who was able to get the ball close to the plate. It was an all-star evening all the way around.

I know we give an unequal amount of publicity and attention to professional athletes — I know that! I realize that we glorify the wrong priorities and reward the wrong behavior when it comes to professional sports. This week's blog isn't really about sports or priorities, but it is about performance. The guys who play in the All-Star Game are baseball's finest pitchers, hitters and overall players. They have worked on their craft and perfected it, but these baseball players aren't content with just being good for now. They continue to work and improve. Last year isn't good enough. It's not good enough for the fans, the organization or the player. There has to be constant improvement ... constant moving forward.

This isn't just a model for professional sports. Other professions assume the same model in some manner. You have to get better or the competition will leave you behind. But do we have the same need in education? Is there a need to get better? For private schools, the need is more apparent because they live and die based on enrollment and tuition dollars. If they are not good as a school, families will leave. But what about in public education? Have families settled for school environments that accept mediocrity? Have school leaders given up on change because of teacher contracts that tie the hands of administrators? If this is the case, there will never be an all-star game in education. But I'm not convinced it has to be this way. Over the next couple of blogs, I am going to take a look at the barriers, as well as the possible ways we can overcome these barriers within our schools. But it is going to take some work. These baseball players did not become all-stars purely because of their talent. They worked, changed things, practiced and improved. When obstacles got in the way, they didn't blame other people or make excuses. They worked hard and overcame the barriers. That mentality is all-star like and that is where we are headed in education.