Re: What to Institutionalize?
Mario Zinga (zinga@pps.pgh.pa.us)
Tue, 1 Apr 1997 23:11:03 -0500 (EST)
Is institutionalization a two piece process? The first - putting in place
the mechanisms that will sustain the products we've developed with the
help of national funding.
The second is sustaining an environment where research is an ongoing
effort in K12 school districts. Given the difficult financial situations
that many districts find themselves in and the conservative and at times
negative attitudes towards public education this piece will be even harder
to institutionalize.
Both of these bring me back to the idea of the mix between bottom-up
efforts and top-down initiatives. I believe the Internet has given us the
opportunity to try a bottom-up approach. However, if we ignore or vilify
the admin group we too will fail to make a lasting impression and leave
behind another example of a failed reform effort.
If we can help develop the mechanisms for supporting systems that are
production quality while keeping a research component we should have the
balance between bottom-up and top-down. I see the bottom-up as the process
that brings research and the top-down as the process for sustaining
production systems.
-Mario Zinga