Educational Leadership Project Page

"Knowledge, in the sense of information, means the working capital, the indispensible resources, of finding out, or learning, more things. Frequently it is treated as an end itself, and then the goal becomes to heap it up and display it when it is called for. This static, cold storage ideal of education is inimical to educative development." John Dewey (1916) Democracy and EducationJohn Dewey Portrait

As part of my class project for Educational Leadership course at University of New Mexico I have been given a great deal of flexibility by my the instructor, Dr. Steve Preskill. I am using the picture of Dewey because he was passionate about making education meaningful and relative to students. Unlike what many of his critics would like to believe, making education relative is not an "anything goes" mentality. Rather, it requires good teachers who know when to get involved and when to stand back and let the students discover and learn. I also like Dewey because much of what he said about education is even more important today in the information age. As educators we need to provide a meaningful context for the information students can access on the internet.

My research interests are in Educational Technology and our cultural institutions such as museums and libraries. Every new technology has been hailed as the educational panacea, and each has met with attempts to censor and control. Textbooks, movies, and television are heavily censored. While there are things we can agree upon as a society as being harmful to children, or being inappropriate for the age of a child, across the board censorship frightens me. It cheapens a free society and amounts to an admission that we have failed to pass on what it means to be a citizen in a free society. This is why I like John Dewey, because, as an educator and philosopher, he was aware of what it took to be a member of a free society.

Here are a couple of links to recent censorship articles, along with my commentary:

Library Censorship | Censorship as a political issue

During the fall, 1995 semester I took a class in Language, Literacy, and Culture. The professor gave me quite a bit of freedom to explore the history of museums since the early 19th century. What seemed like a good idea turned into a deep and complicated issue, with 20 pages just scratching the surface. See the paper in html format here.

I have always had trouble with the term leader, and I think it is because the word conjures up images of national and international leaders. But, a leader is can be anyone who assumes the role at any level. Good leaders at any level know when to lead, and know when stand aside. A good leader is not one level below omnipotent, but rather is someone who can clearly articulate their vision to others.

The more I have learned about leadership in this class, the more I have learned that I play various leadership roles. I am the system analyst at the New Mexico Museum of Natural History and Science where I am responsible for maintaining their Internet connection. We were one of the first mid-sized museums in the country to become a full-service Internet node. We have learned how to integrate technology into our educational outreach programs so we can reach more people in the state and region.

I am also a member of the New Mexico Council on Technology in Education, an advisory committee to the Educational Technology Unit of the State Department of Education.

I am concerned when people attempt to demonize programs they do not like. One can have an honest disagreement with programs such as OBE or Goals 2000, but they are not plots by the government to control citizens. To learn about Goals 2000, check out the Goals 2000 home page at the Department of Education. This includes a full text of the Goals 2000 Act. You can also check out the Outcome- Based Education Page at the Eisenhower Clearinghouse

This page is under construction now, and will continue to be under construction. In the meantime, check out my developing story.