Tipping education. (editor's letter).

Tipping education. (editor's letter). It's a common question, but a good one. Our administrator profiles usually include the title of the book our featured superintendent is reading. The answer can reveal more about the subject than any quote from a school board chairman. Facing a cross-country flight the other day, I bought the book, The Tipping Point The point in time in which a technology, procedure, service or philosophy has reached critical mass and becomes mainstream. See network effect. See also tip and ring. : How Little Things Can Make a Big Difference. It is a bestseller, but I purchased it because I remembered one of the superintendents we profiled said he was reading it. Author Malcolm Gladwell Malcolm Gladwell (born September 1, 1963) is a United Kingdom-born, Canadian-raised journalist now based in New York City who has been a staff writer for The New Yorker since 1996. proves that sometimes small changes can have a big impact by contrasting the creation of two shows created to entertain and educate children. At the same time, he makes a point that is valid to educators everywhere. Gladwell writes that Sesame Street Sesame Street is an American educational children's television series for preschoolers and is a pioneer of the contemporary educational television standard, combining both education and entertainment. was created around the idea that if the show could hold the attention of children, it could educate them. More than 30 years later, we all know that this show has hit both marks accurately. But in 1996, a new show looked to go much further than Sesame Street. Nickelodeon's Blue's Clues Blue's Clues is a children's show about a dog named Blue. It features live action one on one on paper-cutout animation. The series follows a dog named Blue through her everyday life, providing small children with fun and education. The show airs on both Nick Jr. and Noggin. forgoes the short segments and flashy guest stars in favor of a half-hour long story that is big on storytelling and repetition. Each episode, children "help" Steve, the host, find clues to solve that show's mystery. Not only is every show repeated five times a week, but Steve always wears the same striped shirt and khakis. The one point that Blue's Clues has in common with Sesame Street-and ultimately, Gladwell argues, this is the key in this example-is that both shows used extensive research to turn good ideas into better ones. What's the lesson for educators? Gladwell shows how specific research on each show resulted in small changes that made a big impact. Tweaking tweakingVox populi Fine-tuning to produce optimal results segments resulted in viewers paying more attention and, ultimately, having a better understanding of what each show was trying to teach. "We all want to believe that the key to making an impact on someone lies with the inherent quality of the ideas we present.... [But] the line between hostility and acceptance ... is sometimes a lot narrower than it seems," he writes. There is much hand wringing wring?v. wrung , wring��ing, wringsv.tr.1. To twist, squeeze, or compress, especially so as to extract liquid. Often used with out.2. about education these days, as there should be. I'm not saying this because of problems, but because of the importance of the jobs you do. While all this introspection introspection/in��tro��spec��tion/ (in?trah-spek��shun) contemplation or observation of one's own thoughts and feelings; self-analysis.introspec��tive in��tro��spec��tionn. , criticism, debate, hostility and praise (about testing, violence, the "new" math, standards, whole language, etc.) can help, educators need to realize that sometimes the answer is not to make wholesale changes, but to slightly improve the already sound practices that most of you employ in your districts. By the way, when I looked back to see who had recommended this book, I was surprised--and delighted--to see that it was none other than Education Secretary Rod Paige Roderick Raynor "Rod" Paige (born June 17, 1933), served as the 7th United States Secretary of Education from 2001 to 2005. Paige, who grew up in Mississippi, built a career on a belief that education equalizes opportunity, moving from college dean and school superintendent to be .