Board of Public Education

My visit with Montana’s governor, Greg Gianforte, felt more like a philosophical chat than an interview.

It was fun.

A few days later, he appointed me as the newest member of the Montana Board of Public Education.

By law, the board is independent and above partisanship.

That works for me.

Just like most ranchers, I don’t like people to tell me what do.

I do like to hear what people think, though.

I am fortunate to have a great network of friends and acquaintances who offer diverse perspectives.

We all agree that our schools should help students become healthy, productive citizens – physically, emotionally and intellectually.

The conventional system of education in the U.S. produces some healthy, productive citizens, but it leaves so many others in the dust.

Our system was copied from the Prussian system back in the 1890s, designed to enforce conformity while limiting creativity and independence.

It smacks in the face of our national identity as creative innovators who reach beyond the status quo.

We don’t need to invent a better educational system.

All we need to do is implement the flexible systems that already exist.

Research demonstrates that innovative methods help kids understand concepts more deeply.

Those systems integrate separate subjects – connect the dots to see how calculus can be used to evaluate marginal costs of production or understand why Jefferson could buy most of our nation for pennies.

They let students learn a concept for as long as it takes to get it.

Montana laws encourage local schools to implement flexible systems and some schools already have.

Others still enforce conformity and stifle potential.

If you want to see steam rise out of my ears, watch when I hear adults tell kids to lower their expectations for success, implying that students will never have the necessary skills to reach their dreams.

Kids believe adults, although sometimes I wonder why.

Imposing an artificial ceiling on a student’s potential and self-esteem might be the single most harmful legal act that an adult can do to a child.

The adults involved in their education – teachers, parents, administrators and community members – should set the floor for students, not the ceiling.

That ceiling will rise when kids have skin in the game.

Instead of sitting and listening passively to a lecture, when kids own the responsibility for their learning, research shows that they learn more and retain those lessons longer.

Education develops thinkers; thinkers strengthen society.

I’ve spent most of my life ranching, yet educating people has always been an important part of my mission.

Some lessons from ranching can be applied to public education.

First, good ranchers remember who their customers are.

A rancher’s customer is not the cattle buyer or the bank. The customer is the person who eats meat. A school’s customer is not the parent, teacher or administrator; the customer is student.

Ranchers and schools both need to explain why the customer should care -- or the customer won’t care.

Neither all meat eaters nor all students care for one single reason so one size won’t fit all customers.

Also, ranchers set priorities with a budget.

A school’s most important paid position is the teacher.

What if we inverted the pay scale so teachers made the most money and administrators earned the least?

A good rancher listens to the land.

School administrators should listen, too.

What if we quit telling students that school is awful? Instead, we could create enticing learning opportunities and offer choices?

What if we partnered with parents who have concerns instead of battling against them?

I look forward to discussing these ideas with other members of the Board of Public Education.

This will be fun.