If you were in attendance at the 87th Virginia Middle and High School Principals Conference & Exposition, your answer would be “of course..it was the focus presentation for the Opening General Session on Monday, July 30th.” If you did attend , you know that Mr. Jamie Vollmer, author and speaker, provided principals and assistant principals with a classic review of his change from public education critic to public education supporter.
Vollmer relates his history 20 years previous as an outspoken critic of public education. As a business man, he had three assumptions regarding public education in the United States:
- Schools need to change
- We have a “people” problem in education
- Run public education like a business and it will improve
During a presentation to a meeting hall full of classroom teachers, he met his match and came to see that his last assumption was wrong multiple times over. As a result of this gathering of educators, Vollmer changed his thoughts and even published a book, Building Public Support for America’s Public Schools: Schools Cannot Do It Alone. If you would like to learn more about Mr. Vollmer, you may access his site at www.jamievollmer.com.
A video of his presentation that he presented at the VASSP Conference and other meetings is available at: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=O9TUrHMZMnoHave
