Open Source Teaching

The light bulb just went off.

I got about half way through this short New York Times piece, Why the United States Should Look to Japan for Better Schools, when I realized that what it is describing is Open Source Teaching. A system that promotes the best practices to the top though open collaboration and then shares those best practices so that everyone can benefit.

If there was ever a system that would benefit from this it is the educational system. There is no value in keeping systems private. My old elementary school would not be affected in the slightest if an elementary school in Kansas were utilizing its best practices and improving upon them. There is no competition in this regard to be afraid of. It is a complete win win situation that stands to improve the training, retention, and rewards for teachers.

I'm not sure about the specifics of it all. This is the type of thing that needs to sit in my head for a while and grow. It'll come to fruition though, it's just a matter of time.