{"id":146,"date":"2009-01-26T07:23:33","date_gmt":"2009-01-26T15:23:33","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.sabusense.com\/?page_id=146"},"modified":"2012-07-07T09:41:36","modified_gmt":"2012-07-07T13:41:36","slug":"new-understanding-the-complementarity-of-policy-and-practice","status":"publish","type":"page","link":"http:\/\/www.sabusense.com\/?page_id=146","title":{"rendered":"New Understanding: The Complementarity of Policy and Practice"},"content":{"rendered":"<p>Why should it be so hard to <em>simultaneously<\/em> see the forest and the trees, \u2026the elephant and its parts. \u2026light as particles and\/or waves, \u2026and more urgently, organizations and the people who create them to accomplish their purposes?<\/p>\n<p>Quantum Physicists have helped us understand the perceptual problem that hinders our thinking &#8212; a condition they call <em>Complementarity<\/em> or <em>Duality<\/em>, and illustrate with the <em>wave-particle<\/em> duality of light.\u00a0 Light has no ultimate singular reality, it can be understood to be a wave <strong>or<\/strong> a particle, depending on the purposes and tools of observer.\u00a0 But in either case, use of the knowledge requires that light\u2019s already present <em>both\/and<\/em> nature has to be <em>believed<\/em> by those who had been locked into an <em>either\/or<\/em> mindset.<\/p>\n<p>In organizations this same condition plays out at several levels when we have to &#8220;see&#8221; and understand the focus of our efforts as an organizational &#8220;wave&#8221; or a bunch of individual people -\u201cparticles.&#8221;\u00a0 And we have no way to think about them together in terms of their actual <em>both\/and<\/em> condition in reality.\u00a0 Without that, it\u2019s difficult to understand how the success of the &#8220;wave&#8221; is a product of the &#8220;potentials&#8221; already embedded in each &#8220;particle.&#8221;<\/p>\n<p>This is an age-old &#8220;problem&#8221; for which this modified Sistine Chapel ceiling may serve as metaphor.<\/p>\n<p><a href=\"http:\/\/www.sabusense.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2009\/01\/policypractice.gif\"><img decoding=\"async\" loading=\"lazy\" class=\"size-medium wp-image-147\" title=\"Policy Practice\" src=\"http:\/\/www.sabusense.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2009\/01\/policypractice-300x196.gif\" alt=\"Practices for Each Policies for All\" width=\"300\" height=\"196\" srcset=\"http:\/\/www.sabusense.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2009\/01\/policypractice-300x196.gif 300w, http:\/\/www.sabusense.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2009\/01\/policypractice.gif 551w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 300px) 100vw, 300px\" \/><\/a><\/p>\n<p>This centuries-old picture of the &#8220;accepted&#8221; relationship between God and Man suggests we\u2019re dealing with two universal critical, and related, conditions.<\/p>\n<ul>\n<li>First, the fundamental difference in the <strong>nature of the <em>purposes<\/em><\/strong> driving the daily actions of those at the two ends of people-serving institutions.\u00a0 Some are accountable for what happens to <em>all<\/em>, others to <em>each<\/em>.<\/li>\n<li>And then, notice the small, disconnecting <strong>gap<\/strong> between the two fingers. Critics sometimes expect that somehow policies will miraculously flow smoothly across that gap to emerge as practices at the other end.\u00a0 (The late John Gardner termed this a <em>&#8220;Penny Gumball Machine&#8221;<\/em> belief &#8212; i.e., a coin inserted at the top produces gumballs at the bottom.)<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<p>Usually we don&#8217;t have opportunities to think much about the each or <em>all<\/em> nature of the purposes to which daily decisions in school systems respond, especially when those who have to deal with the needs of <em>each<\/em> child, and those who have to deal with the needs of <em>every child<\/em>, work in relative isolation from each other.<\/p>\n<p>But even when we do think we know that this condition exists, we still have trouble figuring out what to do about it &#8212; e.g., what has to happen within the organization to convert the \u201call-ness\u201d of <em>curriculum<\/em> to the \u201ceach-ness\u201d of <em>instruction<\/em>.<\/p>\n<p>The only thing manageable seems to be to take them on one-at-a-time on an <em>either-or<\/em> basis.\u00a0 Why? Because, on a practical level, we \u201cknow\u201d we don&#8217;t have the time and resources to deal with them both at the same time, even though at <em>some level<\/em> we feel they are inseparable sides of the same problem.<\/p>\n<p>As an invisible consequence, a school <em>system<\/em> ends up trying to manage two relatively disconnected &#8220;systems&#8221; without ways to connect their <strong>accountabilities<\/strong> and <strong>responsibilities<\/strong> as part of work.<\/p>\n<p>This duality (as Michelangelo suggests) is a universal condition that, over the ages, has been &#8220;felt&#8221; more than understood.\u00a0 That may be why we find it more easily expressed through other &#8220;ways-of-seeing&#8221; such as art or metaphors that link new information to what is already &#8220;known&#8221; and accepted..\u00a0 Among them, the story of the &#8220;<em>Blind Men and the Elephant<\/em>;&#8221; the picture that is at first glance a vase, but then instead maybe it\u2019s two faces; or the <em>Forest and Trees<\/em> paradox.<\/p>\n<p>And tangibly, we find the effects of this perceptual disability surfacing regularly in the pendulum swings between &#8220;centralization&#8221; and &#8220;decentralization&#8221; in organizations.<\/p>\n<p>Actually I like the <em>Forest and Trees<\/em> metaphor for understanding the complex interrelationships of this condition better than quantum physics\u2019 <em>particles and waves<\/em> because it deals with a <em>living system<\/em> of natural systems.\u00a0 In a <em>natural system<\/em> its parts are functionally-connected for the system\u2019s survival.\u00a0 In <em>ecological systems<\/em> (as in the Forest and Trees) the connections are necessary to sustain that survival.<\/p>\n<p>For me the Sufi <em>Blind men and the Elephant<\/em> metaphor captures so well the holistic nature of the problem of organization-fixing.\u00a0 And even more now since recently discovering that the Sufi had another saying that goes to the nature of the &#8220;blindness&#8221; of those who can only see tangible &#8220;parts.&#8221;:<\/p>\n<blockquote><p><em>You think you understand one.<br \/>\nYou think you understand two, because one and one make two.<br \/>\nBut, you must also understand &#8220;and&#8221;.<\/em><\/p><\/blockquote>\n<p>Peter Senge addressed this <em>&#8220;seeing<\/em>&#8221; disability when he wrote about &#8220;<em>The Art of Seeing the Forest and the Trees<\/em>.&#8221;<\/p>\n<blockquote><p><em>&#8220;\u2026the art lies in seeing through the complexity to the underlying structures generating change.<br \/>\n\u2026it means organizing complexity into a coherent story that illuminates the cause of problems and how they can be remedied in enduring ways.<br \/>\n\u2026What we most need are ways to know what is important and what is not important, what variables to focus on and which to pay less attention to.&#8221;<\/em><\/p><\/blockquote>\n<p>Using Senge\u2019s metaphor, here\u2019s one way to think of it:<\/p>\n<table border=\"0\">\n<tbody>\n<tr>\n<td><strong>In\u00a0 the FOREST<br \/>\nwhere people<br \/>\nare accountable for:<\/strong><\/td>\n<td>are the TREES<br \/>\nwhere people<br \/>\nare accountable for:<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<tr>\n<td><strong>Curriculum<\/strong><\/td>\n<td><strong>Instruction<\/strong><\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<tr>\n<td><strong>Tests<\/strong> that collect data about conditions<br \/>\nthat the <em>system<\/em> must respond to<\/td>\n<td><strong>Tests<\/strong> that collect data about an<br \/>\n<em>individual&#8217;s<\/em> condition that the<br \/>\nschool <em>staff<\/em> must respond to<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<tr>\n<td><strong>Efficiency<\/strong> &#8211; Doing things right<\/td>\n<td><strong>Effectiveness<\/strong> &#8211; Doing the right things<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<tr>\n<td><strong>Quantity<\/strong> &#8211; Equity for ALL<\/td>\n<td><strong>Quality<\/strong>&#8211; Excellence for EACH<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<tr>\n<td><strong>Equal opportunity<\/strong><\/td>\n<td><strong>Equal access<\/strong><\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<tr>\n<td><strong>Standards for the <em>cures<\/em><\/strong>:<br \/>\nIdentifying criteria for the &#8220;ends&#8221;<br \/>\nof the instructional process for <strong>every<\/strong> student:<\/td>\n<td><strong>Standards for the <em>symptoms<\/em><\/strong>:<br \/>\nIdentifying criteria for areas of<br \/>\nstudent need in order to<br \/>\ndetermine the &#8220;beginning&#8221; of the process for <strong>each<\/strong> student<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<tr>\n<td><strong>Explicit knowledge<\/strong> base of what works for <em>all<\/em><\/td>\n<td><strong>Tacit knowledge<\/strong> base of what works in particular situations<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<tr>\n<td><strong>Problem <em>anticipation<\/em><\/strong><\/td>\n<td><strong>Problem <em>solving<\/em><\/strong><\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<tr>\n<td>Sustaining <strong>Just-in-Case resources<\/strong><\/td>\n<td>Sustaining <strong>Just-in-time responsiveness<\/strong><\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<tr>\n<td>They search for ways<br \/>\nto <strong>fix things for &#8220;someday\u2026<br \/>\nwhen there will be enough&#8230;.&#8221;<\/strong><\/td>\n<td>They search for ways to<br \/>\n<strong>fix things today with time and resources<br \/>\navailable!<\/strong><\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<\/tbody>\n<\/table>\n<p style=\"text-align: center;\"><strong>Yet both &#8220;systems&#8221; are <em>simultaneously responsible<\/em><br \/>\nfor the quality of children&#8217;s learning today!<\/strong><\/p>\n<p><strong>QUESTIONS TO THINK ABOUT:<\/strong><\/p>\n<ul>\n<li> Who then is accountable for creating and sustaining the <em>connected system<\/em> that can enable them to fulfill that shared responsibility <em>every day? \u2026 and by what method?<\/em><\/li>\n<li> If you prefer waves and particles rather than <em>forests and trees<\/em>, what happens when some <em>particles<\/em> (leaders, administrators) are also perceived to be <strong>accountable<\/strong> for the actions of the <em>wave<\/em>?<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<p>This means that each of them (as a <em>particle<\/em>) must make a difference in the actions of the wave.\u00a0 They do this by making a difference in other <em>particles<\/em> <strong>capacities<\/strong> to make a difference themselves.<\/p>\n<p>Do they need a frame within which to see those relationships? How can the <em>Both\/and<\/em> nature of the lens\u2019 dual view offer it?<\/p>\n<ul>\n<li> What are the <em>products<\/em> of the &#8220;Forest\u2019s&#8221; efforts and how can they be measured?\u00a0 When we attempt to measure the results at the &#8220;Tree\u2019s&#8221; end and attribute it the &#8220;Forest,&#8221; it\u2019s hard to find measurable connections.\u00a0 This is because the &#8220;Forest\u2019s&#8221; products, in the form of &#8220;programs\/projects&#8221; and &#8220;processes, are intertwined by the system\u2019s common need, in the end, to make a difference for &#8220;each tree.&#8221;<\/li>\n<li> How can they be aligned so that the &#8220;forest\u2019s&#8221; programs\/projects and processes all support the work of the &#8220;trees?&#8221;<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<p>For example, usually <strong>programs<\/strong> and <strong>projects<\/strong> serve as containers for attempts to make a difference for &#8220;trees.&#8221;\u00a0 But they generally fail to meet the needs of every &#8220;tree&#8221; because those who manage the &#8220;Forest&#8221; have not been held accountable for producing another &#8220;product.&#8221;\u00a0 This would be <em>regular processes<\/em> that enable <em>every<\/em> program and project to respond to the needs of their intended \u201ctrees.\u201d<\/p>\n<ul>\n<li> It is these processes that can maintain continual informed interaction to bridge the gap between the two &#8220;systems.&#8221;<\/li>\n<li> And, ironically, they need to be embedded in the part of the system that most people without thinking hate \u2013 the central office &#8220;bureaucracy.&#8221;<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<p><strong>WHERE ANSWERS TO THESE QUESTIONS CAN BE FOUND IN MCPS:<\/strong><\/p>\n<ul>\n<li> How did MCPS bridge the gap noted between the two &#8220;fingers&#8221; of Policy and Practice in a way that supports &#8220;<em>regular processes<\/em> that enable every program and project to respond to the needs of their intended &#8220;trees?&#8221;<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<p>They\u2019ve done this by developing a sustainable <em>scaffold<\/em> of processes that fit both definitions of &#8220;Scaffold:&#8221;<\/p>\n<ol>\n<li> a temporary structure for holding workman and materials during the\u00a0 repair of a building<\/li>\n<li> In learning, a temporary support supporting a new behavior that fades out as the new ways of acting become internalized and natural.\u00a0 For example, training wheels, or an adult running alongside, as a child learns to balance and ride a two-wheel bicycle.)<\/li>\n<\/ol>\n<p>What started out as <em>Working on the Work<\/em> initiatives have been coming together as a <em>strategic management<\/em> process that can support the <em>tactical problem-solving<\/em> needs at the varying levels of the district\u2019s work.<\/p>\n<ul>\n<li> Because a &#8220;learning organization&#8221; is first an organization of individual learners who learn through trial and error interaction, its work must be structured to accommodate that natural trial and error process.\u00a0 But schools are organizations where &#8220;errors&#8221; can impact children?<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<blockquote><p>How did MCPS build-in ways to monitor those &#8220;errors&#8221; and quickly modify course?<br \/>\nHow was the &#8220;virtual cycle&#8221; used as a change strategy to develop commitment and support.<\/p><\/blockquote>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Why should it be so hard to simultaneously see the forest and the trees, \u2026the elephant and its parts. \u2026light as particles and\/or waves, \u2026and more urgently, organizations and the people who create them to accomplish their purposes? Quantum Physicists have helped us understand the perceptual problem that hinders our thinking &#8212; a condition they [&hellip;]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"parent":62,"menu_order":1,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","template":"","meta":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"http:\/\/www.sabusense.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/pages\/146"}],"collection":[{"href":"http:\/\/www.sabusense.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/pages"}],"about":[{"href":"http:\/\/www.sabusense.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/page"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/www.sabusense.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/www.sabusense.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=146"}],"version-history":[{"count":5,"href":"http:\/\/www.sabusense.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/pages\/146\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":232,"href":"http:\/\/www.sabusense.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/pages\/146\/revisions\/232"}],"up":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/www.sabusense.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/pages\/62"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"http:\/\/www.sabusense.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=146"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}