藍莓的故事

If I ran my business the way you people operate your schools， I wouldn’t be in business very long！”

I stood before an 1）auditorium filled with outraged teachers who were becoming angrier by the minute. My speech had entirely consumed their precious 90 minutes of in-service. Their initial icy glares had turned to restless 2）agitation. You could cut the hostility with a knife.

I represented a group of business people dedicated to improving public schools. I was an executive at an ice cream company that became famous in the mid-1980s when People magazine chose our blueberry as the “Best Ice Cream in America.”

I was convinced of two things. First， public schools needed to change； they were archaic selecting and sorting 3）mechanisms designed for the industrial age and out of step with the needs of our emerging “knowledge society”. Second， educators were a major part of the problem： they resisted change， 4）hunkered down in their feathered nests， protected by tenure and shielded by a 5）bureaucratic 6）monopoly. They needed to look to business. We knew how to produce quality. Zero defects！ 7）TQM！ Continuous improvement！

As soon as I finished， a woman’s hand shot up. She appeared polite， pleasant—she was， in fact， a razor-edged， veteran， high school English teacher who had been waiting to unload.

She began quietly， “We are told， sir， that you manage a company that makes good ice cream.”

I smugly replied， “Best ice cream in America， Ma’am.”

“How nice？” she said. “Is it rich and smooth？”

“Sixteen percent butterfat，” I crowed.

“8）Premium ingredients？” she inquired.

“Super-premium！ Nothing but 9）triple A.” I was on a roll. I never saw the next line coming.

“Mr. Vollmer，” she said， leaning forward with a wicked eyebrow raised to the sky， “when you are standing on your receiving dock and you see an 10）inferior shipment of blueberries arrive， what do you do？”

In the silence of that room， I could hear the trap snap… I was dead meat， but I wasn’t going to lie.

“I send them back.”

“That’s right！” she barked， “and we can never send back our blueberries. We take them big， small， rich， poor， gifted， exceptional， abused， frightened， confident， homeless， rude， and brilliant. We take them with 11）ADHD， 12）juvenile rheumatoid arthritis， and English as their second language. We take them all！ Every one！ And that， Mr. Vollmer， is why it’s not a business. It’s school！”

In an explosion， all 290 teachers， principals， bus drivers， aides， custodians and secretaries jumped to their feet and yelled， “Yeah！ Blueberries！ Blueberries！”

And so began my long transformation.

Since then， I have visited hundreds of schools. I have learned that a school is not a business. Schools are unable to control the quality of their raw material， they are dependent upon the 13）vagaries of politics for a reliable revenue stream， and they are constantly mauled by a howling horde of disparate， competing customer groups that would send the best CEO screaming into the night.

None of this negates the need for change. We must change what， when， and how we teach to give all children maximum opportunity to thrive in a post-industrial society. But educators cannot do this alone； these changes can occur only with the understanding， trust， permission and active support of the surrounding community. For the most important thing I have learned is that schools reflect the attitudes， beliefs and health of the communities they serve， and therefore， to improve public education means more than changing our schools， it means changing America.

如果我按照你們這幫人運營學校的方式來經(jīng)營自己的生意，我很快就會被踢出商界了！”

我站在一個禮堂的前方，那里坐滿了憤憤不平的老師，此時，他們變得越來越憤怒了。我的演講已經(jīng)完全耗盡了他們珍貴的90分鐘在職培訓。他們原先冷冰冰的瞪視已轉(zhuǎn)變成了焦躁不安的激動。現(xiàn)場的敵對氣氛濃得幾乎都可以用刀來切開。

我是致力提升公立學校素質(zhì)的一個商人群體的代表。我是一家冰激凌公司的高管，這家公司在20世紀80年代中期變得聲名顯赫，《人物》雜志還將我們生產(chǎn)的藍莓冰激凌評選為“美國最美味的冰激凌”。

我確信這兩點。第一，公立學校需要改變；它們是陳舊過時的選拔機構(gòu)，是專門為工業(yè)時代而設(shè)計的，與我們新興的“知識社會”的需求脫節(jié)。第二，從教人員是造成這個問題的主要因素：他們拒絕改變，“縮”在自己的“安樂窩”里，受終身職位制度和官僚壟斷機構(gòu)所保護。他們需要放眼商界。我們才知道如何打造品質(zhì)。零瑕疵！全面質(zhì)量管理！不斷完善！

我剛一講完，一名女子就舉起了手。她看起來大方有禮，親切和藹——但實際上，她是一位言辭凌厲的資深中學英語教師，一直在等待時機一吐心聲。

她平靜地開口道：“先生，我們聽說你管理的這家公司能做出美味的冰激凌。”

我得意洋洋地答道：“是全美國最美味的冰激凌，女士。”

“有多好吃呢？”她說。“口感豐富并且柔滑嗎？”

“含有16%的乳脂，”我炫耀著說。

“是用了優(yōu)質(zhì)的原料嗎？”她問道。

“超級優(yōu)質(zhì)！……