Phil Schlechty, in his book "Schools for the 21st Century" has an interesting take on the student-as-customers/student-as-product discussion.
Schlechty contends that the product is "knowledge work", and that the students are customers...the schools are the producers of compelling knowledge work which will cause the students to learn what we (teachers, staff, community) think they should know.
Just for fun, I often excerpt books for learning leaders and put them on the school district's web server. While most of the books are education related there are business books as well...Peter's, Drucker, and more. I've included below Schlechty's thoughts on 'knowledge work'.
There are more quotes from this book and others on our server. If you want to know where to find them, e-mail me:
sott@nkcsd.k12.mo.us
From Schlechty...
"Getting and keep customers for knowledge work is as much the business of schools as getting and keeping customers for automobiles is the business of Ford Motor Company."(p. 43)
"Test scores and learning general are not the business of a school...Student success at doing
schoolwork (knowledge work) is the result toward which all school activity must be oriented." (p.
54)
"...giving and receiving instruction is not schoolwork (knowledge work). Knowledge work begins
when the student does something with information received and in the process make the information
his or her own."(p. 77)
"Results-oriented leadership requires that leaders focus on the purpose of the enterprise rather than
the consequences of the pursuit of that purpose...requires leaders to concentrate on the qualities of
schoolwork (knowledge work) provided to students. It requires creation of measurable indicators of
the qualities and constant application of these measures.
---The student can do what he or she is expected to do;
---The student is motivated to do what he or she is
expected by the work assigned;
---The student persists with the task when he or she
does not meet with immediate success;
---The student finds sufficient satisfaction in the work or
in the consequences of doing the work that he or she
is motivated to do similar work in the future;
---The cumulative effect of student success at doing
schoolwork (knowledge work) is that students learn
things that are valued by the community and by the
students themselves." (p. 55,56)
"...school as a knowledge work enterprise...can only be established and maintain in a system where
self-regulation and self-control replace bureaucratic control and management." (p. 111)
Grace & Peace,
Scott Ott