Week 1 Readings - Pragmatism as a Common Theme

A definite theme of this weeks readings is pragmatism: linking thoughts and ideas to their practical effects. This occurs in both the historical readings on the LBJ legacy, in Anderson’s Advocacy Leadership, and in the writing and research method pieces from Shields.

From the readings on LBJ’s legacy this week it was clear how much different the capacity for state-sponsored social change was - how much easier policy ideas moved through political channels and into implementation. It seems that the difference lay in a much more engaged civil society - that the actions of social organizations helped to propel the incredible activity in the political sphere that occurred during the LBJ administration. You can see in the LBJ speeches and legislation that what was possible then is simply not possible today, and the difference seemed to lie in part in the desire of the civil sphere to support and advocate for change. Also noteworthy was how integrated the issues of social justice and economic opportunity were within the political environment. These were seen by leaders (at least) as closely connected, which is a connection made much less often or explicitly today.

Anderson’s basic thesis that neoliberalism has come to dominate education management and policy makes sense given the structures shaping schools today that I have seen. I look forward to more definition of the concept of “advocacy leadership” which is only briefly touched upon in the readings. It is interesting that while Anderson provides the theoretical underpinnings on neoliberalism in this early chapter (i.e roots in Friedman’s economics, etc.) he does not seem to explore as deeply the theoretical roots of his own position (“advocacy leadership”). Instead, he seems to work by example - stating the kinds of things these leaders do, not where their ideas come from. I look forward to more detail in future chapters.

The Shields playbook looks to be a very clear and logical method to developing a deeper and engaged understanding of a topic, and one also rooted in pragmatism. What it shares with the readings on history and is the sense of creating engaged scholars, though Shields does not connect it as clearly yet to community action: though she emphasizes the role of publishing and social networks, so far the work is more about research and transformations of one’s understandings than about applied action.