There are at least four big barriers that stand in the way of bringing the PLC process to life in ways that allow an entire system to experience the full power of the process. First, there is a growing sense of urgency about the need for education reform. This makes people vulnerable to quick fixes. Because people see PLCs as proven (evidence shows that it works), and because it sounds attractive, they tend to adopt it as a program solution. The problem is that it cannot work as a program. If treated as a program, it becomes “just the latest innovation” to be replaced sooner rather than later by the next attractive innovation to come along. PLCs are about people, practices, and processes—they are not a program. They are fundamentally a change in culture—the way we do work around here.
Second, people fail to grasp the meaning of PLCs on a deep operational level. It is one thing to read and like the three big ideas, but another matter altogether to truly understand what the process looks like in action. The three big ideas and six characteristics are sophisticated concepts that take a while to master. People at all levels of an organization often underestimate what is needed to establish strong PLC processes.
PLCs are about people, practices, and processes—they are not a program. They are fundamentally a change in culture—the way we do work around here.
Third, because of a failure to comprehend the deeper cultural meaning of PLCs, people do not attend to the necessary conditions within the infrastructure that allow PLCs to spread and be sustained throughout the system. Traditional assumptions must be reconsidered. New ways of working together must be embraced. Specific actionable steps must be established to clarify how the ideas that drive the PLC process will be brought to life at all levels of the system. PLCs have to be treated as a change in culture if they are to have a strong and lasting impact, not only in schools, but in the system as a whole. In short, PLCs must become systemic if they are to be of lasting value that goes beyond improving isolated schools.
Fourth, as long as people see PLCs as the latest program, they can never figure out how PLCs fit with the myriad of other programs that come and go. If PLCs are just a program, they will be supplanted by the next attractive initiative that comes along, and even if they do persist in some form, they will be marginalized as one among many initiatives. School reform efforts will continue to represent random acts of innovation rather than a coordinated, sustained approach to help develop the capacity of educators to meet the challenges of today and the as-yet-unknown challenges of the future. With this piecemeal approach, schools can never achieve coherence. Unconnected fragments confuse people and result in fatigue as reformers try to juggle competing forces of change.
The Time Is Now
Our goal in this book is to show leaders how to overcome these barriers to make PLCs systemic and therefore a driving force in helping all students to achieve at higher levels while also increasing educators’ sense of fulfillment and excitement with their profession. The timing for systemic PLCs could not be more propitious as major developments in pedagogy and technology are beginning to converge. As Michael (Fullan, 2012) explains in his book Stratosphere, technology, pedagogy, and change knowledge must come together to create dynamic new learning environments that are both wider and deeper. The solutions must meet four learning criteria. They must be:
1. Irresistibly engaging for both students and teachers—As we have already noted, studies have shown that schooling has become increasingly boring for students as they proceed through the grades. This push away from school engagement is accompanied by the pull of the ever-seductive digital world. Thus, the solutions for creating new learning environments will have to be engaging for both students and teachers.
2. Elegantly easy to use—Learning experiences within the new environments must be easily accessible for students and teachers.
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