5/10/07

Former principal urges educators to think like businessmen
By Brian Jarvis

BRIAN JARVIS/Manning Times

Education guru Larry Biddle receives a warm welcome from Clarendon County. From left: Kristen Keels, Ericka Betler, Biddle, Wanda Erickson and Todd Heldreth.

Though most in the room had never heard of Larry Biddle, it’s doubtful they’ll forget him anytime soon.

“I’m both a businessman and an educator, so that makes me a weirdo,” joked Biddle, speaking at the Manning United Methodist Church as part of “Spring Into Character.”

A former principal from Conway best known for pioneering Renaissance, an alternative approach to education, Biddle urged community leaders to think like business, not government.

“The definition of competition in the twenty-first century is that it will come from across the ocean, not across the highway,” Biddle said. “The problem is we’re putting students on a one-lane road instead of a four-lane interstate. Instead of aspiring to be a cook at Myrtle Beach, how about aspiring to own a club at Myrtle Beach?”

The goal of Renaissance, Biddle explained, is to recognize students for their grades, attendance and behavior, not just athletics. One method is through an “honor card” system in which students earn gold and silver cards for good deeds.

“If there’s an achievement gap, it’s because there’s a recognition gap,” said Biddle, noting that 65 percent of disgruntled employees leave their jobs due to a lack of appreciation. “In 1965, the most powerful thing in the Conway community was football. You would have thought it was an NFL training camp. I’m not against football; I’ve coached it, but that’s not why schools were built. When was the last time we marched in the bus drivers and thanked them for transporting our most precious commodities? We need to celebrate cafeteria workers on the same level as the intergalactic quarterback, because if they don’t play their role, there’s no food to serve. We need to hold teachers in the highest esteem because no one gets anywhere without them.”

Now used in more than 5,000 schools in the United States, Canada and Mexico, Renaissance is being expanded to South America and Europe. There is no fee for adopting its curriculum.

Todd Heldreth, character education coordinator for Clarendon School District 2, said that he invited Biddle to start a dialogue on issues with which the community needs to be dealing.

“I thought Biddle hit a home run,” said CSD2 superintendent John Tindal. “He had a great message and helped put in perspective where we need to go. When we begin to recognize more students, we come closer to establishing a staff-student relationship that’s beneficial to everyone.”

“I thought it would be the same thing everyone else says, but it wasn’t,” added Manning High School sophomore and FFA member Kristen Keels.