Educational futurist and ASCD President LeRoy "Lee" Hay makes it his business to pore over information on society's trends, from technology and the information explosion to genetics and bio-technology. He wants to figure out how trends will force change in the schools.
Lately, the potential to manipulate the human genome has come under Hay's scrutiny. He's calling it the "quiet revolution."
"Schools haven't seen the impact of genetics yet, but I predict we'll see this in the first part of this century," Hay says. "Research in genetics and biotechnology is bringing forth issues that challenge the values of society. What are the dangers of manipulating the human genome? Do we want to clone a person?" Hay believes that schools, because of their reach in society, will need to help students prepare to deal with such issues by increasing the emphasis on ethics, morality, and values.
As assistant superintendent for instruction for Wallingford Public Schools in Connect-icut, Hay has already seen changes in students and in the demands on teachers as the "TV generation" gives way to the "Net generation." The TV generation—weaned on full, living color, not to mention graphic images of violence and sexuality—has a low threshold for boredom as it demands that teachers be entertainers, Hay says. Members of the Net generation will be so used to an active learning pattern fostered by the Internet that they won't be able to sit still through a classroom lecture, he predicts.
Hay points out that schools may have to change what they require in terms of reading, writing, and arithmetic. "Already we're doing less with spelling and handwriting than we did 20 years ago," he notes. But the average student, as much as the high flyer, will need to deal with the changes wrought by information technology and a global economy, in which unskilled and semiskilled jobs have fled overseas, he says.
Teaching Off-Off-Broadway
An avid book learner, Hay was the first person in his family to get a college degree—in English at State University of New York in Cortland, his hometown. He graduated from the University of Connecticut in 1971 with a master's degree in theater direction, but in anticipation of the lean earnings he could expect while establishing a career on Broadway, he kept his job teaching Englishat high schools in Connecticut. He remained in the classroom for 23 years and during that time earned a Ph.D. in secondary education curriculum, with a dissertation on future studies. But his theater training has always come in handy. "I'm an actor at heart. My classes were fun," Hay recalls, describing himself as a "high-energy" teacher.
Hay also pursued his love of theater by directing plays, designing sets for community theaters, and writing plays—two of which were performed in his high schools. In his The Barn on Bunker Hill, set in colonial America, two girls on opposite sides of the revolution arrive at new realizations about themselves and partisanship.
With little time for hobbies these days, Hay still manages to see an occasional musical with his wife Laurie, a veteran teacher's aide in a special education classroom. He also spends time visiting his children—Emily, a special education teacher, and Brandon, a human resources director for a health care provider.
Then there's Hay's garden. "I'm in a running battle with deer now. I've had three years in which they've eaten my beans, lettuce, tomatoes, squash," Hay says. "I'm going to surrender and try flowers."
Hay's training in theater also led to his being chosen as the U.S. National Teacher of the Year in 1983, he says. "It's basically a public relations position. I was on an airplane for all but three weeks that year." Logging thousands of air miles visiting cities from Alaska to Florida, Hay was in front of the cameras and the klieg lights from morning to night with the likes of Jane Pauley on the Today show and Ted Koppel on Nightline. After his whirlwind teacher-of-the-year tour, Hay has continued to speak about education reform.
Whether as an adjunct professor at Boston College and the University of Connecticut, or as one of the founders of a master's program in educational change and technology innovation at Walden University, an accredited Internet college, Hay has advocated that educational institutions need a more flexible model of organization to respond positively to change. But Hay also stresses that the U.S. education system has plenty to celebrate.
"We need to work hard to get the good message out. We have a society that says all kids should be educated. We have said it doesn't matter what your physical, emotional, or intellectual limitations are—we're going to provide you an opportunity to learn," Hay says.
It was as the National Teacher of the Year that Hay spoke at an ASCD conference. Invited to help select high schools bent on reforming with ASCD's help, he joined the Association, taking on various roles nationally and with the Connecticut affiliate. "ASCD became my professional organization of choice," Hay says. "If I'm going to belong, then I want to be involved."
His sights always set on the future, Hay wants to lead ASCD in a new direction that takes into account impending changes in education. "I would really like to set up a new vision in light of the aging of our educator population and the changing delivery of our education products. The next generation of teachers and administrators will have needs different from the current one," Hay says. We should ask, What will their needs be? How can we serve them?
