Hopkins 270 Blog

For a variety of reasons, it has been months since I posted anything to this blog. In large part, I’ve been consumed with work and family life. But more than anything, I have wanted to start to dive down into Vision 2031, understand it, and share my thoughts and concerns with others.

The thing is, the more I read about Vision 2031, the deeper I fell into the rabbit hole. And the more I tried to figure out a way to explain what I was encountering, the harder it became to know where to start. I have actually prepared three separate posts over time, but all were too long and too dense as I tried to break down the published elements of Vision, place them in context, and help others (and myself) make sense of it all.

I’ve decided that I just need to jump in and work through this bit by bit. In doing so, I ask you “dearest reader” for some grace. This is not going to be easy. There is no way to simply answer the question: “What is Vision 2031” — at least not in a manner that fits into a handful of short blog entries. But nonetheless, I’m inviting you to join me on a journey down the rabbit hole.

E.P.C.O.T.

Vision 2031, in all its glory, is a mishmash of fantastical ideas. It is truly a vision, gleefully untethered to the present reality in which we live. As I write about the proverbial rabbit hole from Alice in Wonderland, I can’t help but think of Walt Disney and his originally vision for E.P.C.O.T.

Most people know EPCOT as one of six parks that make up Walt Disney World. Having started my post-law school career at The Walt Disney Company in its corporate legal department (reporting to the heads of trademark and copyright enforcement) I learned that what is now EPCOT started as E.P.C.O.T., an acronym for “Experimental Prototype Community of Tomorrow“. Walt’s original vision wasn’t for another theme park to add to the planned Magic Kingdom in Florida. Walt wanted to build a reimagined future community setting that would not have any of the pesky things that get in the way of his vision for a more perfect society.

Wishing Away Externalities

Walt died before could use his vast wealth and power to begin the process of turning his E.P.C.O.T. vision into reality. After his death, the company leadership acknowledged that while people wanted to visit Fantasyland, living there was not possible. We occupy a big world, filled with a myriad of externalities; some wonderful, some not so pleasant. But we cannot simply wish away the less pleasant parts of our society. Yes, we can acknowledge and do our best to address and reduce their impact. We cannot, however, make other people be who we want them to be, or act the way we want them to act.

Vision 2031: An Educational Fantasyland

What does this have to do with Vision 2031? The Hopkins 270 administration and School Board also want to think BIG. They have envisioned a future of schools in which we will excise the ugly externalities of society and our children will somehow be prepared to enter the world ready to succeed by implementing alternative methods of educational instruction and emotional support for children across the K-12 lifecycle.

I’m going to have to write a LOT of blog entries to try to address the MASSIVE changes being implemented in Hopkins 270, and try to examine the supposed reasoning and significant problems with most all of these changes.

I hope you will stick with me throughout this exploration.