The document discusses the challenges and opportunities for improvement within the Atlanta Public Schools (APS) system, emphasizing the impact of stability versus instability on educational quality. It utilizes causal loop diagrams to explore various factors, such as public ethics, authentic education, and democracy, that contribute to the effectiveness of the educational environment. The author advocates for a transformation from a destabilizing corporatocracy to a more stable, reinforcing system to enhance public education.

1. Loopy APS
By Ed Johnson
Advocate for Quality in Public Education
(404) 505-8176 | edwjohnson@aol.com
14 April 2017
This presentation was authored in part using the Loopy™ software by Nicky Case
for drawing and running qualitative simulations on Causal Loop Diagrams.

2. Why Atlanta Public Schools
can’t improve: Instability
A dynamic qualitative exploration by simulating causal loops
Simulation also available via http://bit.ly/2ow3JZP
for “playing around with”
14 April 2017By Ed Johnson, Advocate for Quality in Public Education | (404) 505-8176 | edwjohnson@aol.com 2

3. Mouse over Causal Loop Diagram for Play control
3

4. Why Atlanta Public Schools
can improve: Stability
A dynamic qualitative exploration by simulating causal loops…
…a few at a time
14 April 2017By Ed Johnson, Advocate for Quality in Public Education | (404) 505-8176 | edwjohnson@aol.com 4

5. Simulate Reinforcing Loops
starting with
Better Public BoE
Effects?
Better Superintendency & Principalships
Fewer Non-public Aims
Better Public Ethics
More Authentic Education
More Public Engagement
Less Public Relations
Better Civil Society
14 April 2017By Ed Johnson, Advocate for Quality in Public Education | (404) 505-8176 | edwjohnson@aol.com 5
Mouse over Causal Loop Diagram for Play control

6. Simulate Reinforcing Loops
starting with
Worse Public BoE
Effects?
Worse Superintendency & Principalships
More Non-public Aims
Worse Public Ethics
Less Authentic Education
Less Public Engagement
More Public Relations
Worse Civil Society
14 April 2017By Ed Johnson, Advocate for Quality in Public Education | (404) 505-8176 | edwjohnson@aol.com 6
Mouse over Causal Loop Diagram for Play control

7. Public Board of Education Causal Loop Terms
P.BoE (public board of education) – nine publicly elected representatives collectively creating, adopting, and
maintaining policies for governing and making decisions about Atlanta Public Schools as a public good.
P.Superintendency (public superintendency) – superintendent of Atlanta Public Schools and associated others
carrying out policies that result in systemically administering, regulating, and caring and providing for Atlanta
Public Schools to continually improve as a public good.
Non-P.Aims (non-public aims) – intentions to sacrifice public interests and public goods to private interests, as in:
sacrificing Atlanta public school facilities to charter school operators, and sacrificing Atlanta public educators’
competencies to instructing civil society children by computer and Teach for America.
P.Principalship (public principalship) – public schoolhouse principal leading pedagogy and associated activities,
with mostly administrative and regulatory support by the public superintendency.
14 April 2017By Ed Johnson, Advocate for Quality in Public Education | (404) 505-8176 | edwjohnson@aol.com 7
continued…

8. Public Board of Education Causal Loop Terms
P.Ethics (public ethics) – adhering to the prime premise of public duty that obligates public representatives of civil
society and, by extension, entities hired by public representatives, to serve as stewards to the public and as
caretakers of public goods.
P.Engagement (public engagement; also, community engagement) – eliciting, distilling, accepting, and actualizing
public wisdom through civil society guidance.
P.Relations (public relations; also, faux community engagement) – manipulating, goading, frightening, bullying,
and otherwise coercing civil society to “buy” and trust spin-crafted sound bites and other speech acts
“selling” decisions already made, faux “good news” constructs and such, and school choice.
14 April 2017By Ed Johnson, Advocate for Quality in Public Education | (404) 505-8176 | edwjohnson@aol.com 8
…continued

9. Simulate Reinforcing Loops
starting with
More Authentic Education
Effects?
Better Teacher Learning
Better Student Learning
More Public Wisdom
Less Student Discipline
Less SEL and Police in Schools
14 April 2017By Ed Johnson, Advocate for Quality in Public Education | (404) 505-8176 | edwjohnson@aol.com 9
Mouse over Causal Loop Diagram for Play control

10. Simulate Reinforcing Loops
starting with
Less Authentic Education
Effects?
Worse Teacher Learning
Worse Student Learning
Less Public Wisdom
More Student Discipline
More SEL and Police in Schools
14 April 2017By Ed Johnson, Advocate for Quality in Public Education | (404) 505-8176 | edwjohnson@aol.com 10
Mouse over Causal Loop Diagram for Play control

11. Authentic Education Causal Loop Terms
Authentic Education (authentic education) – allowing for higher quality public education to emerge from
pedagogical methods and practices that foster joy in teaching and learning by all involved and that restore,
preserve, and actualize cooperative intrinsic motivation more so than competitive extrinsic motivation.
Teacher Learning (teacher learning) – teachers continually seeking and gaining pedagogical knowledge and
insights and applying the knowledge and insights to advance authentic education.
Student Learning (student learning) – students continually evidencing authentic education through teacher
learning.
Student Discipline (student discipline) – student behaviors exceeding classroom or school norms.
SEL & Police (social and emotional learning and police in schools) – instilling in civil society children readiness to
accept being controlled or instructed and to being deferential to armed uniformed authority.
14 April 2017By Ed Johnson, Advocate for Quality in Public Education | (404) 505-8176 | edwjohnson@aol.com 11

12. Simulate Reinforcing Loops
starting with
More Democracy
Effects?
More Public Good
Less Selfishness
Less School Choice, Violence & Crime
Better Civil Society
Less Poverty Effects
Better Student Learning
More Public Wisdom
14 April 2017By Ed Johnson, Advocate for Quality in Public Education | (404) 505-8176 | edwjohnson@aol.com 12
Mouse over Causal Loop Diagram for Play control

13. Simulate Reinforcing Loops
starting with
Less Democracy
Effects?
Less Public Good
More Selfishness
More School Choice, Violence & Crime
Worse Civil Society
More Poverty Effects
Worse Student Learning
Less Public Wisdom
14 April 2017By Ed Johnson, Advocate for Quality in Public Education | (404) 505-8176 | edwjohnson@aol.com 13
Mouse over Causal Loop Diagram for Play control

14. Democracy Causal Loop Terms
Democracy (democracy) – “government of the people, by the people, for the people” operating through public
representatives of civil society. (Still, see this, for example.)
P.Good (public good; also, common good) – “a good that is both non-excludable and non-rivalrous in that
individuals cannot be effectively excluded from use and where use by one individual does not reduce
availability to others.”
Selfishness (selfishness) – concern with one’s own interests more so than the interests of others, as in: vain,
arrogant, narcissistic, egotistical, competitive mindsets, and disinhibited, ungrounded bold actions.
School Choice (school choice) – harming to the point of destroying public education with legislation, rule making,
and contracts that direct public monies and resources to “follow the child” from public education systems
into competitive, consumer-style, education marketplaces of segregation, with parents choosing a school as
if choosing a McDonald Happy Meal.
14 April 2017By Ed Johnson, Advocate for Quality in Public Education | (404) 505-8176 | edwjohnson@aol.com 14
continued…

15. Democracy Causal Loop Terms
Violence & Crime (violence and crime) – physical and psychological abuse, whether lawful or unlawful, invited or
uninvited, intentional or unintentional, and generally reflective of selfishness.
Civil Society (civil society) – public interests and activities that accord with ideals and practices of democracy.
Poverty Effects (poverty effects) – serious health, social, economic, and emotional problems attributed to
poverty, including homelessness.
P.Wisdom (public wisdom) – Atlanta civil society judging especially complex and difficult matters, as in: judging
rightly matters of “Life, Liberty and the pursuit of Happiness” by and for all, judging morally and ethically
among and between choices of means and ends, and judging folly.
14 April 2017By Ed Johnson, Advocate for Quality in Public Education | (404) 505-8176 | edwjohnson@aol.com 15
…continued

16. Simulate Balancing Loop
starting with
More Corporatocracy
Effects?
INSTABILITY!
EVERYWHERE!
14 April 2017By Ed Johnson, Advocate for Quality in Public Education | (404) 505-8176 | edwjohnson@aol.com 16
Mouse over Causal Loop Diagram for Play control

17. Simulate Balancing Loop
starting with
Less Corporatocracy
Effects?
INSTABILITY!
EVERYWHERE!
14 April 2017By Ed Johnson, Advocate for Quality in Public Education | (404) 505-8176 | edwjohnson@aol.com 17
Mouse over Causal Loop Diagram for Play control

18. Corporatocracy Causal Loop Terms
Corporatocracy (corporatocracy; also, business community) – corporations, oligarchs, philanthropists, and
plutocrats controlling and governing a society, or excessively influencing civil society.
Partner Purposes (partner purposes) – corporatocracy purposes manifesting as “partners” of Atlanta Public
Schools and substituting for APS lacking a steadfast public purpose grounded in Atlanta civil society.
14 April 2017By Ed Johnson, Advocate for Quality in Public Education | (404) 505-8176 | edwjohnson@aol.com 18

19. Why APS can improve: Stability
A dynamic qualitative exploration by simulating causal loops
Improvement opportunity: Transform destabilizing Corporatocracy Balancing Loop (-)
influence to stabilizing Reinforcing Loop (+) influence
14 April 2017By Ed Johnson, Advocate for Quality in Public Education | (404) 505-8176 | edwjohnson@aol.com 19

20. 20
Mouse over Causal Loop Diagram for Play control

21. 21
Mouse over Causal Loop Diagram for Play control

22. Thank you!
14 April 2017By Ed Johnson, Advocate for Quality in Public Education | (404) 505-8176 | edwjohnson@aol.com 22