Could the problem be something OTHER than teachers, perhaps?

After responding to Liz’s post earlier today, I continued thinking about the real “problems” with American education. A lot of people seem to want to place blame squarely on the shoulders of educators themselves, which is one of the reasons nothing seems to be improving.

Executive decisions about policy are determined in a very corporate manner, by people sitting in rooms far away from an actual school, looking at a spreadsheet that has reduced individual learners to a series of “representative” numbers. As Tyack and Cuban discussed, input from actual teachers tends to fall on deaf ears, and many of the policies that seep down into schools seem to tie educators hands more than help prepare students for any sort of existence in the “real world” (If all of life’s tasks were resolved by bubbling in answers on a scantron sheet, this might be different). America lags behind many other countries in terms of educational opportunities, and yet many people will tell you that this is still the greatest nation for receiving an education. These people are either very optimistic, or horribly uninformed. Either way, they’ve probably never examined schools in the “corridor of shame.”

Problems in schools don’t stop and start with policy-makers, though. When schools fail to produce thoughtful, competent children, parents are always ready to point their fingers in the direction of the teachers. However, real educational reform starts at home. All too often, parents are uninterested in what their children do at home and take absolutely no responsibility to teach their children. Parents generally leave the education of their children to teachers and television sets, and they are fast to blame youth problems on both. Where is the accountability? (Have we learned NOTHING from Crosby, Stills, and Nash?!)

As we have learned, teachers tend to be pretty low on the reform food chain, generally forced to enact policies that they know are flawed or won’t work on any practical level in the classroom. And yet, when children are failing to achieve scholastic goals, it is always the teacher who is blamed. What about the careless parents, who have shirked the responsibility of educating their own children? Or the policy makers, the people sitting in an office looking at state-wide scores? It seems like teachers get a bad rap and are perennial scapegoats in this mess.

In the world of frivolous law suits we live in, it has never been easier to shirk responsibility and blame the party that is honestly trying to do all it can to make the situation better when the true blame rests solely on the one doing the pointing. Are teachers responsible for their students? Absolutely, but only for as long as they’re in the classroom. There are about 22 hours on any given day where children will not be in the care of a specific teacher. My point in all of this is that as long as it is enough for parents, administrators, and legislators to simply place blame on teachers, thereby liberating themselves from any wrongdoing, then the real educational reform this country needs will never happen, because the REAL problems will continue to be overlooked.

School Reform

"If the Great Spirit had desired me
to be a white man
he would have made me so
in the first place.
He put in your heart
certain wishes and plans;
in my heart he put
other and different desires.
Each man is good
In the sight of the Great Spirit.
It is not necessary,
That eagles should be crows."
..Sitting Bull (Teton Sioux)

Our country prides itself on the high variety of people that makes up an underlying foundation that we’re proud to call the melting pot. However, when it comes to school reform we seem to have trouble learning from the past and thus repeat our errors. Achieving a cross-cultural proficiency of schooling in this country lacks perspective. The last 100 years seems to be riddled with like mistakes.

I had the opportunity to live within close proximity of one of the new school reforms intending to Americanize our citizens. My brother-in-law worked for the Carlisle Army War College in Carlisle, Pennsylvania and is well versed on the subject of the Carlisle Indian Industrial School and provided me with a wealth of behind-the-scenes information most of which is absolutely heart breaking. The mission of the school was to shape identity. The question was whose identity? The first class was recruited in the late 1800’s; January 27, 2002 brought the passing of the last known surviving alumnus of the school. The intention of the school was to take American Indians off the reservations and turn them into civilized American brothers and sisters. The founder of the school, Richard Henry Pratt, operated under the premise of taking Indian children off the reservations. This removed them from tribal influences. They were then transported far away to Pennsylvania. The school would transform them. He influenced the tribe leaders by convincing them that if their people had been able to read the white man’s words, treaties would have been better understood and violations might not have occurred.
The first group of 82 children arrived October 6, 1879. Thus began the process of assimilation and reform through education. The children’s hair was cut, they were issued uniforms, moccasins were taken, shoes were required, they marched to and from classes and no one could speak their native language. Academics were taught half the school day and trades were taught the other half. During the summer months, children were not returned to their tribes. They were hired out with non-Indian families through an Outing Program. Some children remained with the families and were then sent to public schools. This was seen as an ultimate means of acculturation. The process was to make the Indian become an imitation of the white man. When it was all said and done, over 10,000 Indian children passed through the school during its 39 years of existence. The majority returned to their reservation. There are 192 Native American Indian children buried on the grounds of the school (now the Army War College) from 36 nations. The Apache tribe has the greatest number of markers.

Before we continue forward with school reforms and assimilation, we ought to look back. Recreating the same mislead effort in a new fashion will not create new outcomes. There are other examples such as the 110,000 Japanese Americans/nationals during WWII sent to internment camps. Let’s look back, re-evaluate, plan and institute school reform plans that might work instead of attempting to reinvent the wheel under the anticipation that it might work this time.

Ten famous homeschooling success stories

A previous post by Robert Morrison sparked an interesting discussion regarding the value of homeschooling. The details discussed in the various comments ranged from the willingness of learners, to the possibly ambiguous qualifications for being a homeschool instructor, to the ultimate intentions of parents who choose to homeschool their children. The general consensus seemed to believe there was some merit, somewhere, in homeschooling, but that the practice, more often than not, is not carried out with proper intentions and does more harm than good.

In light of this skepticism a lot of us (myself included) seem to have regarding homeschooling, I thought it was worth mentioning an article I found at CNN.com which lists ten historically accomplished homeschoolers. Included on the list were authors Robert Frost, Pearl S. Buck, and Laura Ingalls Wilder, artist Ansel Adams, and Mozart. It’s interesting to note the number of arts-focused people on the list, given our recent discussion of the value of arts in school. Would an education in today’s public schools have done more harm than good for these people? Not limited to artists, the list also includes Woodrow Wilson, Alexander Graham Bell, and Thomas Edison.

Looking at this list, two things came to mind. One, evidently homeschooling does have value when handled properly, and two, all of these people are dead, implying to me that maybe today’s concept of homeschooling isn’t what it used to be. Certainly, times were different a century or two ago, when many of these people were children in school, but has the potential of education changed much? While we can’t all have Louisa May Alcott’s fortune of being taught by the likes of Thoreau, Emerson, and Hawthorne, valuable, qualified homeschool instructors must still exist.

It's worth noting that several of the people mentioned on the list had some sort of social problem, which certainly wouldn’t be overcome through continued isolation from one’s peers. Agatha Christie was socially withdrawn, Edison was likely ADD, and Frost became ill at the very thought of going to school (a sentiment I’m sure we’ve ALL experienced at some point in our lives).

The article can be found here: http://www.cnn.com/2009/LIVING/04/22/mf.home.schooled/index.html?iref=newssearch

Consider Us Lucky

I still can't decide if I'm happy with the discussions about reform in our public schools. The best thing I think I can come up with on what needs to change in our schools is the teacher/student interaction that Tyack and Cuban mention. The one thing at least every student can remember about high school is the one teacher that really understood them and connected with them. So, the reform needs to encourage ways to increase these encounters. With the progression of schools, I think we've come a long way. I think I've probably said this before, but I think schools today are a lot better than they used to be. They may not be perfect, some better than others. At least we have a system that still attempts to fight for what students need. A recent clip on Fox News shows an Afghan school that did not get the textbooks and supplies that were paid for by donors. If that isn't bad enough, the students have to be advised to handle the textbooks with care so as to not tear them because they are so flimsy. AND, some students are forced to buy illegal copies in markets! I never even imagined that buying textbooks illegally was an issue. I know we can't really compare the schools in America to schools in these places, but I guess I just wanted to point out that a lot of students would be lucky to go to public schools and I still don't see why they are that bad.

Upon whose performance are teachers really evaluated on?

Some CMS teachers are afraid to be evaluated. Why? Because while in the past they haven't lost their jobs for a poor evaluation, this year is different.

While I agree with CMS Superintendent Peter Gorman that "looking more closely than ever at employee performance" is "a good thing," I highly doubt that he “absolutely understand the concerns of (the teaching) staff” like he says he does. Evaluating employee performance is important, but let's look at terminology here: "employee performance" is used regularly in the business world. Should we evaluate teachers, who are influencing the children of the United States, like we do businesspeople?

I think what we need to look at is changing the semantics of such processes. I know this will go against our current grammar of schooling, but by taking out words such as "employee performance," the education system will be perceived as more autonomous. Right now, a good number of people see education do merely what the business world does. Education should be more than just reflecting the business world and training individuals to be a part of the business world, but that's just my opinion.

CMS teachers are judged on the following criteria, and are given marks of either "above standard," "at standard," or "below standard." The CMS school system is actually bypassing the last two criteria, to "reduce subjectivity," says Operating Officer Hugh Hattabaugh.

1. Management of instructional time
2. Management of student behavior
3. Instructional presentation
4. Instructional monitoring of student performance
5. Instructional feedback
6. Facilitating instruction
7. Communicating within the educational environment
8. Performing noninstructional duties

http://www.charlotteobserver.com/education/story/678694.html
For added value, the comments section provides amusement/entertainment. Some people's responses just kill me.

The Increased Demand On Education.

Thinking back over many of our readings, particularly the chapter(s) in Tinkering Toward Utopia, I began to think about progress and regress of schooling and our role as teachers in it. Tyack and Cuban alluded to this but it seems to me that progress and regress are very subjective. Given all of the responsibilities and demands the public and society as a whole place on teachers and the educational system, it is no wonder that many people think our current educational system is failing. The educational system is responsible for shaping a new society, for “unleashing America’s creative genius to invent…the best schools in the world…to achieve a quantum leap in learning”, to create individuals that are able to compete on a global level, and the list goes on. This places a huge responsibility on the teacher to prepare a student(s) to be even one of these things let alone all of them. Not only are they expected to create individuals, in some ways they are expected to “raise” them. If the parents are not “stepping up to the plate”, it seems the teachers must step in and pick up the slack for the eight or so hours the student is in school. Considering all of the outside influences children are exposed to today and the influences in years to come, teachers have a more difficult job than ever. So can we really say that education is not progressing? Perhaps what has changed is society’s perception not the actual system itself. Also what might have changed are the demands society places on education. The demands on education seem to be more stringent today. In many cases, whether a student succeeds in school or in life for that matter seems to fall more on the shoulders of the educational system and its teachers than on the individual students or their families. I know our system has its flaws, but given the circumstances I would say our system is doing more progressing than regressing by meeting the increased demands placed on teachers and the education system.

English Language Learners suffer in Arizona

I was reading the paper yesterday and came across this article regarding the English Language Learners program in Arizona’s Nogales Unified School District, located near the border with Mexico. The district felt as though they no longer needed the program because some progress had been made in the students learning of the language. The problem however, is that there remains a significant achievement gap between students who are native speakers and those learning the language. Students who had previously been taught in a Spanish speaking classroom were moved to a regular English speaking classroom and started to fall behind because they were unable to fully understand the language. A lower court order has been made for the state to develop a new program to teach English, which could cost the state hundreds of millions of dollars.

Maybe it is just me, but my feeling is that I cannot believe that this could actually happen – that a district would dissolve an English Learners program, especially in a district so close to Mexico. I believe that English as a Second Language students who are not proficient in English are just like any other student with special needs or a handicap. Everything should be done within the resources of the school to enable or facilitate these students in their ability to become active participants in a democratic society. To provide anything less for certain students serves only to establish prejudicial barriers.

The case, Horne v Flores, is currently being evaluated in the Supreme Court and is controversial because it calls on the power of federal courts to take over functions of local governments in an attempt to remedy civil rights violations.
http://www.charlotteobserver.com/194/story/674984.html

Abuse and Exploitation Training

Last night I attended training at a church in Columbia for recognizing and acting on child abuse and exploitation. The training was intensive and hard to listen to and watch at times. Some of the statistics are quite alarming. I walked away from the workshop feeling disgusted that such behavior is present not only at churches but at schools, sports teams,neighbor's houses and so on. Some of these "people" have violated over 80 children before they were caught and the abuse often starts at a very early age. This ties in to some of the discussions that we have had in class in the past about ethics and teacher responsibility.

The church requires all volunteers and employees participate in this training and I believe that it is essential for any one who works with or around children. If anyone has the opportunity to participate in this type of training, please take the time to do so. I am not sure if schools offer this type of training but they should. The greater the number of people aware of the warning signs, the greater our ability to prevent these activities from continuing and the sooner the victims can get the help they need.

Sit Down, Shut Up

I wouldn’t normally consider using this space to write about cartoons, but a new series started on Fox this week that 1) is a cartoon and 2) oddly enough deals with many of the issues we have spent the semester discussing in class.

Sit Down, Shut Up focuses on a group of Florida high school teachers. The only reason I really watched the premiere (aside from the fact that, yes I admit it, I like cartoons) was that the producer was the man behind Arrested Development, the best comedy series that has ever been on television. It’s weird when a series hooks me based on the creative mind behind it, but keeps me interested by relating to things I’m studying in school.

The plot of the episode dealt heavily with budget concerns causing staff cutbacks. Given the staff members portrayed in the show, the problem would almost seem to be deciding who to keep rather than who to fire. Among the faculty members are: an openly bisexual drama teacher who frequently hides in the boy’s locker room, a pill-popping librarian who also makes a habit of hiding in the boy’s locker room and is known to have carried on a relationship with a student (a 23-year-old student, but a student nonetheless), a German teacher whose off-hours sexual activities inadvertently become known among the student body, a brainless English teacher who frequently hits on students, and a ditzy science teacher who ONLY teaches creation theory. It’s basically a gallery of characters embodying all the things we’ve learned NOT to do as educators.

All of this sounds pretty mortifying on paper, I suppose. But the show does play these qualities for laughs, with varying results. Sit Down, Shut Up was funny in parts, but I actually found myself more intrigued by the caricatures of bad educators the show put on display. Did anyone else happen to see it and get left with the same impression?

Hating the system, but loving the job

A couple weeks ago, I had dinner with my high school art teacher and his wife. The last time we spoke to any great degree, I was still in high school. And while my memory of him remained fairly accurate, many of his words carried a different meaning for me now and we were able to speak much more candidly about a number of things. Much of this involved school policy and the profession of teaching, an area in which my interest has increased substantially in the last ten years. Amazingly, he is still teaching, although he has moved to a different school with a much different demographic.

He told me that, ten years ago, he would discuss the state of public school with my AP U.S. History teacher, who would always say the same thing: “Modern education is dying.” My history teacher had always been fighting the reforms that veered from the traditional and into new territory, such as “teaching to the test.” While he had not vocalized this in class, he wrote several opinion pieces for our local paper in which he spoke his mind. My history teacher felt that schools were ceasing to provide the education students truly needed, and that the system was going to fail a large group of students. My art teacher told me that he never believed that sentiment then, but now, teaching in the location he’s found himself, he believes it wholeheartedly. His current school struggles with funding, maintaining student attention, and failing to provide students with a quality education at a pace that is suitable to them.

Interestingly enough, this outlook hasn’t affected his attitude for teaching in quite the way one would expect. When asked if he enjoyed teaching, he was quiet for a moment, considering his answer. He responded with a "yes." He said that ten years ago he didn’t think he liked teaching at all (not a surprise, considering the hell some of my classmates made his life in the art room), but his perspective had changed in the past several years as he became aware of how ingrained it was in him and the degree to which he relished the experience. It seems that, over time, my teacher had sort of accepted his fate as an educator to the effect that, although he spoke hopefully of being able to retire in a year, this sentiment seemed outweighed by his desire to be in the classroom.

The lesson I took away from all of this is that it’s a fortunate thing to have passionate educators in schools, particularly in less privileged locations. Facing a seemingly uphill battle with school reform, or lack thereof, would make it easy for many teachers to “go through the motions,” apathetically accepting their situation and droning on to students every day, devoid of any real enthusiasm for the subject. The determined teachers, who believe in the good they can do and value the opportunity teaching provides them, are the ones who will still find ways to instruct and inspire.

"Education in America Is Broken"

"The education system in America is broken, because we don't have our priorities in order."

In a recent episode of Glenn Beck on Fox News, he discussed the issues surrounding the DC voucher program debate. His main problem with doing away with vouchers is that these schools are the ones that are actually succeeding and have the encouragement and support behind childrens' parents. He is concerned with spending so much money on a public education system that seems to be failing. He says that "If politicians really cared about children, they'd encourage home schooling, private schools and other alternatives that bring innovation and results." In a poll on the website, "Would more money fix America's public schools?" 93% said No and only 7% said Yes. His solution? Offer more innovation and choice when it comes to education.

I thought this was pretty interesting considering our discussion about public school reform and the different choices of schooling. While these programs are clearly helping students, I still don't think it is fair to say that every public school is doomed and parents who don't send their kids to other schools don't care about their child's education. And I still want to know if most people think public education is bad? Is he saying that we should get rid of public education all together? Is that what people want?


http://www.foxnews.com/story/0,2933,517019,00.html

S.C. child care providers seek delay on teacher/child ratios

On the front page of thursdays Herald there is a story about delaying new teacher-to-child ratios that are set to take effect on July 1. These new ratios could cost child-care providers more than $18,000 a year in lost income. The South Carolina Child Care Association director is asking for relief so it won't have to raise the rates charged to parents. The state Department of Social Services, which regulates child care facilities, said that they will try to postpone the new regulations by one year because of the recession. The new regulations were adopted in 2006 in order to improve the quality of S.C. child care by increasing the teaching staff. The new ratios would require that one teacher would care for five children aged birth to one year. One teacher would be required to care for six children aged one to two years. One teacher would be required to care for seven children aged two to three. One teacher would be required to care for eleven children aged three to four years. One teacher would be required to care for seventeen children aged four to five years. One teacher would be required to care for twenty- three children aged six to twelve- years -old. The article did not list what the current standards are. Either way, even with the new standards, that is alot of very young children for one teacher to be responsible for.
Nora

Governor says stimulus not key to woes

I was just reading the Herald and I ran across a story where Gov. Mark Sanford had a town hall meeting in Fort Mill on Wednesday. In the meeting the governor defended his stance on the stimulus and on why he opposes federal aid that could keep teachers in the classroom. Sanford told a banquet room packed with two hundred Fort Mill Rotary Club members that piling up more debt is not the answer to our states economic woes. The governor devoted about thirty minutes to explaining some economic facts about the state. Fort Mill Superintendent Keith Callicutt stood up to warn that Fort Mill schools could face a budget shortfall of up to five million dollars if they receive no stimulus aid. Another member of the audience stood up and said that she was worried that Fort Mill would lose its top draw for business-a highly regarded school district. Sanfort reinterated the fact that teachers and school districts should not plan on receiving any of the 700 million, which would have gone to classrooms, colleges, and public safety. Sanford said that he will not apply for the $700 million portion of stimulus funds. Outside of the meeting stood four protestors holding handmade signs. One rotarian stood up and told the governor that he had voted for him in the last two elections. The governor told him that on some days he thanks those who voted for him but on other days he curses those who voted for him. Of course, the governor said this with a grin. Personally, I do not know what the answer is, but I sure do hope that the governor knows what he is doing.
Nora

Bad News and Good News

I received the following article from my principal. The New York Times reported today that "over the next four years, more than a third of the nation's 3.3 million teachers could retire . . ." That will leave a lot of classrooms without teachers. Not only will a large number of baby boomers be retiring but many rookie teachers quit within five years of entering the profession(that's the bad news). Some have suggested that schools be restructured so that the experienced teachers can remain in the classroom to mentor the inexperienced teachers. This would help both generations of teachers as well as the students. As a rookie teacher I would appreciate having an experienced teacher working along side of me during my early years in the classroom. However, during these difficult economic times I am not sure if there are monies available to fund such a restructuring. In the meantime, the loss of these teaching positions could make more positions available in the next few years, possibly by 2010 (that's good news for us).

http://www.nytimes.com/2009/education/07/teacher.html?_r=4&ref=education&page

Sanford accepts 2.8 billion but still battles stimulus

I found an article in today's Herald that may interest those planning a career in education. Governor Mark Sanford has accepted $2.8 billion in federal aid but warned teachers and school districts not to plan on $700 million for classrooms, colleges and public safety. Sanford wrote the White House budget office and told them that he will not apply for the $700 million portion of funds. "They're not going to get that money," Sanford said friday of school districts.
According to the article, school districts are running out of time to figure out how many teachers they can afford. Sanford has a bill that is awaiting his signature that would require districts to sign teacher contracts by May 15. Officials in Greenville County, the state's largest school district and the county's largest employer, may have to write a budget without the money if it has not arrived by mid-May. As many as 450-500 school positions could be eliminated in Greenville County.
According to the Herald, $280 million would have been split between public schools and state colleges to help balance their budgets after state revenues dipped sharply due to the recession. South Carolina colleges have been cut by 17% this year, which is the largest cut to higher education in the nation. State schools have been cut $112 million. The $700 million, if accepted, would save 1,400 jobs.
I thought this article would be of interest to those of us who will be job hunting in roughly one year from now. Sorry for the depressing news.
Nora Stewart-Ricks

Interesting perspective on the state of education

I found this excerpt from "Now or Never" by CNN's Bill Cafferty as he examines our education system. He makes some interesting points about school success starting at home and incorporates some of the ideas from the Obama/McCain debates last fall. He goes on to mention No Child Left Behind and how education spending is focused on paying administrators for "failed enterprises" and extra programs that might not be so deserving of tax-payer dollars considering the success rate in schools.

Check it out at http://www.cnn.com/2009/LIVING/03/30/cafferty.schools/index.html?eref=rss_politics

Stimulus Funds and Gutmann's Maximization

Last week employees of Rock Hill School District 3 received an email from Superintendent Lynn Moody explaining the effects that the stimulus package or the lack thereof would have on the York County school districts. "Governor Mark Sanford wants to use part of the money to pay down state debt, while the White House says the money is intended to create or save jobs. In response, the governor says he will not seek stimulus funds. Now the state legislature is debating whether it can override the governor's refusal to accept the money . . . Without the funds, the four school districts in York County predict a devastating impact on the quality of education for all students."
Earlier this semester we read about Amy Gutmann's theories for distributing funds for education. One theory was maximization in which everyone would receive an education at the expense of funding for other things such as police protection, libraries, parks etc.
As I read the email from Superintendent Moody it made me think that maybe we are experiencing the reverse effect of maximization. At the expense of paying down the state debt, which is a worthy cause, "thousands of educators will be laid off"; class size will increase; no new teachers will be hired (that's us!!!); college tuition will increase (that's us!!!!). On the senate floor Senator Hugh Leatherman, Finance Committee Chairman, "describes the potential impacts as 'horrific'."
Only time will tell how education will be impacted by the decisions of the White House, Governor Sanford, the Senate and local school districts.

Truth?! You Can't Handle The Truth!

Yesterday I watched Obama’s press conference. I began to think of leaders in general, politicians, ect.
If one broadens the definition of “teacher” to one who relays knowledge to someone else, one could consider Obama (or any other leader) as a type of teacher. Also, one could think of Obama as a “teacher” in terms of him as a role model and thus, teaching qualities we should value.
If this is the case, I wonder what our children and even the American people are being “taught”. I am nearly always disheartened when I listen to politicians answer people’s/reporter’s questions. I am sure I am not alone when I say, “Will you just answer the question, already!?” Politicians have become all too adept at “beating around the bush”. A politician will begin to answer a question by reframing it and then by the time he gets finished answering it, the person who asked the question doesn’t even remember what he asked and by that time has gotten lost in the words of the politician. So, is this teaching our children that being clever and avoiding a question is better than telling people the truth? Is it teaching our children that being popular through spinning the truth is better than being unpopular by telling the truth? We expect teachers and leaders in authority to tell the truth. In the words of Jack Nicholson, “Truth!? You can’t handle the truth! I think we should be given the truth and then we can decide how to handle it.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5j2F4VcBmeo&feature=player_embedded

Other - Professionalism and teacher dress

I thought the article "Teaching attire becoming touchy topic" was interesting since we had so much conversation on the issue in class and on the blog. It has more reasons teachers should dress more or less professionally. I was talking to a second grade teacher who teaches in Rock Hill, and she made the comment that she does not like to have student teachers anymore because they do not dress appropriately. She complained about the spaghetti strapped tops and skimpy clothing the student teachers wore. This is definitely something to remember when we do our student teaching.

Challenging Dewey

This clip portrays a provacative view of Dewey’s philosophies. It’s just an alternative view that one should ponder since we have read and discussed Dewey. I am not saying I share these views. I just think it is a good idea to be exposed to the opposing view of most things. (You are not having a problem with your speakers, there is no sound. )

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rwZTkitm3-I&feature=related


The clip was put together by Bruce Price the founder of Improve-Eduction.org (see link below.) Peruse and decide for yourself.

http://www.improve-education.org