Class Reaction April 15, 2009

The concept of vouchers to equalize schools is a concept definitely worth noting and reflecting in depth upon. To maintain a competent society a basic level of education, predominately in the realm of literacy and knowledge, is required. To achieve this minimal education provisions are necessary to guarantee, to some extent, every child has the same resources and opportunity they need to acquire this minimal education. Thus, it is essential that the government be involved to some degree. The extent of government involvement as in many cases is disputable. However, the fact remains the government in the form of subsidies is needed to allow, enforce and ensure each child receives a minimal education. Government intervention in the form of subsidies without nationalizing schools can provide many benefits to society and the school system itself, public and private. The government still maintains that a minimal education be required but does not influence by direct funding.

One major benefit is the ability to equalize schools through vouchers, providing individual freedom, equal opportunity, better teacher quality and better more accountable schools. Parents have a range of choice with vouchers that remove some of the financial restrictions in determining an adequate educational institution for their child. As opposed to simply going to public schools because it is affordable and presumably free, a parent can choose based on a less financial basis. For example, a parent whose only option for educating their child, based on financial reasons, is the public school can now take into consideration other factors such as quality curriculum, quality teachers and specific content involved within the curriculum to meet the individualized needs of their child. Now that parents have individual freedom and choice they have more clout in holding schools and teachers accountable, producing more qualified and better operated schools and teachers as well as more variety amongst schools. Likewise vouchers would also help the parents of private school students as well as the private school as a whole. Private schools do not receive public funds and must rely on raising funds to operate their schools. Vouchers would allow for additional funding for private institutions based on competition. Just as with the public schools the decision would rely on the individual choice of the parent and would produce better schools and teachers. Although such a major change in the school system is not viewed as the solution to all current problems is does present a path well worth exploring.

18 yr. old sues Gov. Sanford

An 18 year old, SC, high school student has filed a lawsuit in SC Supreme Court to force Gov. Sanford to use the $700 million for education. The SC Attorney General has said that this girl is graduating so she would not be a good representative in such a case. He argues this saying she will not see the benefits of the money so can't legitimately argue for it.

He also goes on to say that her lawsuit is premature. I find this ironic since the same Attorney General ruled last month that the SC legislature doesn't have the authority to accept the stimulus money for SC in the event that the SC gov. doesn't want to take it. SO, they have taken the steps to prevent the legislature from over-ruling the Gov. decision about stimulus money, but someone suing over concerns about the welfare of the education system if the Gov. doesn't accept the money is thinking to far into the future.

Playing politics with education. I guess Gov. Sanford is truly o.k. with only providing "adequate educational opportunities and facilities" for SC youth: http://www.forbes.com/feeds/ap/2009/04/20/ap6312446.html

Here is the link to the news story of the lawsuit:

Art As Education.

I enjoyed reading Maxine Greene’s The Artistic-Aesthetic Curriculum. I have always thought that “the arts” play a significant role education. Art in itself is educational. Art can teach us about the universality of emotion or about the likeness of humanity regardless of culture. Through art we may find some common ground. This is important in education because in a way it seems this causes us to be more empathetic or understanding of other people. What we understand, we are less likely to fear. So in a way art can teach us about our likes and our differences. If we can learn that we are alike in certain ways we have a basis for understanding, while if we are able to understand some of our differences, we are more likely to be accepting of them. This may lead us to further understand the intrinsic value of a person.
Art can teach us about ourselves by causing us to consider how we might feel if we were in the shoes of the character we are reading about. Perhaps it may cause us to think about something in a different way or to cause us to think about the things we truly value in life. Just the fact that art causes us to think at whatever level contributes to the betterment of our person.

The "Increased demand" on education.

I agree that there is an increased demand on education. I also agree that by schools deciding to tackle new societal and academic demands they are in a sense progressing. However, I ask is it positive or negative progress? I would argue that it is negative since all teachers are not able or willing to "tighten up their boot straps." Those that are willing and able usually have to independently adapt in order to meet the demands. And finally, whether you do or don't work to meet the demands you are still vulnerable to criticism. This final reason is most vital because teachers who do care enough to try often take the criticism to heart the most. Meanwhile the teacher who shows little interest in the demands continues to send below average students (academically and/or socially) on through the education system. Hence, placing more demand on the caring teacher.
I think most of us may agree that good administrators are a dime a dozen which therefore makes teachers fend for themselves; but, then should we say that the inequalities in our abilities as teachers is leading to the inequalities in the success of our students. I don't think this is entirely the reason, but I do think it is part. There are definitely some teachers who are past there prime, some who are not in education for the right reasons (they like the vacation schedule for example), and some who are only around because instead of being let go they are shuffled from grade level to grade level with a hope that they will change careers for the sake of administrators not having to do the dismissal paperwork.
In closing, the demands of teaching are high and it is are duty as teachers to work to meet those demands. As new teachers enter the education world with training, knowledge, and enthusiasm as we have the inequalities in effective teaching will decrease. We just have to hope that there is the money and positions available to hire us.

Class Notes: April 15th

Questions directed at authors Tyack and Cuban:

1. What’s the time frame for evaluation of change effects?

How long do you give a change that has been implemented before evaluating to see if it is effective? Tyack and Cuban said that the effectiveness of change is in the schools and reference the Eight Year Plan. Every evaluation is done against a particular concept of schools and the grammar of schools. The concept arises when one realizes the difference between what one would like to see and what is actually happening in schools. However, deep meaningful change doesn’t happen often because it goes against the grammar of schooling. Change is applied to the grammar of schooling typically to areas that are easy to adapt to. Change can be easily adapted into schools. It can take a generation or more to see the full effects of the changes. We need to see the children grow up and go out into the real world before we can evaluate the true effectiveness of the changes made. However, some parents are reluctant to have their children as guinea pigs, making the implementation of change even harder to be successful.

2. What makes education different from private sector industry?

Tyack and Cuban say that in the beginning schools were viewed as a factory. The idea was to make schools more like factories because they operated efficiently and cheaply. However, if the business metaphor is applied to schools several problems arise. The question that’s raised is, are children raw material that we can shape and mold or are they clients? We cannot treat every school or every child the exact same way like a business. Businesses create a product and clone the product to produce for the public. Children that are coming into the classroom are like raw material and you don’t know what you are going to get so how are we to make a mold of children? This is not something that we can do in schools with children who need individualized, specialized care. The individuals making decisions for schools need to be less business minded in making decisions. Schools are not an industry; children are not all the same and cannot be clones of each other. All children are individuals.


3. What is necessary at the “classroom level” for successful reform?

At the classroom level to promote successful reform we need to motivate teachers to want change, we need parent support, teacher support, and it is essential teachers believe in the change implemented. Realistic goals need to be set in order for change to be evaluated by both the schools and the parents. We also need to introduce change at an earlier age for a smoother transition. Tyack and Cuban said successful reforms are ones that teachers understand and fit into what they already do, how they fit into the existing grammar of schooling.

4. How do we resolve the tension between local control and national concerns?

First and foremost we need to have officials elected who understand the schools and the education system. School boards are all about politics and not necessarily about what is best for the students and the teachers. Teachers also need to be able to make executive decisions for their classrooms. As teachers they know what’s best for their students. Their ideas and suggestions need to be listened to and regarded in making schools better. We also need to learn how to ease tension between local and national boards when physiologically they are not the same. The role of government must be defined to determine how involved or uninvolved they should be.

5. How (is it possible) for technology to change schools?

Tyack and Cuban say that technology is being used as an aid and not a tool. Dr. Jones states that we need to use technology appropriately and when it fits a need. Problems arise with technology in the classroom such as middle or higher class children may be at some advantage with the technologies used in the classroom. These students may have the technologies available at home and for their personal use, whereas children in the lower class may have no idea what the technology is and how to use it creating a technology underclass. Also, technology is not used consistently from classroom to classroom. Teachers use technology when it is easy to adapt to their classroom. However in today’s society students are stimulus learners and are constantly using technology daily. Some teachers may use technology in a manner that makes it easy for their students to learn and then these students move on to another classroom where the teacher uses it in a completely different way. This can make it hard for children to transition. Some generations have no desire to incorporate technology into their lives. Older generation teachers may feel that the method of teaching they have been using for years is working so why implement change or change things when they have been successful.

6. Why are policy decision seemingly made by non-educators and what can be done to change that fact?

The public elects the politicians and should hold them accountable and responsible for their actions. However, why don’t the people we elect as a public know anything about public education? It is starting to become more policy orientated in the schools and less classroom oriented. Educators don’t know how to sale what works for them in the classroom therefore leading to a problem with having what works for them implemented by policy change. If we as teachers cannot get our point across to the politicians then we cannot expect them to understand what needs to be done for our students. We need to educate the public more about the problems and the people they have been electing and then maybe we can elect the correct people to office to who know about the education system, how it works, and what’s best for the classrooms and the students.

Vouchers as addressed by Curren:

Where we have gone is nationalization of schools which is necessary and unwarranted. Intermediate steps can be taken to serve this purpose. Vouchers should be given to the individual family and student so they are allowed to choose how to use and where to go. Public schools however do not operate like that and offer no choice in the matter. This absence of choice infringes on individual freedom, decreases equal opportunity and decreases teacher quality. Vouchers will equalize the schooling system because it becomes open to a variety of people and gives them an opportunity to attend a school suited to them. It allows for choice infringing on individual freedom, allowing equal opportunity and increasing teacher quality.

Posted By: Stacy Woods and Janna Martin

Reaction to Epilogue on April 20, 2009

I was relieved to read the epilogue of “Tinkering Toward Utopia” because it finally gave Tyack and Cuban opinion for education reform. As I was reading I began to understand that they shared in my belief that reform should come from teachers more often. I stated this in one of my previous blogs. I know that teachers have a lot of responsibilities and feel that they do not have time to contribute their time to reform. However, I feel that reform from teachers is really the only way to go. They know how activities in the classroom are structured every day and can offer the best advice on how to improve instruction. I sense that if teachers aren’t more proactive in reform efforts nothing will change. America has followed the same trend of top down reform for years and we continue to do so. Even President Obama has this strategy in his education policy. If this type of reform hasn’t worked so far it’s not going to work now or in the future. I hate to keep repeating myself but teachers need to make a concerted effort to become more involved in reform so that our schools can educate the children of America to the best of their ability. I was glad that Tyack & Cuban made the point that for years and years policy makers have been making the point that our children do not measure up to other children around the world. Policy makers say this because they are worried about America’s economy in the world market but they should be worried about students gaining as much knowledge as possible. This does not necessarily mean high test scores. This does not involve teahcers cramming as much information as possible into studnets heads. This means highly qualified teachers passionately sharing knowledge with students who are excited to learn.

Art in the curriculum

One of my favorite Jazz pianist Bill Evans stated once "my creed for art is that it can show you a part of yourself that you wouldn't have known existed...". I think the decision to put art and physical education in public schools has helped to better engage and interest children as well as helping them to discover things about themselves and the world a little better. Greene spoke of this in her article p.562 ''Again, do you cherish the arts because they seem to you to bring you in touch with something transcendent, even some universal value, something that moves you to aspire, to strain upwards, beyond yourself?", yes what a great statement that holds much truth. Throughout history art has served to tell stories of all kind, political, religious, wrongs and rights, do and don't, and even praise for important people, I can think of many. These works of art help to translate the actions or words of the event into visual pictures and/or a musical poem to others that perhaps wasn't there or didn't hear about it. I believe that art is just another highly sophisticated language to be spoken. If we want our students to continue to reach higher and higher we must help to foster their imagination and creative sides also, not just academically.