Reading Analysis

Epilogue: Looking toward the Future (Tyack & Cuban)

As the text states on page 135, "To the degree that teachers are out of the policy loop in designing and adopting school reforms, it is not surprising if they drag their feet in implementing them." Whose policy loop is it? My guess is that it is not one that the teachers played a significant role in creating. Teachers do have the ability to imprint on education policy by translating the policy into practice, however, I argue that the motivation to do so would be greater if the teachers were a direct part of the policy making process. If the forethought was given for teacher’s input they’d be more motivated to implement processes they felt were useful and interesting.

Failed reforms bring to light problems of the past and bring to light the challenges of changing a system. Educators and the general public share a basis of social expectations about schooling our youth. There is also an underlying shared cultural belief about what a school is that is founded in tradition within our country. Teachers desire to "seeing their students grow intellectually and mature as person." On the flip side of that, there has been a relatively recent edict of devising and implementing a plan to insure that our youth become an economic powerhouse to enhance the wealth of our nation and let no other country excel beyond our great expectations. Are international economic competition and test scores the way to insure a fair, proper and acceptable education for our youth? I like the book’s idea of recruiting talented people to teach, revising programs of teacher education and to winnow out inadequate teachers.

I am not a teacher but hope to be one day. I did like this closing chapter of the Tyack and Cuban book. I thought it brought justice to the argument of school reform and exposed some disillusionment. Input from the inside is essential. This is not a new concept and has been used in the business world for years; prior to implementing a new strategy, teams made up of various levels collaborate to form central ideas prior to execution. Each team submits one report that is then reviewed by the upper level management team to tweak, disregard or incorporate prior to implementing a policy change. I looked on-line and read about Comprehensive School Reforms. After reading, it appears to me that there is a lot of disconnect between the design team and actual school implementation. Federal grants are available and the goal is to increase academia and test scores. However, the schools that qualify and receive federal CSR funds are also responsible for adopting approaches that address components outlined in the No Child Left Behind Act. Has our country been successful in institutionalizing universal high standards resulting in a significant rise in standardized test scores? Or, should we concentrate on advancing the common good through "assisting teachers to adapt new ideas to their own circumstances and students could increase the number of positive encounters with learning that citizens recall and cherish as adults"?