I found a very relevant article which discusses education reform in the United States. In light of our discussion last night, this piece is very interesting. The author talks about our failed attempts at reform, and the resistant that many new ideas often face from schools. He also points out that operating at status quo, while expecting new and different results is ridiculous. When we get serious about reform and we are ready to adequately support and fund it, then change may happen. It is time we stop accepting mediocrity in our schools, from both our students and teachers.
http://ednews.org/articles/35813/1/Redefining-Education-Innovation/Page1.html
5 comments:
Insanity: doing the same thing over and over again and expecting different results.
-Albert Einstein
I think many teachers want education to improve. However they may not believe the changes are real changes - like the article says, "Are we making change for change's sake, or are we implementing real changes that are affecting student performance?" I believe teachers will resist change that does not seem real.
Great article. The comment that if student success isn't the name of the game then we shouldn't be playing pretty much sums it up. We can't accept a small improvement here and there and call it success. National standards also need to be established so we aren't comparing apples to oranges. Our reading in T & C last week mentioned that the "appropriate period for evaluation (of reform) may be a generation or more" (p. 7). So after just one decade of NCLB can we call it a success? Probably not, for this reason and many more.
The article brought out a good question. How do we measure success? I believe that once we figure this out and stick with it, then we will see an improvement in our schools. Ideas and ways of evaluating students change so much.
For example, just this year the PACT test has changed to the PASS test. This is the standarized test that children take to evaluate
the schools and the teachers.
I know with the PACT test it took a year to get the score back. What can a teacher do when they find out scores a year later when the child is in a different class?
I think Tyack and Cuban would take a dim view of the article Jennifer links to. Any thoughts why?
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