Teachers Criticize Obama School Reform's Reliance On Tests, Charters As "Bush III"

Washington Post:

Read the whole story: Washington Post

Comments

[jeun28]

Who cares anyway. Its not like any of the kids want to learn today across all races. Why are teachers wasting their time. These kids want to watch tv, its a chore for them to turn in homework, but Britney and the lasted iphone is a priority. By the way what are the states themselves doing? Whatever, education is not a priority for this generation of students and not all teachers actually know what they are teaching period. Sorry to be harsh, but there is no longer a taste for knowledge in this nation so just accept it.

The favorite words of kids today "like," critical thinking is not their friend

I don't know what can be done to change to the educational system. I just know we can't use test for everything, there must be a focus on actually understanding the materials and practical application of the material. There must be involvement from parents and parents must stop spoiling alot of these kids that end up in these classes. I have seen students who don't feel they have to work hard because mom and dad will take of everything and wonder why they fail. Sorry until we face the reality that the nation as it stands now does not care about education, nothing changes.

[k6007]

Why, you're just one big ole burst of sunshine, aren't ya? :}

[hulagirrrl]

Issues at hand are that in Hawaii teachers are now furloughed a total of 17 instructional days for the remainder of the school year. Other states are furloughing teachers as well, some are at least then trying to move the furlough days to the least negative impact on instruction, but Hawaii has been hit hard.
So I wish that this would be addressed immediately. What are we teaching our children with cutting education, at the same time we are lagging behind as it is.
I can no longer watch how these corporate pigs on Wall Street are gobbling up the money. Jamie Dimon, I challenge you and the rest of the millionaires club, you are so smart about money, what can we do to save our schools TODAY? How much could you and your friends spare to infuse into the states that are hurting now?

[Imago]

California has been devastated, too:

$18 billion in cuts this year, approximately 30,000 pink slips handed out for teachers and staff at our K-12 public schools.

10% furloughs for all faculty and staff at all state universities and a 25% increase in tuition, simultaneously.

I'm with you, hulagirrrl -- how much COULD our bazillionaires spare?

[jeun28]

Education is not important to the nations elite period. Dumping down is in effect.

Where are the parents saying I want the best for my kids academically. Have you seen graduate schools today, medical, engineering, math, sciences guess who are there? The immigrants folks love to hate, who take education seriously. People from india, africa, russia, who take it seriously and work hard inspite of the obstacles. They go the same high schools but still make it. Why? because it matters to them, they understand its value. They are the doctors and nurses today. Where is the taste in this nation ?Where?

[tbone99]

Obama cagily held off on stating his ideas on education before the election except in very vague terms. He needed teachers votes - they are a Democratic bastion . Then once they voted him in - he betrayed them.

Sound familiar?

[iplaw]

Because like all special interests teachers do not necessarily vote for what is good for most people.

[rrlane]

Yeah, because teachers selfishly put the needs of children ahead of other things. How self-involved.

[tbone99]

yeah it must be the BIG profits that draws them into the profession.

[jeun28]

If the teachers want something, fight for it. Its 7 months in, you fight for what you want. What do they want? What is their plan? Its not clear in the article.

What is their goals?

[springsm]

It doesn't seem right that teachers are graded on how well the students do, there are too many variables and I would also worry about the administrator who makes the decisions.­..knowing what some of them are like. But I do think that Obama thinks that No child left behind was successful and ti truly was not. So they have to look at all fo this alittle more closely and I wish that Obama and his cabinet would actually KNOW what they are talking about or talk to people in the classrooms on this subject...­.instead of thinking about the results of elite private schools. Defranchised children are harder to teach, hopelessness abounds, illness is rampant and hunger is part of the life of these kids. That is not the teachers' fault....T­rouble is..our teachers do not get enough support, are poorly paid, are expected to be parent, social worker, disiplinarian, cop and then teach. Forget it.

[hulagirrrl]

September 24, 2009 Contact: John White, Press Secretary
[e-mail]

U.S. Secretary of Education Arne Duncan today said that the $24.8 billion in federal funds available annually to the nation's schools should support reforms that prepare students for success in college and careers.

"Today, I am calling on all of you to join with us to build a transformative education law that guarantees every child the education they want and need—a law that recognizes and reinforces the proper role of the federal government to support and drive reform at the state and local level," Duncan told more than 200 leaders of major education groups in his first major speech about the future of the Elementary and Secondary Education Act of 1965.

The ESEA was reauthorized most recently in 2002 in what is known as the No Child Left Behind Act.
In his speech, Duncan said that the NCLB law has significant flaws and that he looks forward to working with Congress to address the law's problems. He said the law puts too much emphasis on standardized tests, unfairly labels many schools as failures, and doesn't account for students' academic growth in its accountability system.

"But the biggest problem with NCLB is that it doesn't encourage high learning standards," Duncan said. "In fact, it inadvertently encourages states to lower them. The net effect is that we are lying to children and parents by telling kids they are succeeding when they are not." www.ed.gov

[Ivriniel]

I am very concerned by proposals to set teachers salaries based on student performance. It completely ignores the socio-economic factors that impact student achievement. My fear is that it will only make it harder for schools in low income neighbourhoods to retain teachers.

Why work your butt off day after day trying to help disadvantaged kids learn, when you can put less effort in for more money elsewhere?

Yes there are people who will teach in low income areas regardless of the pay because they feel that it is their mission to be there. People who choose to work that hard in service of others should not have the added stress of having to worry about making ends meet.

[clearthinker2008]

Yeah because everyone knows that low income "students" are and take extra everything to teach.

I wonder what code words are used here...let­'s see
disadvantaged kids
low income neighborhoods

All you are saying is why should good white teachers bother "sacrifice ourselves" teaching those poor "stupid blacks and Hispanic" kids and get punished for doing so because we know they are "stupid" anyway?

[rrlane]

You are finding a slight where none is offered.

[iplaw]

The soft racism of low expectations.

[tbone99]

Face it ,low income schools have fewer resources in terms of parental asistence ( fewer stay at home moms) and financial help., not to mention district help for things such as sports, playrounds, computers and field trips.Inst­ead of the needy getting more assistence so they can "catch up", under the Bush program these schools get LESS money.

Teachers in theses areas frequently are fighting an uphill battle to get the things their kids need , just in terms of supplies. In well- to do districts parents volunteer everything from money to well financed entertainment to bring money into the school for fancy swimming pools , book drives and football fields.

In addition many of the children move frequently ,are less prepared scholastically or do not speak English , especially for the NCLB tests which are culturally biased., so their scores will not help a teacher get a raise no matter how hard s/he works- s/he is competing against teachers whose charges have traveled world wide and take extracurricular classes to "enhance " their learning experiences.

Teachers have families who depend on their income too.Why should a teacher be denied a raise because they are teaching at a school in which the test scores may not meet the criteria , thru no fault of their own?

[clearthinker2008]

correction:

Yeah because everyone knows that low income "students" are "stupid" and take extra work to teach.

[rrlane]

Low income schools DO take extra work and statistically perform more poorly than those where the average income is higher. This does not mean every kid there will perform badly, but it does mean that if teachers' pay is determined by how their students as a whole do, then those working in poorer areas have less financial incentive to want to teacher there.

The word stupid didn't appear in the original post so why are you using it?

[GrizzlyBowman]

What? Obama's plan is more of the same garbage?

What? We're still terrorizing Iraq and Afghanistan?

What? "Don't Ask, Don't Tell" is still Military Policy?

What? The American Recovery and Reinvestment Act failed to create any useful jobs?

What? Obama smokes and he banned a wide variety of cigarettes?

What? Obama smoked Marijuana and snorted Cocaine and he's still sending people to prison for it?

What? Obama said he wouldn't tax the Middle Class and there's a 2.5% tax in HR 3200?

Nah, it can't be true that it's more of the same. Everything Obama does is historic. Hey, someone post a sound bite of him taking a tingle. Then we can all marvel at the sound of a black man pissing.

[Koreanovice]

Rushannity are Becking your call!

[MNmommy]

It doesn't matter that this article is from WaPo; it's still the truth. Look around at other websites that have articles on the subject. It's a widespread criticism of the Obama Administration's education policy and it's what many of us predicted when Arne Duncan was nominated to the SoE position.

All that said, I have no problems with some of the changes. I enthusiastically support measuring and holding teacher's accountable for individual growth. That is the key that has been missing in NCLB - as long as the class/scho­ol/distric­t numbers met the criteria - it was all good. Nevermind that many kids sat bored in the classroom and virtually regressed due to lack of any challenge or learning.

The over-dependence on the close 'em and make 'me a charter is troublesome. Charter schools drain money from established schools in states that use a per pupil formula for funding where the dollars follow the student. I won't be overly harsh about charters though, because that's exactly where we ended up with my son, because the public school was failing to meet his needs. Happily, my IEP 6th grader is taking 8th grade math and language arts, and HS Spanish III and is sporting a 3.2 GPA in his new program - he was failing many classes in 5th grade at a regular public school. Appropriately challenging children is so important, and we did not get anywhere near the accommodation before that we do in this charter.

[rrlane]

I agree with what you are saying, and believe me when I say that public schools (at least in my area) are striving to make the types of changes you propose. There is a large push to focus on differentiated instruction and more student centered learning facilitated by technology in ways that strive to make our students competitive in a flattened global economy. The challenge is to do so in a way that does not bring the wrath of standardized test gods down upon us in the meantime.

[serindipity803]

It looked authentic until I realized the Washington Post wrote it - the little GOP rag that couldn't!

[WorkingClass]

I guess we can add teachers to the growing list of people who will not be supporting O'Bushbama's bid for nomination to run for a second term.

[rrlane]

Calm down, Sparky. 2012 is a long way off, and this legislation isn't even on the books yet.

[widdles]

You are going to be quite surprised who they will vote for in 2012! T

he teachers organizations know full well, in spite of their disagreeing with the President on this issue, which side of the bread is buttered. And the Republican's aren't it!

The Republicans are so anti-education it isn't even funny. T

hey like their constituents ignorant and uninformed - you know, just like you are!

[iplaw]

Lol, who are you going to run against him? Leiberman? No matter how bad Obama is everyone else is worse.

[Rmath]

Progressives won't accomplish a thing by bashing Obama. You won't get what you want from Karl Rove & company.

[archiebird]

Wow! The pundits were right. What a BLISTERING week for Obama. First an expert, historian says Obama is continuing Bush era secrets and preserving them, then an expert economist says Obama has not refomed the banksters and we're headed toward disaster AGAIN as the banksters start with life insurance high risk securities, NOW teachers and the WaPo are saying his education reform is nothing but BUSH III!! Woah! If thats not saying that Obama's presidency shouldn't be more than a 1 termer, I DON"T KNOW WHAT IS! Progressives need to get out in front of this issue, and pick a new candidate for 2012. Obama has dropped the ball too many times. He's supposedly fighting for healthcare, but who gives a rats-patooty if its a mandate and everybody has to buy it. Thats a boon for insurance companies. Obama is a fraud. Progressives ORGANIZE, NOW!

[rrlane]

You're mistaking people criticizing programs with people criticizing the man. No program or project is perfect out of the starting gate.

You are simply too accustomed to eight years of a President who demanded everyone in his camp be utterly in lock step with him or be shunned.

[widdles]

Thanks for raking archiebird over the coals. Much needed!

[JuniperSunshine]

Pouring more money into failing schools is not the answer. Really, $12,000 a year and 12 years of school, and the kids still can't read by graduation? Give me three months and $50 worth of supplies, and I can teach ANY child to read. Private schools do a better job at half the cost. Ditto for homeschooling parents. Vouchers for all is the fairest answer. After all, how many parents *as consumers* would CHOOSE to pay the local public school twice as much as the nearest private school? Let them start giving the consumers what they want, or let them die a quick, but necessary, death.

[rrlane]

"Really, $12,000 a year and 12 years of school, and the kids still can't read by graduation? Give me three months and $50 worth of supplies, and I can teach ANY child to read."

I can say with 100 percent certainty that no, you could not.

I don't mean that as a slam against you. NO ONE could do that, and that's the biggest problem with NCLB and other high stakes testing programs; they treat children as products rather than individuals.

If there is going to be meaningful dialogue on education hyperbolic statements like that one need to be checked at the door.

[springbaby]

With the internet, technology (think Kindle), I think the comment by JuniperSunshine is plausible if one is willing to think creatively. Maybe our ideal school system looks entirely different than what we have and know.

[MsMandy]

One aspect that many do not think about (or choose to ignore) when touting the voucher system is that those students whose parents care enough to send them to a charter or private school are probably already succeeding within their public school. Unfortunately, the voucher system would, in my opinion, bring back segregation to schools, only this time the distinction would not be made by color of skin, but by who was lucky enough to be born to parents who care. Only the kids who have caring, supportive parents would make the move to a charter or private school, and the others would remain stuck in schools rife with discipline issues created by students who do not care enough to get an education, many times because their families have failed them by not teaching the immeasurable value of an education.

[constitutional 1]

We already have segregated schools. Look at the number of people that have moved out of the cities and into the suburbs of every city. Why, usually because of crime and schools. Race and economics have less to do with a schools performance than parental involvement and repsonsibility does.
http://www.eastbayexpress.com/ebx/PrintFriendly?oid=285317

[widdles]

Well put!

[clearthinker2008]

bring back segregation?

ROTFL....

[springbaby]

Maybe people who don't give a s. hit. about their kids, should stop having kids. Why does our society continue to punish those that are responsible?

I'm not a "child or poor people h. ater.". But many of our "liberal" policies intended to help have only hurt and in most cases, have made the problems worse.

[DuPageDem]

Any child? How about 30 at a time (half non-English speaking, and most with parents who work 2-3 jobs and never see their kids), in a crumbling building with broken metal detectors on the doors? Private school 'success,' such as it is, is sustained only by the fact the parents are a self-selected group. If you got your wish, a private-only system would get quickly hammered by the same issues and costs which face public schools -- except they'd also tack on a tidy 30% profit markup borrowed from our miserable for-profit healthcare industry.

It's just a whole lot easier to blame public schools and teachers for the social devastation of 30 years of Voodoo Reaganomics, than it is to actually fund NCLB as promised when Sen. Kennedy backed it.

[CrzyRussell]

"t's just a whole lot easier to blame public schools and teachers for the social devastation of 30 years of Voodoo Reaganomics, than it is to actually fund NCLB as promised when Sen. Kennedy backed it."

Kind of like how you are blaming Reagan?

Money isn't going to fix the unlerling problem of why alot of public schools are failing.

The problem is what happens at home......­.

[JuniperSunshine]

I don't blame the teachers at all. They are expected to perform miracles of social engineering, teach values, feed hungry students, and 10,000 other things. Meanwhile parents desperately just want a school that teaches academics. The parents stuck in crumbling city schools are BEGGING for vouchers and placement in magnet schools. I think we should listen to them.

[HalfBakedSushi]

Since you are so incredibly talented at helping people learn to read, I sincerely hope you are a volunteer tutor at your nearest local literacy council. Literacy councils function on less than shoestring budgets and generally spend $150 or so training each tutor. I'm sure your local literacy council would love to save $100 for the use of your genius, and that children and adults who can't read would surely benefit from the same.

Find out more here: http://www.proliteracy.org/NetCommunity/Page.aspx?pid=191&srcid=-2

[HalfBakedSushi]

Oh yes, and that $150 to train a tutor does not include the cost of materials needed to teach someone to be a fluent reader. So, really, you'd be saving your local literacy council closer to $500 (on the very, very inexpensive end) they would otherwise spend on training and materials.

[JuniperSunshine]

I'm busy enough homeschooling my own kids, including providing therapy to one with Autism.

[trinity]

Any student? I have 25 special education students with various disabilities from cognitive to emotional. You can have all 25 of them them in your house, all at the same time...hav­e fun, I expect their test scores to soar, and have all be at grade level at the end of 3 months.

[CrzyRussell]

I think he was referring to normal students that are the majority of the school population­.....

[JuniperSunshine]

I have a disabled son, as well. I meant "any single ten year old kid WITHOUT serious learning disabiliti­es." Although, I did manage to teach my son with mid-level autism to read at age 5. The natural way to teach reading - one on one - has worked for centuries. Shoveling money into classrooms where sex ed, self-esteem, and multiculturalism take precedent over phonics and 10 minutes a day of guided reading work is just a waste of money.

[grata2ude]

I know we live in the age of McDonald's and expect all change to come in a McMinute but for gosh sakes everyone has expected Obama to bring Utopia in nine months.

He's already in nine months fulfilled 40 or more of his campaign promises. Try giving him some time and support.

His plate is full and he's tackling things one bite at a time. Give him time to at least swallow.

[ldmason45]

I think it matters very little what standards that you apply to learning if parents do not get involved in their children's education. Parents have to support teachers and reinforce what is being taught. I was a single parent and worked full time but I made time to be involved in my daughter's education because I knew how important it was to her future. A juvenile court judge in the county I live in is now hauling parents of kids who have had repeated absences and are failing into court to answer for their actions or inactions. Most of these parents test positive for drugs and are offered rehab in lieu of jail time. It seems to be helping. Parents need to quit complaining and get more involved with their childs education.­When you see a classroom with a lot of parents involved you see a higher level of achievement among the students.

[JuniperSunshine]

Also, schools need to show strong results after trying various methods of teaching. Parents need to feel confident in their schools and the teaching methods to really get involved. A great teacher using proven methods plus an involved parent is certainly the best outcome.

[clearthinker2008]

Sometimes it's hard to get involved as much when you are working 2 min wage jobs.

[rrlane]

If you want to know the truth about the fallacy of standardized testing and NCLB, I cannot recommend the book "Readicide: How Schools Are Killing Reading and What You Can Do About It" strongly enough.

I'd post a link to it on Amazon, but it'd get sucked away into moderator limbo.

[MsMandy]

Thanks rrlane! I am definitely going to look into that book.
Good luck to you and your students over the course of the year, and let's keep fighting the good fight, doing what is best for our kids.

[hulagirrrl]

Thank you for the recommendation.