There's been a great conversation happening online today on the National Day of Blogging for Real Education Reform. I appreciate how many educators have taken time to share their ideas thoughtfully with the rest of us. At the U.S. Department of Education, we've been listening in. I am convinced that the best ideas come from classrooms and communities across the nation. I am committed to supporting the great work that is happening in states and districts.
Today's conversation has focused on many issues that I think we can all agree on:
(If you're curious about how the Obama administration's Blueprint for Reform of the Elementary and Secondary Education Act (ESEA) proposes to empower educators, check out our "Built for Teachers" brochure at ED.gov. It was written by teachers, for teachers.)
Throughout my tenure as secretary of education, I've met with outstanding teachers who are positively transforming the lives of children every day, often in unbelievably difficult situations. For them, a child's background -- which can include poverty, a language barrier, a disability, a dysfunctional home -- presents a challenge but isn't used as an excuse.
One of the many places where I have seen real education reform at work is George C. Hall Elementary School in Mobile, Ala., which has transformed from being one of the lowest- performing schools in Alabama into a national model for achieving success in challenging circumstances. I visited George C. Hall at the start of the school year on my Courage in the Classroom bus tour.
Also on that tour I saw great examples of students learning about the civil rights movement from members of their community in Portland, Me., and had a candid conversation with teachers about how to improve testing and teacher compensation in Hattiesburg, Miss. I've also seen tremendous leadership from union leaders and district leaders in Hillsborough County, Fla., Prince George's County, Md., and other districts. These leaders are moving beyond the battles the past and finding new ways to work together.
I am more optimistic than ever about our nation's education system, because I see the courage and commitment of teachers, parents, and educational leaders to making real reform happen every day. But I believe we are at an important crossroads. We've reached consensus on many important issues, but we in education spend too much of our time and energy focused on issues that divide us. We forget how important it is to move forward on what we agree on.
On this National Day of Blogging for Real Education Reform, I hope we can agree on one thing: Let's move forward on solutions -- and not get sidetracked by debates that will slow what is real progress.
Elizabeth Hampton: Would You Pay Higher Taxes For Better Schools?
This is a viewpoint that has been crafted since the onset of NCLB, and its purpose is to take those large pools of public cash, the state education budgets, and put them into the pockets of private corporations.
Since NCLB, private testing companies have grown from a 300 million dollar per year industry to over one billion dollars per annum. That money is missed in the public system, and schools are the worse for it, just as planned. The charter (read private) model is now shown as the most successful model, certainly if you listen to Duncan and his boss. Yet more money will be headed for private coffers as we follow this road to its intended end. This will leave public schools more impoverished, and less able to serve the needs of the students who don't meet the behavior or academic criteria for the privatized schools.
Furthermore, AMERICAN PUBLIC SCHOOLS ARE NOT BROKEN!! We are the most egalitarian system in the world. We are the best. The idea that we are a disaster is a talking point for right wing ideologues that want education for the elite, and servitude for the masses.
Not many of those involved in the day-to-day of public schools with non-middle class kids are clamoring for the changes boosted with taxpayers dollars by Obama-Duncan, Billionaires, Hollywood personalities, or for-profit companies looking for a market share.
Yes! Create a crisis to take control. Surprising how many people fall for this. You illustrate the problem nicely IMHO. How is it that in an educated population a significant percentage of the population (including educators) keep falling for this? I suggest that people are confused and cannot tell fact from opinion and think that thought and emotion are the same thing. That is why the emotional argument wins. Scare people then take their cash.
This is where the school system is failing!
Sincerely, Michael Gerety
Figuring out and using best practices is part of the solution. Devising good measurements, and knowing what their purpose is, is another important step. Adults don't spend their lives taking multiple choice tests; they have to think critically to do their jobs. We need assessments that measure the right things, and we also need short-term assessments that give immediate feedback so teachers can help each child. This means we must convey over and over and over the message that each child is different.
If we really cared about our children and their success, we would not keep trying over and over and over the same failed strategies and we would give schools, and our nation itself, time to see the benefit of improved strategies. They don't happen in two years, just like our economy did not get well in two years. It takes time to steer a school or a nation in a better direction.
A map of low NAEP scores overlays a map of our nation's poverty almost exactly. Schools cannot fix that. We can show growth, but may not be able to work against a society that is geared towards the success of the already wealthy, and meet the same standard as the well-to-do, on the same day.
What do you think of the level of political discourse in the country for starters? Why is it this way and what can educational policy do about that? That would be an article worth reading.
I see no discussion on what the end result of all this should be and why. There in lies the problem. Most of the people that I read here just think of how to better get the mechanics across. To bad, the reason that we have the problems we do is because the kids and many of the parents don't see the point of much of what is being taught. Do you?
I for one would like to see a decent conversation on the point of education. The great list presented in the article is focused on what? Winning more world prizes. Come on, that is not the point at all.
Take a look at the level of political discourse in the country If you want to see where education is failing. The point in education is to teach people to think. That is where it is failing. Setting higher math standards will do nothing; setting higher reading standards will do nothing.
Sincerely, Michael Gerety
We pretty much agree, but I don't think that being able to divide two numbers well or to be able to read fast translates into critical thinking or how to separate thought from emotion. Those things need to be addressed individually for people to make the connection, apparently. How is it that people who graduate from high school can be fooled by the most transparent false arguments or can't tell who is lying?
Sincerely, Michael Gerety
The myth of the super teacher expects that an "effective teacher" in a high school will "save" 120-150 students they teach for 4 hrs/wk. They will do the job of parents, psychiatrists, therapists, nutritionists, entertainers, scholars, and teacher in that short amount of time and cultivate a love of learning that media, parents, culture, and society have failed to do. How many people possess this full skillset?
I'm not saying it wouldn't be great if we could make it happen in every class in the country, just wondering why we think throwing a hail mary every play is a great strategy
The equity project paid 125k for the "best" teachers. Their first year scores were dismal. Face the reality, it takes more than great teachers, and blaming them gives students the excuse they need to blame someone else.
I agree, teachers matter, but they aren't the primary issue in students apathy towards learning.
Fand F.
this is an american mentality issue. the same problems that beset wall street, banks, and the big three are the same american problem that is taking our schools to third world performance.
this decline cannot be stopped contrary to what these people tell you. it is their job to tell you these things. when a nation is in a self destructive mode one aspect of its self destruction cannot be fixed.
our national paradigm is one of individualized pay for performance find someone to blame teacher centered education with most parents caring more for their other activities then their childrens education.
hang on to your hats teachers you are about to be blamed for everything wrong with education like the union workers were with the big three back in the 70 and 80's, indeed even today.
they are going to try to grab you with money and use the line of average to tell most of you over time you are not doing well enough. and you of course will learn to teach to the tests not for pay but to keep your much needed jobs.
there is nothing new here it is the same old tried and true and failed wall street pay for indiviudalized performance ignorance.
Joel Klein was NYC school chancellor for 8 years, and, after taking into account score inflation, there was very little real gain in the cities schools. His best solution was to have someone else, charter schools, come up with reform and to fire teachers. So, he has about 80,000 teachers and he fully and openly admits and he cannot create a situation where all these teachers will be successful and become better teachers.
Yet, Klein and others fully expects teachers to help EACH and EVERY student they receive, regardless of whether they are behind grade level, apathetic about learning, criminals, mentally unstable, etc, to be brought up to grade level and taught the new class material for 120-150 students they teach for around 4 hours a week for less than 35 weeks.
Klein and other education "reformers" are asking more of teachers than they asked of themselves. They also want to judge and fire teachers using public & flawed metrics that, if applied to their jobs, would have resulted in them being canned a long time ago.
If a student failure means the teacher is failing, a teacher failure means the chancellor is failing.
Rhee shouldn't have been proud she fired teacher, she should have been embarrassed that she couldn't create an environment where most teachers stand a good chance of succeeding.
If a teacher took pride in getting rid of "bad" students, we wouldn't call them a reformer or successful
2. Create social safety nets to take care of the 20% child poverty rate. It's hard to learn if you haven't eaten. Try fasting for 24 hours than reading a technical manual.
3. Look to countries like Finland where they provide medical and dental to all students.
4. Scrap standardized testing, or, at least make it low stakes.
5. Stop blaming teachers. It's an impossible job. Center the conversation around how they can be supported rather than how their union is ruining education (it isn't, by the way).
6. Stop being unrealistic/offer choice. Create more technical and career training schools. College isn't for everybody.
7. Maternity leave. If the first 5 years of a child's life are so important for their development, why do women have to give up vacation time to spend the first 6-12 months raising their child
Every study I've ever seen clearly shows that social factors have significantly more impact than anything else on a students educational success, yet, "reformers" misquote to mislead. To really change education, you need to fix societal issues that Republicans and corporations are dead set against improving.
"Most teachers are completely turned off by the "education reform" agenda currently being advanced by Secretary Duncan."
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http://blogs.edweek.org/teachers/living-in-dialogue/2010/11/teachers_and_education_policy.html
He doesn't talk about actual reform--like changes in the curriculum, class size, project based learning, anything. He talks about "reform" only in the sense of telling teachers to do better, and punishing those who can't make it happen. Reform, to Arne and Bill and others, is somehow leveraging more time, more effort, more intensity from people who are already working hard.
How about a hand instead of a push, eh?
-We need to raise expectations for America's students and challenge them with standards
-We need to elevate the teaching profession so teachers get the respect they deserve
-We need to focus on what works.
-We need consensus on the right way to measure students' progress.
-We all need to hold ourselves accountable and recognize those educators who are especially effective.
-We need to involve parents as active partners in their children's education
Those in authority must understand that the system currently is perfectly designed to deliver what it is delivering—otherwise we wouldn’t be consistently getting what we are getting. So before any of the above actions can be consider what is really needed is the problem to be properly defined and this requires a different level of learning and understanding. It can't be defined or solved with the same level of thinking that created what we now have. ( http://forprogressnotgrowth.com/2010/11/23/getting-education-right/ ).
The bureaucracy in Albany at State Education Department got a big chunk of the RttT money. Within a week, they had posted job openings on the SED website for 25 (I counted them!) new positions. My Upstate rural district will receive around $54,000 over four years. That's a little over $13,000 a year. However, 75% of that money will go to our Intermediate Units, in New York called BOCES to create three member teams for every so many buildings. The remaining 25% goes to data gathering, interpretation, etc. SED is now passing the cost for scanning test data to local districts. By the time all of the bureaucrats are paid and all of the unfunded mandates are covered, there is nothing left. In fact, RttT will end up costing our district more money.
And for what? Not one cent will reach the classroom or help teachers to hone their skills.
RttT doubles down on NCLB's worst attributes. The only ones who will be enriched are the moguls of a few huge publishing conglomerates and other companies who are ready to cash in.
Trying to force us all into the same mold removes all the individual advantages we each have.
Here's the most important lesson I learned during student teaching, 22 years ago: If you are teacher A, and try to behave like teacher B (and she was very, very good), you'll be a crappy teacher B.
Instead, I'm a great teacher A. IMHO.