For over a week, we've all watched the teachers' strike unfold in Chicago.
Last Monday, around 26,000 teachers walked out in protest and suddenly left more than 350,000 students without schools to attend. Even today, classes in Chicago remain out of session.
At issue are three main points: the length of the school day, concerns over job losses and teacher evaluations being tied to student performance.
Here's the deal: teachers say it's not fair to be punished for poor student test scores. They argue students are impacted by their home life, poverty and other factors -- even a student skipping breakfast the day of an evaluation -- and that teachers do the best they can despite the obstacles.
Because of these evaluations, we have now developed a school culture that 'teaches to the test' and often doesn't provide opportunities to learn outside the classroom. In effect, we are phasing out field trips.
But there is a way to combine testing and real-life skills right now and maybe even lessen the pressure on America's teachers.
Know what it is?
Show and Tell.
If we drop into classrooms or attend a Career Day to share our knowledge, the effect could be huge on a group of bright-eyed, impressionable kids.
Are you a biologist? Go back to your old high school science class -- or any high school -- and tell teens about your line of work. More than that, explain how your job relates to what they're learning.
Social media manager? Visit a middle school and explain to all those tween texters why they need solid grammar skills in addition to fast-moving thumbs.
The goal is to pique students' interest in various fields and make them understand how solid evaluation scores can help them graduate and succeed in the real world.
Perhaps an inspiring show-and-tell from a stockbroker will stress the importance of math skills. Then, students begin to take math lessons more seriously and their test scores improve.
And if test scores go up, that may ease the burden on teachers.
By offering 'field trips' from inside the classroom, students can be exposed to all kinds of jobs and industries, and the cost to the school system is minimal.
All it takes is 30 minutes of our time.
And let's be honest. There are few ego boosts bigger than talking with kids in grade school. They idolize adults with cool jobs and hang on every word.
So now the crucial question: how do you schedule a presentation?
Every school has different policies, but the best way to start is to visit the school's Web site and e-mail the principal.
Feel free to use this sample:
Dear Principal ________-
My name is ____________, and I am a [your job] here in town. I am curious if any of your [math, social studies, etc..] teachers would be interested in me coming by for a short presentation on how [your specific skills] are important in the work world. I can show practical examples from my field and answer any questions they may have.
I think the students would appreciate a visit from someone in the real world, and maybe it will help drive home the lessons your teachers work so hard to convey. If there's an upcoming Career Day, I'd be happy to come to that instead.
Please let me know if you're interested.
Teachers have a tough job in Chicago and every other school system in America. Let's help them by simply sharing what we do with our lives.
Worst case? The students get a fun presentation to break up the day (and you get a captive audience).
Best case? We uncover a unique way to improve evaluation scores.
Have you ever spoken to a class about your job? How did it go, and how did you make it happen?
Or do you have a better way to help students raise their test scores?
Share below!
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Everyone has different ideas about education and it would be a ship without a rudder; right now it has a rudder but the captain lost control.
Business and education have few parallels and when business donates money, it's on their terms--their name in “neon lights” advertising—it’s deductible and they will get the maximum return and best press. It’s their right to demand how their money is spent but if they wanted to be benevolent, they would ask the school what it needed instead of dictating how they will help.
I wrote a grant for something that would benefit all kids and it was rejected. The same grant, when focused on Special Ed and without mention of “regular kids”, was approved. Since it was equipment, regular kids could use it but that gives you an idea of “business thinking” –we don’t need that in public schools.
My experience is that business doesn’t give money away unless it somehow benefits them—think of how many times you see a business man with a big check shaking hands with the recipient’s representative.
Is 'Show and Tell' really an arguable idea? We've done it for 100 years.
Business and education are like trying to mix oil and water. Business is driven by profits and no where in public schools' scope and sequence are "profits" mentioned.
Many times businesses want something for their investment and their donations (time or money) are politically motivated or an attempt to influence something in the educational process. Sometimes school boards jump at the chance and adopt things that aren't good for the students but the board members see "free money", not the fact that schools are being used by business to increase their market share via the public school systems.
3) Do you seriously think your re-born Business-Education Day will cause test scores to go up?
4) “There are few ego boosts bigger than talking with kids in grade school. They idolize adults with cool jobs and hang on every word.”
“But there is a way to combine testing and real-life skills right now and maybe even lessen the pressure on America's teachers. Know what it is? Show and Tell.”
These statements are beyond naïve and close to moronic. Do you think grade school is the place to introduce vocations? Do kids really idolize adults with cool jobs and will be on the edge of their seats? Do you think a half hour of businessmen’s inputs is going to change the student test results? You’ll have to boost your ego on your own time.
5) “If we drop into the classrooms…” Who is “we”? What do you do for a living—run a blog?
6) Why mention your proposal and extensively relate it to the Chicago Strike?
Sorry, your intentions are honorable but you hit a nerve because I’ve been where you want to go. Additionally, your letter wouldn’t make me jump out of my chair to cooperate.
During the 70s things changed for the worse. Schools became "student centered" instead of "education centered", failure and hurt feelings were bad, timeout rooms were “in thing” and a lot of other detrimental changes happened in this decade. Now you know the reasons for my anger, I’ll address your post:
1) You want to take 30 minutes from the teaching day when teachers’ don't have enough time to teach the things they originally taught because noe they have to teach to the test. You want 30 minutes of that time (a relatively huge amount) do a show and tell in any grade? It’s inappropriate in elementary school and secondary teachers don’t have the time to allow you to “play teacher” (yes, it happened frequently). Because of the teacher’s discipline, the kids listened, if the teacher left the room for the half hour, I think that would be the best introduction to education a business man could have.
2) Don't you think teachers would present much of what you advocate if they had the time and probably do it more effectively? Why don’t you think they don’t? Because in their professional opinion, something else is more important.
Every decade the public schools took another hit from school boards, politicians or parents that didn’t want to admit that Johnny wasn’t a genius. Rules and laws were changed to accommodate bad behavior and give excuses for same. Behavioral and academic leniency became more intense and widespread during each progressive decade.
Now there is no discipline in schools because parents/school boards won’t allow it and politicians are careful not to alienate parents (most potential votes) and don’t want to say, “Henry’s not too bright and he’s not college material but he is getting good grades in Warehousing at the Vo-Tech school”. It costs less votes to blame teachers even though politicians make the rules.
Of course the school boards and politicians deemphasized vocational training and eliminated its introduction via Industrial Arts; now kids aren’t familiar with any other “life direction” except college. This situation has been caused by business, politicians, poor parents and parents with poor ideas—it certainly wasn’t the teachers’ idea(s).
WE HAD A GOOD SCHOOL SYSTEM WHEN SCHOOLS WERE IN CHARGE, PARENTS SUPPORTED THE SCHOOLS AND POLITICIANS ESSENTIALLY PLAYED AN INACTIVE ROLE IN EDUCATION.
I’d like to see the teacher leave the class room during a “business presentation” and we’ll see if you are captivating or have lost control of the class. There’s no pay check to hold over the students’ head like a boss can do to their employees. In fact, there is nothing you can do if they call you names or go to sleep during your lecture.
Most business people did a very poor job of teaching/relating their subject—they placed themselves on a high plane and couldn’t relate to the student—that was another reason to discontinue the program. They couldn’t relate their job to the students and in the end, Industrial Arts, Vo-Tech and guidance counselors did all the things you suggest; did them better, in more depth and when needed.
In the 80s Industrial Arts programs were curtailed because many schools converted to middle school and IA experiences were minimal and by the late 90s, eliminated completely.
What's the point in the above tirade?
I think business (many business people are on school boards and make/approve policy) politicians and misguided parents are mostly responsible for the degradation of the public school system.
Your post riles me for several reasons, mostly because your thoughts and approach are like the businessmen’s in the 60s and 70s. What you say is so basic that it leads me to believe you feel teachers are dim-witted and haven’t thought or done the very basic things you propose.
Plus, your approach and cavalier attitude is annoying. For example:
“Worst case? The students get a fun presentation to break up the day (and you get a captive audience)”.
What a stupid statement and I suppose teachers could have stronger words to describe this statement. You take a half hour of teaching time to “show off” and if unsuccessful, “students get a fun presentation to break up the day”. Teachers are trying to get their students to pass the test (merit pay may be on the line), they don’t need a half hour of your fun presentation and if they do, they can find other ways to do it. How do you know you/they would have a captive audience—you think you are that good?
Your idea reminds me of "Business-Education Day" which was eliminated it in the 70s. Once again, it proves that few things in education are really new except technology. B-E Day was dropped because it was deemed unproductive and there was little parallelism between business and education. Bear in mind, in those days Industrial Arts was offered in the junior and senior high programs and most school districts had access to strong vocational technical programs. As a result, most kids knew that they had a lot of job choices and actually perform some of them.
When business came to schools it was many times obvious in varying degrees that many businessmen thought the teaching was easy and they had the solutions to the "problems of the day". This was evident in varying degrees but sometimes it was blatantly obvious when talking over lunch – many in business really didn't respect teachers and during their brief glimpse of school, they “had the solutions” based on very little observations but they applied them across the board.
In fact, heated teacher/businessmen debates took place relatively frequently and I guess it became obvious to the administration that BE Day wasn't 'helpful".
Is the idea a panacea? Not even close. But it's a way for us to engage in the story of the Chicago teachers' strike, which is the essence of my blog (newstoliveby.net): find ways to apply the news to our own lives.
Thanks for the comment!