Remember the adage, "the only constant is change"? True -- unless you're talking about education. The number of people in the education system who have actually embraced change is so completely dwarfed by the number who resist it, that the impact our innovators have had in moving the dial on student outcomes is almost inconsequential when you look at the overall data.Â
While there are pockets of innovation happening across this great nation, the failure to fully integrate new ways of managing time and resources into our public school system is holding back the academic progress of our kids. It's a failure of leadership on so many levels. The question for policymakers is what can be done to alter the current course? It's not an easy question to answer, in part, because the very people who have readily constructed obstacles to progress now need to become agents of change. If they don't, there is little hope of narrowing the achievement gap between white students and their African American and Hispanic peers.Â
I think it's helpful to quickly review the principles that have revolutionized nearly every other area of our lives: competition, customization, technology, modern management and a relentless focus on the customer.Â
If real competition were brought to education, our parent customers would rule by voting with their feet. We'd move beyond the fashionable, and mostly politically palatable, charter schools to school vouchers or the more politically correct "scholarships."Â Students could take their state or federal funding allocations to the school that best meets their needs. All schools would likely respond by adapting to consumer needs and demands and new entrants -- likely from the private sector -- would engage.
If customization and technology were truly embraced, we'd see learners progressing at their own pace. The school day and year would be tailored to ensure students progressed to higher levels of proficiency and to free educators to customize their teaching to individual learner needs.
If modern management carried the day, we'd start to use time and people in more strategic ways. We'd have our most skilled teachers doing the hardest work and we'd pay them more for doing it. We would spend more time and money serving our customers, the students, and less time and money serving adult and administrative needs. And we would constantly seek and incorporate their input.Â
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We'd respond to critical demands by employers to have access to a prepared and skilled workforce, including graduates who could read and cipher. They would know how to learn and adapt to changing circumstances and they would value work and responsibility.
It's ironic that America has literally led the rest of the world in technological advances in medicine, business and others sectors yet has failed to innovate the system it relies on to educate our children. But it's not too late. We can adapt what we know and the innovations that are commonplace in every other aspect of our lives to our schools. It's what we know and have always done as Americans -- strive to be the best in the world and lead others to success as well.
Lest we forget, the success of all of our children begets the success of America.Â
I may have spelled a word wrong or didn't put a sentence in the right structure but I've worked 46 years and retired without drawing a day of unemployment. We managed to put a man on the moon without all this interference.
My advise, worth a penny, is to leave the school system and teachers alone. Let them do their jobs. Parents need to start being parents and back up the teacher by making sure your kid has the right attitude, back up your teachers and make sure homework is done. For the rest, stop making money or political points by interfering with our children and the future of this country.
To gain control, you must let go. Empower the schools and districts across the nation to push the boundaries of innovation once again. Take away the pall of punishment that hangs over schools at the State and Federal levels. Let schools figure out how to better provide for their students instead of how to get out of program improvement. Let schools be schools, not businesses.
I believe it is you and those who follow the same style of thinking that are forgetting. Children should not be tested to death. There is no more love in school because it is nothing but one test after another.
Who is this benefiting? The child? No! Children are more depressed now than ever before. The teachers? No! This mode of thinking is/would be stifling the creativity of both students and teachers. Everyone wants the teachers to "do their job", but how can they when you tie their hands? The parents? No! We listen every day to our children who cry because they don't want to sit through even MORE testing. This is only benefiting corporations!
Do you really want to change the world of education? Stop agreeing that giving billions to companies like Pearson for even more testing is making a difference. Empower those who are really TRYING to make the changes such as the students, parents and teachers.
NCLB is a failure! It has "left behind" my son and no amount of dollars thrown at this "problem" is going to make that go away!
Your solution is to spend even more without actually looking at the real issues and you wonder why we're so behind in education?
The only answer is for parents like myself to OPT OUT of the standardized testings! Which is exactly what I intend to do AGAIN!
If your quote is accurate, Ms. Spellings, it would be because we ARE doing something right in public education. But it certainly is NOT the test prep and constant testing culture that the "reformers" are pushing on the teachers and students.
I'm an underpaid teacher (IMHO) and I STILL have parents manipulating the system to get kids in certain classes, I STILL have to make sure my kids pass their tests and I STILL have to prove to admin that I'm better than other teachers at my particular job and deserve to keep it. So, as long as I'm doing all of that stuff anyway, they might as well pay me for it.
Which is why when I read windy articles like this one that has finger pointing at convenient scapegoats, purposely not addressing the actual culprit behind the situation this country is in, I just roll my eyes and go: "Super. Another lazy thinker amongst the policy wonks who wouldn't last a day at my school."
Also, you're wrong. I'm all for change--bring it on.
It's just that I've never been present any kind of change in the 16 years I've been working this gig that (1) makes sense, (2) actually benefits children in real and meaningful ways, (3) is fair, (4) doesn't involve some type of political posturing and/or grandstanding on some politician's part, (5) doesn't end up being repealed or overhauled or causing some political/policy wonk somewhere to try to cover their tracks by pointing fingers at easy scapegoats, still failing to address the actual problems.
If poor parents of poor children around this country knew and fully understood what was being done (or not done) with schools right now, there'd be a serious upheaval. You want change? Go educate and empower some poor people. (But you won't do that, because that's not the kind of "change" you're talking about. :-)
Poor kids have it bad in so many ways and one basic way life is difficult for them is that it's harder for them to learn and they're harder to teach. No impossible to teach, just a lot harder and so they need more time and resources to get them up to the levels of their middle class peers.
The main problem is that we blame teachers all day long and then give the parents of these children who do not study, do not do their homework, and are disruptive inside of the classroom which does not produce a productive learning environment a FREE PASS! If we want real CHANGE we must get these parents on board or we must consequence these parents who have created little m . onster that prevent the other children in their classes from learning.
Fine the parents $100.00 for every class their children fail each quarter....that will get them to change!
So, that said, there are lot of AP kids who get great grades and don't do well on the test because it's the teacher who gives the school grades and frankly, many are pressured to give good grades by their admin and the parents, who want high GPA's for kids to display on high school transcripts.
Personally, I think it's a disservice to grade too easy. My goal is for a kid who gets an A to get a 5 on the AP test (the top score), the kid who gets a B will earn a 4 and a C makes a 3, which will get him course credit at most colleges. If kids don't get unrealistic, inflated grades they don't stretch themselves to improve, so I think that as a teacher I'm hurting them if I grade-inflate.
I teach computer classes and AP classes in the CTE system and my kids go on to work because they earn high level technical certifications, but many go on to college in highly technical fields. CTE will get kids in to trades and if you've every looked under the hood of your car lately, most people in trades need constant updating as technology advances and I can't think of one that doesn't need high levels of computer literacy.
Of course!!! The "Career and Technology Education schools" are not your run of the mill public schools whose first job is eliminating such endeavors. Moreover, the regular elite teachers would hate to have a guy with callouses on his hand at meetings speaking the need for more #2 plywood. I am totally with you. You will soon experience more kids unless they are intimidated by the College Prep group and the media who disdain the trades coming to your school. Good comments.