Real
Education Reform
Uniting
the "We". . .
Something
truly awful is happening in America
today. I know that the prevailing
message from the media and our political leaders is always one of crisis and
doom. We always seem to be on the edge
of destruction and despair. As a nation
we move from one crisis to the next operating under clouds of fear and anger
that cause us to look for solutions in some unlikely (and often unhelpful)
places. Once that "crisis" is
averted, usually through actions that profit some specific individual or group,
our attention is directed to a new one. There
is some irony in the fact that no matter the severity of the "crisis"
most people continue their daily lives in relative stability and calm. Many of our pressing crises end up fading away
without really seeming to impact our lives.
This reality desensitizes us and causes us to miss many of the real
problems that exist. As a nation we are
constantly "tilting at windmills" while ignoring truly disastrous pitfalls.
What
makes this even worse is that it happens right under our noses, gets talked
about by many people, and yet the majority of the citizenry doesn't really
comprehend the true problems and the severity of the underlying issues. They hear leaders and public officials talk
about resolving problems, and trust that someone is going to take care of
things for the better. They accept the
prevailing "wisdom" that certain groups are to blame for our
challenges and feel vindicated when someone confronts them and stands up for
the "everyday citizen."
This
real, persuasive and awful problem that we are facing is the dismantling of our
public education system and the weakening of education in general here in America. This process has followed the "script"
that has been used to attack unions, take away voter rights and undermine civil
liberties. Along the way, those who seek
to undermine our public schools have manufactured multiple crises, identified
many scapegoats and in general done their best to camouflage there real
intentions while confusing the general public.
They half self-identified as the defenders of truth, justice and the 'American Way of
Life.'
They
have diverted our attention away from the two key elements that really matter
about our public education system. The
first of these is that in order to have a truly functioning democracy that
works for all citizens, we need to educated all of our citizens equitably. Instead, we have seen significant efforts
made to create a tiered educational system.
One where those with the social, political and economic capital are
given the best while the rest of the population scrambles and fights for the
leftover crumbs.
We believe that an informed public will not give away its
public schools to amateurs, hedge fund managers, rock stars, for-profit
corporations, athletes, fly-by-night entrepreneurs, and religious groups....
huffingtonpost.com
The
other key element that is distorted by educational "reform" efforts
is the concept of just what exactly is meant by education and what a well
educated person is. We have tried to
identify and quantify something that really can't be limited to test scores and
graphs. We have taken the joy of
learning and the inspiration of discovery and put it in prepackaged, easy to
follow, easy to sell products. We have
tried to force educators, families and students to accept that success is
measured by assessments and standards, when the reality is that true success
often isn't quantifiable.
The
sad truth is that the we that I've
referred to isn't really a universal we. It isn't a we made up of a majority of educators, families, students and
community members. Instead it is a we made up of education profiteers,
those seeking political advantage, and others who are looking for personal gain
whether it is social, political or economic.
The real we of education is
finding that their voices are silenced in the debate and that the bureaucracy
of education and the systems we've created are more responsive to a limited
number of people. This leads to frustration
and anger that is directed at the wrong people in the wrong places. The confusion and divisions are perfect
misdirection that allow the process to continue and more harm to be done.
There
are some things that can be done to begin to take control of our educational
systems and the discussion about education in our society.
We
must really understand what we are talking about and communicate more
effectively. We use a lot of "big
words", complicated phrases and other jargon that really doesn't mean a
lot to most people. In fact, even among
professional educators terms like "best practices", "rigor"
and "accountability" can have multiple meanings. In fact, some of the terms that are used are
so confusing as to be nonsensical to anyone outside of a select few. At a meeting earlier this summer I coined my
own new favorite educational term that I would add to the following list of 10,
Uniform Differentiation.
Education is filled with jargon, buzzwords, and BS. I've had
a lot of fun over...
mobile.edweek.org
Until
we understand that education is complex and highly personal, we will continue
to see these types of words and phrases wielded as weapons, not tools. Without common ideas and language we can't
have a meaningful conversation about education.
We need to have higher level policy discussions, but the real value in
any education system isn't in the big picture, it lies in each individual
student. It is at the individual level
that success or failure is determined.
We
need to move past the need to blame others and look for solutions that build on
our strengths. One of the real problems
in education is the fact that educators themselves feel attacked and devalued. We are grappling with difficult problems and
are engaged in a very difficult and challenging occupation and process. Education is also a
process/activity/profession that is highly emotional in nature. Working with students and families is done
best when morale and confidence is high.
Those who work in other, similar professions like social work and
psychology understand this, but there are other professions that don't require
the same level of emotional steadiness. We need to stop blaming and start working together or
we will fail to meet the needs of many of our students and lose too many
educators.
They never tell you in teacher school, and it's rarely
discussed elsewhere. It is never, ever portrayed in movies and tv shows about
teaching. Teachers rarely bring it up around non-teachers for fear it will make
us look weak or inadequate....
huffingtonpost.com
Teachers are leaving the profession at an alarming rate and
at a cost of billions of dollars per year.
npr.org
We need to realize that a significant amount of the pressure to
standardize curriculums and outcomes, and to increase measurable accountability
comes from sources outside of education.
There is no doubt that students need to learn, we need to measure what
they learn and that everyone in the process has significant accountability for
each and every student. That is why the
"back to basics" thinking and move to increase assessments gains
traction. However, if we carefully look
at the outcomes of these efforts it is clear that they are missing the point
and failing to accomplish the supposed goals.
In the end, we want all children to have access to opportunities and to
enjoy success. Measuring them against
artificial, national or international standards doesn't allow for this to
happen in any real, meaningful way.
A kindergarten homework load you won't believe.
washingtonpost.com
Next year, new Common Core exams will be given for the first
time, but questions remain about whether schools and kids are ready.
jsonline.com|By Edgar Mendez
We also need to really
identify and talk about the problems that do exist in our educational systems
and society as a whole. Instead of
relying on political jargon, or slogans to generate support we need to begin to
have meaningful discussions about the challenges we face.
Teachers' unions are not the reason America's schools are in trouble.
alternet.org
This
is truly a time of crisis in American education and therefore in our society as
a whole. Yet, times of crisis are also
times of opportunity. We have an
educational system that has grown over the years in ways that have rarely been
planned or carefully thought out. It is
a system that is antiquated in many ways and that does fail to meet the needs
of all students. The current state of
crisis can, and will, be used to make changes in our systems. It is up to us to decide who is going to make
the changes. Will we allow a small
number of politically connected individuals to decide for all of us? Or, will we rise up as a collective whole and
begin the slow, messy and painful process of creating a system that will
include the voices of all and truly be equitable in nature?
In
many ways this isn't about reclaiming, restoring or defending the existing
system. It is about looking at where
we've failed, where we've succeeded and where our future challenges will lie
and building from what we have. It can
be a time of hope, or a time of fear. It
is up to us to shape the mindset that we approach these efforts with. Hope will always build a better future than
fear.
One
key factor that will shape the debate for the next 4 years is the race for
governor. We know that Scott Walker's
mode of operation is to divide and conquer.
His approach will continue the assault on education and the fear of what
our public schools can, and should be.
Under his administration educators have been vilified, voices have been
silenced and the power of the few has expanded.
He has proven that he will not listen to dissenting views. Mary Burke may not be the perfect answer to
our challenges, but she will provide a new outlook and increased accessibility
to decision making for those who are working in the field of education. We must work to elect her and then hold her
administration accountable as we look to make positive, substantive changes in
our public school systems.
The differences come down to how Mary Burke and Scott Walker
would handle public schools.
host.madison.com|By Lee Enterprises
Mary Burke: "I will also seek to repeal the new
entitlement program...
jsonline.com|By Jason Stein
The
Good, The Bad and
The
Ugly. . .
The Good . . . There is so much misinformation that is floating around in the media,
online and on the airwaves, and it is distorting many people's views of what is
happening in our society. Efforts to
improve opportunities and increase equality for all are often maligned by those
seeking to maintain power and/or profit from the existing systems. Every effort must be made to combat this
rhetoric and get alternative viewpoints into the public eye.
A federal judge Monday threw out Ron Johnson’s lawsuit on
Obamacare, saying the senator and his aide had no legal standing.
jsonline.com|By Patrick Marley
The 13 states that lifted their minimum wage levels on
January 1...
npr.org|By Scott Neuman
It's hard to get your head around the rapid turn of events
that has taken...
isthmus.com
Thursday afternoon, a group of 75 Wisconsin
protesters gathered in the capitol to give Gov. Scott Walker an earful and to
commemorate the one-year anniversary of his crackdown on free speech.
progressive.org
How does this
misinformation and propaganda get spread so widely? One simple answer is money. Money gives individuals and groups access to
media outlets and allows for a specific viewpoint to become viewed as
"truth" by citizens who trust what their leaders say and what the
media reports. Scott Walker's
administration and campaign (frequently very difficult to separate) are masters
at raising money and spending it freely.
With new figures from campaign finance reports, Gov. Scott
Walker has...
jsonline.com|By Patrick Marley
Latest Campaign Finance Filings Show Gov. Walker Remains
Popular With Wealthy, Out-of-State Donors MADISON, WI — In his campaign finance
report filed today, Wisconsin...
onewisconsinnow.org
Although the governor's campaign boasts about getting money
from regular folks, wealthy donors appear to be responsible for a majority of
his finances.
host.madison.com|By Lee Enterprises
MADISON (WKOW) -- The race for Governor has taken a negative
turn in recent weeks. Republican Governor Scott Walker's campaign released an
ad July 16 criticizing democratic challenger Mary Burke for benefiting from...
wkow.com|By Pete Zervakis
There is hope for the
future.
After weeks of negative attack ads against Democratic
gubernatorial candidate Mary Burke, a new poll shows that roughly the same
percentage of voters have a favorable view of her as those who don't.
m.channel3000.com
The Bad . . . Very troubling and disturbing.
Students need more access to a wide variety of literature, not less.
Members of the Racine Education Association are calling on
the Racine...
racinecountyeye.com
The Ugly
. . . As a nation we have
struggled to deal with the racism and inequities in our society. While there has been some progress made over
time, the current trends are negative in nature. The process of social evolution isn't one of
linear, positive progress that leads to the best possible outcomes. Instead, it is a process that challenges
individuals and groups to stay focused on the long term goals of social justice
and equality for all. Just as evolution
of species can result in either well adapted organisms or extinction, so too,
social evolution can raise us as a society, or pull us down. It is up to us to
combat injustice and inequity wherever it occurs.
Big success stories — Obama, Oprah — are outliers in a
landscape that points to the decline of the very ideal of racial and economic
justice in our lifetime.
host.madison.com|By Lee Enterprises
Navajo President Ben Shelly is calling for answers in the
gruesome murders of two homeless Navajo men last weekend in Albuquerque.
indiancountrytodaymedianetwork.com
helenair.com
How on Earth did this happen? A New York newspaper is facing a major...
addictinginfo.org
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