Seeking
Educational Perfection. . .
We are constantly hearing
from those who would "reform" public education about how they are
seeking to make our current public educational systems more equitable in terms
of opportunity and outcomes. They either
imply, or explicitly state that the current system is a failure, and that a
"new" privatized system of specialized schools is the best way to
address the inequities that exist in our current public educational systems. The arguments make good sound bites, and seem
to be logical and even "common sense" in nature, but the reality that
the "reform" movement creates is based on faulty logic and too often
actually harmful to those students it is supposed to help.
One of the major flaws in
the "reform" argument is that we can completely eliminate all gaps in
opportunity and achievement. This is
something that few people in educational policy making positions are willing to
admit. By making this statement we open
ourselves up to criticism and accusations of having low expectations for our
students. Yet, to my knowledge, there
has never been a society where everyone was equal in outcomes, and where every
individual was able to achieve proficiency in all skills. However, that's what we are asking our
schools to do when we look at the evaluation and accountability standards that
we are holding our public schools and public educators to. The 100% proficient goal set by NCLB is the
most obvious of these goals of perfection, but there are countless other
examples of ways that we expect our schools to perform flawlessly for every
student in every circumstance.
Once again, this isn't an
excuse for not meeting all our student's needs.
Instead, it is an argument that by setting uniform standards and expectations
for all students we are creating situations and expectations that don't work
for all of our students. We test, assess
and evaluate our students based on a narrow set of standards that frustrate and
limit our student's potential. In the
name of "rigor" and "grit" we label students, schools and
educators as failing when they don't achieve specific goals that have been
established by policy makers who have no idea what any given student's needs
really are.
Many parents (and kids) are pushing back against the Common
Core Standards. And they might be right to do so.
forbes.com|By Alice G. Walton
In the name of change, we
too often repeat, and even amplify, the mistakes of the past. The result?
If one test gives us data, then two-three-four-etc. tests can give us
even more data. The time for real reform
and change is upon us, before it's too late for our public schools.
A couple of years ago, early one morning, I received an SMS
advising “resadents to stay indoors because of a nearby insadent”. I was
shocked by the spelling, as much as the message. Surely, I thought…
theconversation.com|By Misty Adoniou
"Why destroy public education so that a handful can
boast they have a charter school in addition to their yacht?"
slnm.us
The pressures of daily
life and the challenges that our students face in their communities where
poverty, racism and inequity is too often the norm, is compounded by the
pressures to perform in school. Our
students are not responsible for our nation's current struggles politically,
socially or economically, and they certainly shouldn't be players in a global test
score competition that quantifies little and destroys educational
opportunities. By pushing our students
to "achieve" we are putting stresses on our young people that are
causing them emotional harm. The result
is a large number of students who are labeled behavior problems and who develop
an identity that is distorted by a sense of failure that is imposed on them by
a flawed system. Instead of punitive and
harmful policies, we need to give them the tools to deal with the reality that
they experience.
Punitive Schooling by Owen Davis The education reform
movement has brought “broken windows” policing into the classroom. “Women’s
School Jail.” Library of Congress When police grappled Eric Garner into a
chokehold and left him to die...
jacobinmag.com
With eyes closed and deep breaths, students are learning a
new method to reduce anxiety, conflict, and attention disorders. But don’t call
it meditation.
greatergood.berkeley.edu
While the simple premise
that all students will develop academically, emotionally and socially at the
same prescribed rate is in and of itself unrealistic, there are other problems
with holding our schools responsible for all of the inequities and societal
ills that exist in modern America. One of the most glaring is the fact that most
political leaders and policy makers don't really understand education, nor do
they pay much attention to public schools except during election season.
Dear Editor: As a school board member from South Milwaukee, I am insulted and
embarrassed — for my constituents and the children in my district — by the
refusal of
host.madison.com
We
are asking our public schools to address issues that go well beyond the school
walls. These issues are deeply
entrenched in our society and have been a constant source of struggle and
conflict throughout our nation's history.
Issues around poverty and race are not easily resolved, but education
"reformers" often dismiss them as either irrelevant, or simply ignore
their impact on student learning. The
idea that students can come to school and not be impacted in their learning by
external forces is ridiculous and puts educators in a challenging
position.
Can we really expect teachers and schools to overcome so
many obstacles by preparing kids for "college and career" without
addressing the inequality and poverty their students experience everyday?...
www.huffingtonpost.com
We are also asking our
schools to "fix" these issues and provide opportunities for all
students while operating on budgets that don't allow for adequate resources to
be deployed to our most challenged schools and communities. Funding to schools is cut, and then our
schools are criticized for "failing" our students. The simple fact is that education is a labor
intensive endeavor and the labor that is required must be well trained and well
supported in order to be most effective.
The deadline for states to apply for the $250 million in
grants from the U.S.
departments of Education and Health and Human Services is Frid…
fox11online.com
How does Wisconsin
provide the necessary funding to invest in quality education?
jsonline.com
While we hold our schools
to high standards, the "job creators" and business community escapes
this scrutiny.
Hard to rise, and harder to fall: Poor college grads stay
poor about as much as rich high school dropouts stay rich.
washingtonpost.com
A common refrain from tech companies about their woeful
staff diversity figures is that there simply aren't enough African American and
Hispanic programmers to fill the demand. The numbers don't support them.
usatoday.com
In the end we know that
perfection isn't attainable. We will
have gaps, miss opportunities and struggle to meet our students' needs. Knowing that, we must strive to minimize the
inequities and close the opportunity gaps that exist. Failing to achieve perfection is one thing,
knowingly perpetuating policies or procedures that are inherently flawed is another. Public education has the potential to make
significant, positive societal change happen.
It is up to educators, families, students and supporters of public
education to make sure that the potential is realized.
Chicago
teachers show how to organize an effective boycott of standardized tests, and
offer advice to others.
livingindialogue.com
The
Good, The Bad and
The
Ugly. . .
The Good . . . The fact that collective bargaining rights being used as a threat
against an opposing candidate shows just how little the public understands
about organized labor. Unions and
collective bargaining have firm roots in our democratic traditions and should
be a given in a society that claims to believe in equality and justice for all.
Burke supports other parts of union rights law
greenbaypressgazette.com
The Bad . . . Whether it's the fact that there is such a thing as a School Reform
Commission, or the fact that Philadelphia's
educators are seeing their contracts violated this is clearly in the Bad
category. However, taking to the streets
and exercising a collective voice, Good.
Thousands of Philadelphia
public school teachers and their supporters protested outside of the Philadelphia School District amid the School Reform
Commission's meeting inside Thursday evening.
nbcphiladelphia.com
The Ugly . . . While most people would probably say that they have a right to vote,
the reality is quite different. Making
voting a constitutional right would help in so many ways. Ironically, our most "patriotic"
citizens and most vocally "pro-American" leaders would oppose an
amendment, but support voter ID.
