On education and reforms....

[nadinbrzezinski]

We have spates of reforms every so often in this country. They usually fall in the fad category... like if you use Palmer writing techniques all will be well with the world.

Yes, been reading Ravitch... and yes she diagnosed the problem but she is missing one thing.

All fads also have another component... I referred to it yesterday in another OP, as it has ENTERED the discussion south of the border... alas they are having the same issues. The component that Ravitch and other Americans are unable to identify by name is quite simply... politicians and short term goals versus strategic thinking. It goes something like this...

Insert politico here... if we do this we will see changes that will SHOW that I care for Education (it could be jobs too)... see how good I am, therefore you should reelect me. This is the short term thinking of THIS election, or THIS term in office. Why FADS become so much part of the problem.

SO far, good book by the way, and something to read while at the DMV. Let me commend my local DMV. Their system went down, their pay is down with all those furloughs... they are still damn professional and nice and do their damn jobs! Not that any politico of any stripe any longer will recognize public servants, it don't matter if they are at the DMV, the classroom or hauling a fire hose.

Now back to the issue at hand. In my view the system does need changes. Why? It IS under-performing. But none of our reformers are asking WHY it is under-performing. I mean it could have nothing to do with things like two parents working, at times two jobs each, to keep their head above water... (Which means at times they cannot seat down with kid to do homework, or go to the PTA)... or how much fat and now lean muscle we are cutting off... or how much we are enamored wiht market solutions.

Yes, shorter summer vacations may be required... but it is not just the summer vacation... and spare me the tourism industry canard... the solution is multi faceted, but in the end it implies things like actually thinking long term... and starting to have some respect for teachers... which we don't... and yes, spending money in curriculum review, and putting money in to carry out the curriculum. In my view the charter school movement will be, long term, as successful as the Palmer writing techniques. Yes, short term it looks damn impressive, but long term it will be just as successful.

But by the time we realize just how much damage it will do... the people behind it will be LONG GONE.... and will be chiefly FORMER Presidents... who talked a good game... for POLITICAL REASONS and almost religious belief in the hand of the market place, which comes with so many damn caveats it is a warning...

[exboyfil]

1. Two parents even if both are working

is a better situation than what is experienced in many problem school districts. These are single parent homes in which the other parent does little or nothing to be a parent. My parents rarely did anything with my school work when I was growing up (they worked hard and had adult interests that took them away from the home). They did have certain expectations for me such as my behavior and the fact that I would be home at a certain time even though neither of them where home. Granted I did get into some trouble because of the lack of supervision (some drinking), but I never stole from anyone, was a vandal, or hurt anyone. It is amazing how little resources compared to now that I had available then, and I still made it through ok. We had nothing like afterschool programs, online tutoring, tutoring at the library, etc. All of those are now present in our community.

We really don't want unwed teenagers to have children, but they do. We then construct a social safety net to support that decision. It is admittedly frayed, but it is in place and consuming resources. That one decision (to have children early and without a committed parent in the mix) does more than anything else to drive poverty and limit opportunities for both the parent and the child. You cannot even expect children coming from that situation to do as well as with families whose parents are more mature and are working together to improve the lives of their children.

[nadinbrzezinski]

4. THere is more to poverty than just that.

Yes, some folks, even "liberals and progressives," advocate getting rid of the safety net... I personally do not want to go back to Dickensian level poverty. And yes, there were plenty of single parents raising kids alone, who were teen agers in Dickens England too. They just happened to starve more often.

[dkf]

2. What do you think about this article?

http://www.nytimes.com/2010/03/07/magazine/07Teachers-t.html?_r=1&pagewanted=all

It's pretty eye opening to me personally.

[nadinbrzezinski]

3. Ravitch is also having a similar

come to Jesus moment...

The merit pay is the latest "fad."

I'll be blunt, we really do not know how to improve education.

My gut tells me we should look at what SUCCESSFUL systems in OECD economies are doing, and like ADOPT those methods. We won't, because we are Americans, and like shit we are better... (American Exceptionalism).

Also some of what OTHER advanced economies are doing goes against the American grain, as they include FEDERAL standards, not local control... longer school days, shorter summers, and believe it or not, more education following things like team work in the classroom and Montessori techniques, especially in lower grades.

None of this will go easy... at all.

I also should emphasize we need to make the investment that will pay in a generation, which we suck at doing.

But chiefly we need to change how we look at teachers... and stop demoralizing them... and for that matter, stop this culture that despises egg heads. Nobody is talking about the cultural DNA, and people are too married to the status quo since change is really scary. But market solutions are failing...

Oh and on edit, no, we don't spend enough time teaching teachers how to teach.

I took hold of a class of Medics with no training... and later of college students. Normal schools in that sense are really bad. By the time I stopped teaching EMTs and college freshmen, I had more experience in teaching than the graduates of the college of education in my alma matter. Hell, I remember having THAT discussion with the dean of the college... so when I taught a year at a Jewish Private Sunday School, I had an easier time than graduates of the college. That is scary. And there are many reasons why I have not even considered going back and getting certified...

[dkf]

5. I think that expecting results without giving teachers a chance to build on skills is very short

Sighted. I bet if we spent a few summers improving teacher techniques, do some videos of teachers with some constructive criticism, and see how this goes for a bit we may get farther than we think.

And yes I do realize that parents and the kids themselves must also want this. But yet how can we as a society force them to do anything?

[nadinbrzezinski]

6. From the article linked at the NYT

we have to start by actually TEACHING how to teach at teacher's college.

All the theory in the world will go nowhere unless you put it in practice under experienced eyes.

We had to build the Paramedic school from the ground up, so we didn't have that luxury. But once we were able to we contacted the local Teacher college and asked for help. They gladly gave us a seminar on teaching techniques for young adults and actually came to class and critiqued what we were doing. It helped, immensely. From that article, we ain't doing that in school, let alone at the classroom.

Silly shit like not doing ten things at the same time... just do one thing and do it WELL... yes that part of the article caught my eyes.

And doing that would take at worst, two years to start bearing fruit. Hell, we improved like THIS FAST once we had actual criticism. It wasn't easy, but it helped.

As I said, I will not even think of getting certified and getting a job teaching these days. It is now so damn political. And politicians are promising the land of milk and honey, but will get the usual crap...