Do you listen keenly for what politicians say about education and public schools and wind up being disappointed? There is currently, and has been for the last several elections, an absence of discussion about education. Many candidates speak in generalities.
Here are the usual soundbites and what I wish would be said instead.
1. We should respect teachers and pay them more.
Instead:
What we have seen is an erosion of the professional development of teachers, not to mention the demolition of teacher tenure in states like California.
Let’s improve the schools of education and require a teaching degree from an accredited university along with strict state credentials. No more diploma mills and fast-track prep. Our students need real teachers who are fully prepared to teach, and we need to discuss the important meaning of tenure to the teaching profession.
Teach for America will become Teacher Aides for America. Let young people out of college work under the supervision of fully degreed and prepared teachers who have been in the field for at least five years. If they then choose teaching they will receive assistance to return to school to become real teachers.
2. Public schools fail and we need competition—charter schools.
Instead:
We have had charter schools for 23 years and there is no proof they are better than traditional public schools—many have worse results. Let’s put a hold on new charter school development and investigate every single charter school to ensure they are rejecting no children and are making legitimate progress.
We will also penalize those charter company operators who siphon money from the state and fail.
3. We need choice.
Instead:
Any school that accepts funding in the form of a voucher will have to demonstrate beforehand that they provide a better education compared to the traditional public school from where a student originated. There will also be consistent monitoring.
4. Students need to be prepared to compete in the 21st century.
Instead:
We are going to bring more jobs home to America and pay workers fairly (living wage). We will encourage young people to pursue careers they are interested in and provide them with career education and support in high school and beyond.
We will help them find their vocational strengths in high school. In order to do this we will bring back a well-balanced curriculum that includes the arts and which starts from an early age.
We will include good vocational-technical education.
5. Common Core State Standards are great!
Instead:
Common Core State Standards are controversial and were never tested. We need to revisit how they were developed, why they were created, and whether they are as good as many say. We need to weigh the two sides of opinion and explore standards in general and the role the state and federal government have played in creating standards.
We need independent research studies done on the Common Core pronto!
6. There is too much standardized testing.
Instead:
We know many parents are concerned about high-stakes testing because there is too much of it and it is designed to fail students, fire teachers and close schools.
Let’s put a moratorium on testing and let school districts, teachers and parents determine what tests are necessary to help their children succeed…and that includes testing tied to Common Core.
Furthermore, no child should be punished for not taking a test. Parents should have the right to reject any testing they don’t think is appropriate without repercussions.
Every local school board should bring teachers together with parents to discuss the meaning of school accountability. After all, who are public schools supposed to be accountable to?
7. Make four year public colleges free.
Instead:
How do other countries provide public college tuition free? Let us have a task force to examine this refreshing idea. We did this once in California, so why can’t we do it again in this country? And we will also look into giving parents and students who have been paying for college in recent years some kind of rebate. Yes. Education is that important.
8. Students attend dropout factories.
Instead:
How many students are dropping out and how much of this perception is due to bad record keeping in the school districts? Why do students drop out? Let’s ask the students who drop out how we could encourage them to stay in school.
9. We need universal preschool.
Instead:
Universal preschool has been used by politicians to garner support for years. Let’s get down to business and increase developmentally friendly preschools especially for the poor—which include more children who were once in the middle class. Let’s revisit Head Start and see how we can help increase supportive early public childhood education. Education for the poor should include necessary wraparound services, and no child should be denied health care.
10. We will reinvent education.
Instead:
Our public schools have served us well for many years. But the defunding of schools since the early 1980s and the involvement of big business in the corporatization of schooling needs to be investigated. While business has a vested interest in public schooling, and philanthropy is welcome, corporate venture philanthropy should not be allowed. Public schools are great democratic institutions that belong to the people. They should not be turned into businesses.
11. We need new leaders in education.
Instead:
Anyone who is a leader in education, overseeing public schooling, will have to have been a professional teacher for at least 5 years and have earned a degree in the area of their expertise. Gone will be the days of public policy wonks and MBAs who never professionally set foot in a classroom, running our schools.
12. We need to stop throwing money at schools.
Instead:
While we need to audit state and local school districts better and question selective federal grant programs that do not serve all children, we also need better transparency of both charter and private schools. But the reality is that public schools have been defunded for many years. And tax dollars are being thrown at untested programs that do not benefit all children.
13. We need to put the best teachers on the Internet.
Instead:
While technology can supplement the classroom and be a good resource for teachers and students, it is not a proven mechanism to replace public schools and public school teachers. We still need good public schools where children get to socialize and learn to be tolerant of one another. And real teachers still matter greatly.
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I’m sure you can think of other comments about education that you would like to hear expanded or where you disagree. Feel free to comment on any of the above. I would also like a discussion about the following areas which seem ignored:
14. Special education,
15. The loss of the arts,
16. School facility overcrowding and danger.
Feel free to add your thoughts and ideas!
This is a really insightful analysis of what needs the attention of the political class in the US education system. I spent a lot of time over the last five years in California while my little grandson was attending elementary school, so appreciate what this piece is trying to counter.
However, the most interesting thing for me is that, with the slightest of amendments, to reflect different cultural elements between our systems, so many of your points can be leveled at the leadership of education in the UK too. I came across a government pronouncement from our own Department for Education (DfE) recently that made me want to check out what your response would be to their comments.
“The DfE also referred to research into the effectiveness of charter schools in the United States in closing the gap between disadvantaged students and their peers,[28] and further US work showing that “the improved performance of autonomous schools can improve the quality of schools in the neighbouring area”.[29] ”
http://www.publications.parliament.uk/pa/cm201415/cmselect/cmeduc/258/25805.htm
If you have already explored such claims or can point me to where I might fact-check for myself, Nancy, I would appreciate if you could oblige.
Best wishes with your own campaign of forced enlightenment of the self-serving, politically blinkered on your side of the pond.
John.
Thanks as always, John. There is a lot of fascinating material in your link and I look forward to reading it more completely, but it certainly looks like both our countries are pushing charter schools.
Here, they started out for teachers and the community to run, overseen by school boards, but that has changed dramatically. Now you can get the same chain cookie cutter charter in LA that you get in Tennessee!
I would steer you to the National Education Policy Center for a good range of topics studied by some of the best educators in the country. http://nepc.colorado.edu/
Also, the Economic Policy Institute honestly covers a wide range of critical topics pertaining to education. http://www.epi.org
There are others, but these are my two favorites. Thanks again. Take care.
Thanks, Nancy. I found your links very interesting, especially NEPC. I will keep up-to-date with its output. I’ve already passed it on to others along with a link to your site. Growing numbers of bloggers are referring to you in their posts.
I’m glad you found something worth your time following the link I sent. A few weeks ago I had the opportunity to post an article about democray and education on the web site of the Cambridge Primary Review Trust (CPRT) It was written in the wake of our general election which is why I am sending you a link –
http://cprtrust.org.uk/cprt-blog/democracy-and-education-winners-and-losers/
If you have the time, I think it might give you an insight into our situation and the impact of the election outcome for education. I’m sure you will find the comparisons with the US quite enlightening.
Very best wishes,
John
Thank you, John. Sorry it took me a while to reply. The following really jumped out at me including your mention of “naming and shaming.” I hope you don’t mind that I republished.
“There are concerns about other areas of the new government’s policy. What about promising to create more free schools and the push for academies when, according to the Education Select Committee, the evidence does not show that these types of schools produce results any better than their local authority counterparts?
And what plans are there to address the shortage of teachers and their training? Are we all happy to accept the current uncoordinated system? The fractured system of provision, including School Direct, fast-tracking and employing unqualified teachers, takes place in a policy vacuum. More worrying still is the fact that there are no plans currently to bring this vital strategic element of the service back under central control.
Another area in disarray is pupil assessment, a CPRT priority and recurrent focus of its activity. Current proposals for the reform of the examination system and testing arrangements are widely opposed by professionals and parents alike. Calls for a thorough review of this area are ignored and our young people remain among the most tested in the world. Worryingly, the net result of this is to narrow both teaching and the curriculum, to de-motivate pupils and deny them access to the kind of education experiences they need in a fast-changing world requiring diverse attitudes, skills and competencies as well as the ability to access and evaluate humanity’s expanding store of knowledge.”
Thank you for sharing and stay in touch!
Here is a shout out to Julie B. and the blog entitled Education Lessons From A Sparkly District. Her description of #14 of the above post is well-crafted and much appreciated by everyone!
http://elfasd.blogspot.com/2015/06/nancy-baileys-14.html
Thank you, Nancy! And thank you for continuing to be an advocate for special education.
Why would ANY presidential candidate address any of these points when the Constitution doesn’t give the President the authority to do so???
I agree. Also, federal funding on average only makes up about 10% of a district’s total budget. So they can say all kinds of things, but the reality is that none of it matters all that much.
While you are correct, Sara, that the federal funding is only about 10%, I would argue that the tone set where policy is concerned is huge. Consider NCLB and Race to the Top as examples.
Once again, nothing about recess, the arts or PE. Why don’t you take a poll of what really matters in the daily school lives of so many youth students? Like what their favorite part of the day is. Their favotite activity? Quality of life for students matters in the here and now, yet none of the educator professionals in so many of these articles even touch on this subject in articles like this. The future matters but so does today. Recess and the arts actually help students learn and refresh and develope a better sence of creativity. These things also help with social and emotional development. They are just plain healthy and make life more more enjoyable and worthwhile for many students. If you truly care for students please be considerate of their everyday happiness. Good mental health is linked to better learning.
Absolutely, Leslie! Thank you for adding. It is shocking that we have lost the arts and recess in so many schools. I so appreciate that you noted this!
Didn’t mention the biggest one: clean up the lead!
Tis quite the hard concept to remember, I don’t fully understand why. It’s almost as if the absurd juxtaposition of the vastness in scope is hard to remember when linked to the simplicity in theory: lead poisoning.
Just more motivation for me to make the issue widely known. 😛
Thank you, Nicholas! It is difficult to understand why this isn’t considered a more important children’s health issue. Like you, it infuriates me. This is definitely an issue that should be seriously discussed. When you consider it could affect the test scores of poor children, which so many obsess over–it makes you wonder doesn’t it? I am going to re-post the lead blog soon….to put your longer comment out there. Best.
Very interesting points you make on all the hot topics. Loss of the arts is a major issue in the educational system. Having the arts in public schools encourages young people to be creative, imaginative and cultured. This better prepares them for any type of career they choose. It is a shame arts programs continue to get cut when they should be enhanced. A well-rounded education produces more versatile young adults who are better prepared for college and the workplace.