How to Fix Our Public Schools? 4-27-12
77
IMPROVING PUBLIC SCHOOLS
WHAT NEEDS TO BE DONE TO IMPROVE PUBLIC SCHOOLS?
Just about everyone agrees that there is a need to improve public schools, but there is no consensus on what should be done. In some districts top-down reforms are using high stakes tests to determine which schools should be closed and which teachers fired.
Charter schools are supplanting public schools and public school teachers in a number of failing urban districts such as Detroit, with mixed results. Public school teacher contracts are being re-negotiated or invalidated along with teachers’ collective bargaining rights. Not surprisingly, some administrators and teachers have been caught doctoring student achievement test results in order to avoid school closures, teacher firings and losses of funds.Teacher merit or performance pay and charter schools are being offered as panaceas for improving public schools.
There is no mystery about why many inner city and other public schools aren’t performing as well as they should. All one must do is compare them with the best private schools where the headmasters or principals and teachers aren’t subject to the stultifying control of huge, centralized, hierarchical bureaucracies of many inner city school systems.
Private schools and class sizes are smaller. [For example at the Groton School in Massachusetts where the Roosevelts studied, total enrollment is 372, grades 8-12; the average class size is 13; the teacher:student ratio is 1:5; and classes are offered weekly on Saturdays and Sundays.]
There are no shortages of books or materials in successful private schools.
Students in private schools, for the most part, come from suburban upper or middle class families many of whom provide them with an enriched intellectual environment almost from the time they are born—plenty of books, good health care, expensive pre-schools, summer programs and parental encouragement to excel.
When a student is not performing, appropriate attention and resources are devoted to the problem. Fewer students “fall through the cracks” than in inner city schools where many students come from much less nourishing family and community environments.
Judging inner-city public school teachers solely or primarily on the basis of test scores is likely to be misleading and unfair because many factors beyond a teacher's control affect learning and test scores. Used properly, student achievement test score standards as one measure for evaluating teacher and school performance may contribute to improving school and teacher performance, but more important are specific changes in the structure and process which must be accomplished in order to meet higher standards.
My experience--as a student (in 8 schools elementary-grad school), teacher (briefly) and as a parent of three children--tells me that improvement requires increased funding, smaller, more decentralized schools (200 to 600), smaller class sizes (maximum 25 for most courses) and simpler curiculums emphasizing excellence in the core subjects of English (reading and writing), math, science, foreign languages, music and the fine and industrial arts. Comprehensive, age-appropriate sex education should be a part of every school's curriculum.
School athletics should emphasize participation by all students, not major sports with a few stars and many student spectators. Excellence in scholarship and service should be recognized as well as athletic performance.
Teacher education and standards for the middle and high school level should have greater emphasis on in-depth knowledge of subject matter in addition to courses in teaching techniques.
School administrations should be leaner and more decentralized with greater authority vested in the principals and teachers in administrative and curriculum decisions.
Charter schools can have a useful role to play but not to the extent of the wholesale supplanting of public schools. Contrary to Waiting for Superman which was a one-sided commercial for charter schools, they are not a silver bullet. They are over-rated as a solution to improving education in this country.
Consideration should be given to providing longer school days, weeks and school years. For many kids, school is the best place they ever go, and they know it. The poorer they are, the truer this is. Inner city schools, with the right amount of solid financial support and by getting rid of the dead weight of school board members who pad their pockets, take trips and have paid drivers on the public ticket. Increased funding is needed not for talking about the process of educating, but money spent on the face-to-face of teacher and student. Give the kid the teacher he needs, in the safe place he needs. Give the teacher the resources he or she needs, in time, materiel, support, respect, training, and encouragement. And give them both more time - the settlement house concept of the evening public school has never been more needed. These aren't the immigrant children Jane Addams took care of, but they are every bit as much strangers in a strange land, small people who have to act big to survive.
Higher school performance can only be achieved by implementing specific improvements in the educational process. In and of themselves, high stakes test score standards used to judge schools and teachers accomplishes little and may actually be harmful.
[I am responsible for the views expressed in this article, but I wish to acknowledge the help of a dedicated teacher friend of mine, Tess Hoffman, who suggested several substantive changes and additions and made a number of corrections in my punctuation and grammar as well. Fellow Hubber and teacher, Barranca, also contributed to the article.]
"What's Wrong With Merit Pay" Alfie Kohn
- The Folly of Merit Pay
"Son of Merit Pay: The Sequel" is playing around the country. The advocates of this approach—conservatives, conservative economists—insist that we need only adopt their current incentive schemes and, this time, teaching really will improve. Honestly
5-22-12NYTimes OP-ED "Gates Puts the Focus on Teaching" Joe Nocera
- Gates Puts the Focus on Teaching - NYTimes.com
The Gates Foundation is behind new experiments that aim to help teachers become better at their jobs, not just rate their performance.
5-22-12NYTimes--"Public Money Finds its Way to Private Schools"
- Scholarship Funds, Meant for Needy, Benefit Private Schools - NYTimes.com
A growing number of states are passing laws that allow taxpayer-supported scholarship funds, but they have been twisted to benefit private schools at the expense of the neediest children.
4-27-12NYTimes OP-Ed "God and Man in Tennessee" ["Intelligent" design and "gateway sex behavior" in Tennessee] Amy Greene
- God and Man in Tennessee - NYTimes.com
By politicizing our faith, lawmakers are ignoring Tennessee’s true religious roots and threatening the liberties they claim to protect.
4-27-12NYTimes OP-Ed "A Very Pricey Pineapple" Gail Collins
- A Very Pricey Pineapple - NYTimes.com
Let’s tackle the topic of privatization of public education.No Child Left Behind created a system of public-funded charter schools, a growing number of which are run by for profit companies. Some are online...The academic results can be abysmal.
3-17-12NYTimes OP-ED How Charter Schools Can Hurt by Lucinda Rosenfeld
- How Charter Schools Can Hurt - NYTimes.com
Charter schools trying to poach students can rob already thriving schools of diversity.
12-13-11NYTimes--Profits and Questions About On-line Charter Schools
- Online Schools Score Better on Wall Street Than in Classrooms - NYTimes.com
A look at the largest online school company’s operations raises serious questions about whether its schools — and full-time online schools in general — are a good deal for children or taxpayers.
9-5-11NYtimes--Houston Public Schools Copy Some Charter School Techniques
- A School District Mimics Charters, Hoping Success Will Follow - NYTimes.com
In a first, 20 public schools in Houston are adopting the proven techniques of charter schools to see if they can help raise achievement.
2-10-12NYTimes--Education Gap Grows Between Rich and Poor
- Education Gap Grows Between Rich and Poor, Studies Show - NYTimes.com
The widening achievement gap between affluent and low-income students has received less attention than the divide between white and black students, which has narrowed significantly.
2-10-12NYTimes OP-Ed "Money and Morals"
- Money and Morals - NYTimes.com
Conservatives have started telling us that the growing inequality is about a decline in morals. But it’s mainly about money. For low-education men it's been all negative. Adjusted for inflation, wages of male h.s. grads have fallen 23% since 1973.
12-1-11Detroit Free Press EDITORIAL--Charter School Gamble for Michigan's Children
- Editorial: Legislators risk Michigan\'s children in charter gamble | Detroit Free Press | freep.com
The Michigan Legislature appears determined to prove that a wide-open school market will rocket the state's students to the head of the national class. But the experiment it is trying to inflict on children and their parents is ill-conceived and dang
8-26-11NYTimes OP-ED "When Schools Depend on Handouts" by Michael qa. Rebell and Jessica R. Wolf
- When Schools Depend on Handouts - NYTimes.com
Most state constitutions guarantee all students a sound, basic public education, rights that cannot be put on hold, even in tough times.
8-25-11NYTimes OP-ED "How to Fix Our Math Education" by Sol Garfunkel and David Mumford
- How to Fix Our Math Education - NYTimes.com
The current curriculum is not a good way to prepare a vast majority of high school students for life. The truth is that different sets of math skills are useful for different careers, and our math education should be changed to reflect this fact.
8-11TheNation "Can Teachers Alone Overcome Poverty? Steven Brill Thinks So"
- Can Teachers Alone Overcome Poverty? Steven Brill Thinks So | The Nation
The journalist blames teachers unions, not economic inequality, for students failure to achieve.
8-22-11NYTIMES OP-ED--"Our Children Are Not All Right" by Joel Bakan
- Corporate Interests Threaten Childrens Welfare - NYTimes.com
The 20th century witnessed a momentous shift that would ultimately threaten the welfare of children: the rise of the for-profit corporation.
8-22-11NYTimesBookReview "Class Warfare" by Steven Brill reviewed by Sara Mosle
- \'Class Warfare\' - By Steven Brill - Book Review - NYTimes.com
In Class Warfare, Steven Brill brings a sharp legal mind to the world of education reform and mounts a zealous case against Americas teachers unions.
7-17-11NYTimes--Charter School Battle Spreads to Affluent Suburban Districts
- In Millburn, N.J., a Revolt Against Charter Schools - NYTimes.com
Charters, normally thought of as a way to help poor areas, are being proposed in places that have good schools.
8-8-11Alternet--Corporate Assault on Public Schools" Noam Chomsky
- Chomsky: Public Education Under Massive Corporate Assault What\'s Next? | | AlterNet
Converting schools and universities into facilities that produce commodities for the job market, privatizing them, slashing their budgets do we really want this future?
7-12-11NYTimes--Union President Faults "School Reform from On High"
- AFT Chief Randi Weingarten Faults Teacher Reforms From on High - NYTimes.com
The president of the American Federation of Teachers called for education reform that emanates from teachers and their communities, rather than from those who blame teachers for everything.
7-11-10NYTimesMagazine--"No Seriously, No Excuses" by Paul Tough
- Reforming the School Reformers - NYTimes.com
"'...traditional strategies will not enable us to overcome the barriers to student learning posed by the conditions of poverty..' Reformers need to take concrete steps to address the whole range of factors that hold poor students back..."
6-5-11NYTimes "Learning to Read on Zero Dollars a Day" by Anthony Doerr
- Learning to Read on Zero Dollars a Day - NYTimes.com
Cutting teachers is one thing. But librarians? "...in my imagination libraries were little holy lands, as integral to a school as functioning toilets, or lockers, or bad pizza. They were a place where a child could learn that books could be mind-.."
5-30-11NYTimes Letters to the Editor
To the Editor:
The best use that Bill Gates could make of the fortune he spends on education would be to create the kind of schools that he and other extremely wealthy people send their children to: schools with small classes (not necessarily small schools), a good ratio of adults — teachers and support staff — to students, intensive remediation for those who need it, and enrichment of all kinds, including the arts, sports, technology, clubs and trips.
There’s no mystery about quality education. Wealthy people know exactly what it consists of and make sure their children get it. We need to help all the other children in America, and elsewhere, get it as well.
LARRY GUTMAN
Brooklyn, May 22, 2011
The writer is a retired teacher.
5-22-11NYTimes--Bill Gates Pluses and Minuses on Education Reform
- Behind Grass-Roots School Advocacy, Bill Gates - NYTimes.com
Bill Gatess foundation is financing bands of educators to pose alternatives to union orthodoxies on issues like the seniority system and the use of student test scores to evaluate teachers.
The Death and Life of the Great American Public Education
 | Amazon Price: $5.85 List Price: $26.95 |
4-28-11 Fresh Air--Diane Ravitch on Education Reform
Diane Ravitch was interviewed by Terry Gross on "Fresh Air." She was Assistant Secretary of Education in the Bush administration. She is not a fan of "no child left behind" nor of Obama's education policies. Here are some of her comments: (Not verbatim.)
Tests are being used as a blunt instrument against teachers and public schools.
The problem is one of failing communities more than failing teachers and public schools.
Charter schools have become an enormous entrepreneurial activity. Charter school chains are paying their executives $300,000 per year and spending huge sums on publicity claiming they are the solution to public school problems.
As a result of charter schools parents are being pitted against parents, teachers against teachers and students against students.
Charter schools are competing, not collaborating with public schools. They are taking over public school facilities and have more resources to work with.
We are doing everything to undermine public schools, very little to improve them.
The most successful nations have strong public school systems.
Teacher Unions are being attacked by conservatives in Wisconsin and other states in order to undermine their support for Democratic candidates rather than for education reform or budgetary reform.
Diane Ravitch is the author of a new book The Death and Life of the Great American School System: How Testing and Choice are Undermining Education.
4-28-11 Listen to Diane Ravitch on Fresh Air
- Diane Ravitch: Standardized Testing Undermines Teaching : NPR
Former Assistant Secretary of Education Diane Ravitch explains why she was once an early advocate of No Child Left Behind, school vouchers and charter schools and what changed her mind.
Diane Ravitch Blog
- Diane Ravitch Website
Diane Ravitch is a professor of education at NY University and Assistant Secretary of Education in the Bush administration.
4-30-11NYTimes OP-ED--The High Cost of Low Teacher Salaries
- The High Cost of Low Teacher Salaries - NYTimes.com
To revamp our education system, blame teachers less and pay them more.
4-27-16NYTimes--"The Limits of School Reform" op-ed by Joe Nocera
- The Limits of School Reform - NYTimes.com
What happens outside of school matters just as much as what happens inside.
4-7-11NYTimes--Cathleen Black is Out as NYC School Superintendent
- Cathleen P. Black is Out as New York City Schools Chancellor - NYTimes.com
Cathleen P. Black is stepping down at the mayor's urging, officials say.
4-10-11NYTimesMagazine--Reformed School
- The Fragile Success of School Reform in the Bronx - NYTimes.com
Ramn Gonzlezs middle school is a model for how an empowered principal can transform a troubled school, but the forces of reform are now working against him. This excellent long article is hopeful but it shows how hard inner city school reform is
4-7-11NYTimes--Bloggers Challenge President Obama on Standardized Tests
- Bloggers Challenge President on Standardized Testing - NYTimes.com
After remarks on testing in schools, President Obama has been challenged by several bloggers as opposing the very policies that his Education Department is putting into practice.
4-7-11NYTimes--Obama Takes Aim at Inequality in Education
- In New York, Obama Takes Aim at Inequality in Education - NYTimes.com
The presidents appearance at an event for the Rev. Al Sharptons Harlem-based organization came two days after he announced his intention to seek a second term.
3-29-11 Bobb plan would turn 41 public schools into charter schools.
- Robert Bobb\'s new plan for DPS: Turn 41 struggling schools into charters | Detroit Free Press | fre
Detroit Public Schools emergency financial manager Robert Bobb announced a radical restructuring plan for the struggling school system Saturday that he says would save the district millions of dollars by converting 41 poorly performing schools into
Detroit Public Schools are Distressed
- The Crooked Peg Blog Archive Detroit to Close Half of Its Public Schools
Detroit Public Schools would close nearly half of its schools in the next two years, and increase high school class sizes to 62 by the following year, under a deficit-reduction plan filed with the state. Bobb has said school closures, bigger classes
3-28-11NYTimes "How to raise the status of teachers?
- How to Raise the Status of Teachers - Room for Debate - NYTimes.com
Aside from a pay increase, what are other ways of attracting high-quality educators?
3-27-11NYTimes--NY Budget Deal Cuts School and Health Expenditures
- N.Y. Budget Deal Cuts Aid to Schools and Health Care - NYTimes.com
The $132.5 billion budget would end an income tax surcharge on high earners and impose big spending cuts on education and health care.
"Savage Inequalities" by Jonathan Kozol, Review
- SAVAGE INEQUALITIES
Kozol's book is a searing expose of the extremes of wealth and poverty in America's public school system and the blighting effect it has on poor children.
"Class Size and Student Achievement" Diane Rehm Show
- Class Size and Student Achievement | The Diane Rehm Show from WAMU and NPR
Many believe that small class sizes are critical to student achievement. But in the current environment, many states will be forced to lay off teachers and expand class sizes. Joining me to talk about what teacher layoffs could mean for students....
Reward and Incentive Programs are Ineffective and Even Harmful
- Reward and Incentive Programs are Ineffective -- Even Harmful - Total Quality Management | XING
What's wrong with reward, recognition, and incentive systems? First, they don't work There are no credible data to show that any long-term benefit results from such programs. There are data, however, that show that they do harm. They often set up a
J. Edwards Deming on Individual Performance Evaluation
Here is what W. Edwards Deming had to say about performance rating:
"Fair Rating is Impossible.
"A common fallacy is the supposition that it is possible to rate people; to put them in rank order of performance for next year, based on performance last year.
"The performance of anybody is the result of a combination of many forces--the person himself, the people that he works with, the job, the material that he works on, his equipment, his customer, his management, his supervision, environmental conditions (noise, confusion, poor food in the cafeteria).
"These forces will produce unbelievably large differences between people. In fact, as we shall se, apparent differences between people arise almost entirely from action of the system that they work in, not from the people themselves. A man not promoted is not able to understand why his performance is lower than someone else's. No wonder; his rating was the result of a lottery. Unfortunately, he takes his rating seriously."
Page 71, "Out of the Crisis," W. Edwards Deming
Deming's concepts are based on his work with corporations and other organizations. However, there is much in his approach that should be applied to public schools.
American Educator Spring 2003
- AFT - A Union of Professionals - American Educator
The "American Educator" is a good source of high quality articles on education.
Jonathan Kozol and America's Public School Dilemma
- Jonathan Kozol and America's Public School Dilemma
Late last year, I attended an event for Creative Nonfiction Week at the place I complain a lot about taking up much of my time: Columbia College Chicago. I went to see renowned educational activist,...
4-1-11Detroit Free Press--Drop in MEAP Scores Raises Red Flag at Several Michigan Schools
- Drop in MEAP scores raises more red flags at scrutinized schools | Detroit Free Press | freep.com
Seven schools found to have statistically improbable one-year gains in MEAP scores in 2009 have seen drops in scores for 2010 -- five of them sharp declines, two of them smaller drops -- according to test results released Thursday by the Michigan De
Daily Beast--Diane Ravich
- Michelle Rhee\'s Cheating Scandal: Diane Ravitch Blasts Education Reform Star - The Daily Beast
A new report shows student testing irregularities in D.C. under the leadership of star education reform advocate Michelle Rhee. Education expert Diane Ravitch blasts Rhee's misguided approach. Plus, Dana Goldstein says the report is no surprise.
Daily Kos--Questionable Results under Michelle Rhee
- Daily Kos: Investigation shows questionable test results under Michelle Rhee
DC chancellor Michelle Rhee made her name on union-busting and allegedly improving test scores in the city's public schools. The gains were always overhyped by her supportersnow it turns out that they may have been fraudulent. Anybody surprised?
Truth-out "Taking on the Teachers"
- Taking on the Teachers
Consortium Note: The American Right has embraced Reagans mantra that government is the problem and that dogma is being applied in a wide variety of ways, including a nationwide assault on the pay and job security of public school teachers.
4-1-11Detroit Free Press--MEAP Scores Improve
- Most kids pass the MEAP -- but that\'s about to get harder | Detroit Free Press | freep.com
Michigan students are passing the MEAP in droves, according to results released Thursday. But state officials warn that the results will look much different next year when the bar for passing the exam will rise substantially.
Cornell Alumni Magazine Interviews Two Alumnae, Michelle Rhee and Randi Weingarten
- Cornell Alumni Magazine - Pop Quiz
Two Cornellians on opposite sides of the education debatecontroversial former D.C. schools chancellor Michelle Rhee '92 and teachers' union leader Randi Weingarten '80sat down with CAM to talk about school reform. (But not together.)
Looking across the great divide: Inequality in Education
- Looking Across the Great Divide Part 1: A New Perspective on the Old Problem of Education Inequality
Outdated computers, shortages of essential books, broken down bathroomswe are all aware of the many complaints lodged against our public schools, especially in poor urban neighborhoods. And, a line of...
Looking Across the Great Divide:Education Inequality
- Looking Across the Great Divide Part 2: Education Inequality and What We Can Do About It
In the first installment of this Hub, I shared a very brief history of public education that shed some light on our modern dilemma. In addition, I proposed that the fundamental inequalities that exist in...
4-7-11FreePress--$400,000 Missing from School Funds in Highland Park, Michigan
- Highland Park schools\' $400K: Where did it go? | Detroit Free Press | freep.com
Highland Park Public Schools wrote nearly $400,000 in checks from 2007 through last year to a company that was supposed to oversee a radio campaign aimed at attracting students to the struggling district. The district says no ads have been created.
4-15-11Detroit Free Press--Fraud in Public School Administration
- With plea deal, one defendant left in Detroit Public Schools case | Detroit Free Press | freep.com
Sherry Washington is the last defendant standing. The Detroit gallery owner is the lone pending case in a Detroit Public Schools scandal involving inflated million-dollar invoices, kickbacks and expensive parties thrown on the school district's dime
4-17-11NYTimes--Michael Winerip--Public School Reformers' Backgrounds in Private Schools
- Many Pushing to Change Public Schools Attended Private Ones - NYTimes.com
Those who call themselves public school reformers are a diverse group, but a surprisingly large number of them attended private schools.
4-19-11NYTimes "A Better Way to Teach Math" by David Bornstein
- A Better Way to Teach Math - NYTimes.com
A grade-school math program based on the assumption that all children can achieve a high level of understanding.
CommentsLoading...
Mr. Deeds I think that hub was a fair and balance over view of public and private education in America.
Generally agree with most of what you argue here. Edit: you have used your last paragraph twice.
Excellent Hub Ralph. I agree with most of your points. More emphasis needs to be put on helping individual students. Smaller class sizes would be ideal in helping this. The bureaucracy is a mess and more decentralization is needed. I do disagree with you on the importance of charter schools. I believe they are an important idea incubator for educational innovation. I've seen some Newark, NJ charter schools and they are superb. You are correct that they should not be implemented at the expense of the rest of the Public School system. In most cases they are not. Those who wish to use them to advocate for school choice are just wrong. They should be used to supplement and improve the regular school system. I wrote a Hub on this exploring many areas to look at to improve Public Education. It is critical for our children and our country's future. Thank you for exploring and writing about this problem. I wish more people would do so.
Thanks for your kind comment. It's nice to have someone agree with me once in a while!
Excellent hub, Ralph. Whomever comes up to the answer to the school problem will be America's hero. I confess, I haven't a clue.
Hard topic to tackle, but you've done it with amazing clarity and openness. One topic I think that should be touched on is the Writers/Editors who are behind the books that are being used as "educational material" but if looked into deep enough can be found to be very bias and one-sided as to the content and topic depth that are covered in our childrens 'school books'!
I think you said it very well...!
Thanks for your comments. Jeremey, I recall reading somewhere that Texas has an outsize influence on public school text books. Publishers don't want to publish one version for Texas and another for the rest of the country. So, everybody gets the Texas version on controversial issues.
My state is currently 43rd in the nation for education. The State superintendant is proposing solutions but the teachers are fighting every step of the way. Both sides are right and wrong here and there in my opinion. Very very good job Ralph. A great read.
- Harlan
Thanks for your comment. There is no single villain nor a silver bullet.
Excellent hub. Thanks for a great hub on a topic that needs attention.
Well Done, Ralph Deeds. While I agree with much of what you've said I have a number of concerns that I believe need to be addressed. Charter schools apparently are doing some good work, but I am greatly concerned that the improvement in basic education not come from depriving public schools of money, good teachers and union representation. Also, I am greatly concerned about the movement toward longer schools days and a longer school year. Kids must be kids. The social skills they obtain from their relationships in their neighborhoods and with other friends and relatives are very important. Organized activities are wonderful, but they should not be exclusive. Youngsters need to work out problems for themselves, and their few hours of personal time a day and their summer vacations provide the opportunity to do some real problem solving in their own lives. Private schools and Charter schools should not threaten the existence of public schools. We need a renewed effort to make the public schools work.
"The social skills they obtain from their relationships in their neighborhoods and with other friends and relatives are very important."
That was very true in my experience. We did all kinds of interesting things after school from building club houses, playing pickup baseball and touch football, exploring the woods near our neighborhood. I don't doubt that what you say is true in suburban Connecticut or Michigan. I'm not so sure it's as true in inner city Detroit or Newark where what kids learn are survival skills at best or at worst criminal skills. Also, taking a snapshot today of the kids in Detroit, many are far behind where they should be for their age, and for this reason more than one teacher has said they believe that longer hours are needed, especially for children who aren't offered anything constructive during their time away from school.
"Private schools and Charter schools should not threaten the existence of public schools. We need a renewed effort to make the public schools work." I agree 100% with that!
In our metropolitan area charter schools are displacing public schools, public libraries are being closed and the roads and bridges are in disrepair. We're one of the richest countries in the world, but we can't afford the resources to repair our schools or roads. Something is seriously wrong.
Ralph, I have to disagree with the premise of most of this Hub. My background of growing up in the South Bronx I Have seen, and lived with this more than these geniuses that did the above studies.
My elementary school was approximately 33% Black, 33% White and 33% Puerto Rican. Classwise the Whites were ecomically the top, the Black and Puerto Ricans were about equal. The Whites weren't that far ahead earnings wise.
The biggest thing was all had two parents, and the men worked (some women also). Being White, my friends all talked about who would make it. This was in second grade with 42 kids in a class.
We chose two White boys, and two Black boys to go to Ivy League Colleges, quite a stretch for second graders. The two White boys ended up attending better high schools, (they passed tests to get in) and ended up at Cornell and Pennsylvania. The two Black boys went to Columbia and Yale. The four are doctor's and lawyers. All four had one thing in common, parents that put them on the correct path.
We all had the same teachers in elementary and Jr. High School, they all did a good job. Today is very different. I was called by someome trying to build a new Jr. High School. The problem was that they presently had too many kids in a class, 18 ( and a teaching assistant). She told me it was impossible to have more than 12.
All that's needed these days is testing for teachers, (as we do for doctor's, lawyers, etc.) no tenure and controlled pensions. H
I think, Ralph, the problems faced by the kids in Detroit and those in similar circumstances in other cities eminate from poverty and, as a result, unstable neighborhoods. Longer hours at school would no doubt help them, but that's not the answer to their plight. Private schools and Charter schools pull significant education funding that inevitably will hurt public schools and give those who oppose public schools more ammunition to fight against the public schools. If the corporations paid their fair share of taxes some of these problems could be alleviated.
Forgot something. Deming's theories brought Japan back after WWll. But he spoke mostly of economics, not education. His economic theorie worked well for many ears, but eventually brought Japan's economy down. H
Deming's theories can and have been applied successfully to improve various PROCESSES and ORGANIZATIONS. His mantra was "cooperation to improve the process." It's hard to improve the education process, however, when so much of the problem results from poverty, unemployment, lack of health care services, drug use, lack of good parenting, single parent homes, etc. It's not fair to single out teachers alone for blame.
Thanks, William and Harvey for your thoughtful comments.
I've been a teacher for 20 years now. I've taught high school math and English and have extensive experience at the Middle School level. Now, I'm a GED Instructor at Job Corps. One thing that we don't have at Job Corps is PETs.
You make some excellent points here. I agree about your ideas about curriculum and about teachers having in-depth knowledge of subject matter. I disagree that it's a funding problem. School funding has steadily been increasing for many years.
One thing that is never discussed regarding schools, is Special Ed. It needs to be dismantled and another, more sensible system, put in it's place.
Thanks for your comment. I'm especially pleased to hear from teachers.
In response on one point--many urban school districts are facing severe financial problems.Detroit schools' problems are many. First of all the decline of GM, Ford and Chrysler has created the highest unemployment in the country. This has resulted in a severe decline in city, state and school revenues. Combine this with mismanagement by the school board and system management including financial fraud as well as management incompetence and you have a demoralized school system. Poverty, single parents, drugs and inner city crime accentuate the problems of the schools.
Don't leave out the Unions. Why are so many union people willing to behave the way we have seen on TV? The Tea Party din't even need to be cleaned up after. I guess the garbage union needed the money for working other places, Wisc, etc. H
Unions aren't perfect institutions, but they are not the main problem with demoralized school systems. They serve the important purpose of providing a voice for their members in their working conditions and procedures to assure their fair treatment and protection from arbitrary action.
The Tea Party is beyond the scope of this topic. Suffice it to say that it is a fountain of ignorance and destruction of our political system.
Some Relevant Links, Ralph:
. . . and another: http://www.dailykos.com/story/2011/03/28/960859/-I
Thanks, Robert. I incorporated the links into the Hub.
Ralph, So the majority of people that elected our new Congress are not to be listened to, they don't exist. You better keep your ear plugs on, if the Republican's ever get their message straight. H
In the unlikely event they have something reasonable and intelligent to say they will be listened to. The Tea Baggers are destroying the GOP in case you haven't noticed. And if allowed, they will destroy the country.
My pleasure Ralph!
". . . So the majority of people that elected our new Congress are not to be listened to, they don't exist."
I wonder how many voters who voted for these reactionary hard-liners , now regret their votes.
The Republican's are in disaray, yes. I believe the Democrat's are also, just look at Obama's numbers. H
It's not about numbers, Harvey; it's about a jihad of ideologies by an angry, frightened, and misinformed populace, all stoked by demagogues and corporate weasels—and the politicians they bribe.
As a veteran high school math teacher, I want to commend you for a very well-written hub. One of the other big issues on the table now is the implementation of national standards. While I am for this concept, in theory, I have seen first hand the benefits of breaking out of the "one size fits all" approach to public education. Students are individuals. Each learn at different rates and with different learning styles. In an effort to "save" money, many districts are increasing class sizes to the point that kids in the middle go unnoticed. One of my 5th grade son's teachers actually said to me, "With 33 students in the class, since your son doesn't cause trouble or ask many questions, sometimes I hardly notice him." That was really disheartening.
Thanks for your comment. We're on the same wavelength.
After remarks on testing in schools, President Obama has been challenged by several bloggers as opposing the very policies that his Education Department is putting into practice.
Cathleen P. Black, a magazine executive with no educational experience who was named as New York City schools chancellor last fall, will step down Thursday morning at the mayor’s urging, city officials said, after a tumultuous and brief tenure.
Ms. Black’s resignation, which comes on the heels of the departures of several other high-ranking education officials, was nearly as surprising as her appointment. When Mayor Michael R. Bloomberg plucked her from Hearst Magazines to run the nation’s largest public school system, people in New York and across the country — including some of the mayor’s closest aides — were stunned.
Ms. Black will be replaced by Deputy Mayor Dennis M. Walcott, who has long aided the mayor in educational matters, officials said.
An empowered Bronx school principal makes progress but has to overcome many problems. Ramon Gonzalez's record of improvement of his experimental middle school is inspiring. But this long article shows the many obstacles to reforming an inner city school in a huge district like New York City.
Hi Ralph,
Perhaps the very best answer for fixing public schools is to privatize them. Completely eliminate public schools. Completely. No more unions. No more failures that live on and on and on. Education is a service. Some people will want to pay for a high quality service. Others will just want the basic package. Let each person purchase the amount and the quality that they can afford. The whole problem will be fixed overnight.
Let us begin today.
sn53Anon (whoever you are), education is a RIGHT, not a "service". The idea that it should be privatized and parents "purchase the amount and quality they can afford" is absurd and no different than the current system. Education dollars in most states are based on the value of real estate in each district, meaning schools in poor neighborhoods get less money to operate than schools in affluent neighborhoods. So much for America's claim of "equal opportunity for all".
Hi Jama,
Why do you believe education is a right?
Do you believe you have a right to transportation? To housing? To a job? How is education different from any other good or service that we make choices about?
When you buy anything else do you look to the government to give you one choice? Or do you prefer to have many choices from which you get to choose?
As usual your comments are mean-spirited and ridiculous, even for an extreme libertarian.
Thank you, Ralph. Your reply was much more civil than any that crossed MY mind. ;D
okay. So the two of you are very cosy. Neither of you answered my reasonable questions.
Hi Jama,
You wrote, "sn53Anon (whoever you are),"
Who I am is unimportant, really. If you want you can review my biographical sketch. What is important is that I bring excitement and vibrant new thought to Ralph's hub. You, and he, ought to applaud and encourage me.
". . .education is a RIGHT, not a "service"."
Is it really? Should it be? Should there ever be a right that obligates someone else to pay for something we want?
"The idea that it should be privatized and parents "purchase the amount and quality they can afford" is absurd and no different than the current system."
This was oxymoronic. Or not. Perhaps it is absurd. And no different than the current system. But why do you believe that it is absurd for people to only buy what they can afford? Isn't that what you do?
"Education dollars in most states are based on the value of real estate in each district, meaning schools in poor neighborhoods get less money to operate than schools in affluent neighborhoods."
Isn't that appropriate given that the system is forcing everyone who has property to pay for something that many are not purchasing for themselves? Wouldn't it be better to buy the education you want rather than be compelled to pay for public union thugs along with your occasional teacher? I know I would buy lots of math and English and relatively little Black and Women's studies. I would load up on the sciences and pass on the victomology. If I had a choice.
"So much for America's claim of "equal opportunity for all"."
Let us explore this sentiment. Do you believe there is not equal opportunity for all when we purchase our house, car, bag of groceries, or a cell phone calling plan? Do you believe the law should be so contorted as to force me to get along with less or to pay for someone else's desires in order for the outcomes to be the same?
@sn53Anon, I quote from your bio: "I graduated from college in 1975. I spent 20 years as a commissioned officer in the Army. I have started two companies that ultimately failed."
So you had a guaranteed career straight out of college, and you (and probably a wife and kids) lived off the taxpayer's dime for 20 years, getting subsidized housing and free medical care in the bargain. You and your family never had to pay full price for food, clothing or other goods during that 20 years, and the pension you began receiving on retiring in 1995 ensures you'll never wonder where your next meal is coming from. All of which you considered YOUR right by virtue of being a career officer in the U.S. Army.
Sir, all of that makes YOU uniquely UNqualified to whine about your tax dollars being spent on things you don't approve of or that don't benefit you personally. I personally have a problem with MY tax dollars being spent on a bloated defense budget and supporting people like you.
Hi Jama,
Gosh that was brilliant. Never before have I seen such a commanding intellect grasping at the irrelevant in order to avoid difficult thought.
Should you ever decide to begin thinking, rather than avoiding thought, to consider the real problems of life instead of grasping at any argument to avoid having to actually think, my questions will be here for you to consider.
Yep. My life was very easy. As for my retirement, I would gladly give up that small amount if, in exchange I could have back a constitutionally-based, limited government.
I have deleted several comments by sn53Anon which didn't meet my purpose in publishing this hub which was to elicit constructive suggestions for improving public schools. Feel free to return with constructive ideas.
Hi Ralph,
That is your right. Keep the comments focused to what you want to hear. Go for it.
Peas in a pod. You are fired. I shall not be back to your hubs.
Well-written hub about a topic that's vital to all countries, not just the U.S. As a retired teacher and administrator, I find the current climate for teachers to be disheartening. Cutting teaching positions, increasing class sizes and relying on standardized test scores to evaluate schools and teachers is only going to make the current situation worse. I've been fortunate in working in international schools for the past 20 years where small class sizes, respect for teachers, appropriate funding and a high level of parental support is the norm. As seekingmeme noted above, teachers need to be able to use individualized instruction in order to maximize student learning. That's not going to happen in schools with 30+ students in a classroom.
Thanks for your comment. I'm especially glad to get comments from career educators.
American schools have become little more than a money sponge that produces little to no results.
I recently completed work re-building a burned out small town high school, suitable for around 500 students. There were 20 classrooms. There was a office for the principal, 3 for vice principals, a main office for 3 receptionists, offices for 2 nurses, 3 counselors and a full time police officer on duty (that one chocked full of fancy surveillance equipment and computer gear). Three offices for a coaching staff of at least 10 or so. Two janitorial offices were included.
The entire school was built for immediate panic button shutdown with all doors closing and locking. All south facing windows came equipped with electric, remote controlled blinds. Any wall a student might come into contact with was made of cinder block - students will destroy anything else. Classrooms had an in-class PA system so the teacher could be heard in the back of the room over the din from students.
Beyond this there is the inevitable school building with all the administrators. The bottom line is that that school was a masterpiece of waste, requiring far more both to build and to operate than the teachers would ever need. There must have been twice as much administration and maintenance staff as there was teaching.
Still, I think that the root problem, and one that must be solved for any real education reform, is the home life. Without a massive change in the way that inner city dwellers view education it will never improve. Eliminate the bloated bureaucracy, end ridiculous teacher tenure, close the classes teaching things no student will ever need, reduce classroom size; all of these will help, but if kids get no encouragement and help from parents it will not solve the problem. When 90% of student's parents won't join the PTA or visit the school it is a problem that must be solved first.
HOW TO FIX MATH EDUCATION
"...different sets of math skills are useful for different careers, and our math education should be changed to reflect this fact.
"...most citizens would be better served by studying how mortgages are priced, how computers are programmed and how the statistical results of a medical trial are to be understood...
"...In math, what we need is 'quantitative literacy,' the ability to make quantitative connections whenever life requires (as when we are confronted with conflicting medical test results but need to decide whether to undergo a further procedure) and “mathematical modeling,” the ability to move practically between everyday problems and mathematical formulations (as when we decide whether it is better to buy or lease a new car)."
Ditto to what Wilderness said. The quest for life-long learning begins at home.
The Michigan Legislature appears determined to prove that a wide-open school market will rocket the state's students to the head of the national class. But the experiment it is trying to inflict on children and parents is ill-conceived and dangerous.
Detroit Free Press Editorial 12-1-11
Online Schools Score Better on Wall Street Than in Classrooms - NYTimes.com
A look at the largest online school company’s operations raises serious questions about whether its schools — and full-time online schools in general — are a good deal for children or taxpayers.
As a teacher with seven years of experience, both in public and private institutions, I have to agree that class size is a critical issue. Although there have been recent studies suggesting that reducing class size doesn't significantly affect student performance (I remain dubious about these findings), it certainly makes a difference for the teacher. In terms of classroom management, in-depth knowledge of student abilities and areas for improvement, as well as workload and morale, smaller class sizes are undoubtedly preferable. Who wouldn't prefer a class of 15 to a class of 30?
I also have a question- there is repeated reference to charter schools in this article. As have worked solely in Australia and Vietnamese international schools I am unfamiliar with this term. Could you please clarify what this means?
Thanks for the article and in advance for the answer!
Thanks for your comment. I'm especially pleased to get comments from teachers.
Charter Schools are being advocated in the United States as a panacea to improve primary and secondary public schools. They receive public funds but are not subject to all the regulations that apply to public schools, and their teachers are non-union. Some have achieved good results, but overall results have not been better than those in public schools. In some states, e.g., Michigan inner-cities, they are rapidly supplanting public schools with mixed results. Here's a link to Wikipedia's entry on charter schools:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Charter_Schools
Thanks again for your informed comment.
Call us paranoid, but parents like me are starting to wonder whether Mayor Bloomberg’s larger goal isn’t to privatize the entire New York City public school system. Why else would he be foisting charters on communities that don’t want them? And how else can he justify diverting tax dollars to organizations that employ people to blanket neighborhoods with advertisements and try to poach students from public schools that are already thriving?
A Very Pricey Pineapple - NYTimes.com
Let’s tackle the topic of privatization of public education.No Child Left Behind created a system of public-funded charter schools, a growing number of which are run by for profit companies. Some are online...The academic results can be abysmal.
God and Man in Tennessee - NYTimes.com
By politicizing our faith, lawmakers are ignoring Tennessee’s true religious roots and threatening the liberties they claim to protect.
["Gateway sexual activity" and "intelligent" design in Tennessee]
5-22-12NYTimes--"Public Money Finds its Way to Private Schools"
Scholarship Funds, Meant for Needy, Benefit Private Schools - NYTimes.com
A growing number of states are passing laws that allow taxpayer-supported scholarship funds, but they have been twisted to benefit private schools at the expense of the neediest children.
Ralph Deeds Hub Author 14 months ago
This Hub is a work in progress. Suggestions are welcome.