As Linda Darling-Hammond, in her treatise on education "The Flat World and Education: How America's Commitment to Equity will Determine our Future" so eloquently states the U.S. "...continuing comfort with profound inequality that is the Achilles heel of American Education." Many Americans do not travel more than 30 miles from their birthplace. They experience the school that is in their hometown. Therefore they do not understand that there may be a very different experience in the next town. To compound that very limited world view, U.S. citizens are bombarded by what amounts to political propaganda. Even when people can agree that there is a problem, they are given mixed messages as to whether it can be solved. And because as Eddie Obeng states, the world of technology is moving so fast that once a problem is identified and solutions are put forth, it is often so out of date as to be irrelevant. We are constantly playing catch up.
Ms. Darling-Hammond fills her pages with scientific data to support her investigations. Much like McDowell and Hattie, she uses the PISA definition for literacy in the core subjects and their application to include learning for transfer. This "requires complex problem solving" by students. This also requires laborious time consuming evaluation by teachers.
In the first 3 chapters she repeats many times how teacher efficacy is a driving factor to student learning. Students that are lucky enough to experience teachers that are experienced and have been trained in competitive and selective programs will learn more than their peers that are shunted from teacher to teacher, that have been inadequately trained and/or may not be fully credentialed. It takes a motivated and educated parent to be able to evaluate a teacher or a school's efficacy.
Unfortunately, attempts to label schools and teachers have hurt the profession. The attempts to make schools and teachers accountable has undermined teacher's work. Instead of giving teachers the tools they need to continue growing their skills, they take away the respect that a teacher needs to connect with their students.
In addition, schools are expected to address all of society's shortcomings. Helping students with health care access, mental health access, housing access and access to healthy food, schools are responsible for giving students and families all they need to thrive. Unfortunately, schools are not provided adequate resources to do all these things. In other countries they have their schools focus on education and take care of the needs of their citizens with social nets that support their health, housing, food and mental health. This reminds many Americans of Socialism and they recoil because they think that it will run counter to democracy. Although, looking at the happiness index worldwide, many socialist countries are happier and more educated. Such is Finland today.
So why don't we try out these models that are working worldwide? Political stalemate has hamstrung our leaders. Our lack of thinking outside the box, our lack of innovative leadership and our culture of trying to get results overnight has created an untenable situation. We have competing goals. Teacher Unions are trying to give teachers a living wage, which is good. But they are also trying to make sure we are tethered to a system of education that was created for a world a hundred years ago. Politicians are tethered to their biggest donors. Citizens are more concerned with protecting their patch, and maintaining the status quo. Most do not realize that by taking care of all of the citizens we make the world a better place for everyone. This is especially true in education and in health.
When I reflect on my education and the readings I am thinking that a major overhaul of the education in the U.S. is long overdue. Teacher training is critical. So is maintaining schools that are well maintained and well resourced. I feel that there is an attempt to cram a gallon into a pint glass. There is too much to teach in too short of time. I like that many places that are experiencing success opt to teach fewer subjects deeply than to speedily spiral curriculum that is surface level at best. I also think that we need to look at the school day.
If we are going to serve students breakfast, we need to be set up to give them time and a place to eat. It should not be the teacher's job to serve meals and to clean up. I also think that the school day needs to reflect the average workday for parents. So school needs to encompass 8-5 schooldays. If we scheduled for the entire day, we could dive more deeply and allow for more recess. Teachers would have meetings and prep time scheduled throughout the day, in blocks of time that would make collaboration a reality. My hope would be that teachers could leave school at 5 and be done with their workday. No emails, no grading just a better work life balance. This could go a long way to eliminating churn.
I would not promote endless testing. Testing should be reserved for informing instruction.
Teaching is a demanding profession. I think that teachers need to have a 6 week break in the summer and opportunities to go on sabbatical. Students need to be able to access summer programs that do not discriminate because of exorbitant fees and give them tools to participate in their individual interests whether that be football or 4-H.
My changes would cost more than we are spending at the moment. But my plans would cost much less, when you factor in the cost of housing inmates and the cost of homelessness etc.
The biggest obstacle to my plan is the resistance to change and greed.