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VAULTING EDUCATION HIGH ONTO THE AGENDA OF THE
2008 PRESIDENTIAL RACE
Eli Broad and Bill Gates, two of the most important philanthropists
in American public education, have pumped more than $2 billion into
improving schools. But now, dissatisfied with the pace of change,
they are joining forces for a $60 million foray into politics in an
effort to vault education high onto the agenda of the 2008
presidential race, reports David Herszenhorn in the New York Times.
Experts on campaign spending said the project would rank as one of
the most expensive single-issue initiatives ever in a presidential
race, dwarfing, for example, the $22.4 million that the Swift Vets
and P.O.W.s for Truth group spent against Senator John Kerry in
2004, and the $7.8 million spent on advocacy that year by AARP, the
lobby for older Americans. Under the slogan "ED in ’08," the
project, called Strong American Schools, will include television and
radio advertising in battleground states, an Internet-driven appeal
for volunteers and a national network of operatives in both parties.
Mr. Gates, the chairman of Microsoft, wrote, "The lack of political
and public will is a significant barrier to making dramatic
improvements in school and student performance." The project will
not endorse candidates -- indeed, it is illegal to do so as a
charitable group -- but will instead focus on three main areas: a
call for stronger, more consistent curriculum standards nationwide;
lengthening the school day and year; and improving teacher quality
through merit pay and other measures. While the effort is shying
away from some of the most polarizing topics in education, like
vouchers, charter schools and racial integration, there is still
room for it to spark vigorous debate.
2006 METLIFE SURVEY OF THE AMERICAN TEACHER:
EXPECTATIONS & EXPERIENCE
The MetLife Survey of the American Teacher, conducted by Harris
Interactive each year since 1984, explores teachers' opinions and
brings them to the attention of the American public and
policymakers. The 2006 survey examines what teachers, principals and
deans of schools of education each consider most critical to prepare
teachers to meet classroom demands, as well as the expectations and
experiences of prospective and former teachers. Major findings
include:
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1.
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Teacher career satisfaction is at a 20-year high; |
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2.
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Principals and education leaders disagree on what new
teachers should expect on-the-job; |
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3.
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Teachers are driven to leave by unmet expectations, lack
of preparation and lack of support by colleagues and principal; |
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4.
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Many teachers say they lack the basics to get the job
done; |
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5.
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Many teachers feel shut out of decision-making at school,
but having a say in school policies is a key determinant of teacher
satisfaction; |
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6.
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Professional prestige is on the rise, but teachers still
lack parental support; |
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7.
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Teacher shortages are expected to be greatest in
secondary schools and in schools with predominantly low-income and
minority students; |
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8.
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Veteran teachers are more likely than newcomers to opt
out, and teachers who plan to leave are twice as likely to be African
American as are those who intend to stay in the profession; and |
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9.
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Teachers and principals share common views on recruitment
and retention strategies. |
Three of the four top strategies for teacher recruitment and
retention recommended by teachers are similar to those of
principals, including providing a decent salary, providing
increased financial support for the school system, and providing
more respect for teachers in today’s society.
WE SHOULD STOP ACTING SURPRISED AT STUDENT
VIOLENCE
School violence has been happening everywhere for quite a while now.
Which is why it’s time politicians, teachers, parents, and anybody
else who has uttered the inane phrase -- "It can happen anywhere" --
after a senseless tragedy, should find another way to express their
grief. Not only is it arrogant, writes Doug Most in the Boston Globe
(hauntingly published before the Virginia Tech tragedy), it’s
insulting to a large group of people -- namely those who live in
cities and send their kids to urban schools. Read between the
not-so-subtle lines of "It can happen anywhere." What they are
saying is, "I guess the poor city schools with the black kids aren't
the only places where violence can happen." Many parents believe
that their other kids commit these crimes, not ours. Parents refuse
to imagine their teens having unsafe sex and hiding a pregnancy,
arrogantly assuming only poor urban kids could be so dumb. However,
if you look at the worst of the school shootings over the last
decade, they were typically not in urban districts like New York,
Chicago, Detroit, or Boston. They occurred mostly in places like
West Paducah, Ky., Springfield, Ore., Santee, Calif., and Red Lake,
Minn. This is not to say urban schools don't have their problems.
Boston Public School officials are confiscating weapons in record
numbers -- 577 (mostly knives) in the 2005-2006 school year,
compared with 407 five years ago. And a recent study found that
eight out of every 1,000 youths in Boston were shooting victims last
year. Nearly half of Boston public high schools today have metal
detectors. But more frightening than these facts is that naive
suburban parents cling to their idyllic belief that the urban
minority teenager remains the biggest threat to society. Maybe the
mug shots of the offenders from Columbine, Paducah, and Sudbury will
scare these parents straight, because the real threat is any
teenager, living anywhere, and of any color or class who’s been
taunted and shunned at school or who’s grown estranged at home while
bonding with 400 friends on MySpace and texting from under the
covers at night.
TRANSFORMING YOUNG LIVES THROUGH COMMUNITY
EDUCATION & PUBLIC WORK
The Jane Addams School for Democracy is no ordinary school. Its
diverse staff and students include refugee and immigrant adults and
children; faculty and students from nine Twin Cities colleges and
universities; and community residents. And 10 years after the school
opened, more than 1,500 of its Hmong, Latino and East African
students have become U.S. citizens. It is not a public school in the
commonly understood sense of the word, nor is it a stand-alone
"bricks-and-mortar" institution. It shares space with Humboldt High
School in the West Side neighborhood of St. Paul, Minn. There are no
formal classes at the Jane Addams School. Instead students and staff
organize in learning circles and work together in pairs, usually
mixing English speakers with Hmong-, Spanish- or Somali-speaking
people. There is no charge to attend, and there are no fixed
courses. Individuals participate as long as they wish. "Voices of
Hope: The Story of the Jane Addams School for Democracy," a new book
from the Kettering Foundation Press, captures the school’s
far-reaching mission of educating new citizens and strengthening
ties among cultural groups in St. Paul. Edited by Nan Kari and Nan
Skelton, Voices of Hope features 22 essays covering a variety of
topics, including the founding of the school and its important role
in providing a space for democratic work. Three essays, including
"Democracy from the Ground Up" and "A Call to Vocation", are
available for free at the above link.
TEACHERS IN SMALL PUBLIC HIGH SCHOOLS DISCOVER
STRAINS & REWARDS
A major strand in the current national push to improve secondary
education is the movement to scale down schools into smaller, more
personalized units, especially for students facing the greatest
obstacles to success. Hundreds of small schools and learning
communities have cropped up in recent years, famously helped along
by the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation’s $1.5 billion campaign to
raise the numbers of students who graduate from high schools ready
for college and work. Whatever promise the small-schools approach
holds, reports Bess Keller in Education Week, there’s widespread
agreement it won't be realized without a sufficient supply of
teachers who are up to a triple threat of challenges: urban teaching
in the context of a start-up operation, often with a heavy dose of
surrogate parenting thrown in. Many of the new small schools,
especially the ones in cities, virtually guarantee teachers long
hours as they struggle against the inadequate preparation of their
students. Teachers pour their time, too, into shaping the new
institutions, where they are obliged to wear a number of hats.
Ironically, it is the human dimension of small schools -- precisely
the attribute that experts see as their greatest strength -- that
can be the most draining. When a school is small enough for teachers
and students to know each other well, teachers come face to face
with the meager advantages available to the youngsters they teach.
Most small schools hope to establish a core of accomplished teachers
who have soaked up the institution’s culture and stay to pass it on.
That’s the model long in use at many private schools, which expect
to lose a certain number of young teachers every year. "The ideal
situation is to have a mix of entering teachers, teachers hitting
their stride, and master teachers -- that’s something we've really
lobbied for in creating our teams," said Ronald Chaluisan, a vice
president of New Visions for Public Schools, a local education fund
that has helped start some 80 small schools in New York City since
2001.
STANDARDIZED CHILDHOOD: THE POLITICAL &
CULTURAL STRUGGLE OVER EARLY EDUCATION
In his new book, "Standardized Childhood: The Political and Cultural
Struggle over Early Education", Berkeley sociologist Bruce Fuller
takes stock of the growing national debate over early education and
child rearing -- what has becoming a widening front in the culture
wars. Child care and early education already form a $54 billion
industry nationwide, and the new preschool advocates aim to add yet
another layer, proposing that we "leave no toddler behind," lobbying
for state-run systems that would corral all young children into
standardized preschools. Traveling to states that are advancing this
"brave new world" of child rearing, Fuller probes both the claims of
advocates and the proliferating scientific evidence, asking whether
the rising count of governors, and even presidential candidates, are
right in pressing formal schooling down into the everyday lives of
all young children. According to Fuller:
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Preschool expansion can help close early learning gaps,
but only if fresh doses of public support are focused on children from
poor families; |
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No sound study has detected lasting benefits for children
from middle-class homes; |
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Creating two new grades in the schools, prior to
kindergarten, can result in stultifying drill-and-kill classrooms for
energetic and naturally curious three- and four-year-olds; |
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Requiring all preschool teachers to have a bachelor’s
degree is well intentioned, but yields no discernible benefits for
children and drives away teachers who have sorely needed bilingual
skills. |
Standardized Childhood calls for a strong public investment in
preschools that remain rooted in neighborhoods and are focused
on children who empirically benefit the most-those from
low-income families. The government can progressively allocate
greater support without running one-size-fits-all preschools.
Fuller powerfully illuminates culturally rooted variations on
how young children learn, and challenges political leaders to
nurture forms of early education that are responsive to
America’s rainbow of families -- rather than trying to
standardize childhood. You can read the book’s preface for free
at the above link.
TEACHERS TRY TO OFFSET TEST STRESS WITH FUN &
GAMES
Dozens of Kentucky schools have spent the past few weeks engaging in
innovative activities to get children excited and ready for what
many educators and parents agree is the most stressful time of the
year. Games, pep rallies, even yoga -- they're all being employed to
get students ready for the following two weeks, when students in
third through eighth grade and 10th and 11th grade will be tested in
as many as five subjects -- from reading and writing to math and
social studies. At stake is their school's academic reputation, as
well as more serious repercussions, such as allowing students to
transfer to better-performing schools. The tests, each 50 to 70
minutes long, also will be used to judge schools' performance on
reading and math standards that are mandated by the federal No Child
Left Behind law. Schools that don't meet those standards several
years in a row can be taken over by the district or state and
reorganized, reports Antoinette Konz in The Courier Journal
(Louisville, Ky.). Add to that pressure the mounting time taken for
test preparation and testing itself, and the result is a growing
number of educators who complain that testing has gone too far.
HIGH-SCHOOL MUSICALS: BIG CASTS & BIG BUCKS
These days, high-school musicals are polished, expensive and
Broadway-inspired, local Seattle, Wash. drama teachers say. Several
school drama programs are even self-supporting, with musicals
largely earning the revenue for the entire program. That's because
-- despite their expense -- the musicals sell tickets and help draw
donations from parents and alumni, reports Tan Vinh in the Seattle
Times. Typically, musicals produced at the high-school level cost
less than $10,000. But a growing number of Seattle-area schools are
staging shows that cost much more: This spring, pricey shows will
open at Shorecrest High in Shoreline ($38,800); Kentridge ($25,000)
and Kentwood ($25,000) in Kent; and Seattle's Roosevelt High School
($35,000) and Blanchet ($60,000). As the budgets rise, so do
production values. "Productions now rival professional shows" at
some high schools, said 5th Avenue Theatre spokeswoman Kat Ramsburg.
As the education programs manager at the 5th, Ramsburg helps
evaluate 78 high-school musicals across the state. "And some have
budgets that rival a lot of small community theaters'." But such
high-end productions can cause resentment from schools without a
large enough fundraising base to pull together a Broadway-like
musical. Rainier Beach High, for instance, will produce "The Wiz" in
June for about $1,000, mostly through funds raised by its drama
teacher, Makela Steward. For the schools with the funds, you can see
where the money goes. Just take a peek in school auditoriums where
students create elaborate sets that incorporate features such as a
working elevator, electronic turntables that rotate scenery, and a
sprinkler system that replicates the drizzle in Gene Kelly's
signature number from "Singin' in the Rain."
HOT TREND: EQUIPPING COMMUNITY & SCHOOL BUSES
WITH INTERNET WIRELESS ACCESS
School buses and other vehicles are being equipped with wireless
Internet access in an emerging trend that has enormous implications
for students. Proponents of the trend say wireless connectivity on
buses could turn what is often a dull ride into another opportunity
for learning. Children in Grapevine, Ark., still are so isolated
that, for some, the bus ride between their homes and school lasts 90
minutes each way. Education advocates, according to eSchool News,
want to turn those long hours to the students' advantage by using
technology to give them science and math instruction while they
ride.
WILL SCHOOL VOUCHERS LEAD TO A SUBURBAN BACKLASH?
A new paper from the National Center for the Study of Privatization
in Education by Chad d’Entremont and Luis A. Huerta discusses the
limited use of education vouchers in an era of unprecedented growth
in school choice. It is divided into two parts: first, the authors
describe policy, political, and legal barriers that limit the
expansion of voucher programs. Discussion then shifts to the efforts
of voucher advocates to build support among historically
marginalized populations frustrated with the performance of public
schools and open to limited forms of private school choice. The
authors consider the consequences of these strategies and suggest
that the very voucher programs that appeal to disadvantaged families
may prove most offensive to middle class and suburban voters who
vigorously object to policies that undermine local authority and
redistribute local resources. Specifically, vouchers have the
potential to erase municipal boundaries, dissolve neighborhood ties,
lower housing prices, and upset student enrollments.
MOST NATIONS FALL SHORT OF U.S. PROFICIENCY
STANDARDS
Outside of a handful of Asian nations, the typical eighth grader in
many foreign countries would not meet "proficient" levels on U.S.
tests of mathematics and science, according to a re-analysis of
international achievement data by the American Institutes for
Research (AIR). Then again, the study also shows, neither do most
American students, reports Debra Viadero in Education Week. The idea
of AIR’s chief scientist, Gary W. Phillips, was to statistically
"link" scores from two well-known testing programs: the Trends in
International Mathematics and Science Study, or TIMSS, which is
given every few years to students in more than three dozen
countries, and the National Assessment of Educational Progress, a
congressionally mandated program known as the "nation’s report
card." By Mr. Phillips’ estimate, of the eighth graders from 46
nations who took TIMSS mathematics tests in 2003, only students from
Hong Kong, Japan, Singapore, South Korea, and Taiwan, would reach
the proficient level, on average, if they were to take the eighth
grade NAEP test in that subject. On the NAEP science tests, the
analysis shows, only two of the TIMSS countries -- Singapore and
Taiwan -- would have students who score, on average, at that level.
PROMISES & PITFALLS OF ALERNATIVE TEACHER
COMPENSATION APPROACHES
Merit pay systems for teachers, although currently popular with
policy makers, are no panacea, a new policy brief from the Education
Policy Research Unit and the Education and the Public Interest
Center concludes. The brief, "The Promises and Pitfalls of
Alternative Teacher Compensation Approaches," is by researcher Debbi
C. Harris, who explores the three main types of teacher compensation
systems used in the United States. They are the uniform salary
schedule used in most districts, as well as the two types of merit
pay systems: performance-based and outcome-based. She notes that
there are advantages to each approach but that there are adverse,
often unintended, consequences to each system as well. Harris
recommends that before states or local districts adopt new pay
systems for teachers, they invest time and resources to ensure that
the pay system is appropriately aligned with their particular goals
and intentions. In contrast to conventional pay programs that reward
years of experience and additional education for teachers, merit pay
programs are typically structured to reward teacher behaviors and
activities that are believed to be associated with higher
achievement, or to reward outcomes, usually measured by students’
test scores. Harris’ policy brief does not endorse any particular
approaches, and it carefully explains each approach’s strengths and
weaknesses.
TRANSGENDER CANDIDATE ON PROM KING BALLOT
When school officials announce the name of the Fresno (Calif.) High
School prom king on Saturday, Cinthia Covarrubias will be wearing a
tuxedo just like the six boys vying for the honor. Administrators
agreed to reverse a district protocol this week that limited males
to compete for the title after Covarrubias was nominated by her
classmates. "I would never have run for anything if I had to wear a
dress," said Covarrubias, who considers herself transgender, an
umbrella term that covers people whose outward appearance and
internal identity don't match their gender at birth. Gay youth
advocates called it a landmark victory for campus gender expression
and said they believe it's the first time in the United States that
an openly transgender student has run for prom royalty, reports the
Associated Press. "We are growing as a society to accept much more
diversity in gender expression, and that's a positive thing," said
Carolyn Laub, director of the Gay-Straight Alliance Network. Still,
some students criticized the decision to put Covarrubias on the
ballot. "I like lesbians, but they shouldn't be allowed to run for
king," said senior Erich Logan, 18, as he stood outside the stately
high school building. Covarrubias said has no plans to permanently
alter her gender through hormones or surgery. Tiffani Sanchez, a
science teacher who advises the school's Gay-Straight Alliance, said
the decision would foster understanding of the broad spectrum of
gender identities. "Cinthia is still really learning who she is,"
she said. "We want her to know that there's a safe space for her
here and we support her." According to Leanne Reyes, a senior, "It's
not like the stereotype where the king has to be a jock and he's
there with the cheerleaders anymore. We live in a generation now
where dudes are chicks and chicks are dudes." |
