I was just listening to a news story on NPR about North Carolina schools, certification, funding, No Child Left Behind, etc. etc., and it reminded me why I'm not in the public education business anymore: because we're fuuuuuuuucked. Fucked fucked fucked.
As I was listening to the story, I started thinking, How do we fix this? Where do we even begin? Issues surrounding education and successful schools do not exist in a vacuum: they're wrapped up in social issues, poverty, immigration, race, gender equity, technology, religion. It all makes my head spin. And policies implemented to "fix" schools are largely punitive, and set up an "us" (teachers) versus "them" (government policymakers) mentality. It's divisive, and makes things even messier.
With the exception of the stinkers who have no business being in the classroom (and there are many of them, though they are the minority), teachers work their asses off and do what they do because they want children to learn and grow and succeed. They work long hours, spend hundreds of dollars of their own money on supplies for their classrooms, often get yelled at and abused on a daily basis (by kids, parents, principals). It's hard work, and bless them for doing it. I couldn't.
But shit's fucked up, and it seems like any sweeping policy changes just end up shifting the shit instead of making things better. And I have no clue exactly how to make things better, but it seems to me that starting small would be best. Pick a modest goal, work on that, build on that, move onto the next one. Couple that with social policy, like more affordable daycare so older siblings don't have to miss school to take care of the younger kids and consequently are in 4th grade when they're 12 years old and still don't know how to read. (I had a student like this. It broke my heart.) Or better access to mental health services, so the 10-year-old budding sociopath has a chance to channel his energy and rage into something other than a path toward juvie or worse. (I had another student like this. It scared the bejeezus out of me.) Ask teachers what they would do if they had a magic wand, and then work on achieving what's possible, one small piece at a time.
Oh, and also, in education schools like the one I went to, when almost-graduates are putting together their "professional" portfolios, maybe they should put less emphasis on using pretty colors and stickers and glitter and smiling pictures of students and more on actual work and sound philosophy and fresh ideas and demonstrations of intelligence, mmkay? Sweet jebus.
I don't know. Thinking about this stuff makes me despair. But I don't think it's hopeless.
Posted by thevieve at June 15, 2006 8:36 AMI think a little bit of commonsense goes a long way in a classroom, plus hard work of course and all the $ spent of one's own money on resources and rewards for kids who achieve and for those who just do their darndest the whole year.
Education is about broadening horizons and inspiring kids to learn and to love learning. It is never a business and whoever thinks it is is going to come a cropper one day.
Yes skills acquistion is important, but education without a love of learning and curiosity is souless.
Higher salaries and merit pay.
Posted by: Aaron Weber on June 16, 2006 2:05 PMAh, but how do you determine merit? Sticky.
Also, starting salaries are actually quite reasonable for a lot of districts -- in Boston, about 10K more than the starting salary for my current job, and probably with better benefits -- but then they cap out pretty quickly. Which is why a lot of teachers switch to administrative roles, I think.
Posted by: vv on June 16, 2006 2:13 PM