America has resolved the raising of the national debt ceiling through bipartisan legislation and averted catastrophic economic consequences, or so we are told. However, like No Child Left Behind and Race to the Top, is it once again government smoke and mirrors?
Are we in the midst of a national grass-roots effort to alter the government policy in public education begun with No Child Left Behind in 2002? Does this renewed energy for a new path forward have the potential impact to change the course of public education as the Tea Party freshmen have had with the debate about the national debt and spending priorities?
As Anthony Cody, grass-roots teacher organizer of last Saturday’s Save Our Schools March and National Call to Action in Washington D.C. states: “No Child Left Behind was a huge national experiment based on the so-called Texas Miracle, which turned out to be a hoax.” Many educators and leaders in public education agree with his assessment.
Jonathan Kozol, author of Savage Inequalities speaking at the SOS rally, exclaimed in a halting, passion-filled voice: “We are not here to moan and cry and ring our hands. We are not here to beg the Congress and the White House to make a couple incremental minor changes in NCLB. Or in the mania, the pestilence of testing, like some terrible disease like mad-cow disease that spread across this land, we are here to say you cannot fix this awful law. It needs to be abolished altogether.”
The tragic thing is Race to the Top still relies on student test taking as pillar of its policy foundation. This is not to confuse the absolute importance of public school systems that are accountable for results with the regime of testing. The public school system must be accountable for results, but education is so much more than test taking. Isn’t it?
Matt Damon, actor, addressed the crowd at the SOS March delivering a call to action with eloquence about the issue of only relying on fill-in-bubble testing as the coin of the realm in public education. Speaking about his own public school education, he said: “I had incredible teachers. As I look at my life today, the things I value most about myself—my imagination, my love of acting, my passion for writing, my love of learning, my curiosity—all come from how I was parented and taught. And none of these qualities that I’ve mentioned—none of these qualities that I prize so deeply, that have brought me so much joy, that have brought me so much professional success—who make me who I am…can be tested.”
Kozol went on to add that there is more than a reliance on testing for which the government should be ashamed. He said, “that is not the only policy of government that is causing havoc in our schools. The wild inequalities of funding are more savage now than they were twenty years ago…add to this…$7,000 for the poorest children in America and the $30,000 for the richest…add to this… the rapidly increasing racial segregation of our nation’s schools, our schools today are more segregated, racially and economically, than anytime since 1968, the year ironically that Dr. Martin Luther King was taken from us.”
Is it possible with the same fervor the “Tea Party” came to Washington with last year that public education could rally thoughtful and intelligent voices to change the status quo? After reading and listening to YouTube videos on the Save Our Schools event I am hopeful that a spark has been lit. When does a rally become a movement?
Breaking News: Today the SCCOE Superintendent and Board are announcing the retirement of Dr. Charles Weis, Superintendent of Santa Clara County Office of Education, as of June 30, 2012. The Board will be working on developing a plan to choose Dr. Weis’ successor in open public meetings in August and September.
Begin by eliminating a number of useless bureaucracies.
Among these are; 1)Santa Clara County Board of Education and County Superintendent of Schools 2) California State Board of Education and State Superintendent of Public Education 3) U. S. Department of Education and Secretary of Education.
Use the money saved to pay teachers more and give every teacher, who chooses not to join the teachers union, a bonus.
Is there someone else whom I forgot?
> Begin by eliminating a number of useless bureaucracies.
Among these are; 1)Santa Clara County Board of Education and County Superintendent of Schools 2) California State Board of Education and State Superintendent of Public Education 3) U. S. Department of Education and Secretary of Education.
Use the money saved to pay teachers more and give every teacher, who chooses not to join the teachers union, a bonus.
Whoa!!
You’re talking about a heap of change, there, Tonto.
I don’t think people want change. They want to be warm and comfy, and reassured by their educational leaders that everything will be fine if we just:
1.) Tax the rich;
2.) Ban corporate jets;
3.) Spend more money on education.
To your list, let me add:
End the achievement gap be abolishing all subjective testing.
Granted there are some things that cannot be evaluated with testing. However, reading, writing, math and a few other subjects can and should be baselined. If Johnny can’t read or write and do basic computations then we have created another person that will become beholden to the government for financial support.
The basic problem with education today is that the system has accepted the foolish belief that ALL children should go to college and failure to have 100% compliance is some kind of moral failure. Instead we should be creating a system where those students intending to go to college are provided the resources to do so and those who don’t or who intend to enter the workforce instead are provided the necessary tools for their success. Why keep students in school if they are disruptive or have no motivation to learn? Instead we should be providing those students the opportunity to enter the workforce at 16. Provide an economic incentive to businesses that will hire and train these students to be electricians, plumbers, mechanics, or other trades and crafts. These students will become taxpayers and will have an economic stake in their own success. Does everyone need to go to college: NO. Does everyone need the opportunity to achieve economic success: YES. Time to change the road map and change the education system to reflect social and economic reality.
Mr. Di Salvo
Education Reform is a word that has been used by many groups on the left and right for years , many books have been composed on the subject . I have two books on the subject .
One is “Crisis in the Classroom ” by Charles E. Silberman . And another one is ” Deschooling Society” by Ivan Illich both books were written decades ago.
Education reform must mean what it says first. The State / Federal must spend an equal amount of money for all schools.
Use testing to define what is wrong , and implement change using the data .
Parents need to be involved in the poorest schools . No more bi-lingual education , it must be English only .
Like many other “rich and well of countries ” Collage education should be free for all it’s citizens .
It’s my cents worth on “reform”.
Found the following in the Mercury News “We are going to be able to select someone while I am on the board who is of national prominence and can be a strong voice in public education,” board President Joseph Di Salvo said.
How about Matt Damon?
This video seems to fit the job description
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gGlf8J2PGhI
Matt Damon an ultra liberal who has made most his money with Violent Movies. What a Role Model. People actually listen to this clown. Movies today are leading to a more violent world. Way to pick a mentor.
Joseph,
When it comes to credential-requiring careers, I believe society wants our doctors, lawyers, CPAs, rocket scientists, engineers, scientific researchers, architects, chemists, etc., to offer at minimum strong “bubble-test” competency. Do we want more than just strong multiple-choice scores, yes. But do we want objective testing of these skills-requiring careers? Yep.
Why the hatred of “drill”? All the above professions require significant memorization, whether it be rules of law, the periodic table, anatomy or higher math functions. Students who don’t learn how to memorize early will find it difficult to pick up that discipline later.
– Chris S.
> When it comes to credential-requiring careers, I believe society wants our doctors, lawyers, CPAs, rocket scientists, engineers, scientific researchers, architects, chemists, etc., to offer at minimum strong “bubble-test” competency. Do we want more than just strong multiple-choice scores, yes. But do we want objective testing of these skills-requiring careers? Yep.
Seems common sensical to me.