Trashing Teachers – Another Big GOP Fail
In spite of the GOP’s ongoing assault on public schools, and public school teachers, a new Phi Delta Kappa/Gallup poll shows that most Americans like their public schools and the teachers who work there.
…parents, especially, are increasingly pleased with their neighborhood schools and more displeased with the rising use of standardized, multiple choice tests to evaluate, and potentially punish, teachers, a new Phi Delta Kappa/Gallup poll suggests.
The GOP’s efforts to trash public schools and vilify public school teachers may have had some impact, but, like so much of conservatism, not the anticipated impact.
(Parents are) displeased with the rising use of standardized, multiple choice tests to evaluate, and potentially punish, teachers, a new Phi Delta Kappa/Gallup poll suggests.
The polling directly rejects the GOP’s long-running public school strategy of making teachers, and teacher unions, the scapegoats of failing schools.
I really don’t know too much about it, but isn’t “Common Core” some sort of initiative for standardized academics, and aren’t the Democrats pushing it ?
BTW, the Democrats control almost every aspect of our state, and it’s been that way for like twenty years. What’s the point of trashing Republicans over these issues?
As long as the Koch Brothers, CRI and their flunkies in the GOP keep trying to turn teachers into scapegoats, and as long as the GOP tries and tear down public education in order to enrich “voucher” hucksters and charter school snake oil peddlers – I’m going to keep calling them out on it.
Interesting:
Last night, I heard this report of a new book that takes a look at the current best educational systems in the world — Finland, South Korea, Poland — assisted by observations from American kids who spent time in these countries as exchange students. Each country is different in its education approach, but this sounded like it would be fascinating reading. The book is called The Smartest Kids in the World.
Again I’m calling for universal pre-school with highly qualified teachers and plenty of time for real play. Too many children enter school unprepared and undernourished.
cassandra_m:
I heard the same story and have been talking about it with my teacher friends all day. It gets you thinking…
So did this:
http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2013/08/21/elijah-miles-teach-america_n_3792763.html
News flash folks… This is turning into a liberal talking point as well. Its not just republicans. We have a majority in Dover and our teachers still get paid crap compared to surrounding states. The charter school movement which is nothing more than a ploy to end teachers unions, has flourished in out state and continues to do so to the detriment of public school children and teachers. Republicans haven’t done this. Democrats have.
Black Cobain is correct. The privatization of our public schools is a bi-partisan effort. The new Delaware Charter Law is a perfect example.
The reference to a new book citing the best educational systems in the world and
Finland, South Korea, Poland suggests an invalid comparison to the USA. Aren’t these countries characterized by the absence of racial/ethnic diversity and very controlled immigration policies? One of our education challenges seems to be dealing with pluralism in our society and economic disparity not to mention ESL issues in many parts of our country. Looks like an apple/orange comparison to me.
On the flip side, it suggests governments and societies that place a big priority on and seriously invest in the educations of their kids. The question that can’t really be answered without reading the book is whether priorities and resources can trump diversity. Which in the US is more about poverty than anything else.
@TC, thanks for that video! What a great kid and of course he is right — keeping people distracted from recognizing their collective issues makes sure that these people don’t recognize when they are being “trickled down on”.
As for Amanda Ripley’s book — I’m interested in reading that. Anyone else interested? Maybe we could do a virtual book group if there are enough of us interested.
I think poverty has more to do with it than having increased amounts of racial/ethnic minorities. Nearly 40% of elementary school students in Finland do not recognize Finnish as their first language. That would make them ethnic minorities though they are still mostly European. To lay this problem at the feet of racial/ethnic minorities in America is silly. Poverty is the major problem. However, I’d venture to say that the fact that education up to Doctorate degrees in Finland are tax payer funded, that has a major impact on their poverty rate, or lack there of. They also spend less per pupil on education than we do.
A recent study by CHOP found that poverty had more detrimental effects on children than being born addicted to cocaine. What do those socialist Finns do that seems to work so well? They provide a humane and responsible level of day care, housing, food and healthcare to ensure that every child’s primary needs are met. Teachers in Finland aren’t trying to help a homeless student find a place for the night, or bringing in snack bars to help feed students, or arranging for a student’s dental care. Teachers in Finland are teaching. MLK recognized that poverty was the great enemy in achieving a democratic society. Throwing a few curves related to standards, testing, and evaluation is a much easier panacea to peddle than the very difficult and expensive paradigm shift that no child should want for food, shelter or healthcare.
The connection to teachers is strong and obvious, our kids or in their care and we see and know them. Attacks fail as we know the truth, even if there are Koch mega bucks behind it.
cassandra
I’ve read the book and the authors don’t convince me of their case with respect to the diversity (poverty) vs investment question you raise. I think they make some good points, but there is are both structural and scale issues I personally did not think they address. Structurally the education in these countries is far more centrally controlled than in the US which is possible both due to different political climates and due to the far smaller student populations they are working with.
I’m not saying the book is wrong–there are some great points and great lessons in it–but I will say that I do not think I’ve yet seen a comparative book that actually successfully takes into account the big differences between a country the size of the US, or Russia, or India, and smaller European nations.
I’ve yet seen a comparative book that actually successfully takes into account the big differences between a country the size of the US, or Russia, or India, and smaller European nations.
Maybe. But the point of this book was to take a look at some of the countries routinely on the top of the rankings in terms of education. Poland makes the list because they’ve improved pretty fast, and they aren’t a wealthy country by any stretch. But I certainly do not think that these countries don’t have something to teach here.
Education is not centrally controlled in Finland. It is centrally paid for. That is different. The Fins don’t have any standardized testing. They have not been forced to give up on Music and the Arts due to “increased standards” in core subjects. You have no idea how centrally controlled our education system is in America.
The Economist’s review of The Smartest Kids in the Room
@bordercrosser — it also seems that Finland directs school resources in accordance with need, rather than politically.
Poland’s difference is the lack of cultural diversity (and here I am not using poverty as a surrogate) and the smaller scale of the school system.
I’m not arguing that there are no lessons to be learned–quite the contrary, the book is full of them.
But I don’t think it provides even the beginnings of a structural blueprint for how to make major foundational changes in the US system.
The problem with poverty is that it is indiscriminate. The problem with putting a face on poverty is that it is discriminate. Consequently, the populace generally assigns an ethnicity to poverty and a result is that we believe that poverty cannot happen to us. For example, dental problems are a leading cause of missed school days in Kentucky (http://www.nytimes.com/2007/12/24/us/24kentucky.html?pagewanted=all&_r=0) and the vast majority of those affected are Caucasian. Partly, poverty suffers from the lack of empathy and empathy is affected by our ability to see ourselves in that condition.
But to return to education, if the problem with the educational system is predominately poverty, it begs the question of why we continue to harp on the education system as if doing something to the system is going to have an affect on poverty.
School lunch programs, weekend lunch backpacks, etc, target poverty but why do we have the expectation that it will have an affect on poverty? Ditto medical care or after school programs. All have a positive affect on education but it is not in the educational system’s swim lane (core competency).
Education is challenging enough without collateral responsibilities for food, clothing, and shelter. The whole person concept is necessary for each child to reach their full potential. But that whole person is the responsibility of the parents and society (which provides the means, not the parenting), not the schools. I believe the educational system can be effective, if it focused on the providing education AND other facets of society were to apply their core competencies to things like poverty, child care, medical care, etc.
Not sure what a more functional approach to teaching math has to do with cultural diversity. But Poland is on the list because of a remarkable change in just 10 years — a change that included their refugee immigrants. I’m not especially interested in “cultural diversity” = “lowered expectations for some of us”.
Delaware’s government schools are a disaster and are beyond hope. Funny how we say we have such great teachers but the results show otherwise. In true Liberal fashion blame someone else, spend more money and develop a new slogan (Race to the Top, No Child Left Behind, etc).
Why do most teachers come from the bottom 25% of their college graduation class?
LAF, proof please. If no, GTFU.
LAF is a troll here who just drops by to lift his leg every once in a while. He isn’t interested in engaging in anything, which is why I change his post name.
The NYT reviews the book: The Smartest Kids in the World
Va Jay Jay is still mad about the Appoquinimink Referendum…..FUNNY!!
Okay….move on from the cornholing, bud.
In Korea, there is a large industry that is devoted to supplementing public education. Korea is home to the $4 million teacher: http://online.wsj.com/article/SB10001424127887324635904578639780253571520.html
In Finland, the municipalities, which fund public schools, may also charter and then fund private schools. These private schools must admit students on the same basis as their public peers. So no CSW, but yes charter schools.
In Poland, students take two “high-stakes” tests: one to determine which junior high school they will attend and another to determine whether high school they will attend. This segregates the “best” students from the “worst” students, as measured by the tests.
The Korean “large industry” of tutoring is paid for by the users — not taxpayer funded.
Finland does not have charter schools.
The Polish “high-stakes testing” for middle and high school levels doesn’t seem to be separating thew “best” from the worst, but about sending kids to the next level of schooling that might be appropriate to their abilities. Vocational school, technical school, other high schools still mean that their students get anywhere from 12 to 15 years of publicly funded education, and can still apply to various higher education opportunities.
@cassandra_m:
Korea:
The question posed is how America can learn from other nations’ educational policies. In Korea, people pay to supplement public education. Rich families likely spend more than poor families. Should the Korean government provide need-based scholarships aka. an income/wealth based voucher? If so, would you support the same in the United States?
Finland:
What is the difference between a charter school and a publicly-financed, “private” school that sets its own curriculum? (Also, many of these “private” schools are religious. Just an interesting factoid.)
Poland:
And I fail to see a substantial difference between testing to “send[] kids to the next level of schooling that might be appropriate to their abilities” and testing to “segregate[] the ‘best’ students from the ‘worst’ students” because the end state is the same: a student’s next step is dependent on test performance.
I admit that your statement sounds more benign when compared to my own; however, testing is what it is even if there are more than two buckets (“best” vs. “worst” in mine or many more ability buckets in yours).
People pay to supplement education here too. It doesn’t exist on the scale that it does in Korea, even factoring in the test prep mills.
There is a difference between private and charter schools, unless you want to be here arguing that language is meaningless. There are few “private” schools in Finland, they are all publicly funded and their students still have the achievement expectations of other schools.
“Best” vs. “Worst” in evaluating students is a value judgement on your part and a clue as to why we have the problems we do.
@cassandra_m:
Have you heard of a distinction without a difference?
A charter school is a publicly-funded, “private” school; in Finland, the government in fact CHARTERS publicly-fund, “private” schools.
In your experience, charter schools in Delaware are not held accountable. You react to this without thinking. To you, the problem is independence itself: accountability and independence cannot coexist.
But independence and accountability can coexist. When designing an education system, three questions must be answered:
(1) What are the system’s goals?
(2) How much independence should the system’s cogs have when they choose how they will pursue the goals?
(3) How does society ensure that the cogs do not abuse their discretion?
Both charter schools and publicly-fund, “private” schools provide the same answer to the second question: more independence (at least when compared to traditional public schools). The problem is that–to some extent–charter schools in Delaware have abused their discretion, while oversight has prevented publicly-fund, “private” schools in Finland from abusing their discretion. You argue that charter schools in Delaware and publicly-fund, “private” schools in Finland are not the same, but you ignore the real difference: the milieu in which the schools operate; specifically, how oversight works in Delaware vs. in Finland.
You may very well have other objections to charter schools (de facto segregation, etc.), but one truth remains: charter schools in Delaware and publicly-funded, “private” schools in Finland share the same ideal: independence in choosing the means of educating children.
The problem is not charter schools; the problem is your elected officials.
[Note: In Finland, religious and Waldorf/Steiner education are popular means chosen; in Delaware, we have math & science, military, etc.]
ALSO
“Best” vs. “worst” is not a value, i.e., subjective, judgment, unless you believe no skill is objectively more valuable than another skill.
We all have different talents, and some talents are more valuable than others. People with the most valuable talents are the “best,” and people with the least valuable talents are the “worst.” Right now the market determines the relative value of skills. C’est la vie.
A charter school is a publicly-funded, “private” school; in Finland, the government in fact CHARTERS publicly-fund, “private” schools.
And here we get to the point in our program where you will spill a bunch of words to try to convince yourself that you aren’t wrong. Except you are. Again. I’ll remind people of your claim to credibility — that the mortgage meltdown was caused by CRA requirements.
“Best” vs. “worst” is not a value, i.e., subjective, judgment, unless you believe no skill is objectively more valuable than another skill.
It is subjective in that you are assigning a value to the students whose skills you value (“best”) and those you don’t (“worst”). What you don’t know is whether this is actually the value the FInns assign to their children. What I do know is that they work at sending their kids to high school based on aptitudes and interests. I can’t tell which are the “worst” high schools and neither can you.