tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8638998837390550464.post7428724919959742956..comments2024-02-26T11:57:59.502-06:00Comments on Schultz's Take: Demonizing Teachers: Simplistic Solutions for Education Reform (or why most policies for reforming K-12 will not make Johnny read gooder)ProfDSchultzhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14428175737629801650noreply@blogger.comBlogger7125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8638998837390550464.post-24975501304620876502010-10-08T20:24:14.639-05:002010-10-08T20:24:14.639-05:00Most teachers are decent, reasonable people, who t...Most teachers are decent, reasonable people, who try to do their best and aren't any more lazy or stupid than the rest of us. Collectively, however, they stand in the way of reform because of the inexorable logic of the closed shop union. They must join the union to get a job. The union is run by those who have been there the longest without advancing, who of course highly value seniority, conservatism in all matters, and lack of pressure to perform as they get close to their pension. Teachers need to act like professionals, but they're stuck in unions that force them to act collectively like assembly line workers. Teachers do need unions, as they are facing a monopoly employer (the state), and often get caught between parents and the school system in battles over individual children, battles that people rightly take very seriously. But the teachers' unions should be more like professional associations than industrial unions. Allowing teachers to join whichever union or association they wanted, including none at all, would be a big step forward towards reform. When teachers become valued professionals rather than unionized laborers, teaching will once again attract bright and motivated graduates.<br /><br />Student success is most highly correlated not with good teachers or good schools, but with good parents. Parents of any income level who drill into their kids' heads the importance of education, who stress written rather than visual media, and who support the actions of their children’s' teachers and schools produce consistently successful students. The generation that survived the Depression and WW2 was able to provide a better life for their children, with lots of food and free time and fun, and few of the deprivations and horrors that had gone before. This indulgent behavior was reinforced and amplified in the generations that followed. We're now way too easy on our kids for their own good. Schools will never really succeed until parents force their kids to take education seriously, and allow hard work and discipline to be the watchwords at their children's schools. Teachers need to ask more of students, and adults need to stand resolutely in the face of their beloved yet lazy children, and force them to deliver. In the end, that will be the real reform.Emeryhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/00523849258546459342noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8638998837390550464.post-40185164045307669962010-10-05T09:41:32.313-05:002010-10-05T09:41:32.313-05:00Joel:
I never said there were not bad teachers. ...Joel:<br /><br />I never said there were not bad teachers. There are. However, the problem of bad teachers is overwhelmed by many other forces such as poverty and racism. I had lots of bad teachers but learned despite them. I did not go to school hungry, had two supportive parents (until my fsther died with I was 16), and I was motivated to learn. All of that rendered bad teaching a minor issue. My broader point is that we are demonzing teachers and making it sound as if thwey are singularly responsible for the failures of American K-12. If teachers are not doing their jobs let us give them better training before seeking to dispose of them.ProfDSchultzhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/14428175737629801650noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8638998837390550464.post-14095421335076771442010-10-04T12:18:18.689-05:002010-10-04T12:18:18.689-05:00You're right; demonizing teachers or students ...You're right; demonizing teachers or students or administrators or voters won't work all that well. I'm running for a seat on the local school board this fall and demonizing has been the dominant theme for at least the last 20 years. And you're right, there are three points on the education triangle, soon to be four if the feds continue to involve themselves. So how does a lowly school board member unite the points? I'll pass it on if I find out. Any concrete suggestions would be most appreciated, before November 2nd if possible.Davidhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/13995722498583000800noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8638998837390550464.post-15756773407474421462010-10-04T09:13:11.068-05:002010-10-04T09:13:11.068-05:00As a high school student I had a math teacher who ...As a high school student I had a math teacher who was superlative and a math teacher who was incompetent. The superlative teacher went on to another district where he was competitive in math bowls with students who were previously considered slow. The other teacher stayed in the district for another 25 years and dropped the math SAT scores for two generations of graduates of that high school.<br /><br />You want to argue that eliminating bad teachers is not a solution? You're talking to the wrong guy. No amount of money, community involvement, parental concern can overcome a teacher who can't communicate. Teacher's unions aren't the whole problem with education or the only problem with education but to argue that they are not a critical piece of the problem is a political nonsense that ignores reality.Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8638998837390550464.post-58960227095207350462010-10-03T11:34:19.926-05:002010-10-03T11:34:19.926-05:00Very good points. Of course, this will almost cer...Very good points. Of course, this will almost certainly never happen. For one thing it would require the GOP to give up on demonizing the teacher's union as the reason why our public schools are failing. Seeing as how that's been a successful wedge issue for them (if for fundraising even when not electorally all that useful), I don't expect them to let it go.<br /><br />Lengthening the school year is an idea whose time has probably come, but it will be difficult to implement in the current economic environment. How do we fund it? Where do we find the resources to cover the additional busing transportation costs, building operations, and so forth, not to mention increased personnel costs? Inner-city schools (read: minneapolis public) are in a severe budget crunch due to declining enrollments and there are no funds available. (one of the forgotten issues in school funding is just how severely rising energy prices have crippled school transportation & heating budgets)<br /><br />Testing is a real problem. It's used very punitively. It's not particularly responsive or sensitive in what it measures, so we don't learn much from the testing we do actually do. The shift in emphasis to testing reduces the time spent on critical thinking skills and anything else that isn't easily evaluated via a testing mechanic (and usually one that has a funding stream attached to it). About the only thing that testing seems to have achieved is to prove that charter schools and vouchers aren't a magic bullet that will fix public education...Joshhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/05853174464511326387noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8638998837390550464.post-572306509161299142010-10-02T23:29:37.878-05:002010-10-02T23:29:37.878-05:00And Myron Orfield.And Myron Orfield.Spothttps://www.blogger.com/profile/04320639130804814361noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8638998837390550464.post-37296606157473852032010-10-02T23:28:45.228-05:002010-10-02T23:28:45.228-05:00That's the most sensible thing I've seen w...That's the most sensible thing I've seen written about education since, well, Rob Levine.Spothttps://www.blogger.com/profile/04320639130804814361noreply@blogger.com