I'm writing this post in the hopes to encourage constructive debate on the various topics. Furthermore, this post serves as an organizing document for my own personal use to go back to and revise. I think education is a multi-faceted subject and there are only a few topics I can discuss with some authority, so if you feel I miss something essential, feel free to bring it up in the comments.
1. Charter school movement:
I think the charter school movement overall has hurt the state of public education in this country. Now before you think of me as just another union talking head, please hear me out. I think there's a place for charter schools in our current education system. I just feel there's something fishy about the fact that charter schools are pretty much exclusively placed in low-income areas. Charter schools, as I imagine them, are essentially test labs for new pedagogy. Some pedagogy needs a whole school approach to test it and what better way than to allow informed and consenting adults place their kids in charters. Unfortunately, we've used charter schools as reform schools. We consider them to be the silver bullet in education. Charter chains such as Success Academy and Uncommon have created a brand of education they believe can be mass produced and replicated on a large scale. The reality of their success is created through huge disparities in funding and borderline illegal financial practices, revealing that often the silver bullet in education is funding. Couple that with behavioral management systems that are often totalitarian and unfair and you end up supporting a school system that drains money for public schools, while also causing irreparable damage to our kids. Now let's not believe that all charters are created equal. Some charters function with similar funding levels as public schools and lo and behold, they often perform similarly.
2. Special Education:
Special Education is currently in an abysmal state. The ICT movement which has integrated many special education students into general education settings have simply made it so that special education teachers no longer need to be special education teachers anymore. Instead the push is for differentiation for all students, but students with special needs frankly do actually have intensive academic needs that need special attention. The ICT classroom sometimes functions well, but often it just creates a classroom with two teachers functioning as general ed teachers. Differentiation becomes difficult and borderline impossible because SPED teachers are expected to share Gen Ed teacher duties. This practice is unrealistic and unfair for SPED teachers. The decline of the 12:1:1 was greeted with open arms, but really all it has done is created a strict dichotomy between the least restrictive environment and the most restrictive. Many students have been referred to a special school district for intensive learning deficiencies just because the school they attend refuses to have a 12:1:1 section.
3. The solution to our public education system:
There is no silver bullet for fixing the education system, but one place to start is classroom sizes. Regardless of reform, classrooms are still packed to the brim with students. The trend in many poor neighborhoods show that classroom sizes are growing. Naysayers like Bill Gates and company will argue that classroom size is not an issue, but the research clearly states otherwise. A recent study done by the University of Texas showed large class sizes had a negative effect on overall student performance. The study itself ironically used classroom sizes that would be considered ideal in New York City (23-25 students). If we believe the quality derived from making classroom sizes smaller follows a diminishing returns logic, then our students stand to benefit tremendously in our overcrowded schools.
4. Voucher system:
Hahahahaha... let's be serious.
5. Workshop model versus inquiry based learning:
There is a new fad in math pedagogy and it's called inquiry based learning (or discovery learning). It suggests that instead of explicitly teaching concepts in math, students should be encouraged to discover and figure out problems on their own without any prior knowledge given by the teacher. Of course scaffolding can be provided, but the notion of not explicitly telling kids how to go about solving mathematical problems is interesting. Furthermore, this method of teaching runs counter to the workshop model which begins with direct instruction from the teacher and eventually ends with autonomous work by the student. As for which pedagogy is better, I believe most pedagogy have a time and place in learning. Some concepts in math better lend themselves to discovery (e.g. instead of teaching someone inverse operation, letting them naturally figure out the process can be rewarding). Other concepts requires explicit directions in order to do them properly. Also, standardized tests make discovery learning problematic because exams might have expected answer formats that are far more easier to relay through a workshop model.
6. Teach For America:
I have a lot of mixed feelings about Teach For America. First, I think the organization is confused as to what its actual goal is. It claims that it intends to close the achievement gap and provide quality education for everyone, but in actuality all it does is put in a cadre of grossly under prepared teachers in some of the most difficult teaching positions in existence. Teach For America couples this with very limited support throughout the school year and a culture that encourages stepping stone mentalities. What I mean is not many TFA corp members stay in education and the ones who do don't typically stay in the trenches. Furthermore, TFA's strong ties with charter schools is also troubling simply because the charter movement is hurting their main mission (providing great schools for all children). The real mission for TFA is to get people interested in education and to create an influx of excellent teachers. I think TFA succeeds in the first portion, all corp members I know, including those who quit mid year, have a deep passion for education that was at least given some perspective through their time in TFA. The second goal on the other hand they fail miserably at and using the rest of the nation as a benchmark is not a fair assessment either, since first year teachers in general are being tossed into classrooms grossly under prepared.
1. Charter school movement:
I think the charter school movement overall has hurt the state of public education in this country. Now before you think of me as just another union talking head, please hear me out. I think there's a place for charter schools in our current education system. I just feel there's something fishy about the fact that charter schools are pretty much exclusively placed in low-income areas. Charter schools, as I imagine them, are essentially test labs for new pedagogy. Some pedagogy needs a whole school approach to test it and what better way than to allow informed and consenting adults place their kids in charters. Unfortunately, we've used charter schools as reform schools. We consider them to be the silver bullet in education. Charter chains such as Success Academy and Uncommon have created a brand of education they believe can be mass produced and replicated on a large scale. The reality of their success is created through huge disparities in funding and borderline illegal financial practices, revealing that often the silver bullet in education is funding. Couple that with behavioral management systems that are often totalitarian and unfair and you end up supporting a school system that drains money for public schools, while also causing irreparable damage to our kids. Now let's not believe that all charters are created equal. Some charters function with similar funding levels as public schools and lo and behold, they often perform similarly.
2. Special Education:
Special Education is currently in an abysmal state. The ICT movement which has integrated many special education students into general education settings have simply made it so that special education teachers no longer need to be special education teachers anymore. Instead the push is for differentiation for all students, but students with special needs frankly do actually have intensive academic needs that need special attention. The ICT classroom sometimes functions well, but often it just creates a classroom with two teachers functioning as general ed teachers. Differentiation becomes difficult and borderline impossible because SPED teachers are expected to share Gen Ed teacher duties. This practice is unrealistic and unfair for SPED teachers. The decline of the 12:1:1 was greeted with open arms, but really all it has done is created a strict dichotomy between the least restrictive environment and the most restrictive. Many students have been referred to a special school district for intensive learning deficiencies just because the school they attend refuses to have a 12:1:1 section.
3. The solution to our public education system:
There is no silver bullet for fixing the education system, but one place to start is classroom sizes. Regardless of reform, classrooms are still packed to the brim with students. The trend in many poor neighborhoods show that classroom sizes are growing. Naysayers like Bill Gates and company will argue that classroom size is not an issue, but the research clearly states otherwise. A recent study done by the University of Texas showed large class sizes had a negative effect on overall student performance. The study itself ironically used classroom sizes that would be considered ideal in New York City (23-25 students). If we believe the quality derived from making classroom sizes smaller follows a diminishing returns logic, then our students stand to benefit tremendously in our overcrowded schools.
4. Voucher system:
Hahahahaha... let's be serious.
5. Workshop model versus inquiry based learning:
There is a new fad in math pedagogy and it's called inquiry based learning (or discovery learning). It suggests that instead of explicitly teaching concepts in math, students should be encouraged to discover and figure out problems on their own without any prior knowledge given by the teacher. Of course scaffolding can be provided, but the notion of not explicitly telling kids how to go about solving mathematical problems is interesting. Furthermore, this method of teaching runs counter to the workshop model which begins with direct instruction from the teacher and eventually ends with autonomous work by the student. As for which pedagogy is better, I believe most pedagogy have a time and place in learning. Some concepts in math better lend themselves to discovery (e.g. instead of teaching someone inverse operation, letting them naturally figure out the process can be rewarding). Other concepts requires explicit directions in order to do them properly. Also, standardized tests make discovery learning problematic because exams might have expected answer formats that are far more easier to relay through a workshop model.
6. Teach For America:
I have a lot of mixed feelings about Teach For America. First, I think the organization is confused as to what its actual goal is. It claims that it intends to close the achievement gap and provide quality education for everyone, but in actuality all it does is put in a cadre of grossly under prepared teachers in some of the most difficult teaching positions in existence. Teach For America couples this with very limited support throughout the school year and a culture that encourages stepping stone mentalities. What I mean is not many TFA corp members stay in education and the ones who do don't typically stay in the trenches. Furthermore, TFA's strong ties with charter schools is also troubling simply because the charter movement is hurting their main mission (providing great schools for all children). The real mission for TFA is to get people interested in education and to create an influx of excellent teachers. I think TFA succeeds in the first portion, all corp members I know, including those who quit mid year, have a deep passion for education that was at least given some perspective through their time in TFA. The second goal on the other hand they fail miserably at and using the rest of the nation as a benchmark is not a fair assessment either, since first year teachers in general are being tossed into classrooms grossly under prepared.
