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Why Is school Reform mission Impossible?
Di
James L. Casale, Ph.D.
It would be easier to saddle up a python and ride off into the sunset than reform our government schools. The system is fatally broken and even Tom cruise couldn’t rescue it. Those who govern the system are-I am being kind- misinformed, the talent pool is too shallow and always has been, and the teachers’ unions continue to be major obstacles.
Decision Makers
Our Founding Fathers assigned or, should I say, left the responsibility of educating the public to the states. This precipitates three questions: who are our legislators? What do they know? and from whom do they get their information about education?
While the approval rating for state legislatures is light years ahead of congress at about 37% and a majority of legislators in many states have college degrees, are they really equipped to make the important decisions about a complex system they know little about? In fact, the Lilliard E. Richardson report (University of Missouri) reveals that the least formally educated legislatures have a higher public approval.
An article in the Chronicle of higher education quotes John Adams speaking about representative assemblies; they “should be in miniature an exact portrait of the people at large.” add governors, state boards, commissioners, (the Florida commissioner reportedly has one year of teaching on his resume), and school board members to this malaise of decision makers. This results in the proverbial, “inmates running the asylum.
I can only guess where they obtain their information before they make important decisions. Colleagues, staffers, donors, college professors- who haven’t been in a classroom for decades-committees, commissions, spouses, and pals come to mind. Do they even bother to seek and find the most knowledgeable teachers and administrators who are the true experts? Where is the talent, the research and the objectivity that should comprise state and local decision making?
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The talent Pool
The talent pool of outstanding teachers and principals- the line staff that can produce results-is shallow. There never were, are not now, and never will be enough talent to save the government schools. Our profession does not attract the best and the brightest. GRE scores for education majors are among the lowest. The brightest prospects are not necessarily the best since teaching is an art form that requires the artist’s instincts and a unique set of characteristics that include a sense of humor, compassion, tenacity, kindness, self-assessment and leadership. Not enough talented people are attracted to the teaching profession due to the salaries, the unimaginable difficulty of teaching a classroom of young people with varying abilities, the misguided legislators, and teachers’ unions who worship at the altar of the status quo.
Think back on your own K-12 experience and compile a list of the most outstanding teachers you experienced? You wanted to be in their class, wanted to do their homework, worked hard for them, and wanted their approval because they were always prepared, enthusiastic, knowledgeable, inspiring, respectful, compassionate, fair, and modeled what should be every school’s mantra, learning how to learn, becoming a life–long learner, and figuring out how to get along with everybody. OK. quanti? My unscientific surveys always reveal a number less than ten.
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Teachers’ Unions
Should I stop here? They have been obstacles to school reform since forever. They oppose anyone and anything that interferes with their main mission; recruit members, negotiate for benefits and working conditions, protect tenure and worship at the altar of mediocrity. They oppose charter schools, vouchers, merit pay, California’s trigger law- which allows parents to close failing schools, innovative teacher evaluation reform, and anything that impinges on their power and turf.
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Their PAC organizations, lobbyists, and hefty donations control state and national democratic politicians and thus legislatures. Ask Scott Walker, the Wisconsin governor who had the audacity to challenge union power. We witnessed democratic legislators running for cover to the next state in order to foil quorum requirements and demonstrazioni e raduni da parte di pecore dell’Unione, comprese quelle al di fuori del Wisconsin.
Il governatore di New York Cuomo, un democratico, e il sindaco di New York, Bloomberg, un democratico non dichiarato, hanno sfidato i sindacati degli insegnanti nel loro stato. Cuomo stava cercando di collegare una componente di valutazione obbligatoria degli insegnanti al bilancio statale e Bloomberg voleva chiudere le scuole fallite e licenziare 1500 cattivi insegnanti. L’ultimo nemico dell’Unione è Betsey Devoss, il candidato per il segretario all’istruzione e un campione per scuole charter e buoni.
C’è speranza di miglioramento
Mentre la vera riforma scolastica non è possibile, il miglioramento della scuola ha una possibilità e accade sporadicamente alle singole scuole e ai distretti scolastici nonostante tutti gli ostacoli. Richiede, almeno a livello locale, i consigli scolastici con la visione, la conoscenza, la tenacia e la saggezza di assumere amministratori e insegnanti eccezionali. Tenure-Jobs for Life- è un albatro appeso al collo dei legislatori statali e dei consigli scolastici che impediscono loro di licenziare insegnanti e amministratori incompetenti.
I genitori che accettano la loro solenne responsabilità come primi insegnanti e modelli di ruolo dei loro figli sono la nostra unica speranza di migliorare le scuole. Devono diventare più ben informati e proattivi. Non sono richieste competenze speciali. Ciò che è richiesto è un impegno a partecipare all’educazione dei loro figli. Questo impegno richiede un atteggiamento positivo nei confronti dell’istruzione, del loro ruolo nel guidare la propria famiglia per diventare studenti per tutta la vita, una dichiarazione di missione familiare e un piano guidato dai loro obiettivi familiari.
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Nota: il Dr. Casale è l’autore del lodato, “saggio e sii la soluzione: come creare una cultura dell’apprendimento a casa e rendere il tuo successo a scuola”.
Link a questo post: Perché è impossibile la missione di riforma della scuola?
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