What to Do about Education?

Fixing U.S. public education--not an easy task, is it?  There is an infinite amount of theories out there about what problems and solutions there are for America's failing schools, but one thing is for certain: we have a systemic mess on our hands.  This article from the Washington Post (thanks to Mary for sharing!) was written by an administrator who has served at both a failing and a high-achieving NYC school.  Though his comparison of the two experiences lacks discussion about major socioeconomic factors such as class and race, I find his overall distinctions on-target and bitingly honest.  I've outlined the five major differences on which he comments for you here, but the entire article is truly worth the read.

1. Parent support and involvement: "How can any school be effective when parental involvement is not there?"
2. School- and city-wide tracking system: "When a system allows schools to be tracked while segregating its highest achievers in specialized schools or academies, schools such as Jamaica are left with a student body that is made up of lower performing students. It is academic apartheid."
3. Discipline: "By pulling higher achieving students out and replacing them with more disruptive students, an anti-academic, disruptive climate is created."
4. Leadership: "How many years working in a public school do former D.C. Schools Chancellor Michelle Rhee, former New York City Schools Chancellor Joel Klein, current New York schools chief Denis Walcott and former New York City Chancellor Cathleen Black (who was in the job only a few months) have combined? Less than any member of the administrative team in my new school."
5. Hiring method: "Now the solution is Teaching Fellows and Teach for America. Young people who never intended to teach receive a crash course and teach in urban and rural schools. Since most of them will move on after a few years, a revolving door of inexperienced teachers is created. An army of short-timers is not the solution to troubled schools."

And then the conclusion...

"Although there are many other factors that distinguish an ineffective school system from an effective one, it is interesting to note that the five that have been listed above are not under any teacher’s control.

Yet modern education 'reformers' think that evaluating teachers by test scores and closing schools will produce schools like South Side. Perhaps it is their own lack of experience that makes them believe that is true. Or perhaps it is their lack of courage to make the tough political decisions that would result in more equitable schools. In either case, the kids of Jamaica High School and its teachers lose."