In the following article, a local Buffalo educator writes on the failing public school system in Buffalo, NY. But the problems she cites are paralleled across the country, as they stem from Federal and State mandates.
Invest in Education
Some choice quotes:
Byrnes says, “The drop-out rate in Buffalo is 50% and the new superintendent has publicly stated he expects that number to grow exponentially in the next few years thanks to the state standards and NCLB. There is little hope for so many students that they'll ever pass, so why ‘do the time’? … Prison planning is still being done based on Grade 3 and 4 reading levels. It's a CRISIS and we need to muster a universal response based on the belief that kids CAN and WILL learn if they have the support and resources they need to do so.”
More below:
But Superintendent Williams’ solution is to increase test scores by implementing a more” rigorous” curriculum. Jane wrote to me via e-mail, “When you get the new superintendent coming in and saying we need rigorous curriculum...I say they are all so out of touch…I have kids that just don't show up, because they aren't getting up in time. I had a deadline to get some test scores in and some kids that weren't here enough to take or finish the test. I have kids that show up with no book bags...no homework... no phone numbers…One little boy keeps telling me that he couldn't sleep at home cause there were too many people there. So he sleeps at his uncle’s house. And," she adds, "you can’t assess a reading level using standardized tests if the child is not at the level the test is written at." Rose (another pseudonym; both teachers fear repercussions at school) told me about a poem that appeared on a standardized test that was about the seashore, and asked, “What frame of reference our kids have for the seashore?”
The meatiest part of the article considers how education can be among our best investments, and that the constant emphasis on corporate tax cuts and competitive business models for education is short-sighted.
So, while her solutions are specific to Buffalo's problems, I believe she is dealing with issues which the entire nation is facing. Our priorities are misplaced, first of all, but then our solutions for solving our education problems also seem to be headed in the wrong direction.