The other day, I was thinking about CPAC and all the "conservative" talking points and platform bullets they put out. You know the kind--full of fluff, but absolutely no specifics on how they are to be accomplished, let alone what they entail. Anyway, that got me to thinking about their education "ideas".
So my train of thought started like this: I was imagining myself at CPAC or some other such place and laying some numbers on them: The following statistics come from the Council for American Private Education : The average tuition for a student at any private school is about $6,600 per year. This includes all religious, non religious, fancy boarding schools, and includes all levels of education. The site has a breakdown into more specific areas too. The percentage of public school attendance for families making $100,000 or more is 80%. That is, 80% of families making over $100,000 send their kids to public school.
So much for the numbers. Now, we all know why these folks want things like "school choice" and vouchers. What they don't realize is that while they believe that admissions departments at some private schools will be, shall we say "selective" in choosing their students, what they don't realize is that these schools are more often than not full with waiting lists several years long. And what they also don't realize is that a government voucher carries with it government non discrimination guarantees. Which means some schools will not accept vouchers because they will not want "government interference" in their selection processes.
Of course, these simple truths will fall on deaf ears, as forethought is not a virtue with a lot of these folks. A case in point is what is currently happening across the country as Republican governors take axes to their states' budgets to bring them into balance. The first thing cut? Education funding, of course. Here is where the true insidiousness of No Child Left Behind begins to show itself. According to all statistics, Federal funding for schools amounts to about 7% of budgets. Funding from local mils comes out to about 40% or so. The vast majority of funding for schools, at least 47% comes from state governments. The numbers are from the Department of Education. As funding gets slashed, state boards of education will run up against provisions in NCLB. First and foremost is the AYP, or Annual Yearly Progress. This is what gets schools their federal money. As funding is slashed, budgets are slashed, which means resources are eliminated, which affects learning in so many ways. More on this later. First, here is where progressives will be able to bring suits against state and federal government agencies regarding NCLB:
It is clearly stated in NCLB that schools must have certified, "highly qualified" teachers in PE, Art, and Music. They have been listed as part of the "core curriculum". Very well and good. As education is the FIRST thing that gets cut when state governments make spending cuts instead of a fairer tax system, schools cut music, art, and pe programs first. On the elementary level, schools get away with it by the fact that elementary teachers techically have taken a class in basic concepts in these subjects so they can teach them at a pinch. What results is teachers taking a half hour a week and using it on either a music period, an art period, or some sort of organized pe type activity. NOT exactly core curriculum, is it? Advocates can use the courts to force states to provide the funding for the teachers. Sometimes states will force communities to raise the mil levels or become consolidated to save money, but good advocates will begin to force the issue, and teachers will either be hired, or NCLB will be repealed to avoid the continuous lawsuits.
More importantly, curriculum leads to improved test scores. I'm not going to list all the studies that show the correlation between participation in Art and Music groups and the increase in test scores. Suffice it to say that the evidence is rampant, to say the least. And this goes as well for the broadest curriculum in schools. Students need to learn skills such as critical thinking and the Scientific Method. They need a broad range of class choices to make the cognitive connections so important in standardized testing. In many ways, the Classical Education is still the best one.
Moving on, I mentioned the elimination of resources. As schools cut back, money for resources dwindles. These resources can be as simple as up to date maps, or as complex as smart boards and laptops. Lmiting resources has a negative effect on learning. While studies have shown that there is only a very limited change in scores if the schools have more resources available to students, many studies have shown that it is teacher QUALITY which matters the most. Increased resources in the classroom can lead to increased teacher quality, as teachers now have more things with which to plan their lessons to engage and stimulate the minds in their charge. A superior teacher can make do with much less, but for mere mortals, more resources are better. This paper by the National Academy of Education illustrates many of the studies that say the better the teacher, the better the students do. So much for the obvious. However, many states are reducing the levels of coursework necessary to obtain a teaching certificate. If I may insert an editorial commentary, these state people think that all you need is a math major to teach math, for example. They don't understand how educational theory, management discussions, and curriculum and lesson planning techniques help make the teacher's job easier.
Which brings us to TFA. Many have decried them as a way to break the unions and as the example to the statements made earlier about "not needing an education major to teach". There is a point there, especially with regards to charter schools, but TFA also does one important thing.
While many may question the bona fides of some TFA teachers, the idealism they have in wanting to teach in the most troubled schools is admirable. I have known several TFA alumni who have become very excellent teachers and administrators. Some have become National Board Certified. Many TFA members go to the increasing numbers of charter schools that are forming in troubled neighborhoods.
Charter schools are privately run schools that, being public in nature--that is, no tuition is required, also receive state funds. Thus they also have to meet state standards with regards to curriculum and teacher hiring. However, being privately run, they are not subject to collective barganing agreements and usually do not recognize the unions. Teachers are at will employees and are usually not granted any sort of tenure. This makes for a tension within the education community, especially since studies are showing that charter schools only show a slight improvement in test scores at best.
However, I believe some of these differences can be worked out. The goal is to get and retain the best teachers in our schools, period. Things like meritorious renewable tenure may be one possibility, teacher mentoring being required for new teachers, professional development, and perhaps ongoing testing/evaluation.
With regards to charter schools, I do believe they serve a purpose. Unfortunately, in some districts, charter schools become a "dumping ground" for those problem children who the public school disctrict doesn't want to deal with anymore. I have worked in a school where this was the case for several students. However, with quality teachers in the classroom, one of the main things a charter school can do is help reduce the class size throughout the district. The more options available, the more class size gets reduced, which means more individualized instruction. At least that's the hope. Thanks to one of the oldest taxation provisions in this country's history (the Northwest Ordinance ), one part of every township established was to be used for a school, with funding coming from local taxes. This is what we must continue to fight for. This is the backbone of the American Public School Movement. If the factions I have talked about today can come together and help forge new agreements regarding certification, funding, pay and merit pay, standards, and tenure, The right's attempts to destroy the public school system will not happen.