Lately, a great many Very Serious People have been talking up "education reform". This is only the very latest in a long line of Very Serious People discussing "reform". Only this time, it's Big Business to "reform" Public Education. We've seen movies, we've had big TV specials, and even the Queen of the Universe (Oprah) has deigned to give the issue some attention. And they nod their heads sagely as non-educators talk about what's "wrong" with the schools, and their "ideas" for fixing them, which usually involves things like charter schools, vouchers, and other privatization schemes.
Well.
I'm only a Band Director but let me save everyone all a lot of money and time while you're "Waiting For Superman":
It's going to be a long wait and you'll just waste money, time, and the lives of our children.
Superman doesn't exist. Never has, never will.
If you REALLY want to improve the quality of Public Education, all you need are two words:
Hard. Work.
And don't go trying to foist all of the responsibility for everything on teachers, either. Hard work is needed by EVERYBODY: Students, Parents, Teachers, Administrators, and the COMMUNITY. And it takes all these groups working together to achieve success. If you look at the most successful schools, you will find that as a whole, the faculty, parents, teachers, and community are actively engaged in the education of their children. Whereas if you look at some of the least successful schools, one or more of these groups is not engaged at all.
And what do I mean by hard work?
Many of the most successful teachers I know visit the homes of their students before school starts. They also are constantly on the phone to the parents, updating them on their children's progress, both good and bad. This is in addition to all the time spent analyzing assessments and designing differentiated instruction to meet the needs of the students. They are constantly going to seminars and conferences when school is out, learning and growing in their profession.
What do I mean by hard work?
Hard work is parents taking time to work with their children on homework. It's going to school regularly just to talk to the teacher. It's asking questions like "How can I help my child succeed in school at home?" It's going to every conference. It's being an active member of the local school council/PTA. It's all about being a parent.
What do I mean by hard work?
Hard work is the administrators constantly providing a positive atmosphere in the school. It's recognizing and analyzing assessments (Yes, they should do this too) and assigning classes and teachers to best meet the needs of the students. It's more than just balancing numbers and doing teacher assessments. It's constantly making sure to reward and promote the positive and discouraging the negative.
What do I mean by hard work?
Hard work is School Board meetings in which the entire community attends. It's putting education over personal political philosophy. It's every adult knowing the children of their neighbors and constantly keeping them on track and focused. It's about constant alertness, where needed, to ensure that negative elements (gangs et al) do not establish themselves in the community. It's civic institutions that are proactive in pro-education legislation and programs.
We've all heard the old saw "It takes a village to raise a child". But that's only partly correct. It also takes a village to EDUCATE a child.
Because if you just implement a program with the idea that the program itself is the panacea, you are still left with all the underlying challenges.
You can replace the teacher, but who will hold the student accountable at home? You can replace the administrative school structure with a new one (like a charter school) but how will parents be represented? You can sign petitions and speak up at board meetings, but without a receptive and flexible administration or board, how will needed reform be implemented?
There are precious few teachers who "go it alone". If you ask ANY "Teacher of the Year" or Golden Apple Award winner, you will find that they have strong administrators, parents, a willing community, or some combination thereof. Most of us are just rather ordinary, except for one small thing:
Our drive and passion to make a difference in the lives of our children, and the willingness to work as hard as it takes so that ALL of them succeed.
