by Brian
In the comments to my recent post I suggested that charter schools might be part of the solution to the perceived shortcomings of our educational system. There were some good, challenging questions to that position.
I am not a champion for charter schools, but I have found one, and he is persuasive, at least to me. Not to say I'm persuaded, but he made me think more deeply about their potential.
I really don't have much to complain about. I teach in an affluent, privileged school district. So affluent, in fact, that a good chunk (if not the majority) of teachers cannot even afford to purchase a home in the district. I live relatively close, and my drive is 45 miles round trip.
But the community is a great one–it consistently supports bonds and levies, has that "small town" feel while still being close to the big city, and because the median education in the district is high, we inherit children whose home lives include a valuing of at least academic performance (good grades) if not a good education. I have to work less hard to get my kids to learn than I did when I taught at a semi-urban district in Puget Sound or than when I did when I was at a rural high school in Oregon where it was easier just to give all the kids free meals rather than sort out the 2% who didn't qualify for free lunch. We certainly have our challenges in my current district, and we do see an achievement gap based on socioeconomic status, but all in all, kids are doing well by the grand measures that everyone seems to care about.
As a result of our community and their valuing of education, all of our HSPE scores are well above the state average, and are the highest of any traditional comprehensive public high school in our region. Last year, our pass rates on the reading and writing HSPEs were knocking on the door of 100%.
Public education is the square peg in the round hole.
America is the land of opportunity: if you work hard, you will earn success. Anything is possible. The Dream, despite all the commentary over the years in which it is exposed as utter fallacy, is still the premise on which America operates.
Our economy requires competition in order to function. We compete for jobs; companies compete for our money. This is all great if you only pay attention to the one who gets the job or the company who cashes in. When I teach Orwell's Animal Farm, I do a quick (way too quick) primer about communism, socialism and capitalism, so that students will have a better sense of the political and economic context in which the allegory is set. Of course, the students realize that capitalism is the most palatable to them, but every year they are shocked when I twist the discussion this way: because I have this job, someone else does not have this job. Because I spend my money one place, someplace else doesn't get money. They start to realize that inherent in capitalism is the competition which naturally segregates the haves and have-nots.
To me, this is the essence of why everyone hates teachers right now.
By Tom
There’s a failing school in my district. I know about it because their service area is right next to ours. We share a boundary. They’ve been failing for several years, so they’ve reached the stage at which their punishment entails a “turnaround.” They have to get rid of their administrator and half of their teachers.
As you might expect, they have a high proportion of students living in poverty (over 80%) and a large number of English language learners (over 40%). As you might not expect, they also have a lot of great teachers. Teachers who are really good at teaching high-needs students.
But apparently they’re not good enough.
Last week, my district sent an email to every elementary teacher, telling us about the situation and inviting us to become a part of the team that will take on this exciting challenge. They also explained the plan that will guide this team’s work over the next several years. They borrowed the plan from a school they visited; one of those 90/90/90 schools, where high-poverty students earn high scores on high-stakes tests. I looked it over and gave it some thought.