By any reasonable measure, what we are asking our educators to do is unreasonable. The result: the implosion of the system. It's happening right now, this year, this month, TODAY. Entire teaching staffs being reassigned; schools closed or being "taken over" by the State and teachers dismissed.
Effective education is a partnership on at least four levels.
Level 1: Parents and teachers. I don't know why we tolerate it, but I do know we, our culture, have lowered our expectations for parents and shifted many parental roles onto public education. It's a fact, parents are AWOL; parents from every demographic: busy parents, tired parents, distracted parents, ambitious parents, selfish parents, economically disadvantaged parents. Unless and until parents see parenting as a worthy vocation--a selfless vocation--a social responsibility, and we can build accountability into the system for PARENTS, as well as teachers, our system will continue to devolve.
Level 2: Teachers and administrators. The current "political climate" makes this partnership difficult, if not hopelessly ineffective. "No Child Left Behind" has administrators focused on the wrong outcomes: Administrators chasing the holy grail--passing scores on standardized tests. Under pressure to achieve a "passing grade" Administrators have dumbed the system down and mandated teaching to the lowest common denominator. The result: a brain drain of gargantuan proportions. We've given up too much real education in the race to measure "skills."
Leaders in education must get back to "leading." They must be good managers; they must also be effective Innovators, Team builders and Coaches. They must get out of their offices and into the halls and classrooms of the buildings they manage. Teachers must be challenged to grow as professionals, taught to, and rewarded for, "thinking outside the box." The system must be able to shed under performing (based on fair-minded, role appropriate, measurable, attainable and negotiated standards of praxis and outcomes) teachers and administrators. Otherwise we will, without question, produce underperforming schools.
Teachers must be coachable. Unions must be student as well as teacher focused. Department Chairs must be trained as Master Teachers and empowered to Coach teachers under their charge, evaluate them and reward merit or remediate poor performance.
Level 3: Education and the public. Federal oversight is an impossible burden. There is a role for the Federal government, but not what we've seen develop over the last decade. Educational oversight and policy creation must be sent back to the most local units of government possible and/or practical. In most cases, that would be the locally elected School Boards.
State oversight is critical to resource multiplication, curriculum development standards, training, and compensation. But the State must also recognize the limits of effective management.
Communities must create opportunities, then call their citizens to participate as volunteer tutors, mentors, after-school staff, security workers and any of a dozen other functions that can be filled by people willing to give-up time, and get training or invest their expertise to give school age kids a shot at a brighter future. This would, at the same time, preserve and extend financial resources which in turn would make it possible to provide funds for merit based pay incentives.
I challenge families who've abandoned public education for private, private-parochial or home-shooling to re-engage and re-think their decision. It is in the long-term best interest of their kids to support and work to reform and strengthen public education. Their unwavering commitment to quality education and the quality of the kids their raising is integral to lifting education for all our children to the next level. This has significant implications on so many elements that are critical to the future of our nation and our children. Look back at the 19th Century to discover what a culture of "education haves" and "have nots" becomes--and it's a most unsavory image.
Level 4: Education and the private sector. I'm a small business owner. Much of the property tax bill I pay every six months goes to support education. But that's not enough. The partnership with local business, while it's there, needs to be expanded and much more highly developed. The answer isn't higher taxes, it's bigger hearts, fueled by shared vision and better communication. Not only should business be there for internships, but for aggressive sponsorship--without expectation for anything in return--beyond all the significant benefits local business enjoys from a sterling school-system.
Parents need to be selfless. Politicians and administrators need to chill. Educators need to step-up. Citizens need to act like partriots. It's easy to blame someone else; the problem is us.
Meanwhile, another generation gets left behind as we race to..just about average.
