One
of the most effective educational experiences I ever had took place
in elementary school. It was also one of the most destructive.
Taught with all the best intentions, “Music Appreciation”
reflected the fact that at one time we valued education in the arts
and viewed it as an integral part of a rounded education. Sadly, the
arts are quick to be dropped when schools suffer fiscal pressures.i
But teaching about Mozart's 41st
Symphony by training young minds to forever associate it with “This
is Jupiter, this is Jupiter” results in our never being able to
enjoy it free of that overlay. Similarly, Peer Gynt, always
accompanied by “Morning is dawning and Peer Gynt is yawning,” or
Schubert's 8th
Symphony, forever remembered by the line “This is the symphony,
that Schubert wrote but never finished,” may cause these classics
to be imprinted in your memory, but it doesn't lead to appreciating
them. Much the opposite. It turns them into meaningless themes. It
takes the music out of them.
Unfortunately, our current mantra, “No
Child Left Behind,” is equally likely to be counterproductive. By
setting national “standards” based on standardized examinations
unrelated to the interests and abilities of the students, and
requiring teachers to teach to the test, we're placing too much
emphasis on test-taking ability, and not enough on knowledge and
understanding. We're taking the learning out of education. And
we're also teaching the students the wrong message.
A
large part of the problem is the belief that a student's performance
is based solely on that of his teacher.ii
No cognizance is taken of inherent ability,iii
student interest, parental involvement,iv
or the involvement of the principal, school board, union, PTA, and
the community in general. All play a part in education. As do the
media and the student's peers.
Other
factors that affect learning are the physical plant in which the
child is educated, the number and composition of students in the
class,v
the texts,vi
the school's hours – which rarely take the sleep patterns of
children and adolescents into consideration,vii
transportation to and from school, curriculum,viii
availability of extra-curricular activities, school taxes and the
budget, and the school's philosophy of education.
That's
not to suggest that the teacher is unimportant. Indeed, a really
good teacher may be the difference between a dropout and a committed
student.ix
There are many qualities that go into that teacher, but humor,
enthusiasm, a knowledge and love of the material being taught, and
the ability to teach – to engage the students – are among the
most important. And the teacher must know that the student, and not
the test, is the focus of his efforts. To get to this level he must
be helped and, sometimes, directed. But he should not be second
guessed. The first responsibility of a principal is to choose good
teachers and help them along.x
And
some mechanism should be found to ease inept teachers from the
profession, even if they're tenured. Their salaries and pensions
could be better used.xi
How
should those teachers be evaluated and chosen? The answers are not
simple. Evaluation by students and their parents is certainly
important in judging a teacher's effectiveness.xii
But so are the views of his principal and his peers. Test scores
may play a part, but that can only be in relation to the starting
point. And those scores should reflect an understanding of the
subject by the students, rather than an ability to “ace” the
test.xiii
And
how should the bestxiv
have the opportunity to do their best in the setting they choose?
One approach would be to let them choose first, and to give
bonuses based on their students' real improvement.xv
(Tenure and seniority are not the best benchmarks of performance.)
Bonuses should be substantial in order to induce the best to choose
schools with poorly performing students, since the chance of
improving their performance is better than that in a rich,
middle-class school.xvi
It's inevitable that the “better” school districts would oppose
this, since teachers whom they like and who are benefiting from plush
conditions might leave. But that valid concern would be overcome by
the benefit of improving the performance and interest of a larger
group.xvii
Perhaps there are
too few really good teachers, however we define them. That doesn't
necessarily mean that we can't provide good education for everyone.
New technology allows a way for the best to teach all, with the
remaining teachers supplementing in order to reinforce the lessons,
teach other subjects and help students with questions. That
technology also permits the presentation of extra material that can
be viewed outside of usual hours for those motivated to use it.
Although not all of that technology is desirable in a school, there
is much that can be used. And as time goes by, there will be more.
Not
all of the new devices are likely to contribute to the educational
experience however, and it may be necessary to exclude some. Most of
the hand-held devices detract from learning – whether telephones,
texting devices, or gadgets with all the latest “apps.” Perhaps
calculators are desirable for math classes, but the rest should be
checked at the door, and returned at the end of the school day. It's
likely that some students will assert infringement of their
constitutional rights because of their age, especially demanding that
they have free speech, but that's a phony claim. Even the courts
recognize that there are constitutionally permissible age minimums
for voting, military service, contract responsibilities, driving, and
drinking,xviii
and since we can require school attendance up to a certain age, we
can also, to a point, decide what rights students have in the
mandated schools. The ability to send a message – possibly a test
answer – to another student is not such a right.
But there are some
basic questions that have not been addressed, and for which I offer
no answers. They are, however, worthy of discussion, irrespective of
rules already in existence:
1. Is education a
governmental responsibility?
2. Should funding
for education be given to schools – public, private and parochial
– or to students?
3. Should
decisions about the content of education be national or local?
4. Should all
students, irrespective of their achievements, have a “right” to
go to college?
5. Do we have the
right number of colleges? Are they appropriately selective?
6. Are we required
to provide the same education for everyone? Does one size fit
all?
7. Should funds be
directed to “needed” programs (however defined) and the
students who enroll in them? (This includes high school and
college level programs – including “trades.”) Is it
important that some disciplines might suffer (eg Philosophy and
History) in comparison to hard science?
Questions without answers. And no standardized test will even be able to offer multiple choices. They're phrased as “Yes-No” questions, but that kind of a simple response misses the point entirely. It was noted that they're worthy of discussion. As is the entire subject of educating our young. It's a cliché to note that our children are our future, but it's a disservice to ignore the problems with which we're saddling them. If morning is dawning, it should be on a new educational system.
Not “Education
Appreciation,” but appreciation of education.
Next episode:
“
______?”
– It's ten o'clock. Do you know where your children are?
i As
we restructure education, it's critical that we find a place for art
and music. Perhaps that can only be accomplished by “piping in”
“good” music to lunchrooms, hallways and the like, and
decorating the walls with classic art, until time and funds are
available for prepared classes. But “music appreciation” is not
the way.
ii That's certainly the claim made when people are looking for a scapegoat to blame for the fact that not all students do well.
iv Perhaps
offering monetary incentives to parents and students for improvement
might lead to increased attention to in-school work and to homework.
v For
better or worse, boys learn differently from boys, and interested
from “disruptive” students. They need different teachers and
different classes. Homogeneous classes are more likely to produce
good results than attempts to “main-line” all students and to
reflect a heterogeneous society in every classroom. If we're
looking for the few who will be the most innovative and productive
members of society, they shouldn't be educated in a milieu that
caters to the lowest common denominator.
vii Perhaps sports, lunch, nap time, snack time, and other “non-intellectual” activities should be scheduled during times when the students are most likely to be sleepy and leave the “awake” periods for the academic subjects. This would allow the retention of sports – during which the students are likely to wake up – while also increasing the level of attention when the core curriculum is being taught.
viii A
long-standing debate on curriculum centers on whether it should be
decided nationally or locally. National goals suggest that
attention it should be able to set some overall guidelines on this
issue, but there are different cultures in different pars of the
country, and they cannot be ignored. In addition, even within a
local area there may be different communities – religious and
otherwise – which should play a part in the choice of curriculum.
ix As
a society we owe a good deal of respect to our teachers – far more
than we accord them. We also owe them larger salaries. We always
view teachers as those who lack other skills, and we parody
Aristotle's assertion: “Those
that know, do.
Those
that understand, teach.”
x Actually,
once the principal has chosen a good teacher and agreed on the
material to be covered, the best approach is to get out of the way.
xi They
shouldn't have gotten to that position in the first place. But
perpetuating a mistake is an even worse mistake.
xii Grudges
and biases will certainly play a part, but teachers who “connect”
with students are likely to be easily recognized. The positives are
sure to outweigh the negatives and be more clearly and convincingly
stated.
xiii I'll
leave the construction of such an examination – and its grading –
for another time. One thing is certain, however. A standardized
examination, under the best of circumstances, only teaches students
to take standardized examinations.
xv Methods
for student evaluation are better formulated by schools of education
and teachers' organizations rather than by relying on raw scores
from standardized tests.
xvi Even
though the brightest students – the ones most likely to contribute
to the advancement of the country – should have talented teachers,
they're likely to get it, since it's likely that many good teachers
will be attracted by the opportunity to teach this group even though
they might be able to earn more elsewhere.
xviii Though
they may vary from state to state.
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