The Fall of CA Education

This has been on my mind quite a bit lately:

It's sad, and criminal, that California schools have fallen from nationally recognized leaders to one of the worst since I was in school. Not only is the quality fallen (by whose measure? I refer to 'common' knowledge. I may put some real effort into this question later), spending per student in the state is among the lowest in the nation! So how did this happen with all of the 'fixing' that has been going on for the last few decades?!

It seems to me, the efforts to 'fix' education over the last few decades has had the exact opposite of intentions. Lessons are less creative today than in the past (I personally have seen this, and it is not necessarily the fault of teachers.) As hard as teachers work to provide an excellent environment for learning, they have a limited amount of time in the day for creativity. Subject matter is increasingly scripted, especially in schools where test scores need to be improved. Teachers have less time to plan creative lessons because of increasing demands for administrative responsibilities.

Besides what is happening in schools, children increasingly have less time for imaginative play. Play time is scheduled with friends selected by parents who remain close at hand to deal with any issues, relieving children of the opportunity to deal with conflict on their own. Children don't have as much choice who their friends are, or don't learn to make friends with children who are available (those who live nearby.)

So how can we provide better educations for our children? Give them time to use their imaginations; limit game time, television, force them to play outside when the weather is nice, give them low tech toys which enable imaginative play, let them learn to work out problems with other children on their own. At school, standardized testing needs to be changed in fundamental ways; how the tests are used, administered, and how they are written. Centralization of education needs to end, this is the biggest problem education faces today. What works with one population, won't work in another. Using a single solution for the nation limits creation of varied solutions.

Children are not raw materials to be processed like steel in a tractor factory. Every child is a little different. I think, with the increasing amount of research being done in the area of child development, teachers, administrators, and parents can better pick and choose what procedures and methods should be applied for their students. Not all parents, teachers, and administrators are created the same, so something needs to be in place to monitor the performance of each – no one of these players in a child's education should be muted, or have executive power. Power wielding has no place in deciding a child's future, adults' games to get ahead, make a name at others' expense, has only one consequence – the harming of a child, or children.

Students' Boredom – Who's Responsible Anyway?

When a child says, "I'm bored," what are they really saying? I think they are saying they don't know what to do with themselves. Too many children I talk to aren't given the opportunity, or responsibility, for what they do with their time. Many children are either left to their own devices (watch television, play video games, etc.) or are completely programmed (ancillary schools such as language schools, music lessons, etc.) for their entire day. Not that there is anything wrong with any of these activities in and of themselves, but children (in my opinion) need to start learning how to make responsible choices on their own. Boundaries need to be in place, for safety, health, and personal accountability, to be more responsible adults. Or at least more responsible youth.

I have a trick I use with my children when they come to me and say, "I'm bored." I provide a list of chores just waiting to be done. If they don't want to do the chores, they can find something for themselves. There are books to be read, pictures to be drawn, any number of things can be built from Legos, there are tennis rackets, mitts and balls, bicycles, and more they can do outside. The same was told to me when I was growing up, and I am so grateful to my mother for teaching me that lesson. If I ever feel boredom coming on I can easy find one of any number of things to do. When I find myself somewhere I don't really want to be people watching is always a great pass-time – the boundless variety of people and their choices is fascinating.

While teachers can, at times, be less than engaging it is not their job to make sure every child is not 'bored'. Boredom in the classroom often stems from a lack of understanding of the topic, not understanding the instructions, not wanting to be in the classroom, and many other reasons. Hopefully you get the picture. I posit a vast majority of teachers work hard to make sure there is more than enough is available to keep students busy. Lessons are created to teach required subject matter, though not always the topic's relevance to everyday life.

I think it's time we give responsibility back to the child for not being bored. It should not be the school's (read teacher's) responsibility to keep children 'safe' from boredom. Though the quality and quantity of lessons and materials does belong to the districts, schools, and ultimately the teacher's responsibility.

Graduation Testing for High School - When is Enough, Enough?

California drank the kool-aid back in 2006, after 20 other states in previous years. This particular kool-aid was the exit exams required of high school students to graduate. Enough people, in the wrong places, have decided that this nation will implode if all of our students don't get degrees. Education beyond high school is valuable, and I would not trade in any of my undergrad, or graduate work, for anything. Yet something is terribly wrong in a nation where people without degrees have been able to help build, in significant ways, the strongest and wealthiest nation in the world no longer has room for the 'uneducated'!.

If the steps to make classroom learning, and the teachers behind it, more effective – why are we requiring our teens to pass one more test? (Given the resources, time, and ambition students can pass a test – then promptly forget what they were tested on.) Another reason I ask this question is the increasing demand for remedial courses in colleges and universities. If high school education is supposed to prepare students for college; students pass their courses, and they pass an exit exam to graduate – why are growing numbers of students not ready for undergrad work?! Maybe the focus is in the wrong place. Maybe all of the pressure from the Federal and state governments, while well intentioned, are grossly out of touch with reality.

Personally, I took some time after high school before going to a two year college. Twice. The second time I had a better idea of what direction I wanted to take, and transferred to a state university. After graduating with my bachelor degree, I found work in a related field and had a good run in I.T. At some point, I decided to change directions; with the desire to 'give something back' to society. It doesn't matter that I graduated very low in my high school class. It doesn't matter that I waited to get a degree. What does matter, is that when I decided it was important, I was able to apply myself and do well. I may not have had the grades in elementary or high school, but thanks to my mother and a handful of dedicated teachers I learned critical thinking skills that have served me quite well. I remember a time when getting less than a "B" was not the end of the world. If I learned something, that was what mattered. Making mistakes was part of the process. Now students who get less than a 4.0 worry about getting into the university of their choice. (How does one do better than 100%?)

A little over a year ago, this story about states easing their standards came out. Why would states ease their graduation standards after implementing expensive tests meant to improve high schoolers' education?! Were the tests unreasonable in what they expected of students? Were they not phrased in a way that students would be able to understand? Did it matter that students who cram for tests (to pass their individual courses) forget most of what they learned? Maybe we should be looking for more realistic means of measuring students' application of knowledge; understanding. Students need the time wasted on exam prep, and remediation, actually learning - developing critical thinking skills (debate teams are great for that.) Teachers have an excellent idea of who is passing their classes and who is not (at least they should.) The money saved by states on the testing could be used more effectively in other ways (individual districts would be best suited to decide how, along with their teachers.)

If these tests are meant to be a tool for improving education an exit exam is, by definition, a day late and a dollar short. If the test is meant to show a baseline for for learning, or readiness for college, why not tighten up on requirements for passing classes? Then there will be no need for tests. We literally cannot afford to bureaucratize education. So why do we have these tests?

Education and Creativity

I was originally going to write about standards tonight, but I couldn't find the article I wanted to reference and came across this article on creativity written for the San Jose Mercury News by Preeva Tramiel. That got me to thinking about my own experiences in school, especially high school, where often teachers were not interested in creativity (unless they taught art or creative writing.) I understand that some subject matter does not lend itself to creativity, taking extra effort on the teacher's part to allow for - even encourage - creative thinking. But I believe that is exactly what we should be after.

Creativity is what put our nation in front economically with the invention of a number of products used around the world. (Unfortunately, a large part of our success is built on consumption and waste.) Creativity is an innate ability of children which is slowly kneaded, worked, and dare I say it "wrenched" from children as they are seated in rows and force fed Federally dictated programs (implemented with the best of intentions, of course - but we all know where that road leads. . . ), before some children are ready to attain some levels at the prescribed time, under stressed-out teachers taking on ever more responsibility for every child's success. And (while I understand the reason for implementing it) Zero Tolerance causes almost as many problems as it solves. I certainly don't condone students knocking each other's teeth out, robbing one another of lunch money, but students lose the opportunity to work out their own problems, make mistakes, talk about issues in the classroom.

Young children take time to explore things; things that interest and intrigue them, they look at objects from all angles, they try to put square pegs in round holes and vice versa – all without any worry about being wrong, or made to feel inadequate or a failure. Kindergarten used to be a lot like play, with time to explore, no homework. Now starting in kindergarten, students are to how to do everything, they have to sit still, be quiet, follow instructions, and are not often allowed to just 'be' with new ideas, activities, or other students. From first grade on, teachers are compelled to cover so much material that there is almost no time for this deeper learning. Students are being transitioned from one lesson to the next on rigid schedules; and the challenge is to keep the "laggers" up with the bulk of the class, and keep the 'brighter' students engaged (occupied?). With more time to explore new concepts, those students who pick up on a skill more quickly can help their peers quite effectively in gaining understanding using their common language and experience.

With so much focus on getting every single child to an arbitrary level at the same time, teachers are digging holes in the sand. Students are so structured, so limited in what they are presented and how they are expected to respond, it's no wonder they lose the ability to think outside-the-box; to create; to color outside the lines.

We have to find balance. And that balance is not going to be the same for every state; every district; every school; every teacher; every student.

Are We Putting All Our Eggs In One Basket?

With the pace of 'reform' in education today, and the driving force behind education being Washing D.C., our nation's education is being forced into one basket.

Especially in this economy, where states are looking for every dollar they can put their hands on for education, more and more are willing to dance to Washington D.C.'s tune. The problem, as I see it, is if all districts across the U.S. are reading from the same script, everyone's story will end in exactly the same way. Now if we are fortunate enough to have a happily ever after ending, then we're sitting pretty. However, if we end up with the story line falling apart, or the 'bad guy' ends up winning, then we're in the rapids without any oars and a hole in the raft! We need different stories for our various states' education systems!

Education was not covered by the Federal Government to begin with. I don't believe that was an oversight. I think most people will agree; the farther one gets from people, activities, communities, the less intimate the knowledge. The less intimate the knowledge, the less informed decisions become. Take large corporations as an example: when multiple layers of management exist between the CEO and the 'line' workers, a lot is lost in translation between what is possible (bottom up communication) and what is expected (top down communication.) Another variable is added when people's own agenda adds misleading, erroneous, or misinterpreted (due to fear or a hyper developed desire to please) information can cause much unpleasantness, missed goals, and possibly lead to goal changes in the wrong direction.

In education there are even stronger emotions and more diverse agendas at play. Stronger emotions because we are dealing with the futures of people's children; because unions have a vested interest in maintaining optimal compensation and working conditions for educators; because publishers of educational texts have a vested interest in selling their wares; because some researchers are more interested in proving their thesis than seeing what is; because there are politicians pushing an agenda for any number of reasons. Communities across our nation all have their own cultures, strengths, challenges, and resources. Shouldn't we allow these communities, along with their state, to define what is important to them? Wouldn't a sense of ownership provide a sense ownership and motivation to succeed?

Student Portfolios

With all of the talk around student performance and measurable improvement, I am surprised that student portfolios are not more widely used. These same portfolios might be useful in assessing teachers' performance, another area of tremendous debate which will surely rage on for many years to come.

What I like about student portfolios is how they measure individual students' success over time. They can not only be used to show progress over a single year, but from the end of one year to the beginning of the next, we would be able to see where a student might have 'lost' some of their ability/knowledge, and also where they might have added to their knowledge, or experience. Teachers can use portfolios to help build students' confidence, showing students where they have advanced.

I certainly don't claim that portfolios are, or even could be, the final solution to all assessment needs and requirements. Testing students' knowledge at various times is useful for having a snapshot of their knowledge/growth at a given time, but that's all it is, a snapshot. Summative assessments can also become a part of a portfolio. Maintaining portfolios becomes an issue. Who decides what goes into a portfolio? Should students have a say? (I think so.) Should everything be stored electronically? (I would certainly simplify storage and transferability issues. The question of access and security looms large though. Some major benefits of maintaining a digital portfolio means we could store audio and video clips of students' reading, performances, interactions, presentations, etc.

An idea I saw recently was to have students send themselves an email at the beginning of the year stating what they thought the year would be like, what they hoped to learn, and set goals. At the end of the year students would read this email and compare their thoughts from the beginning of the year with what actually happened. This idea would dovetail nicely with electronic portfolios. Students could even set some mid-term goals, check on those during the middle of the year, and work with the teacher on how what changes they might make to meet their goals.

What do you think about portfolios for students? How do you see portfolios being used in teacher evaluations, if at all?

Homework: More or Less; Helpful or Hurtful?

2011

Monday, January 3

5:51:55 PM

Homework: More or Less; Helpful or Hurtful?

Homework.  A dirty word to most students.  A nuisance to many parents, a requirement and expectation for many others.  Many parents feel schools don't give enough, others (myself included) believe schools hand out too much.  Do Kindergarteners really need homework?  It's a little early for them to be concerned about preparing for college (though parents should be preparing for their children's college. Maybe that'll be another blog.)

From a teacher's perspective, homework is a way for students to practice what they have learned in the classroom.  It's a way for students to sit on their own practice using the 'tools' they have acquired in the classroom, to gain confidence, or find out where they need help.  Homework can be a very useful assessment for determining a child's progress, or lack thereof.  

For those parents who think teachers don't provide enough homework - what are your thoughts?  My first thought is - homework is not a form of baby sitting, children need time to develop as people, they need to interact with other children and work out their own issues, not have all of their 'free' time monitored.  I have seen too many children in school with no concept of how to deal with disagreements.  

Of course culture, family priorities, and other aspects of life affect concepts of what is appropriate and required in the upbringing and education of our children and youth.  Extremely divergent views of homework (even the value of school for some) makes pleasing everyone impossible.  Teachers, with training, practice, and access to best practices (on average, of course) need parents' support, if not understanding.  

Some homework assignments are mostly benign, reading for instance.  A lot of parents already read to their children, so having this as a homework assignment changes nothing.  For families who don't have books, or books in the langugae used at home - assuming the parents can read, or have time to read - can be a source of stress, for the most basic of learning needs, and requirements.  A successful education is built upon the ability to read and comprehend text.  

Homework should never be used to teach new skills.  Skills are introduced in the classroom with opportunities to 'test' or use them.  Teachers cannot assume students will have support they may require at home to master any given skillset.  

Teachers have enough going on, they can't put together the differentiated material required for the 'extra' homework desired.  Assigned homework needs to be corrected, or at least scanned by the teacher for it to be useful.  If parents are mainly interested in makework, or additional 'practice', thinking homework is akin to practcing the violin or piano, go buy one of those big workbooks from your local bookstore with workpages and answers in the back or buy some educational software for challenging your child's mind.  Puzzles and board games are good too for developing strategies, dealing with losing (and winning!), as well as memory, and math skills, depending on the game.  Other skills helpful to children are drawing, journaling, athletics, and of course music for developing confidence and creativity.