My Blog is intended to create a civil and productive conversation concerning the issues facing educational leaders in the 21st Century. We are experiencing a time when change is the rule and not the exception. Deep rooted change has begun to manifest itself in the monolith of public education. Federal and state governments are being driven to legislate change in schools and do not fully understand the unintended consequences of the policy changes being created. One trend that is now becoming overt is the nationalization of public education. We need to understand the factors pushing governments to dictate these changes. What is unique about this Blog is that it will be written by a practitioner. A Superintendent who is dealing with the political, economic and policy changes impacting our school district, state and nation. Monticello Central School District like all other school districts cannot stand alone or solve our problems alone. It is only through open and honest discussion and exchange of ideas that we can deal with the changes we are facing. We must look at what is driving this change process and seek to understand how we will adapt to it. We can no longer educate our children the way we were educated and expect to succeed in a global system where connectivity is the key to success. Closing my classroom door to keep the world out is antithetical to the demands of our time. The monolith will have to move or end up like GM and Chrysler. Let’s begin our discussion.
In a recent NY Times editorial (dated 4/21/09) by Thomas Friedman, he addressed this issue as follows:
“Credit bubbles are like the tide. They can cover up a lot of rot. In our case, the excess consumer demand and jobs created by our credit and housing bubbles have masked not only our weaknesses in manufacturing and other economic fundamentals, but something worse: how far we have fallen behind in K-12 education and how much it is now costing us. That is the conclusion I drew from a new study by the consulting firm McKinsey, titled “The Economic Impact of the Achievement Gap in America’s Schools.”
The McKinsey report that Mr. Friedman refers to had several other relevant quotes:
“Actually, our fourth-graders compare well on global tests with Singapore…our high school kids really lag, which means that the longer American children are in school, the worse they perform compared to their international peers.” There are millions of kids in modern suburban schools “who don’t realize how far behind they are. They are being prepared for $12 an-hour jobs, not $40 to $50 an-hour.”
The analysis in their studies concerning the economic impact is eye-opening:
“If America had closed the international achievement gap between 1983 and 1998 and had raised its performance to the level of such nations as Finland and South Korea, U.S. Gross Domestic Product (GDP) in 2008 would have been between $1.3 trillion and $2.3 trillion higher. If we had closed the racial achievement gap and black and Latino student performance had caught up with that of white students by 1998, GDP in 2008 would have been between $310 billion and $525 billion higher. If the gap between low-income students and the rest had been narrowed, GDP in 2008 would have been $400 billion to $670 billion higher.”
It is essential to note that the countries to which we are being compared have extensive requirements in art and music. Notably, we are one of the few school districts in the state with a Fine Arts Academy.
In the Monticello School District we have spent the last four years creating the infrastructure we need to address this issue. At our elementary and middle level we have moved from structure to instruction. In the last three years we have worked on restructuring the high school and are now ready to focus on instruction. Closing the achievement gap is a local and national imperative.
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Your account was compelling and I do have a few questions or perhaps comments. I think the Monticello School District is definitely moving in the right direction and I am proud to be a part of it. When comparisons are made with foreign countries it appears that we are making comparisons while being on the same ground. I would like to dig deeper into who gets educated, what is valued, and perhaps more data on successes and failures in other countries. I am sure the mandates or lack of mandates they face give them the flexibility to dig deep into learning but I also wonder if all students are given free access to education, is it equitable and are all educated in the same way we are, do they deal with some of the "melting pot" considerations we face, etc. We can celebrate the diversity in this country.
ReplyDeleteMany of the European countries we are compared to do educate all. In China education is worshiped and parents go to great lengths and sacrifices to educate their children. We have heard these arguments before and though we should keep them in mind they deflect us from the work we need to do. It is easy to dismiss the issues we need to address by stating the people we are competing against are not competing fairly. We should never move away from our commitment to educate all children democratically. We cannot self righteously point at other countries concerning their lack of democracy when we have such inequalities in our own system. Research shows that if we truly wished to we can attack the achievement gap and cure it. The systems we have put in place the last few years will support our efforts. Now we have to have the courage and commitment to see the changes through.
ReplyDeleteI have a bi-coastal experience to share that I feel applies to this concept of bridging the gap between one public school education to the next.
ReplyDeleteWhen I attended High School in Upstate NY, we were told that students with a "Regents Diploma" were more apt to get into better colleges and most students believed this to be the case.
However growing up in Southern CA, I had NEVER even heard of a "Regents Diploma". I still managed to obtain one and after high school was told that UC Berkeley wouldn't accept "Regents" as considered by my high school to be "college credit" courses. They explained that they "did not even know" what regents were! If a student is consistently told (throughout their entire "career" in high school) that they are taking courses that will prepare them for college and some of the most prestiges colleges in the country don't even know what this type of diploma is, how do we prepare our children for college level courses?
I believe that guidance counselors should have a fiduciary responsibility to students to ensure that "commitment to educate all children democratically" is upheld. The courage and commitment needs to come from the team rather than the individual.
The courage and the commitment begins with us - anonymous - we are all, in some way, connected to a child who will be, is or even should be in school. WE, (you, I, those, them and the others) are the team.
ReplyDeleteA "Regents Diploma" has many different names in many different states, the academics studied to obtain these designated diploma's are much like college course work, not college credits - but the college's don't keep track of the 'titles'. What these diploma's represent is the hard work and dedication the student puts in studying advanced classes. In my opinion, as a parent - it is a certificate of achievement. A special recognition diploma, if you will. I do believe that there is a misconception and maybe this should be clarified to students through their guidence counselors so they get the most out of their education without being under the wrong impression. As an adult now, having had a few of the classes myself - I do understand the purpose of them alot more clearer than I did back then and I too thought the same as you did in my young mind :-)
Now that I am a parent with a better understanding - I can explain it to my own children and ease the burden put on so many of the guidence counselors out there.