Recently Diane Ravitch, former United States Assistant Secretary for Education under the Bush administration, has come under fire for an “about face” of her standpoint on NCLB. The whole situation is a shame for a number of reasons and yet no one is willing to look them in the face.
I applaud her for finally realizing that No Child Left Behind was terrible legislation and that punishing schools in the name of “reform” is not the right way to go. We should all only wish that more people who are (or used to be) affiliated with government would come to their senses quicker and start thinking with this type of clarity and logic. Maybe then, something could get done in Congress.
The media needs to realize that patronizing her without thoroughly understanding her rationale for altering her stance is downright ridiculous and exactly what gets them in trouble on a daily basis. The New York Times article from March 2nd was written in an attempt to put her decision to sway, and not the rationale for her decision, front and center with little regard for the basic facts behind her fence jumping. If you want a more interesting article and video, check out her NPR piece. The sound clip is below for your listening pleasure and some first-hand insight into Ravitch’s own personal feelings.
The bad part about this mess is that is sets a precedent that Duncan will surely follow. He will serve out his time as the 9th United States Secretary of Education and continue to pass bad policies that hurt kids and turn public schooling into his own little game of “let’s see if this works”. Then he will leave office, wait a couple of years, and recant on his ideals to ensure that people think he has found the err of his ways.
In short, it provides him with a way out. Many of the political pundits who attempt these different types of silver bullet reforms are simply shooting in the dark in hopes that they flip a magic switch that will alter education. Their primary focus isn’t with the kids; it’s with their own record. Can he or she be the education official who institutes policy that sends American student test scores through the roof?
It’s time that Washington begins thinking about what is best for the kids rather than what they can do to be remembered.
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Don’t downplay the importance of “let’s see if this works” in teaching and learning, Aaron. That’s what helps us and our students come back every day to teach, learn, and connect.
The problem isn’t experimentation in pursuit of solutions. It’s the politicians’ disregard for moving ahead with #edreform that leads to better teaching and learning in favor of lining their pockets with populist votes and vendor dollars. It’s Duncan’s insistence that what Duncan wants to try is right for everybody. It’s the paradoxical belief that competition will help schools that are already failing to compete. It’s the scape-goating of schools and teachers for complex national and global trends in the supply-and-demand of products, services, and types of worker (thanks for the assist, Dr. Bracey). It’s a shallow understanding of global competition based on comparing our test rates against countries that don’t educate or test anywhere near the percentage of students we work with every year, using tests that stifle America’s innovative spirit, our most valuable resource in this day and age (ditto, Doc). It’s an elitist and political affinity for numbers, not people.
It’s in refining obsolescence.
It’s a lack of will on the parts of educators and learners to refuse to follow policy that limits children’s learning. I’m complicit in that. Ravitch and Duncan aside, what are we to do? Tag that question #notrehtorical.
Chad,
I agree with you, but I am not downplaying the importance of “let’s see if this works” in teaching and learning. I think the “let’s see if this works” with regards to policy, funding, standardized testing, and all these other movements that work towards reward, punishment, and compliance. The “let’s see if this works” mentality in the classroom is exactly what we should be striving for. I apologize for being unclear about that.
Your other point is very well taken and one I think about quite often. As you know, I am vehemently opposed to cookie-cutter schooling and eveyrthing that goes with it. That includes Duncan’s one-size-fits-all mentality with regards to funding, testing, and curriculum movements. Personally, I turn a deaf ear to a lot of the “global education” discussion when it comes to comparing countries namely because I think we are all preparing our kids for something different. It’s a matter of context for individual countries and the workforce that they should be creating. The biggest problem, again, is that people don’t understand this or want to understand it.
I don’t think we can ignore what Ravitch and Duncan do and stick with the “we can only control our classroom” idea. Education is a nation-wide phenomenon and ideas need to be spread and discussed so that potential secretarys are more in tuned to reality rather than promoting the “elitist and political affinity for numbers” that you are referring to.
Thanks for the discussion!
Points gladly taken -
What are your top 5 steps a classroom teacher should take to educate the public about the current and desired states of education at their schools?
I’d totally posit that we can control ourselves outside school, as well, and influence our classrooms at school, if not control them