George - Take aways from this week

As we compare United States public education to the best countries of the world I see a real difference in the value of education between the citizens of the country. I think that Americans used to have a commitment to education, but I am not sure the majority of Americans have it now. In my rural area where many families make livings from natural resources or welfare many people don’t see education as important to themselves or their children. I think that schools need to do more to engage and include the families of our students. Unless we have a culture of learning it will be hard for other reforms to be successful. I am almost envious of the countries that we are studying because they do have a culture of learning and they had the opportunity to start from scratch. I think it has been much harder for us because of our culture and the fact that we have a system that kind of used to work (for white middle class/affluent kids) and change is hard. 

Two reports came out recently that are relevant to our discussion of how American schools are performing. The first report I heard about on the radio this morning; a new NAEP report compares today’s student performance with that of 40 years ago. There is a lot of positive information, including significant growth in reading and math for 9 and 13-year olds and even bigger gains for black and Hispanic students. See the report news release link below which includes a link to the actual report. http://www.nagb.org/newsroom/naep-releases/longtermtrend2012.html 

Guess what many news organizations focused on? American 17-year-olds stagnant in reading, math since 1970s, report shows and Study finds high school seniors fare no better on achievement tests than in 1970s and Report: 40 Years Later, Teens Show Little Improvement in Reading, Math. (The report officials suggest the results for 17-year-old students reflect fewer low-performing students dropping out.) It reminds me that schools are judged by the lowest common factor. One take away for me is that we need to work closer with our other teaching peers at different levels (elementary, middle, and high school) to share ideas and develop a vision engaging our students in learning. I currently don't have a vision of how my work with students at the elementary level fits with middle school and high school teachers.

The second report (OECD) is about education spending in different countries. We are finally in the top! - In spending. We spend 7.3% of GDP; about $11,000 per year for each elementary students and $12,000 for high school students. A news article highlighted a theme that we have been talking about: “In kindergarten through 12th grade, meanwhile, the U.S. posts middling test scores, dragged down by the high numbers of children living in poverty whose schools tend to receive lower revenues from property taxes.” We have to tackle funding of our schools and we need to improve social services and health care in order to make learning equitable.

I just finished listening to Harper High School on This American Life. Violent deaths. Useless deaths. How do these students and staff deal with the sorrow? They are living in a war zone and the students are child soldiers. You could tell that the staff were successful because of the human connections they made with the students who needed them the most. They believed that raising self-esteem and keeping children safe would keep students in school and raise academic achievement.  As principal Leonetta Sanders was working through the day of the football game and dance I was feeling her anxiety about making the decision to keep things normal for the kids and also try to keep them safe. I am in awe of her commitment to the students. My take away from Harper High is that I need to continue to make caring connections with my students and show them that school is a safe, fun, and interesting place to learn.