Now I'm Depressed

Chapter 9 Blog

“Now I’m Depressed”

            I was flying high after reading about all the great things Finland, Korea, and Singapore were doing in regards to providing equal education to all. Chapter 9 of the Flat World in Education really slammed me back down to earth hard. When you think about how big the education system is in the United States and just how big a train wreck it is, the task of meaningful reform seems impossible. A famous U.S. Marine named Hammering Hank Halloran once said, “Impossible just means it will take a little longer”. I believe that as long as education reform is tied to political agendas and selling education continues to be profitable, the goal of meaningful reform will stay just out of reach.

            Linda Darling-Hammond makes a number of excellent recommendations. One of my favorites is that the State and District need to be accountable to students and teachers for providing an equitable learning environment for all students. This equitable environment encompasses many factors from quality facilities to quality educators. I think, however, educators and policy makers have very different views of what an equitable education is. I tell my students, and I’m sure you have all heard it, “Fair is not everybody gets the same, fair is everybody gets what they need”. Unfortunately our policy makers continue to be committed to the carrot and stick or test and punish approach to education. As Linda Darling-Hammond points out the test and punish model that came about with the advent of No Chile Left Behind has ultimately resulted in lower U.S. test scores.

            Teachers aren’t motivated by money. I couldn’t tell you how many times I’ve said that I didn’t get into education to get rich. Teachers do however want to be paid at a level that recognizes their status as a professional educator and a person of value in society. If the way our society shows how much we value a person is by how much we are willing to pay them then our society holds teachers in low esteem. Actions speak louder than words. One example of how our society really doesn’t understand teaching or teachers is what happened with last year’s fiasco with pay for performance. Just like we predicted it broke down along socioeconomic lines with the largest performance bonuses going to schools in more affluent areas and schools in poorer areas getting nothing. The Meridian Schools District’s teacher of the year did not get a performance bonus last year. Again actions speak louder than words.

            There are a number of things I think we could do that would make a difference without taking on the entire system.  Whenever contract negotiations roll around or it’s time to slash the budget the first thing on the block is professional development days. We need a greater emphasis on developing quality educators. Linda Darling-Hammond notes that teachers are attracted and retained by successful systems where they are valued and encouraged to continue to grow as educators. It seems to me that investment in professional development would be more beneficial to educational success than alternant routs to certification.  For proof that this is a sound investment we need only to look at the success of Finland, Korea, and Singapore where 100 hours of professional development annually, is the norm.

            Another idea I like is this notion of differential pay. As I noted earlier, teachers aren’t motivated strictly by pay, but combined with other programs like increased opportunities for professional development or carrier enhancement, differential pay could attract and retain quality teachers in high needs areas.

            We all need to take a look at our individual teaching practices and strive for improvement but until we take control of our profession we will always be at the mercy of someone else’s agenda.