Top 5 Ways Schools are Failing Our Kids
There’s something wrong with public education today. More and more we’re coming to grips with this—and racking our brains trying to figure out how to fix it. But first let’s start with what’s wrong and move forward from there.
1. Forcing one-size-fits-all education instead of embracing customization: Every child is unique. And in today’s technology-driven world, customization is possible from the district right down to the classroom and student level. Yet students are still moved through school in batches, based on their age.
That’s because today’s education model comes straight out of the industrial era. As the world got bigger it became essential for the United States to produce more and more competent hands for the workforce. So we put five year-olds on the conveyor belt called public education in kindergarten and hoped they stepped off 12 years later ready to contribute to industry. At the time, it worked well.
Today we live in an information age, not an industrial age. But still, our education system functions like a factory where classes are the stations on the conveyor belt. At each station students receive a new part and move on to the next. In the end, they’re supposed to be uniformly prepared for higher education or to compete in the 21st century marketplace. (I came across this great video that literally illustrates this problem.)
But what about the student who learns differently? The one the new part doesn’t fit? The teacher might try a couple different approaches, but she has 25 other students to fit the part to. Usually that student simply keeps moving forward, missing a piece they’ll need one day.
Here in Washington, more than 14,000 students left the factory in the 2009-10 school year. Only roughly 76 percent graduated on time.
It’s important to note that many teachers do a great job differentiating instruction and teaching to individual students, not just the middle of the class. But they’re the exception, not the rule. And they personalize learning in spite of the system, not because of it.
2. Disconnecting School from Real Life (and the 21st Century): Today’s students are typically plugged in all the time. They read online, socialize online, play online. And as adults, they’ll be expected to research online, write online, program online, and so forth.
Yet when kids come to school, what are they expected to do? Power down and sit still.
Not only is school unplugged from their everyday lives, it’s not preparing them for membership in the 21st century workforce.
3. Not removing ineffective teachers: Over the years education has come to revolve more around the adults who make a living in it than the students whose future livelihoods depend on it. Despite the fact that having a good teacher is the single most important element in a child’s education, employee contracts make it nearly impossible to dismiss an underperforming teacher.
4. Using time and resources to benefit adults, not students: Have you ever wondered why so many students have regular “early release” days? In the midst of financial hardships that make it difficult to increase teacher pay, a growing trend is to reduce the days in the school year so teachers are paid the same amount for doing less work. While good teachers absolutely deserve higher pay, services to students must come first.
5. Restricting Choices Instead of Expanding Them: Having options is the most effective way to get needs met. And in education, where you’re dealing with unique individuals who have unique learning and life needs, it’s essential that families can research and choose the schooling option that’s best for them. Especially in Washington where charter schools are against the law, the student who can’t afford private school doesn’t have options. Online schools have considerably helped improve the situation, but the fact remains that a school system without choices hurts kids; it doesn’t help them.
Only a few kids can actually reach their potential in such a system. Wasted potential is failure. So in reality, the public school system is failing most of the kids who come through its doors, not just the ones who drop out.
These problems are pretty intuitive. Political persuasion aside, we can generally agree the above characteristics need to change. But why haven’t they already? Stay tuned for the next installment. And after that, I promise there will be good news (Here’s a hint: It has to do with digital learning).
5 Responsesto “Top 5 Ways Schools are Failing Our Kids”
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1. Schools in America are designed to meet the needs of a narrow band of students who arrive ready to do the work presented in the way it is presented. They are not ready for students living in poverty, students with disabilities, or, in most cases, minority students. It doesn’t work that well for boys, either. Instead of forcing the students to adapt to the system, the system should adapt to the students it is intended to serve. That’s the real problem with the “one size fits all” model.
2. True, but less true than it used to be. School time should be devoted to more collaborative projects and individual work should be done outside of class. People often talk about making school more like a business – a business would never waste so much time in meetings with 30 people doing one-way communication.
3. Mostly wrong about this. First, the “fact that having a good teacher is the single most important element in a child’s education” is flat out false. Student motivation is the single most important element, and that motivation usually comes from home. The statement is obviously false since there is no measure of teacher quality, so how could any such data be compiled. Also wrong that “employee contracts make it nearly impossible to dismiss an underperforming teacher” Another myth that is flat out false. Good principals can – and do – fire bad teachers. The presence of a bad teacher is evidence of the presence of a bad principal. We need better principals. Given that, we will weed out the few bad teachers.
4. True. The solution would be for our society to put a higher value on education and fully fund it.
5. False. The number of choices isn’t a constraint. People have choices. Every district allows families school choice to some extent and there is the option of enrolling in another district. The problem is not the number of choices so much as the quality of the choices. Nearly all schools – charter schools included – are operated in the traditional manner. Choice is not magical. We had it in Seattle and it didn’t work.
I agree with some of your points, but the one I struggle with is , using time and resources to benefit adults. When exactly are teachers supposed to learn to do the differentiation and individualization you seem to want? You decry the system, and then expect the system to change without giving teachers time to learn TOGETHER, as a system. No high performing country give teachers less time to learn and develop together than in the US. For some reason we only think teachers are working when they are in front of kids. If we are ever to acheive what you seem to want we will have to give the system time to learn and improve.
The highest priority I have when building a master schedule for my school is creating blocks of collaborative time for teachers of the same grade level. This collaborative time is like gold, in our efforts to differentiate and meet the needs of each student. Your other goals will never be acheived without the system allowing teachers to study and master how to help every student learn.
Charlie,
Thanks for your comments.
I would whole-heartedly agree that student motivation is key. But outside those factors a student can control, teacher quality is paramount.
I would submit that teacher quality can and must be evaluated. Considering the tremendous responsibility with which we entrust our teachers , measuring their performance is essential. But it must be done fairly. On the subject of removing ineffective teachers, I recommend reading the National Council on Teacher Quality’s report on Washington: http://www.nctq.org/stpy11/reports/stpy11_washington_report.pdf
. Washington’s track record for evaluating teacher quality and ensuring only the best teachers are retained isn’t good. (We got a “D” in “Exiting Ineffective Teachers.” See pg. 153.)
When it comes to choice, it’s by no means a silver bullet. In my opinion there isn’t a silver bullet in education. You’re right that the quality of the choices available is key. I would go further, though, to say it’s crucial we offer a variety of choices. We need a broad menu of school models so individual students can find the right fit for them. Offering students choices among fairly similar schools isn’t choice.
Again, thanks for your comments. Appreciate the feedback and dialogue.
Mark,
Thanks for your comment.
As a former teacher, I can appreciate the absolute necessity of adequate time for planning and collaboration. So I’d like to clarify: the early release days I’m referencing are directly related to the issue of salary increases, not a need for increased teacher prep time.
I’m not saying teachers shouldn’t make more money, and I’m not saying they shouldn’t have the planning time they need. I’m simply saying that student services shouldn’t be decreased so teachers can make the same amount of money for doing less work (in lieu of a salary increase). I hope that helps to clarify.
On the separate topic of collaboration time and support for teachers, blended models are really making headway by rearranging the school day to allow for teacher collaboration time and by using online platforms that allow teachers to share and contribute to lessons, engage in discussion, and work as a team. Digital tools can also significantly decrease the amount of time teachers spend on grading and busywork. I recommend Tom Vander Ark’s article on how “Blended Learning Can Improve Working Conditions, Teaching, and Learning”: http://gettingsmart.com/blog/2012/06/blended-learning-can-improve-working-conditions-teaching-learning/.
I know all too well how much time a dedicated teacher spends OUTSIDE of classroom hours. With today’s tools, teachers can get the support they need–and the student data they need–to really engage with students and meet their needs like never before.
Thanks again for your thoughts.
Please stop writing “the fact that having a good teacher is the single most important element in a child’s education” because it is NOT a fact. Study after study has shown again and again that the bulk of student academic achievement is determined by home-based factors, not school-based factors. Your statement is an out and out objective falsehood. Please, please stop writing it.
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[...] on Jul 25, 2012 in Issues & Commentary | 0 comments BufferThis summer we’ve covered what’s wrong with our public school system, how we let it get this bad, how digital learning can be the solution, schools that are leveraging [...]