Uninformed Reformers, Part II

In his second State of the Union address, President Obama conveyed the following assertions:

1. “Race to the Top is the most meaningful reform of our public schools in a generation.”

2. “…reform isn’t just a top-down mandate, but the work of local teachers and principals, school boards and communities.”

3. “Here in America, it’s time we treated the people who educate our children with the same level of respect.” (In reference to how teachers are treated in South Korea.)

In January 2010, I posted an entry about President Obama’s first State of the Union address. I titled it “Uninformed Reformers” and lamented that the President was not paying enough attention to the thoughtful and insightful letters that the members of “Teachers’ Letters to Obama” sent him.

A year later, education reform continues to progress in the wrong direction, as President Obama’s address last night indicates.

The President and the Department of Education continue to tout the Race to the Top program. Race to the Top turns the distribution of education funding into a contest with winners and losers, instead of providing all schools with access to adequate resources, ensuring all children receive a quality education. Race to the Top also places too much weight on standardized tests, which do not adequately measure a child’s knowledge, skills or understanding.

President Obama contends that education reform is not a top-down mandate, and input from local educators and communities is important. But to receive Race to the Top funds, states must implement reform plans that meet the federal government’s criteria.

If the Obama administration really respected teachers and valued their input, efforts to thwart the administration's misguided reform policies would not have gained so much momentum over the past year. The “Teachers’ Letters to Obama” Facebook group has amassed 3,195 members, up from 760 a year ago. And a new grassroots movement is gathering steam: the “Save Our Schools March & National Call to Action” is headed to Washington, D.C. this summer to advocate for equitable funding for all public schools, an end to high-stakes testing, and teacher and community leadership in education policy reform (see my December blog post).

I wholeheartedly agree with President Obama on one point, though: “It’s family that first instills the love of learning in a child.” If our children are to love learning, we must embrace innovative lessons that spark their intellectual curiosity and shun dull, uninspired and scripted test preparation. We must ensure that all children have access to the resources, staff and materials they need to succeed, regardless of where they live. And parents and teachers must join together to promote thoughtful and appropriate reforms that truly benefit our children and secure our country’s future.

SOS

Politicians and journalists have been dumping the blame for our education system’s failings on teachers. Now it’s time, apparently, to hurl accusations at parents. The news media reported last week that an Associated Press-Stanford University poll found that 68 percent of adults believe that parents are responsible for our struggling schools. I’m sure students will be the next target.

It’s easy to blame teachers, parents and students for disappointing achievement levels. But the truth is, there’s very little teachers, parent and students can do when the federal and state governments are slashing education funding, focusing on useless standardized tests, hammering out misdirected reform plans, ignoring and disrespecting teachers, and overlooking disturbing inequities.

It’s time for teachers, parents and students to join forces to Save Our Schools.

A group of concerned citizens is organizing the Save Our Schools Million Teacher March on Washington, DC, from July 28 to 30. The mission of the SOS Million Teacher March is as follows:

“To unite teachers, students and concerned citizens across the nation to create respect and support for teachers in order to do what is best for students. We would like to speak up for all of America to say that our education system is heading in the wrong direction and needs to be fixed immediately before it creates an even larger national crisis.”

SOS Million Teacher March is rapidly gathering support from teachers, parents, students, and concerned citizens nationwide. The goal of the march is as follows:

* Respectful reform that makes sense. The founders of SOS Million Teacher March agree that our nation’s schools need to be reformed, but they disagree with the current methods. They advocate reform that respects the people who are most involved in the public school system: teachers, parents and students.

* Fair funding for all schools. Schools are currently set up for success or failure depending on their location. The Race to the Top program awards grant money only to states that demonstrate a commitment to “reform” based on the federal government’s criteria. SOS Million Teacher March calls for equitable funding for all schools, regardless of their locations.

* Quality classrooms with safe environments. Some schools have abundant resources while others lack the bare essentials. Curricula are designed to address the requirements of standardized tests, rather than to ensure students are learning information, acquiring knowledge, and adopting skills. In addition, some students are afraid to walk to school, to walk home from school, and to be inside their school buildings. SOS Million Teacher March advocates supplying the resources, curricula and staff necessary to provide all students with the education they deserve and a safe environment that’s conducive to learning.

Thank you to the organizers of SOS Million Teach Million Teacher March for giving teachers, parents and students a voice in Washington.

For more information, visit SOS Million Teacher March.

Talk To The Student First

When a student is struggling with an academic, behavioral or social issue, it is important for the teacher to enlist the parent’s help in resolving the problem. But in the following guest blog entry, a middle school teacher explains why she approaches the student before making that phone call home.

Teachers and parents agree that communication between school and home is a key component to a successful academic year for the student. As a middle school teacher, I find that communicating with the student before making the phone call home leads to a more productive outcome for all parties.

In moments of frustration, whether it be an academic or discipline issue, a teacher may look for a quick fix by calling the parent immediately. Excluding emergency situations, my experience tells me to remove myself from the situation for a short period of time (a couple of hours or overnight) so I am calm and objective. After this time, discuss the situation with the student first. This arms you with valuable information (i.e. specifics and quotes!) to share with the parent during the phone call.

Having all pertinent information and details will eliminate back and forth communication and can clear up any incorrect information or confusion. Having all the facts and specifics prior to making the phone call arms the teacher with the confidence and ability to suggest a plan of action, thus moving in a positive direction to ensure success for the student—the common goal of all parties involved.

Ann Marie Torre

Ann Marie Torre is an English teacher and professional organizer in the New York tri-state area. She is a member of NAPO, the National Organization of Professional Organizers, and helps teens and adults set up organizational systems that last. Her company, The Organized Life, has been featured in The New York Times and the Spring 2009 edition of What To Do: Armonk, Bedford & Chappaqua. For more information: atorre@theorganizedlifenow.com or (914) 242-1178

A Distress Call in June, A New Outlook for September

A phone conversation with a concerned parent on the last day of school prompted this New York middle school teacher to reflect on the importance of parent-teacher communication.  Her guest blog post below illustrates how parents and teachers can work together to bolster student achievement.

It’s June 25^th.  The students are on summer vacation, and the teachers are packing up their classrooms.  I receive an e-mail from my principal asking me to contact a parent who called her to ask what I teach in math strategies, an extra help math class that complements the regular math course.  I call the father back.  He expresses his dissatisfaction with his daughter’s performance on the math final, and has a lot of questions about my teaching procedures in the regular math class and in math strategies.  I’m happy to answer his questions, but keep thinking, “Isn’t it a little late to be having this conversation?”  If he had contacted me earlier in the year, I could have addressed his concerns and enlisted his support in helping his daughter succeed in my class.  Math is not her strongest subject.  She had struggled in math in elementary school and continued to struggle this year in 6^th grade.

As the conversation continues, I discover the numerous missed opportunities for us to work together to benefit this student throughout the year.  The father tells me he hired a math tutor to help prepare his daughter for the final exam.  If he had informed me, I could have communicated with the tutor to help the tutor better support the student.  The father tells me the tutor complained that my study guide for the final was not specific enough, didn’t offer any examples of problems, and contained only a list of concepts to study with the number of questions per skill.  But the study guide came with four packets that included the specifics and sample problems the tutor was looking for.  I ask the father whether his daughter showed him or the tutor the packets.  She didn’t.  I ask if he or the tutor visited my website, which contains additional study materials.  He replies, “How do you get to your website?”  I scan and upload to my website class assignments, worksheets and study guides throughout the year and refer my students to my website often.  If the father or tutor had e-mailed or called me to express their concerns, I could have referred them to the study packets and additional materials.

The father asks me about my homework grading policy.  I remind him that I discussed the policy at Back to School Night.  He explains that it was a long night, and he doesn’t remember what was discussed.  If a parent sees a grade on the parent portal that he or she does not understand at any point during the year, the parent is welcome to e-mail me and I’ll explain it.  The students are also aware of the grading policy.

After the conversation, I think about what I could have done to prevent it. I realize that I shouldn’t assume my students will relate information to their parents, that all parents are familiar with school websites, and that parents understand the importance of contacting the teacher as soon as a question or concern comes up.  I also acknowledge that parents are overwhelmed with the information they receive at the beginning of the year, and they may not remember everything they hear at Back to School Night.  Thanks to this concerned father, I revamp my initial letter that goes home to parents the first day of school to encourage their involvement throughout the year.  It now contains more detailed information about the 6^th grade math syllabus, my website, my grading policy, and other important topics.  It prominently displays my contact information and urges parents to contact me with any questions or concerns that come up during the year.  It requests that they sign and return the bottom portion of the letter so I can be sure they have read it.  The letter is ready to go out to my new class in September.

Amanda Schwartz

Middle School Teacher

New York