With Democrats and Republicans entrenched in their separate corners, the biggest losers are students.
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This past Sunday on Meet the Press, former Defense Secretary Robert Gates said the best way to defeat ISIS would be to help build a coalition of Arab partners in Iraq and Syria.
Gates followed up by sharing this welcome piece of wisdom: we need a president who can also build coalitions at home.
In other words, the political polarization that has infected Washington for the better part of the last fifteen years must come to an end.
If schools are to truly improve, the political polarization that has infected Washington for the better part of fifteen years must come to an end.
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Democrats and Republicans bunker down in their separate corners on just about every issue, and Education is no different. In our current moment, we have Democrats supporting Teacher’s Unions, and thus opposing charter schools. Republicans have gone all in on voucher programs and privatized education, with some vowing to break apart Teacher’s Unions.
As is often the case in political matters, there is widespread desire for a simple, straight-forward answer.
More money.
No unions.
Less testing.
Small classes.
As if tweaking or changing just one thing would fix the whole system.
Some schools need more money, this is true. But we also spend more per student than any other country in the world. What we need, beyond further funding, is to look at how our resources are allocated.
Most teachers work far above and beyond what is required. This fact is not really in dispute. Teachers unions purport to advocate for these commendable individuals, which is a commendable enterprise.
But the absence of concern for actual students, or how the kids themselves are faring, is the original sin of the NEA and AFT.
Testing takes up class time, creates a great administrative burden, and can have negative side effects (student stress, self-esteem issues, etc.).
The absence of concern for actual students, and how the kids themselves are faring, is the original sin of the NEA and AFT.
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But test scores give everyone – students, parents, teachers, districts – some way of both knowing if the children are actually learning, while also ensuring vertical alignment of curriculum.
Small classes are great for teachers and students. Each individual gets the attention he needs, and teachers have time to give meaningful feedback, reflect on lesson plans, and prepare for upcoming units.
But some classes require more one-on-one time than others, and for districts already strapped for cash, demanding the immediate addition of many salaried staff members is financially unfeasible.
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It would be wonderful – miraculous, really – to hear a politician talk about including the unions in meaningful changes to school structure and curriculum. And it would be equally miraculous to hear union leaders express openness to structural changes. Because effecting improvement in school systems would be much easier if the battle to dismantle unions didn’t preempt any future collaboration.
This will never happen while Democrats refuse to address the real problems unions pose in clearing the path for school change and improvement.
It will also never happen if Republicans continue to hold teachers as the primary reason students don’t learn.
Neither of these perspectives captures reality. But Democrats get big money from teacher’s unions, and Republicans do not. Thus, here we are.
Yet this is a Quality of Life concern for millions of young Americans. It is imperative that politicians drop the talking points and reach across the aisle.
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Photo: Flickr/Parker Knight
Thank you Danny!
Agreed.
Great read.
I’m thinking that no one commented on this article, Jess, because there is nothing to more to say…but thank you for standing up and saying it.
Thank you DJ!
I understand what you’re saying but there is a real component that’s being left out and that is the “family.” More specifically the parents role in all of this. I’m in no way discarding what you’re saying but from what I’ve seen is there has been a clear shift that takes responsibility away from parents and is placing it squarely on the teachers/schools. A friend of mine, special ed teacher just sent me a blurb about reading and standardized testing … 20 minutes a day, kids fall into the 90th percentile, 5 minutes a day fall into 50th percentile, and… Read more »
Hi Tom,
First off, thank you for reading, and for your thoughtful comments. I’ve thought a lot myself, about this issue you point out. Namely, that we know parents are the single most influential factor in a child’s success.
But since we can’t do anything about what parents choose to do in the home, I think we have to focus on what and where we do have influence: the school itself. And there are teachers and schools and districts and approaches that get great results. That’s what I want to promote.