Blog : Fixing Public Eduaction

2031 posts
3/2/2011 7:12 am

Fixing Public Eduaction

I dislike people who bitch about any given problem yet offer no serious, workable solution to that problem. As a retired teacher with 'years before the desk', I offer six simple solutions. The good thing about these changes is that they wouldn’t cost the taxpayer a penny.

1) Eliminate mandatory school attendance laws.

This ends, almost instantly, all school discipline problems. Schools are no longer forced to deal with students who are not there to learn, but there to raise hell. We need to make going to school in this country a privilege. If you abuse that privilege, if you come to school simply to make life worse for others, you need to find someplace else to do that.

2) Everyone teaches.

With the exception of ONLY the Superintendent of Schools (who should be an MBA, not a teacher.), if you hold credentials, you teach students. One class a day - half a day - whatever the demand is. You WANT to be a counselor – great - after you're done inside the classroom you can counsel students. You WANT to be Principal? Fine. You can be Head Master, and meet those administrative challenges after your class(es) are done for the day. And teach down in the trenches … bone head math … bone head English … places where students are struggling the most and need more structure and one on one help.

There is a major school district on the west coast whose central office is down town … at least a mile away from the closest school. In this building, upwards of 100 certified "administrative specialists” work. Each earns a salary of more than $80,000 a year. All are certified as teachers. Problem? Not ONE of them sees a student during the school year. Not one. Because most of them have been out of the classroom for so long, they no longer remember the real problems and have insulated themselves against any new problems. If they taught half a day, policies would change over night.

3) No person can hold an administrator’s position for more than 5 straight years.

I taught high school English. The last school – population 1100 students – there was a principal and 3 vice principals. The lowest paid member of this administrative group earned just over $75,000 in 1993. Had you told them in the middle of the school year that;

"Your history teacher just quit. Monday the class is yours."
Two of the Vice Principals would have quit on the spot rather than go back to teaching.

The other would have tried, but she had been out of the classroom for so long, the would have eaten her alive.

The Principal, to give the devil his due, would have done quite well.

One of the major problems, as I see it, in education today is its administrative morass. I found far too many administrators with liberal arts degrees who were miserable in the classroom and terrible teachers. They saw no place for themselves in the private sector so the only way out of the classroom was up the administrative ladder. They made bad teachers and really bad administrators.

Another major problem with education today is the separation between those who are administrators and those who teach. I have never seen any school district that didn't foster and encourage the US vs THEM mentality between administrators and teachers. In one district, no administrator is left in any school longer than 5 years so that they cannot develop a friendly rapport with their staff.

The second part of that, closely aligned to the first, is that once out of the classroom, we find administrators become political lick-spittle, nodding and agreeing with every crack pot fix that hurries down the political pipe with THE SOLUTION to the Education Problem. The current is NO LEFT BEHIND. Before that, MINIMUM BASIC STANDARDS TESTING. When you EXPECT minimum basic standards, that's exactly what you get. MINIMUM. When you do so at the price of the humanities, and DEMAND that it's done, you have no right to howl about the loss of your 'culture'. When you threaten the livelihood of those who are teaching, telling them that their future depends on how many pass The Test, guess where the major emphasis is going to be? And I’m sorry…there are ALWAYS going to be left behind. Always.

4) No one paid more than the highest paid teacher.

This is called Put Your Money Where Your Mouth Is. Where is your priority? I hear, when I mention this: “What is the motivation for those to become administrators? No one would want the job!”

Nonsense. There are always those that NEED to lead, for whatever reason. There would be no lack of those wanting to administrate the schools. And those who leave the profession rather than go back into the class room - good riddance.

5) The One Year Forced Sabbatical for students:

The current numbers that no one really tells you, like the real unemployment numbers, are the real drop out numbers. They hover around 25% in the best schools and reach somewhere between 1/3 and 1/2 in inner city schools. How to we fix that?

The one year student sabbatical. That's right - from birthday 15 to birthday 16, those students are persona non grata at schools. They may not attend classes, sporting events, or social events. In short, they may not attend any school sponsored function.

But Wait! None would come back.

Nonsense! They'd Beat Down The Doors to get back in. After a year of trying to find work. Or flipping burgers for those who are lucky. Or sitting idle for those so allowed. The numbers returning would be, in my estimation, closer to 95%. One year of a taste of the REAL LIFE would be enough for most. Those who did not return would have left eventually anyway and its better to find out early, on THEIR time, rather than wasting school time and energy with unruly, disruptive students.

6) Eliminate school district boundaries.

90% of funding for schools comes back to the school from the state. The establishment of school boundaries has long outlived its usefulness. This would also establish a competitive atmosphere as good teachers and good students would vie for positions in the ‘good’ schools and force those lagging behind to either toe the mark, or shut down.

So there they are…my 6 Cures to the Current Education problems in this country. Please feel free to question/comment/ or suggest additions.

Just because you have silenced a man does not mean you have changed his mind.

Rocketship 80F

18601 posts
3/2/2011 8:13 am

Excellent blog!!!!

Hawkslayer 88M

13351 posts
3/2/2011 8:55 am

Yeah! That Eduaction sure does need fixing!

It only takes a drop of ink to make a million people think. There are many stories.

c3c5

3/2/2011 8:57 am

Thanks for taking the time to offer some ideas. A good start.

But you say "I dislike people who bitch about any given problem yet offer no serious, workable solution to that problem."

Serious and workable is a concept in ones mind. I'm sure your serious. I question 'workable'. Because I find those that offer ideas as 'workable' don't take the walk to see reactions and if they can actually be accomplished.

Every action sets in place a reaction. Not easily seen in a simple list of concepts.

Hmm, Seems you didn't mention parent responsibility AND the laws that go with.

Action:

- Eliminate Mandatory attendance. As opposed too? If they choose not to. Free to do what?

- Eliminate school district boundaries. Enlarge schools at the whim of the thought that one is better than the other? Shut down and force more busing (including the related traffic congestion AND pollution) to get those kids from the shut down schools to the better schools?

In the fifties I took two buses and a street car (the longest ride) to get to one of two Technical High Schools (in a bad area) of a City with greater that 800K. A new school was built within my walking distance in a nicer area. That sure changed the demographics.

Thinking that solution could be a rush to the nice areas and depressing them and further depressing the lesser than nice area.

Thanks for asking.

B00Radley61 74M

3/2/2011 11:44 am

c3c5

Great reply...thanks.

Mandatory school attendance: Last I checked (ok..it's been a few years) most, if not all states had mandatory school attendance through the 9th grade or to age 16. Some local districts push that to 18 (there are Federal funds attached to body count.)

I don't believe that eliminating school boundaries would cause that much of a problem. When the NEA did a study in the mid 90s about vouchers (another issue altogether), they discovered that less than 15% of those surveyed would change schools. So we aren't talking great numbers here.

I didn't mention parental involvement. Yes, if I had my way, there would be MANDATORY parental involvement...as is required by most private schools I know. Part of the problem, as I see it, is that more and more parents are not involved, in any manner, with the schools their children attend.

I think the truly 'unworkable' suggestion is the one year hiatus. I do think it would solve some of the drop out problem, but I can see all sorts of parents up in arms about Little Johnny stuck at home all day with nothing to do.

Just because you have silenced a man does not mean you have changed his mind.

B00Radley61 74M

3/2/2011 3:23 pm

A foundation of the fundamentals is essential. Yes, we do have wonders....we no longer need a slide rule...we no longer need...we no longer need...except...when the plug gets pulled, there isn't anything left to fall back on. I disagree with your daughter. I think a solid base in the fundamentals is vital. I do think, however, like most things concerning education, we've gone overboard worrying about such and tossed the baby and the bath water out.

Just because you have silenced a man does not mean you have changed his mind.

60minman2 84M

3/2/2011 6:31 pm

#1 and #6 are excellent. Having a Super with an MBA instead a PhdEd is interesting. The rest do have substantial merit.

Its time to start reading the Bible, It will scare the Hell out of you...

RickySpin01 73M

3/2/2011 6:36 pm

I very much like this blog written by an informed voice of experience. The only part I can disagree with is number 1: Eliminate mandatory school attendance laws.

Historically these laws, like the child labor laws, were designed as much to prevent crime, especially prostitution as to foster education; imposing on the schools an additional social function beyond education. The traditional social safety valves for those not attending; the military and pioneering on the frontier are often no longer an option.

I very much agree with number 5: The One Year Forced Sabbatical for students.

I dropped out of high school in my junior year, mainly due to boredom. After six weeks I returned with much improved motivation.

Good blog. Good suggestions.

sleekbeauty2 73F

3/2/2011 7:27 pm

NCLB should be repealed, that would be a fabulous start. Secondly, we need the feds out of our schools, period. Give the teachers an opportunity to do what they were trained to do, which is TEACH. How many fabulous teachers have left the teaching profession because of all the constraints put upon them in the classroom?

Our children are failing, the public school system has evolved into a sham and who will pay the price for our failure to educate our young? You know the answer to that.

It is more important now to have fancy schools, highly paid administrators and teachers than it is to provide textbooks to these students.

I am totally disgusted with our public schools and their lack of teaching our children what they need to survive in this hard world.

I recently was witness to our local school system's rotation system on substitute teachers. One of our local teachers was going to be unavailable to be in the classroom on Friday and all the substitutes were declining to work on that day. So what happens to the students when this happens? They are sent to study hall...no instruction at all.

My last few comments are....eliminate NCLB and unions....both of which are detrimental to the education of our children.

There is only one thing standing between nobama and Marxist tyranny: We, the People!!

B00Radley61 74M

3/2/2011 9:25 pm

It's called Fumble Fingers, Ami. That and my keyboard needs new batteries.

Shert...it will get worse. There was a move in this state to tie pay raise to performance. Specifically, to tie a teacher's pay raise to their last two evaluations. Me? I wouldn't have minded because mine were always stellar. How do I know? I did them. The vice principal who was supposed to do them said, and I quote, "I haven't got time for this nonsense...you do it." No problem.

60...For the most part schools, especially those in large districts are a BIG business...and they should have someone who knows business leading that end of it. Face it, most of a Superintendent's job these days is public relations and button counting....that and balancing the budget.

Sadly, I see nothing positive on the horizon for education. Tomorrow, I'll tackle the "voucher" question.

Just because you have silenced a man does not mean you have changed his mind.