Fixing the American Education System is Easy as Pie….Or Is It?

In his Op-Ed column for The New York Times, Nicholas Kristof pushes the envelope by suggesting that “good teachers” are the most important factor the advancement and followed sustenance of the American education system. Basing his opinion on a million-person study following students from fourth grade to adulthood, Kristof touts the vitality of “strong” teachers, denounces teacher unions for championing all teachers (“regardless of quality”) and criticizes Republican nominees for nearly ignoring the topic of education during the pending campaign season. Kristof haphazardly mentions “obvious” solutions to better the education system – higher pay for teachers, teacher evaluations based on student performance and getting rid of “bad” teachers. Easy, right?

While Kristof appropriately emphasizes the importance of the education issue, his “simple” solutions are those of an education outsider – dismissing weak teachers and praising/paying more for good ones. But who are the weak ones? And who qualify as the “strong”? Should we base the value of a teacher on her students’ scores, her principal or the parents?

Perhaps before I became an educator, I, too, would agree with Kristof, but the education system is not corrected so concisely. In Baltimore City, the teacher turn over rate is already high. Keeping teachers employed in city schools is a near feat. Some teachers work relentlessly to make significant gains with their students, even if their test scores do not represent it. In my 5^th grade classroom, the average reading level is third grade. While my students are learning to become better readers, their test scores do not represent their improvement; instead, their test scores show they are failing. My students cannot succeed on a state test that is on a fifth-grade reading level when they have grown a year to become fourth grade readers. Although the “good teacher/bad teacher” argument seems like the end-all-be-all, judging the value of a teacher, especially based on test scores, is nearly impossible. Based on my experience in Baltimore, perhaps a finger should be pointed at administrators (especially principals) who allow teachers to provide subpar services and parents who never visit the school or take part in their child’s education. It takes a village to raise a child, and until every actor is doing his or her part, the education system will still be in gridlock. 

Read the Op-Ed article here.    

Michelle Obama is Always Right

An article came out in a recent issue of Time Magazine that I would have stapled to my Principal’s forehead if that weren’t so…mean. The title? The Reason for Recess: Active Children May Do Better in School. The article reviews a study by researchers in the Netherlands that reports children who get more exercise—on the playground or otherwise—tend to “have higher GPAs and better scores on standardized tests.” Their research was supported by similar studies by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention about exercise and productivity among adults, and of course by what we see in our classrooms every day: cooping kids up in chairs and indoors is no recipe for success.

            

In my school and in many City schools, according to my friends and colleagues, the reasons for cutting recess are two-fold: schools lack staff to man the playgrounds, and (ironically) play time takes away from study time. Indeed, in the ever-growing pressure our schools face to meet budgetary shortfalls and tackle testing trepidation, our students’ basic needs become bargaining chips.

So are we cheating kids out of the scores we seek by denying them a little playtime? What age is too old for recess? What will we need to cut to make it happen? And, my favorite question, what kind of response do you expect, dear Principal, when you tell a rowdy bunch of 6-year-olds that you’re replacing their recess with silent reading time?

I think we can look to our Queen Bee for some answers here: Michelle Obama’s Let’s Move initiative champions the gym and jungle-gym for our kids. This recent FLOTUS foray into schools and school policy makes me wonder if we're on our way to valuing physical activity and developmentally appropriate behavior alongside the more typical pushpins (think tested subjects). Will we soon see national standards for student health and fitness? Do schools have a responsibility to let kids move? Will we ever let kids roam my school's playground?

What will it take to make recess a reality in Baltimore City?

As always, more questions than answers.

Read the article here.

Click here to explore the Let’s Move initiative: