Innovation Revisited

I have posted several blogs about how high-stakes testing is detrimental to innovation in education and to fostering creativity and innovation in our students. Not only are these exams a poor measure of potential, but they go a step further and displace art programs and elective programs that actually allow students to develop creativity.

When a school is not making the grade on standardized tests, the first programs to go are the arts, music and electives, which are replaced by more math and language arts classes. Those kids who struggle in core classes probably find it hard to go to school each day faced with possible failure, and electives such as woodshop or film making are what provide the motivation to attend school at all. We are not serving students, we are serving the test.

As a nation, we are concerned that our students are not globally competitive and thus we are pushing to institute a rigorous, standards-based curriculum. There is nothing wrong with this, but we then place all measures of success on a standardized test. If we do not do well on the tests, we will apparently be overrun and teased by our global competitors.

The other day I was thumbing through the May 16, 2011 issue of Time magazine. In the Economy section on page 17 was an interesting breakdown by country of the cost of producing the iPhone called “Adding Up the iPhone: How an American invention makes money for the world.” While parts and assembly generate income in Japan, China, Germany, South Korea, and elsewhere, the bulk of the profit goes to the US. The graphic states:

“While America doesn't make much of what goes into the iPhone, it’s always better to innovate than to fabricate; just see Apple’s profit.”

About Japan,

“It doesn't innovate as much as the U.S.”

And about China the article states,

“Often more of an assembly line for other nation’s wares, work here accounts for only 3.6% of an iPhone’s production cost.”

While the production of the iPhone feeds the world economy, the bulk of the money stays in the U.S. where the product was developed. So, while many supposedly better educated foreigners may be working on the iPhone, its ultimate existence is a product of good ol’ American ingenuity.

Perhaps our decline in competitive fitness is best measured by the creativity vacuum left by the slashing of inspiring arts and elective programs, all in the name of test scores.

Do something innovative, deemphasize standardized testing, reclaim your creativity, and reclaim public education! Is there an app for that?

Why Education Reform Isn't Really About Education

When viewed in a larger context, cuts to education are part of a Republican agenda to privatize America, be it social security, medicare, or public schools.  Government is getting involved in all levels of our lives (something Republicans normally would resent) to try and change the way we do business.  In the end, corporate America and the wealthiest win, and the majority of us lose. 

So when education reform comes to your town, you might want to find out if it really has anything to do with education, or if it is about fattening the wallets of the wealthiest while the rest of us suffer.

Reclaim Sesame Street, reclaim Head Start, and reclaim public education!

It is Time for Teachers to Drive Education Reform

If you are a teacher, you are probably frustrated by the current climate of education reform.  Everyday we hear  news of politicians and reformers who make our jobs more difficult and less effective in the name of saving American education.  I personally am tired of having reform dictated to me by the likes of Michelle Rhee, Bill Gates, Arne Duncan, and other self-possessed individuals. 

I have written and will continue to write about the state of education reform, but now I am trying another tactic - to start a grassroots effort to help teachers better visualize and communicate what reform should look like.  The idea is simple: by providing a site for teachers to communicate ideas, we will see where common ground exists and where we should concentrate our efforts on proactively fostering meaningful reform.

Please visit this site and add your input, thanks!

http://meaningfulreform.blogspot.com/

"Mayor Bloomberg Gets Schooled After Cathie Black Fiasco" (HuffPo Post)

The problem with applying the "business model" to education is deeper than whether or not it is transferra­ble. The problem is that not enough people are asking whether the "business model" is a good one in the first place. I know that as a consumer, I have to constantly guard against the dirty practices of local and national businesses that are driven more by a bottom line (test scores) than by the needs of the customers (students)­.

Bloomberg, Gates and the rest of the billionair­es are obviously intimately tied to the model. Wanna-be Rhee is trying to make her billion dollars by asking for it in the name of bashing teachers and unions through her Students First organizati­on. The sooner these types get out of education, the sooner we can develop a model for education, not business.
Read the Article at HuffingtonPost

Lip Service

The U.S. Ambassador [Karen Kornbluh] to the Organization for Economic Development and Cooperation recently posted an interesting piece on HuffingtonPost.com titled "Waking up to the need for education reform."  She has some interesting things to offer, including the lessons below which I respond to:

"What the data really show is that we can no longer pretend that we're doing just fine but also that it's far from hopeless. The report on lessons for the US that the OECD prepared at Secretary Duncan's request boils down to four lessons -- the four A's:

Ambition. The world's top performing education systems have clear, ambitious goals, and universally high standards. They match these high expectations with strong support systems, ensuring that quality learning opportunities are available to all students.

All. Commitment to educating every child. PISA researchers found that the best education systems share a belief that "competencies can be learned, and therefore all children can achieve." Shanghai transfers its best teachers to its weakest schools to make sure that disadvantaged students receive excellent instruction.

Access to good teachers. Leading education systems provide mentoring and a high level of professional development, lay out clear career pathways, and are transparent in their decisions. They treat teachers like information-age workers: providing opportunities for teachers to try new ideas and learn from their colleagues. They are careful to win support from teachers for reforms.

Autonomy, accountability and incentives at the school level. High performing education systems give individual schools -- not just states or school districts -- discretion, which they safeguard through effective accountability systems."

Kornbluh's list of the four "A's" is an excellent summary of what schools should be striving for. I hope she can encourage Arne Duncan to propose reforms that actually aim to achieve these goals as stated and not a corrupt version of these ideals.  From reading this article, I would be inclined to think that Kornbluh and the administration "get it".  Unfortunately, their actions show otherwise:

Ambition:  Standards just provide the framework for education.  The truth of the matter is that many of the standards and the tests that assess them stress fact learning and not transferrable skills.  Truly ambitious standards can only be assessed in a manner that transcends bubbling in answers.  Is the administration willing to think outside the bubble?  I have not seen any signs of that yet.

All: Public education should be universally available.  We all know that our culture does not operate in this manner.  Socialism is a bad word, regardless of the context.  The current administration has only perpetuated the model of haves and have-nots by supporting unsustainable charter school models (SEED has $35,000/pupil spending) that provide a private school-type education to a few students in poor neighborhoods.  Millions upon millions are left behind by this model.  That is not education for all.

Access: Firstly, the administration is not winning the support of teachers.  They are backing the voices that are leading the teacher-bashing and union-busting wave that is devastating public education throughout the country.  Teacher development and mentoring require time and money.  The administration has shown a greater commitment to preserving corporate tax breaks and military funding than to making any significant advancement in this area.

Autonomy and Accountability:  Can I quote you on this one?  Do you really think any reformed version of NCLB will give teachers local autonomy?  Do you really think high stakes testing and merit pay will give teachers autonomy? 

Lip service. 

Let's walk the walk, and reclaim public education!