PLEASE, PLEASE ASK ME!
Solutions. We are looking for solutions. To the mess of a war and its aftermath. Solutions to the financial coil in which we are entangled. To the jobless problem and to the mortgage mess.
We have trusted a new president with the job-he did have it dumped in his lap. (Question: why does anyone want to be president of the US? It has to be a whole other mindset!)
I know the list is prioritized. It has to be. But I want the education struggle near the top. I want our children to have the best. A year in a young child's life cannot be relived or redeemed. I want solutions right now.
My brother tells an old joke that is still appropriate. When you have a problem the answer suggested comes from the POV of experience. The businessman will throw money at the problem. The preacher will throw moral ideals at it. The surgeon want to cut it out. The teacher will recommend a book. Congress makes more laws. And so on. You get the idea. So what do I believe is the solution to so called "failing schools?" You know my POV is that of a teacher who has been in the trenches.
Will money help? Of course. Will a new idea help? Of course. (Although, I, and millions of others did learn to read with the "old" Dick and Jane series rather than the new Balanced Literacy.) More laws and rules? Not necessarily.
Teachers often feel to be in a pressure cooker with all sides pushing in. Parents, principals, school boards and legislatures all have money to apportion and ideas to shape the curricula. All don't agree. They never will.
Teachers often feel they need the stamina of an athelete, the speed of a small gazelle, the intelligence of an Einstein, and the patience of a Job to survive the school day. And then go to work the next day and do it all over again.
They are certificated, recertificated, trained, retrained, supervised, observed, evaluated, praised, criticized, blamed, and expected to pay out of pocket for any additional expenses for classroom supplies.
But only once, just once, in my entire teaching career, was I EVER asked what my needs were for obtaining high performance of my students. Standard supplies were issued. ("No, you can't have colored pencils for you classroom. Too expensive") Tests were required and documented. No one asked me if they tested the vital areas of learning or it they were effective and valid testing measures. No one was interested in my opinion of any of this. I dutifully tested and documented the often meaningless scores and percentiles. I, the person , in contact with my students all day and every day had no stake in shaping curriculum, testing or choosing anything but limited choices for math and reading texts. And I had opinions. But no one asked me.
My radical proposal to the new president is simply this: ASK each teacher what he/she needs to accomplish the goal of increased learnng. Notice I state learning as the goal-not a test score. They are entirely two different things.
Now, to be fair, I and most career teachers realize that we can't have an entire computer lab set up in our home classroom. But we could have an effective schedule in many cases. We could have aides and an effective parent volunteer system . We could have correctly sized desks for our students. We have the ability to be flexible and innovative in many areas without any extra cost.
If we want effective teachers we need to trust them to have decision making for their own benefit and that of their students. Ask teachers. Trust them. Ask them at their home school. Get answers from teachers themselves not the national unions and other organizations. Teachers want more than anything for students to achieve and show progress. Just ask them. Help them.
Solutions are needed now. They are possible. They are close at hand. Find them. Use them. You will be glad you did.
