The Consensus on Our Public Schools Is Wrong
by Donna Schoenkopf
My daughter and I have just had an argument (heated) which ended with her saying, “I think you should write an article about it because that’s what you believe.”
My teeth clenched.
My teeth clenched because I know that belief and knowledge are two different things. Belief is something that doesn’t require evidence or proof. You just believe it. Emotionally. Like believing in God.
Knowing ... that’s different. It comes from actual experience, scientific method, rational thought.
So when my daughter used the term “believe” about my position in the argument, I felt insulted. Misunderstood.
We were arguing about schools and how lousy they are. Or aren’t.
We were (and are) in a standoff.
I won’t make her argument here. I know that I will misconstrue her words, bending them subtly to make my point no matter how hard I’ll try to be fair.
And since she is not writing this piece, I am going to make my points without being cut off or misinterpreted.
I am only going to write about a couple of things because I have way too much to say about schools in this space. I guess I might make a series out of this whole subject.
Let us begin.
Public schools have been under attack for a long, long time. I remember the “Why Can’t Johnny Read” articles in the Reader’s Digest in the 1950s. I’ve heard the complaints from parents about the coarsening of their children’s morals in public schools.
I am also old enough to have attended school, public and private, before there was standardized testing. What we got during those years was a simple report card with checks, plusses, and minuses and a brief sentence or two from the teacher about our behavior or talent.
That era is looked upon today as the Golden Age of Education. It certainly wasn’t back then.
So my first point is this: No matter what the school system does, it is never good enough. And not only that, it is a political maneuver by some groups—fundamentalist Christians and political conservatives, to name two—to dismantle the public school system in order to return schools to private enterprises or religious institutions because what is being taught in public schools is considered contrary to God’s Law, evolution, birth control, the South’s secession from the North, etc. I could go on, but I won’t.
So that’s the first point. Public schools are under attack by the political right wing. And if no one stands up for the schools and points out the incredible successes our public schools have managed to perform, we will lose them. And when we lose them we will lose America.
Here are my credentials in the subject, lest you think I don’t know what I’m talking about:
I taught mostly third grade in South Central Los Angeles for almost twenty years.
After I retired found out that I was in the top one hundred teachers in Los Angeles Unified School District in standardized test scores. (There are approximately 40,000 teachers in LAUSD. Scores from 2nd through 5th grades were used in the study by the Los Angeles Times.)
So I am considered a good teacher, just because of my students’ test scores.
But as a teacher I know without a shadow of a doubt that high test scores are only one small measurement of what a teacher does.
Here is what I mean.
When I was taking classes to get my teaching credential I had a professor who said, not once but often, that a school’s main purpose isn’t imparting academic knowledge to students. In fact, the main purpose of school is to make good citizens. People don’t need schools to acquire knowledge, but they do need to learn how to treat others, work hard, and cooperate, and that requires a community. And that community is school.
That whole idea shocked me. I had never considered school to be anything other than a place where you learned. Academic things. I didn’t quite believe what he said, but I didn’t throw it away either.
Eventually, I came to understand, deeply, what he meant.
But I also knew that the public didn’t think of schools as the place where citizens were made. They thought of schools as the place where students acquired academic knowledge, just as I had did. I remembered that I had judged my own children and their teachers and the school they attended by test scores, because by this time standardized testing had entered the scene. And I also realized that there really was no other way to judge teachers on how well they were doing their jobs except by test scores. The scores were not subjective, they were objective. It was clear that students with high scores were learning academically. It literally was the only way a parent could assess what was happening in the school. After all, they couldn’t sit in a classroom every day watching the teacher teach. Yeah. Test scores. That’s what counted.
And I don’t disagree with that. It is an objective way to look at a school’s or teacher’s performance.
But the other aspect of school is their contribution to the growth of a person’s character, their feeling of self-worth, their contributions to society.
Now that is difficult to judge.
Just try to think about how you would judge parenting skills. Some parents are strict. Some are easygoing. Some have daily routines. Some have fluid schedules. Some cuss. Some are uptight. Some spend lavishly. Some save.
Okay. You judge. Who are the bad parents? Who are the good ones? Even the eventual adult that the child becomes is not a good way to tell. There are a million factors contributing to the adult the child becomes ... genetics, peer pressure, television, fast food, pesticides, mental illness, personality traits.
Whew.
Get the idea?
Our judgment of teachers is completely subjective. One student’s meat is another student’s poison. For example, I really liked a typing teacher I had in high school who had been in the military and barked orders and was hard and eagle-eyed. Most kids hated her. Not I.
To further make the point, a teacher friend of mine in the school where I taught had dismal scores. Absolutely dismal.
Was she a bad teacher? You be the judge.
She had a class full of children who all had learning disabilities and were almost completely non-English speaking. She got those classes every year.
But she had ingenuity and creativity and heart.
She caused a piano to be put in her room.
She had maps and art and books and art supplies and shells and wonderful objects everywhere.
She came early, had all her children bring their breakfasts (the whole school was on the school breakfast and lunch programs) to class to eat at their desks.
She stayed late and had after school tutoring.
She taught them in summer school.
She finagled school trips for every single classroom in the school. (We hadn’t had those in years, thanks to budget cuts.)
She had the highest attendance rates in the school.
She had kids who learned to love school.
Where are the scores for that?
But her scores were still low.
How do we rank her?
Every single teacher I have taught with over the years cared about their students. Every single one. Some teachers bitch to let off steam because it’s a really hard job, just like parenting. Some teachers can’t take the stress and leave. But the ones who stay have guts and stamina. All the teachers there were remarkable except one crazy loon and a liar/lazy-ass guy. The rest were amazing.
Finally, there is the actual testing.
Did you know that a school must include special education students (and that includes students who are autistic, mentally retarded, and mentally disturbed) and non-English speaking students in the composite scores of the classroom and the school?
Yeah. That’s fair, isn’t it?
Did you know that the material in the standardized tests is all in English? Did you know that it is white, middle-class English? Did you know that the reading comprehension tests are about white middle-class ideas and situations? Did you know that the social studies tests are the same way? Did you know that even the thought problems in math are stated in white middle-class terms?
Do you know how HARD that is for a little kid who is not white or middle-class and who has lived all his or her life in the ’hood and who has never been anywhere resembling a white middle-class neighborhood?
The fact that our public schools in the inner city are providing sustenance and warmth and care and books and computers and teachers who love them is, in my book, a truly amazing thing.
And guess what? Those students learn to read and do math, and most of them become productive members of society.
Don’t tell me our schools are lousy.
Next week ... more on why our public schools are great.
donna@fourstory.org
Comments
I really enjoyed this article! I often speak of my public school education (we moved so I would be within the district. - just barely! to attend the gifted program). I had excellent, passionate teachers; who, no doubt contributed greatly to the person I am today. I remember taking the SATs and whizzing through it, until I got to the final essay question: comparing some literary character to someone in the bible…say what? I was raised a Buddhist, so had never even touched a bible! let alone known who this character was…i don’t doubt these cultural differences are rampant in our standardized testing. so before I guess your grammatical error, I will apologize for any typos or errors in mine (typing on a tiny iPhone keyboard)...is your the “not I”? should it be “not me”?...regardless, this was an excellent post and I thank you for your passion and eloquence! happy new year!
2010-12-28 by joyceSing it, sister. Sing it. A couple of observations:
1) poverty (actual dollars & “cultural poverty,” impoverished school districts, etc.)is the single biggest failure-factor in school and out. 2) National surveys find that the public thinks schools are failing and teachers are crappy, HOWEVER, THEIR KID’S TEACHER, is wonderful! This reverse Lake Woebegon effect is impossible. There’s a disconnect somewhere. 3) I once asked a room full of parents who were in an uproar over something the local school board was doing, “How many of you have ever attended a school board meeting, ever?” Only a couple of hands went up.4) When the map doesn’t agree with the ground, the map is wrong. We no longer even have a map of what we want schools to do or be anymore: create citizens? create trained workers for jobs? send everyone to college, even those who don’t benefit from “college?” create thinkers and problem solvers? create people who can fill out dots on a Scan-Tron? What? Until we figure out what it is we want our educational system to do, we’ll just keep throwing money at it without solving any problems. (Plus, as every teacher knows, the big money is in the top administration levels, not in the trenches.) And, finally, 5) Americans don’t value children or education. Historically, we never really have. Send the kids down a coal mine or into a cotton mill. And never trust a pointy-headed “intellectual.”(This is where the Conservative Culture Warriors get real purchase: In the cold-blooded, deliberate battle to destroy The Commons, “public” schools are the easiest, most visible target. Traditional American paranoia and provincial ignorance are easy fuel for the fundamentalist’s matches.) Plus, book learning ain’t worth much in our popular culture. We value money and fame, but not education. And no teacher on earth can compete with or correct that, no matter how hard they work or try. And try they do. And bless them all.
But how do you REALLY feel about it?
2010-12-28 by John ReeseI could write a whole book on this subject, having been in the classroom for 43 years (Whew!). Donna, you have hit the nail squarely on the head. Our public schools are doing a fantastic job, given the resources and societal problems they are expected to solve.
I ended my career in private schools, who also have their big problems, but have something many putlic schools do not…parental involvement. There is a fine line between just enough and too much.
Don’t get me started! But, there are teachers who give their whole lives because they love learning, and most of all, they love the children. Public school teachers are some of the most innovative, ceative, loving people I know. And yes, I had Miss Korb as well for typing, and had a healthy respect for her methods, but I can type better than most people I know. I remember all my teachers because they loved learning and loved us. And I was raised in public schools.
p.s. the error is “have did” instead of “have done.” :)
and SHERRY KENNEDY gets the prize!!!! (do you see the gold star shining on the chart?) i forgot to delete one of the two words (either one would have worked) and got a really horrible combo.
by the way, i’ve noticed a couple of other ones, too, but they weren’t as jarring as the had did. heh.
2010-12-28 by donnaSherry got the easy one.
Minor quibble: successes are achieved, rather than performed, I recall.
good read. many good points.
Public schools have been the best means of moving America toward becoming an open and equal society. Most of us are public school products. Public schools are where we learn about one another in all the splendid diversity of this nation of immigrants. We need that knowledge and experience.
Whoops—how ‘bout “Every single teacher I have taught with over the years cared about *their* students.”—should be “his or her.” But not to quibble. I greatly admire your passion for schools and teaching and look forward to more of your thoughts.
Now for a Sarah Palin joke: Sarah Palin called up Joe Lieberman’s office and asked for the Senator. The person who answered said, “He’s not here. It’s Yom Kippur.” Sarah responded, “Well, Yom,....”
2010-12-28 by Judy SingI’ve figured out that the main purpose of schools isn’t to provide academic information and also not to make students good citizens. It’s to make them fit into society, so that they follow rules, don’t make waves, don’t upset the status quo, and have the minimal skills needed for corporate automaton jobs. It’s been going on for a long time. Most of these ideas came to me from reading Burtrand Russel’s writings on the subject.
In California it’s getting worse. There are less resorces for education, than ever. Funding is going down, class sizes going up and good teachers getting layed off. Support for college is also low. A couple of years ago, I went back to comunity college to pick up skills needed for a potential job change. I took a full load, and it cost me more for one semester, than a decade at commumity college and a California State University, split between the sixties and seventies. When I started the ffee was four fifty. Not four hundred and fifty dollars, but four dollars and fifty cents and that was for an optional Associated Students Fee. I think my education has been a benifit to me, the State, nation and my community. I’m not sure what woud have happened if the fees were as high as they are now.
I think education is also a subsity to business, one that’s also leveling, that helps out the student as well as the business.
2010-12-28 by don cannonRock solid observations as only someone on the front lines can provide.
The right actually agrees with your college professor. They want to mold students into what they consider good citizens to be and think only a totalitarian approach will provide them success. Obviously, they do not think their point of view will triumph if part of the market of ideas.
2010-12-28 by Jo DavisI think that my experience in public schools was better than the current crop of crackers. Remembering that I´m a baby boomer, that makes me more of a sage, like Muslim emirs that have a greying beard. Being a baby boomer confers legitimacy and authenticity to my opinion.
But if you want to talk credentials, I wrote a weekly column for the Southwestern College Sun in junior college. Yes, the same Southwestern Sun that has won five out of the last six national championships in U.S. college journalism- ‘best paper’, something like that. I dont know, look it up.
Yeah.
Now then, clearly we have a serious argument. Logic dictates that one take Rebecca’s side in the debate, even though we don’t know what that is. Perhaps a wikileaks memorandum from the State Department will appear to enlighten the public in that regard.
I do agree that turning out well adjusted individuals is a worthy and noble goal for public education. So to do that there has to be some flexibility within the system, and a valuation of the socialization benefits that are derived.
I completely agree that an elementary school teacher that is able to teach kids to like school has done a great service to said kids. That’s major.
One great innovation in today’s educational system is salad bars in the cafeteria. We had a choice between two corn dogs or a quesadilla when I was in junior high school in Arizona. We never had a chance.
2010-12-29 by robert hagenRobert writes of being doomed by only having a choice between corn dogs or quesadillas in Jr. Hi. In fourth grade, we were served by formadible hair-netted Cafeteria Ladies who doles out “Thursday Surprise Casserole,” and to this day I have no clue what was in it. Likely, leftovers from Monday, Tuesday & Wednesday. My fellow schoolmates would have killed for a corn dog.
2010-12-30 by Ann CalhounDonna Dearest, once again, you have managed to stir the pot, you shit kicker, you! I think the idea of a series of discussions on this topic is a superb idea. While our crumbling infrastructure, our perversely dysfunctional energy policy, the rank criminality of our financial services industry, the looming unfunded pension crisis and the mounting insolvency of our state and local governments, just to name a few examples, all cry out for national debate, as a topic for serious adult conversation, nothing tops in importance the future of education in this county. We are never without problems, even though it does feel right that our current plate is piled higher with problems more intractable than any in memory. But, while problems will always be around, problem solvers, those properly educated and who actually function as such, anyway, are an ever finite resource, one that must be continuously replenishment. And with the current state of affairs, we have not a single one to waste. All are precious. All must be nourished and educated. All made citizens, that is, civilized. Absent that, society’s future is frighteningly bleak, because the solution to all of our other problems depends on the future efforts of the problem solvers-to-be who are in school today. Deny them a proper education and you deny us a future.
What does it mean to be educated? Is education fundamentally an intrinsic or instrumental good? Who gets to decide? And further, what’s the proper relationship between citizenship and morality? Assuming both are desirable, what’s the proper role of the state, via its publically supported schools, in nurturing each? Finally, and perhaps most vexing and controversial, is it even possible to do it for all? And, if not, how do you actually do it best for the greatest numbers? Essentially, what contract does the state make, both explicitly and implicitly, with its citizens regarding education?
These questions are not without immediate currency. Did you know, DD, that teachers in Houston, Dallas, Minneapolis and Washington D.C. are now ranked by their Value Added scores (you would have made out like a bandit)? And by a very contentious state law by 2013 this score will determine a full 25% of every teacher’s evaluation in the state of New York, including the decision of whether or not to grant tenure (http://www.nytimes.com/2010/12/27/nyregion/27teachers.html?_r=1&scp=2&sq=otterman&st=cse). So, let the discussion continue! Mike
2010-12-30 by Michael McGeheei’m liking this discussion.
2010-12-30 by donnaWell-written, Donna. But now you got me thinking: Who was
this crazy loon liar/lazy ass guy? At least give me his
initials if you can, I promise not to tell. Love you!!! And I still think of you every time I take my ‘babies’ to lunch and see those
trees and the grass for which you were the driving force to get them
planted at this school full of cold concrete!
Sergio
2011-01-8 by Sergio
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I just want all you readers to know that I realize I have a grammatical error in this article.
Find it and you get a prize. Or a gold star on your chart.
2010-12-28 by donna