| One reads a great deal concerning education | | | | much in student performance that cannot be |
| reform nowadays. It might almost seem as if this | | | | controlled by schools. In fact, ETS discovered four |
| were some new trend in education. Indeed, it is | | | | variables: absenteeism, the percent of children |
| not. I have been an educator for over thirty | | | | living in single parent families, the amount of |
| years. My field of expertise is reading. After | | | | television kids watch, and how much preschoolers |
| teaching in a regular elementary classroom for a | | | | are read to daily by caregivers (especially parents) |
| couple of years, I completed a master's degree in | | | | were very accurate predictors of reading test |
| reading and learning disabilities. Except for a five | | | | results used for No Child Left Behind reporting in |
| year break to attend seminary and serve as a full | | | | eighth-grade. It seems that learning involves many |
| time minister, I have been a teacher of | | | | variables (the four factors accounted for over |
| elementary reading. In 1995, I completed a | | | | two-thirds of the differences in aggregated state |
| doctorate in reading/educational psychology. At | | | | testing results). Home factors are things that |
| that point, I began teaching reading methods in a | | | | schools and teachers cannot control. |
| college setting. | | | | Instead of testing and testing yet more, a better |
| Over my thirty years of involvement in education, | | | | use of funding would be the improvement of |
| I have seen many, many reforms. Some have | | | | conditions for parents and families. Funding Head |
| come from the right, others from the left. In the | | | | Start results in a measurable increase in IQ scores |
| field of reading, when I began my teaching, basal | | | | for disadvantaged children. Why not continue to |
| reading programs were in, and we attempted to | | | | fund enriched environments for Head Start |
| teach every skill known to humanity. Next, whole | | | | children when they leave the program and help |
| language gained quite a following. Next, an oldie, | | | | retain ground already gained? Why not fund more |
| but a popular one, reappeared: phonics. Now we | | | | "parents as first teachers" programs to go into |
| are emphasizing a balanced approached-I think | | | | the homes and teach parents how to help get |
| that is likely a step in the right direction. | | | | their preschoolers ready for school? Why not |
| We can easily extend this discussion beyond the | | | | spend more money eradicating poverty-especially |
| boundaries of reading. When I started attending | | | | since that seems to be the real issue? |
| elementary school in 1960, math was a "drill and | | | | Second, an effective reform program would insist |
| kill" activity. The expectation was learning of the | | | | on scope and sequence. By scope, I refer to the |
| basic math facts and procedures whether you | | | | content taught, by sequence, I refer to when |
| understood them or not. It is rather easy to see | | | | content is to be mastered. This was one of the |
| if you learned under this method. Just attempt to | | | | downfalls of the whole language movement. It |
| explain "conceptually" why 1/2 divided by 4 is 1/8, | | | | taught reading without any real coordination of |
| and why to arrive at that one must "invert and | | | | materials, curriculum, or expectations for mastery |
| multiply." I am surprised at how many cannot | | | | in terms of when expected benchmarks should |
| explain the multiplication and division of fractions at | | | | be met. Much more coordination of teaching |
| the conceptual level. | | | | needs to take place and curriculum guides and |
| When I was about half way through my | | | | agreed upon content are essential. |
| elementary school education, the so-called "new | | | | At the same time, I am not implying that |
| math" hit the educational world. I remember well | | | | methodology needs to be completely |
| spending most of my fourth-grade year (when it | | | | standardized. There needs to be some general |
| started in Kansas City) marking that 5 + 2 > 1 | | | | guidelines on how to go about doing things. Still, |
| + 3. I liked this math. I was not too good at the | | | | teaching is as much art as science. To address |
| old stuff, and I found this a breeze. | | | | methodology too much turns teaching into a |
| People become very opinionated about educational | | | | mechanical act, and we know that the relationship, |
| reform. I have seen many a battle over the issue | | | | or blending, of teacher and learner are all |
| of whole language vs. phonics. It seems like | | | | important concepts. What we need are standards |
| everyone gets involves. Classroom teachers form | | | | and benchmarks without denying teachers the |
| strong opinions. Politicians form strong opinions and | | | | authority to make hundreds and thousands of |
| include reform as part their political platform. They | | | | critical decisions each day. What we need are |
| know education is a hot button issue with voters. | | | | flexible standards and flexible benchmarks. |
| One group that I watch with great diligence is the | | | | Lastly, we need a new way of doing things. After |
| religious right. It seems as if they have turned | | | | all of the years of reform, after all the years of |
| such aspects of educational reform as | | | | researching what works, an amazing trend is |
| phonics-based reading instruction and support for | | | | notable. Educational critic and researcher, John |
| the No Child Left Behind Act into something | | | | Goodlad, notes that the most common activity |
| resembling religious dogma. It seems to make little | | | | one observes in today's elementary schools is |
| sense, turning reading methods into a religious or | | | | seatwork (i.e. worksheets, quiet work from |
| quasi-religions crusade, but that is what the | | | | textbooks, etc). The most common activity |
| leaders of the religious right seem committed to | | | | noted in high schools is lectures. Both of these |
| support (James Dobson, for example). | | | | approaches are notoriously ineffective. Just |
| I reiterate: educational reform is not new. With | | | | consider lectures, for example, how often do you |
| that notion disposed of, I would like to suggest | | | | "zone out" during sermons? And, if you do attend, |
| three principles of any lasting and useful | | | | what keeps you "plugged in?" |
| educational reform. These are characteristics of | | | | We have lost the wisdom shared with us by John |
| reform supported over the long haul by much | | | | Dewey so many years ago and supported by |
| research and dictated by commonsense. I have | | | | study after study. Children learn best by doing. |
| arrived at these through observation of reform | | | | Kids need to make a classroom democracy, not |
| cycles that I have seen throughout my years of | | | | just study government in their civics textbook. |
| work as an educator. | | | | They need to come up with ways they can |
| First, education reform cannot be test-driven. | | | | recycle and begin a neighborhood recycling |
| Currently, the watchword is accountability. From | | | | program, not just read about pollution. Education |
| this perspective, teachers are cagey, lazy actors | | | | needs to become real. The real is better than the |
| who need to have their feet held to the fire to | | | | contrived. As psychologist Jerome Bruner has |
| make them perform. I have observed thousands | | | | pointed out, doing is better than seeing, and |
| of teachers over the years, worked with | | | | seeing is better than just reading or hearing about |
| thousands of pre-service teachers, and supervised | | | | something. Probably the best approach combines |
| well over a hundred student teachers. I must | | | | all three methods. |
| admit, one does rarely encounter a lazy, careless | | | | Reforms come and go. However, on these three |
| teacher, but it is unusual. The attempt to control | | | | principles, we can arrive at a reform that will |
| teachers and student achievement by means of | | | | stand the test of time. All of us want our schools |
| standardized tests is a misguided approach. | | | | to improve. Isn't it time to skip the political |
| A recent study by the Educational Testing | | | | rhetoric of the right (including the religious right) |
| Service, makers of the SAT and nationally used | | | | and the left and do what is best for kids? Isn't it |
| teacher certification exams, revealed that there is | | | | about time? |