Thu Apr 23, 2009
No Teacher Failed by their Administration
NTFA may not have quite the ring to it as NCLB, but as I think about what the real issues are that have historically faced schools and the whole question of student achievement, I'm a bit perplexed that the finger of blame hasn't been pointed at the real culprits behind most "failing" public schools--their administration. Instead, the focus always seems to be on the classroom teacher, and their inability to reach all of their children and improve their standardized test scores. Fair? Accurate? Backed by research and quantitative analysis? Or even common sense?
Not hardly. In fact, if one were to define what a "Highly Qualified Teacher" really is I would argue that they are those teachers who are able to engage and motivate their students despite how their administration runs their school or district and the learning climate that they engender through their actions. Stellar teachers can teach no matter what conditions they're provided by their administration. Average teachers require more support and a school climate that promotes discipline, routine, and that is actively engaged in insuring that its teachers are covering the curriculum as required. Add to that the need to engage parents and the community and provide leadership to the school so that its shared objectives can be met, and its easy to see that school administrators play a crucial and critical role in whether a school, its teachers, and its students are successful. No wonder they demand such high salaries!
But in the debate about the problems with public schools you rarely hear about the role that the administration plays. Instead the focus always lands on the classroom teacher and the unions and on the need for standardized curriculum that will insure students are able to push the correct levers on their standardized tests so that a kibble is dispensed in the form of improved test scores.
Let's take an extreme example--the collapse of inner-city schools that is so often cited as an example of how public schools have failed. Did those schools become run-down and lacking in basic facilities because of teachers? Did those schools fail to attract excellent teachers that demanded high standards from their students because of teacher's unions? Did those schools end up with a climate where the teachers were demoralized because of a lack of standardized curriculum? In fact, is there any evidence that the conditions prevalent in schools that are not meeting the requirements of NCLB are problems that originated with teachers?
Common sense and historical evidence says that the teachers in these so-called failing schools were not the problem, but were in fact as much victims of administrations that failed to do their jobs as the students they attempted to teach. Schools in poor neighborhoods were historically underfunded and were "led" by administrators who were charged with keeping things quiet and under control--not with demanding high standards and creating high-performing school. It's not hard to find a story about schools lacking in basics such as plumbing and functioning lights, or a library that contained enough books to serve their students. Or textbooks. Or enough unbroken desks for every student in a class. Those stories are real, and yet none of those problems are ones that are the responsibility of the classroom teacher.
So as we continue to debate and pontificate and plan new programs that will jerk teachers into line with the new data-driven, standards-based, accountability culture that is becoming prevalent in our schools lets not forget that the success of our teachers and their students relies on an administration that provides the structure and resources they need to achieve. Whether that's the principal who is actually performing their primary role as the instructional leader of the school, or the school district that is charged with maintaining the building and providing the school with the curricular materials required, or the school board member who insures that their constituents are all represented, or the state legislator who doles out funding--all of these individuals play a role in the success of the public education system. It's neither fair or accurate to place all of the blame on teachers when failures occur.
Wed Apr 22, 2009
Arne Duncan and the Disciples of Choice
I'll admit right up front that I don't know squat about Arne Duncan, the new Secretary of Education in the Obama Administration. I've heard others such as my friend Gary Stager rip into Secretary Duncan (and no one rips better than Gary), but with all things political I prefer to make my own judgments on these things. Now after reading some of the quotes from an article in last week's Time Magazine I have to agree with Gary and the others who see this nearly religious belief that public schools are bad, and private, charter schools are good, that Secretary Duncan not only is proposing the wrong kinds of solutions, but that he is woefully out of touch with what the right solutions resemble.
This one passage in particular is terrifically troubling:
Time: Where do you see the charter-school movement going?
I'm a big fan of choice and competition, and in our country, historically, wealthy families have had a lot of options as to where to send their children. And families that didn't come from a lot of money had one option — and usually that option wasn't a good one. The more options available, the more we give parents a chance to figure out what the best learning environment is for their child. To me it's not about letting a thousand flowers bloom...
So, the choice to send your kids to a public school isn't "a good one"? And this from the man who intends to establish federal policy that drives education reforms. How can you proceed from the basic assumption that public schools--arguably one of the most important institutions in our democracy--is fundamentally a bad choice? How can you ignore the millions of students who have received, and continue to receive, high quality education from dedicated teachers in America's public schools? How can you ignore the vibrant economy (assuredly not where we want it to be at the moment) that is the envy of the rest of the world--one populated by graduates of our so-called failing school systems?
Wrong-headed and plain wrong is what I call that. Here's hoping that Secretary Duncan has about as much influence as his predecessor, by which I mean little at all. Because if you work from the assumption that things are horribly broken and public schools are nothing but failures, you're no better than the Bush administration bureaucrats who mouthed the same lies to the American people.
Wed Apr 01, 2009
Cavanaugh's Law
[After a prolonged absence, caused in no small part by my fascination with micro-blogging via twitter, it's finally time to start blogging again. Without further adieu...]
I wanted to get this recorded for posterity's sake. You know, just in case it leads to a round of speaking engagements in far-flung exotic locales where technology conferences are held. Like Omaha.:
Cavanaugh's Law: 60% of the time when you hear "That will be no problem", at some time in the future you will also hear "It seemed like a good idea at the time".
Thu Jan 22, 2009
FETC 2009: Once More in the Land of Educational Technology Geeks
I'm sitting on the floor of the Orange County Convention Center in Orlando taking in the sights at yet another Florida Educational Technology Conference (FETC).
To my left two of my colleagues are typing away on their laptops, posting to twitter, reading other posts from attendees, and simultaneously checking their cell phones. That pretty much sums up what happens at a conference where thousands of geeks who happen to be educators come together to learn about what's new and what's being used in their fellow teacher's classrooms.
The opening session is still an hour or so away, but breakout sessions have already started. Hall Davidson presented this morning on some of the fascinating ways that he's seen teachers using all of these free online tools in a session titled Thinking Big as the World Gets Smaller (handouts at the link) where he makes the point that with the advent of cell phones and video sharing and simple means to do so many things that the world has already changed--and that in 3 to 5 years schools will catch up and begin teaching students how these tools can be used for learning and sharing and collaborating.
It's a good point. We always lag behind in the education world--sometimes dramatically so--but that there is far too much inertia at this point in the way that these tools are being used to ignore their place in education.
I'm looking forward to more great sessions like that one as the conference unfolds. But mostly I'm interested in the one-on-one interactions you get a conference like this where you get to talk to teachers and the vendors that are exhibiting at the show.
Mon Jan 05, 2009
Winter Vacation By The Numbers
I posted earlier today that it was back to work day after a long restful two weeks of lazing around. I discovered when I got to work that I was far from the only one who had the same sort of winter break. As my friend Mark said, "It's the whole reason we live here. This beautiful winter weather. Who wants to stay inside?"
But on reflection I decided that I had in fact accomplished quite a bit over the last two weeks. When you count it all up, it was really quite an impressive list of things that I'd achieved.
Twelve: Total working days taken off. Gotta love the education business at times like this.
Eleven: Species of birds seen from my front porch one morning as I sat reading the newspaper. Ladderback woodpecker, common heron, osprey, parrots, doves, mockingbirds, boattail grackles, oriole, blue heron, redtail hawk, and seagull. Despite repeated hours spent on the porch I was not able to top that figure.
Ten: Levels of Command and Conquer completely and thoroughly well, conquered. The shocking thing? This was the computer application I spent the most time with during the holidays.
Nine: Hours reading in the backyard. At least. Mornings, afternoons, this time of year it doesn't matter. You can read outdoors any time of day.
Eight: Shooting stars seen while sitting in the back yard when it was too dark to read. Really.
Seven: Total trips out jogging along the gorgeous South Flagler Drive during the holidays. See Number Six below.
Six: Varieties of pork served at the annual family Christmas day brunch. Sausage gravy with biscuits (required), country ham, spiral cut ham, sausage and cheese puffs, bacon, and link sausage. When did my family become swineherds?
Five: Hours spent at the beach.
Four: Manatees sighted swimming in the Lake Worth Lagoon while out on my morning jogs. Probably the same one each time, but still.
Three: Lunches at the wonderful Dune Deck Cafe' perched on its overlook above Lantana Beach.
Two: Trips out on the boat.
One: Great freaking vacation.
Get On Back to Work
Well, here we are. January 5th and my winter vacation has run its course. It's been an unusual one for sure, since for the first time in a very long while I actually took the entire two weeks and did essentially nothing. This was a major departure from my behavior over the last 10 years where every extended time off from my day job was filled with some other kind of work--writing books and articles, working on the house, speaking at conferences and on and on. Even when not actively working I've been in this heavily-connected, always-on worldwide community of people that are available 24/7 through a newsgroup, blog, and now, God help me through the wonders of twitter, right in my pocket.
Disconnecting from all of that isn't easy, but over the last two weeks I've set out to unplug, turn off, and slow the heck down for a while. And while my Puritan work ethic stabbed me occassionally with pangs of guilt for having nothing more involved in my day than some time sitting in the sun and reading, it's been a good time for me to relax, pause, reflect, and just rest for a while.
But now the trips to the beach, the time out on the boat, the long afternoon naps and the lazy days of winter are over, and it's time to get back to work. Lots of projects and deadlines are sitting in my cubicle waiting for me, and I expect a low hum to emit from our mail servers as everyone goes back to work today and starts the process of grinding away once again.
For me, I think I've learned some lessons about achieving a better balance between work and the simple human need to slow down and rejuvenate from time to time. It's been fun and relaxing, but now it's time to get on back to work.
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