What’s Right with Education in America

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Despite the fact that I have written three different posts dealing with some key shortcomings I have seen in public education, it would be wrong for me not to acknowledge the things that are positive. I’m sure there are more positives than the ones I list, but these are the three biggest things I see that have the potential to make public education better.

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1. The teachers truly love the kids. Of all the teachers I have met, I can’t say that I’ve known one who is in this career for the money. The people who educate our kids day after day truly love their students — that’s why they spend countless hours preparing and planning, that’s why they stay after school to tutor kids for free, that’s why they attend school carnivals and science fairs, that’s why they volunteer to coach the basketball team.

Sure, there are days when our students wear us out and make us wonder if we should just call in sick tomorrow, but deep down we all know that making a difference requires that we are there day after day to give the future adults of America the tools they need to be successful, productive, and ethical citizens.

2. No child is left behind. This well-known line from the Bush administration’s educational policies certainly rings true in the hearts of teachers, staff, and administrators all across America. Every student, no matter his or her race, culture, background, academic capabilities, family situation, physical handicap, or just about any other overt trait can get the educational services he needs in the public school system. From speech and language specialists to school psychologists to resource and special education classrooms, American education has paved the way for all students to get their needs met. Even school breakfast and lunches are available for students who don’t get fed at home.

Personally, I have issues with the school system (more specifically the government) being the ultimate need-meeters of society, but the increase I see of an irresponsible, increasingly dependent and entitled citizenry can’t be blamed on schools. They’re just picking up the slack where the traditional American values of responsibility and self-sufficiency have fallen by the wayside (but that’s another post).

3. Parent-teacher communication and teamwork. I see a higher level of openness and cooperation between teachers and parents than I remember my parents having when I was a kid. Through systematic communication through notes, emails, progress reports, phone calls, conferences, and in-class observations, teachers can more clearly articulate their expectations, and parents can get a better picture of their child’s progress. Teachers are more reachable than ever before, and that translates into stronger partnerships between school and home.

One of my favorite ways of promoting a partnership with parents is through in-class observations. Anytime I meet a parent, I extend to them the opportunity to come in and observe the class in order to get an idea of what it’s like with me at the helm. I know a lot of parents who think they know what sort of teacher I am based on their child’s contracted perspective, but who are surprised when they see me live. Obviously, not all teachers are comfortable with this sort of thing ( after all, would you like it if someone shadowed you at work for an hour or two?), but I see an increased willingness to give parents more opportunities to get within the walls of the school, and that generally helps form a stronger bond between both worlds.

What are some of the positive practices you have seen in public schools?

Sarah

I agree with the three positives you mention. I would also add that teachers provide a stability and consistency in the lives of their students that many of them aren’t receiving elsewhere. You briefly mentioned the decay of American values, etc. I had many students over the years who had parents who were in jail, missing, dead, or drug addicts. I also had many from single family homes where their mother was working 14 hour days just to put food on the table. Literally, many of these kids have no one to continually count on, no one to encourage them, support them, or correct them when necessary. Or even provide socially acceptable parameters for common decency. While I agree that teachers and schools can’t cure all that is wrong with society I think providing a structure and a positive example to those who otherwise wouldn’t receive it is a good thing and something I was proud to be a part of.
http://www.jasoninkorea.blogspot.com Jason Hammond

I feel very lucky to carry with me the credibility that I have. My job brings me into hundreds of different public and private schools across the state of California.

I have seen the highs and lows of schools, teachers, students, principals, custodial workers, cockroaches, spiders, and much more.

When my job is finished this June, I will have taught approximately 16,000 students. That’s INCREDIBLE. A teacher could teach for 30 years and not come into contact with that many students–and I’ve only done it for 2 years! (Granted, I spend a mere 2.5 hours total with them, and the teachers spend an entire year–but that’s not the principle which I wish to discuss.)

Though I haven’t had a high QUANTITY of time with the students, I have made it a priority to have a high QUALITY of time with them.

Everyone knows that many teachers play a more important role in the life of a child than their parent(s).

I have been in poor schools and rich schools. I have been in schools with predominantly (or only) white students, predominantly (or only) black students, predominantly (or only) Hispanic students, and predominantly (or only) Asian students.

I will share just a few observations from the many I have in my collection.

(1) The money isn’t what matters. At all. Not even a little bit.

To elaborate, the wealthiest schools in Huntington Beach, who had the nicest computers and the easiest access to anything they needed, still had bad students who refused to behave or learn. Likewise, the poorest schools who had no air conditioner, and who had little access to things they needed, could have the most attentive and well-behaved and most intelligent students.

We can continue to wildly throw money at the schools if we want to–but the difference is made by the quality of the TEACHERS and not the money the school has.

(2) Parental involvement/concern is directly proportional to the performance of the student.

I have done something like 600 programs; and without exception, programs with NO parents in attendance were significantly worse than programs that had 5+ parents.

Within the past week, I did 7 programs at 2 different schools. The first school didn’t do well (generally)–and at most, there were 5 parents present.

The second school did significantly better (generally)–and the programs had nearly as many parents as students (about 35).

There are many more things I could say, but I’ll leave it at that. All of this information is so interesting to me–and I will look to you Mr. Gray when completing my book about education, tentatively titled, “Prerequisites for the American Dream”.
Patricia Zell

Hi, Michael,

The most important thing about public education is that our society values and honors learning. We tend to look at what students do within a few years of graduation when we should look at their lifetimes. Many people return to college and other learning facilities as they mature. I know I can’t give every student every thing he or she needs, but I can encourage them to keep on working on gaining knowledge.
http://intensedebate.com/people/MichaelSGray MichaelSGray

Sarah,

The stability you speak of is definitely important – especially to the kid with no parental involvement. While I think that the best thing is for parents to receive more pressure/encouragement from society to step up, accept responsibility, and act like adults, I do think that having teachers step in and play that role of responsible adult is good for kids. Its a shame to see the family decay like it has. That causes an unmeasurable toll on our kids.
http://intensedebate.com/people/MichaelSGray MichaelSGray

Good point. I'm even an advocate of high school seniors waiting a few years before going to college. The pressure to move immediately into bigger classrooms with bigger books neglects the value of people being able to learn outside the educational institutions. I agree that the love for learning is a big catalyst in a person's lifelong journey to fulfillment and success.
http://intensedebate.com/people/MichaelSGray MichaelSGray

Great points Jay. I thought about including some lines about throwing money at education in hopes that doing so will improve performance, but it didn't make the cut (my posts were already very long). I also agree with what you say about parental involvement. I have always said that a student can have the best teacher in the world, but if his home life doesn't value education, then he will only be able to get half way to where he needs to be. Parents play a huge role.

What’s Right with Education in America

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