The other education shoe drops
Despite its cheery headline today,Greenwich Time does finally get around to reporting the bad news: test scores for writing and math are down for elementary and middle school students. The end of the world is not upon us - almost 80% of the students are at at least grade level in these skills, but the future for the failing 20% looks bleak. There were some thoughtful comments submitted in response to my previous post on this subject, and I do sympathize with teachers who face the unenviable task of drumming knowledge into thick skulls distracted by imessages, the latest U Tube and last night's results from American Idol, but what he heck are we doing here? Some years ago, while trying to make a living as a writer (didn't work, but it was fun), I hired on as a Kaplan tutor for LSATs - Law School Admission tests. My students were all college graduates and eager to master the test, something you don't often encounter when teaching high school students, and I had reasonable success guiding them through the logic and reading comprehension questions that comprise most of the exam. But I was struck by their complete lack of historical and literary knowledge. I'd refer to an event, or a line from Shakespear or even a post WW II classic and be met with blank stares. Edmund Burke said that without continuity, men 'would become little better than the flies of summer"; we're fast approaching that level.
My own beloved daughter, a graduate of the high school, has an appalling lack of 20th Century history and I wouldn't dare to test her knowledge of eras predating that. I once, after seeing her reading some insipid bit of fluff for her English class, wrote to her teacher, who happened to have taught me English in 1969-70, my Junior year. I pointed out that we'd read "Look Homeward Angel" that year, which opened up the entire world of Thomas Wolfe and his works - I think I read them all. "So what's happened?" I asked. He replied that, today, if he assigned anything even approaching the difficulty and length of Wolfe, his students would simply refuse to read it.
I don't pretend to know how to instill a love of learning and the aptitude to apply a keen mind to difficult tasks, but if we can't do it in Greenwich,with all its advantages, I suspect that the Indians and Chinese will figure it out. And then won't we be in trouble.
Update
I agree with the comment posted below about seizing control of our schools back from the union and our superintendent. For an example of how this was done in Los Angeles, check out this article
2 years ago
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1 comment:
As the now-geriatric revolutionaries of an earlier era were wont to say, it is time to speak truth to power: The situation in the public schools of Greenwich, and across the country, will not improve until the teachers unions are broken (or at least tamed).
Unfortunately, from my reading of the local rags, only one member of the current Board of Education has had the guts to confront the cabal controlling public education and demand accountability.
Imagine if we had lifeguards who were not judged on their ability to save drowning people, but only on the fact of their showing up on the beach. Imagine if we had a police force that was judged not on their ability to solve crimes and apprehend criminals, but on the fact of their punching in and out. (Actually, on second thought, scratch that last example.)
Say what you will about financial industry professionals and high-end stores on Greenwich Avenue, but when they fail to meet their goals, they disappear.
Do you think even ONE teacher or administrator will be demoted or fired for these poor results? Quite the opposite; next year our feckless Board of Ed will allocate MORE money to them to fix the problems they have caused.
What a joke. And, as you always say Chris, in the long run this will have a much more corrosive effect on property values than the current economic downturn.
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