Advocacy a Waste of my Time

This is the last post on the BuildBetterSchools blog that will disappear on October 26th. Most of its contents is now available here at The School Buzz, but this post was my last one there, to voice my opinion on how advocating/fighting for quality schools that serve the common good will remain a dream, because not enough people are united for the cause, and many are misguided about what quality education is. 

After advocating for my own, and then also for other kids for twenty years , I have come to the sad conclusion that my time was utterly wasted. Why did it take me so long to realize that no matter what committee a parent serves on, and no matter what useful information or research they bring to the table, their opinions are simply ignored. Is it because of the infinite hope we cling to that surely some day things will be different?

Is school today really that much different, never mind better, from when you were 'educated'? I bet not, especially not right now with all the testing, the lock-step schedules and the scripted lessons that quash authentic learning in classrooms across the nation! Thankfully my kids escaped that fate while they were in elementary school. Thankfully they played in kindergarten, had recess, and were lucky to be able to learn through projects, not just books and computers.

I wanted my children's  school experience to be much better than it had been for me, so I became an involved parent. But, all my time invested in attending school accountability meetings and schoolboard meetings, was for naught. If anything, schools are now worse for kids, toxic even!

One positive thing came out of my involvement.  I got passionate about education. I felt like I was in hog heaven each time I visited my local university's library. I had access to many good and interesting books by notable authors and experts. I became knowledgeable about education, but how many others do? Certainly not the people who serve on schoolboards and in the legislature who make policies and laws, and who heed the wishes and demands from business and corporations rather than the advice from education experts whose warnings and suggestions are willfully ignored! Their books are collecting dust on library shelves. Some had never even been checked out,  others just a handful of times, and this at a university that focuses on teacher education!

A few other longtime advocates and activists I know, also see that improving education is  a near impossible feat. They fear though that showing their discouragement will dash the hope of others. But, should we keep ignoring the fact that no one in charge of public education, at any level, really cares about what child development experts and neuroscientists say that children need to learn best and thrive holistically?

Only a paradigm shift in education will truly benefit the common good, but will not happen unless a critical mass of people demand it. Almost all of us were raised to unquestioningly respect authority, so it is uncomfortable to request changes. Many parents are apprehensive of going into a school to talk to the principal as memories  from their own school days  of being subjugated may resurface. Few adults reach the level of self-esteem and self-confidence to dare advocate for their own child. Fewer still dare question the whole concept of mandatory education!

The intent of  education is believed by many to give children broad experiences so they can become literate in the truest sense, to learn to think , question, analyze, conclude, and  to help make their own life and society better for all. But, John Taylor Gatto argues  that public schools were  meant to serve the needs of the ruling elites, by teaching the kids of lower socioeconomic classes to conform.  I agree!

Many times I heard teachers talking about the importance of instilling "work ethic" in high school students, and, to my amazement, many parents agree with that! It is instilled by means of meting out punitive grades for homework not done (or handed in just one minute late) which result in a lowered GPA even if the scores on tests and quizzes are all A's.

Work ethic, as a major goal of schooling, likely stems from the beginning of the 20th century when schools already were heavily influenced by the nation's first industrialists who needed skilled laborers to work in their factories. When Frederick W. Taylor introduced his principles of scientific management which were to increase production with less waste and fewer costs, those were also used to make schools run more efficiently. Learning had to be done for a specific purpose inside strict parameters, and that concept has not changed over the decades. Kids still have to learn this, and disregard that, even if they are interested more in that than this. It is a good way to ensure that many dislike school and do not learn much substance. The situation is worse now with the many standardized tests kids need to take each year.

One mom, who has tried tirelessly to inform parents that opting their kids out of the state testing is possible, said:

"I've been trying for more than 7 years here ... to convince parents to band together against testing but schools are closing right and left and charters springing up everywhere in my home district. I and a teacher here in town hosted an opt out event, put out flyers, advertised on the radio, invited everyone we knew and absolutely NO ONE showed up. I cannot tell you how discouraging that was. I've given out leaflets at schools. I don't know what else I can do. I'm tired. So I have a public Facebook page and I post. ..I don't want anyone to think I'm giving up; though I think it's a David and Goliath battle."

"We're winning small battles here and there but it's going to be years; as many as it took us to get this far.... There are more and more parents opting out every year but no one seems to want to band together; at least not here. They don't want to call attention to themselves. So, whenever I get the opportunity, I spread the word; while my kids and my husband roll their eyes and find the door."

I told her I admire her for her tenacity, and that a bit of her discouragement should be shared.

Perhaps it will shake some awake!

-------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Some of the many good books I have read:

• All work and no play..How educational Reforms are harming our Preschoolers by Sharna Olfman


• Education's Missing Ingredient by Victoria M. Young


• Educational Genocide by Horace (Rog) Lucido


• Endangered Minds by Jane M. Healy


• Free to LEARN; Why Unleashing the Instincts to Play Will Make Our Children Happier, More Self-Reliant, and better Students for Life by Peter Gray,


• Insult to Intelligence - Frank Smith

• Life in Schools - An Introduction to Critical Pedagogy by Peter McLaren (Life in Schools has been named one of the 12 most significant writings worldwide in the field of educational theory, policy and practice by an international panel of experts)


• Seeds of Tomorrow by Angela Engel


• Wounded by School by Kirsten Olson


• The Education of Sam Sanders by T.S. Poetter

And many others by Diane Ravitch, John Holt, Alfie Kohn, John Taylor Gatto, and more!

Do Public Schools Serve the Common Good?

Diane Ravitch, in her newest book, Reign of Error, writes that public schools are for the common good, but John Taylor Gatto argues that they were  meant to serve the needs of the ruling class, by teaching the kids of lower socioeconomic classes to conform. It's been my own experience advocating for my children when they were in school that teaching kids to conform  still is the major goal, or else schools would look  very different indeed!

Many excellent books have been written about how kids learn best, but these have been, and are still, ignored by those working in this institution. Why? Because those who are in control of society do not want kids to learn what is best for themselves. They certainly do not want kids to become critical thinkers and prudent consumers. The global economy depends on their participation, and schools help with that. How? By getting kids involved in competition as soon as they enter, with awards, grades and rewards, and now also awards for scoring well on the state standardized tests!

We are fed sound bites that a good education is important for getting a good job or career, but only a fraction of people will be rewarded with a job that pays well enough and that they like! It is not about getting a good mind that you can and SHOULD put to use to help create a better society along with others who have good minds and caring hearts too.

Kids are raised and 'educated' to be materialistic consumers, and it is working. Schools even play along by providing kids with the latest technology and software programs, ignoring that the best brain is developed by means of  tactile learning opportunities indoors and out, rather than through 'fun' apps on iPads, now provided to kindergarteners who then only get to use one finger to manipulate the screen instead of using all ten, digging in the dirt and sculpting clay.

It's ironic how all who love digital gadgets and games, and see no harm in that use, have inadvertently helped set the stage for the disappearance of the teacher. That is what the reforms are now all about; computers, standardized tests, common core standards measurable by tests on computers, and the use of iPads and smart boards. Think of the companies making money on all these things that are really not good for young, developing brains!

Frank Smith warned about it almost 30 years ago! No one listened!

"..The computer is the ultimate weapon of instructional programmers, and in many people’s minds at least, it is a device to take the place of teachers. Anyone who believes that students learn best from systematic instruction and tests can say goodbye to teachers. For dispensing programmatic instruction, computers are cheaper and more efficient than humans.

..Our schools should not remain places where the enormous potential of the human brain is systematically eroded, and possibly destroyed. The invasion of education by instructional programmers must be turned back now.”

We probably won't unless the power grid goes out for good!

--------------------------------------------------------

Discuss Diane's book with others on the Facebook group: Opt Out of the State Test: The National Movement



http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=W4eYRPjfGYQ

Teacher Says Guided Reading is Wrong for Kids

I have a precocious three year old grandson. He's what child development experts refer to as a sponge;  the kind of child who learns with ease, simply because the people in his life provide him with experiences that engage him.

He loves Thomas The Train Engine books and wants to have them read to him over and over again. In that manner the story really sinks in, so much so that he can almost recite it when sitting and looking at the pages. No doubt this boy will learn to read with ease, so why has the process  in schools become so boring?

Take a look at the example below, and then read this account of  a kindergarten teacher in Washington, D.C.

This video on Guided Reading is so sad to see, and then to top it off with teacher comments like, “This is so adorable”. Really???

Boy says: “We forgot to read it”
Teacher says: “We’re not gonna read it; let’s just go through the pictures right now, because the pictures are gonna help us learn what words may be in the story, OK?”

Support Parents in Opting Out!

By Don Perl from The Coalition for Better Education

"...Our billboard campaign is off the ground.  We have had a few early donations to the cause and our account at the Weld Schools Credit Union is just over $1,000.  The donations have come from Boulder and Greeley, Colorado.  Each year we have seen more parents exempt their children from this boondoggle of testing.  The 2014 figures show that 1,412 parents exempted their children, up from 946 in 2013.  I am attaching a photograph of last year’s billboard.  This year’s boards will have a similar look, of course with the change of acronym to PARCC.

We have contracted with Mile Hi Outdoor Advertising for two billboards.  One on Route 85 south of Greeley, and the other in a high visibility area in South Denver at Hampden and Santa Fe Avenues.  The two billboards will cost $3,700 and will go up in mid-January, symbolically around the celebration of the works of Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr.  We will have the billboards for at least one month and likely for longer if all is well.

 

All donations are greatly appreciated, no matter the amount.  “Revolutionary headquarters” is at the following address:

 

The Coalition for Better Education, Inc.

2424 22^nd Avenue

Greeley, Colorado 80631

 

In appreciation and solidarity,

 

Don Perl

The Coalition for Better Education, Inc.

www.thecbe.org

 

Department of Hispanic Studies

University of Northern Colorado

Greeley, Colorado 80639

don.perl@unco.edu

Learning is Knowing what Questions to ask.

By Angela Engel 

"....As the business community delves into the complexities of education, they may want to look a little more deeply at the tests that are driving everything in education.

I first administered the Colorado Student Assessment Program (CSAP) test to my fourth grade students in 1997. High stakes testing was the reason I left the classroom and the reason I have not returned.  Why? Because I knew that a year’s worth of “Joe’s” writing is a much greater indicator of his writing ability than one CSAP essay graded by a temp worker.

Hearing “Lisa” discuss character development in a literature discussion with her peers or reading her annotated notes is far more revealing than how she answered the question, “Who is the main character in this paragraph?”

A: Dick

B: Sally

C: Rover

D: All of the above

Reviewing questions that “Mike” generated on his own from a science experiment on volume tells much more about his understanding than how he answered question number thirteen on the state assessment.

In real life, the questions aren’t given to us. The most important part of learning is knowing what questions to ask. 

What we learned from the recently released CSAP scores was the same thing we learned from the first tests: That students who have more opportunity and resources do better than students who do not. Socio-economic-status is the number one correlating factor to test scores.

We also learned that high-stakes testing does not better prepare our children for college. Remediation rates are three times higher than when No Child Left Behind was signed by Congress.

The class of 2011 — the first class to graduate under high-stakes testing — showed an 11 percent increase from the previous year in the need for college remediation, according to the Colorado Commission on Higher Education.

It is simple, really. The students who have been educated under the umbrella of high-stakes testing did not get the opportunity to fall in love with books or to develop their own writing style and voice. They were too busy memorizing testing terminology and mastering test-taking strategies to engage in serious reading or writing on interesting concepts that have meaning in their own lives.

State assessments did not close the achievement gap as promised. Instead, we traded educational opportunity for data spreadsheets, and now there are twice as many children in poverty. The number of homeless schoolchildren in this state has more than tripled in the past 10 years — from 7,000 to more than 23,300 students last school year.

Meanwhile, the majority of our elected representatives continue to insist that learning can be forced on students with the “right” test. They argue that teachers will do better if their evaluations are tied to the tests, as if educators care more about their own ratings than they do about the kids they serve day in and day out.

While Colorado spends another year choking on the data, classrooms grow larger and teachers and school counselors become fewer. Test prep and remediation courses have replaced music, art and PE, after-school programs, and field trips. Still we wonder why kids will not stay in school and more are diagnosed with anxiety and depression. Students are now being tested in preschool and kindergarten, despite all evidence that standardized tests in early grades is developmentally inappropriate.

Now, the Colorado state Board of Education  has adopted the Common Core, yet another set of standards now being implemented in schools where some haven’t been able to afford new text books for decades.

Standardized tests are not an accurate measure of what students and teachers can do. Even if they were, the purpose of education is not to measure human capabilities, the purpose is to advance them. Millions of taxpayer dollars have been wasted on testing reforms that have diverted our time, attention and resources away from addressing the opportunity gap and infusing innovation.

Parents do not need school performance ratings based on a test; they need schools that are safe, happy, holistic, and promote personal, real learning. Teachers do not need a test to tell them how they or their students are performing; they need tools, resources and time.

And business does not need future employees who are experts at shading bubbles.

Too Much Screen Time Harms Development

Fred Rogers with the real Daniel!

I was shocked to find The Fred Rogers Company trademark on PBS kid shows like Daniel Tiger and Super Why! I wonder what Fred himself would have thought of  very young children watching these 3D animated shows, or playing the game versions on computer or iPad!  Is it a coincidence that 'his' company started featuring these shows, after his death? 

The company that was started by Fred Rogers in 1971, began making 'educational' programs like Daniel Tiger’s Neighborhood, "a new animated program for preschoolers ages 2 to 4" in 2012.

"In 2006, three years after Fred's passing, and after the end of production of Blues Clues, The Fred Rogers Company contacted Angela Santomero [creator of Blues Clues  and Super Why] to ask what type of show she would create to promote Fred’s legacy. That conversation was about the birth of "Daniel Tiger's Neighborhood."

PBS initially ordered 40 episodes, which were broadcast between September 2012 and February 2014. ...Santomero confirmed that PBS Kids has renewed the show for a second season of 25 episodes to premiere September 2014." (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Daniel_Tiger's_Neighborhood)

"Two of the women behind Nickolodeon's biggest shows [Blues Clues] are now rolling out their own line of educational programming, toys and books for kids." Says Angela Santomera in this interview on Fox: "It's an interactive show where kids are able to practice the key literacy skills as identified by the National Reading Panel, so it's the first 3-D animated series for PBS kids.."

The Digital Daniel

In an interview in Forbes magazine, A Different Kind of Tiger Mom, she says:

"This “interactive” model has proven effective by numerous educational studies done on Blue’s Clues and Super Why, proving that kids who watch scored statistically significantly better on standardized tests than kids who did not watch."

So, it appears that entertainment for kids is no longer educational in the broadest sense, but focused on the components of the standardized tests! What would Fred Rogers have thought of that? The people who now run his company clearly don't care about that.

I'm sure Mr. Rogers would have wholeheartedly agreed that "what’s most important for children is lots of time for hands-on creative and active play, time in nature, and face-to-face interactions with caring adults."

And as  stated in the report Impact of Screen Time on Development and Learning,

"Regardless of content, excessive screen time harms healthy growth and development.”

And, lastly ponder the following about how students best retain information!

‎”[Those], who held a paper copy in their hands, averaged a retention level of 85%. Those who saw it on the movie screen had a retention level of between 25 to 30%, and those who studied it on the TV monitor had a retention and comprehension level between 3 and 5%.

One professor from MIT made the passionate plea that we must encourage children to develop the ability to think first, and then give them the computer…if you introduce the computer before the child’s thought processes are worked out, then you have disaster in the making.

This is because, as Piaget pointed out, the first twelve years of life are spent putting into place the structures of knowledge that enable young people to grasp abstract, metaphoric, symbolic types of information. The capacity for abstract thinking developed as a result of the natural concrete processes that have been going on for millions of years. The danger here is that the computer, which operates by the same artificial, cathode-ray-tube technology as the television, will interrupt that development.”  ~ Interview with Joseph Chilton Pearce

How Many People Care About Kids?

This is a screen shot of the White House petition, taken on the day before the petition ended. And to think that the petition to make the opening day of baseball season a national holiday did reach 100,000+ signatures. What does this say about us as a people?