How Our Schools Got it Wrong!

Whole Language, tracking, inclusion, problem-based learnng, 1:1 tech programs, high-stakes testing, mandates... I have seen it all in the last 34 years in education! But most schools are still scratching their heads and trying to figure out why nothing seems to be stemming the decline in achievement and the massive exodus of teachers from the teaching profession. What is going wrong? Just for a frame of reference, I have taught in four school districts in Central Illinois at grades K-11. I graduated as a high school valedictorian, completed my Bachelors Degree magna cum laude, earned a Masters in Teaching and Learning/Technology Integration, and a K-12 Technology Specialist certification. Most of my colleagues who are approaching retirement have similar backgrounds. We entered teaching because we believed in the power of learning to change lives, and we respected teachers. We CHOSE education, we didn't default to it as a last resort. And if anyone took the time to ask, most of us would identify the same problems in our schools.

1. Funding

We have become beggars... Want popscicle sticks for a project? Beg parents. Need curtains to cut down the glare on the board? Post a "Go Fund Me." Want technology? Look for a community foundation to help. Need new playground equipment? Have students canvas the neighborhood selling candy. Looking for an interactive lesson? Get out your credit card and hit Teachers Pay Teachers. And if you want something small, but necessary, like staples or paper? Just buy your own.

Everytime we default to minimum funding for education, we devalue its role in our nation and communities. You see, there is always funding for what is important, and making teachers and administrators beg for supplies tells our communities how much we should be valued.  We aren't. Most graduates are looking to make a mark on the world, and they want recognition and appreciation, so they don't choose to teach.  Don't lower standards to fill teaching positions! That only perpetuates the disrespect. Raise standards, pay, benefits, and school funding so that saying "I'm a teacher" brings respect again. Graduates will flock to teacher preparation programs if you do!

2. Fear

With the "take 'em to court" mentality of parents, blame-the-school attitudes, and blasting of teachers on social media, fear drives many choices.  Can I hug that crying student? Will I get in trouble for grouping by gender? If a minority student gets a low grade, will I be called racist? Do I need to report that mark on her arm that she said happened on the trampoline? If a child is recording me on his phone, can I take it away? Did I keep 8 weeks of daily records on behavior for a referral? Will I remember how to triage that wound if we have an active shooter in our building? If I call this parent about behavior, will they try to get me fired? If I don't call the parent, will I be reprimanded? Can I put up a sticker chart, a clip chart, student work?  

But worst of the fears is the one that I wrestle with daily: What else could I have done to help this child? You see, teachers often feel alone to face the problems in the microworld of their classrooms. Fear keeps us from experiments that might fail, makes us build walls around our lives so that we are protected, and prompts us to lock our classroom doors. Transparency disappears when we hide and so does innovation. We need leaders and administrators who show us daily that they have our backs. We need to know that they value our training, professionalism, and intentions. We need to know they really see who we are. During one of my early classroom years, a wise administrator defended my teaching decisions to an angry parent, "I won't attack your parenting, and I won't allow you to attack the integrity of one my teachers!" If every principal learned that phrase, perhaps a few more young teachers, like this one, would decide this profession was worth it and stay for another 30 years.

3. Failed initiatives

About 20 years ago, I sat in a meeting agonizing over how to implement new district-wide technology standards. As a rule follower, I was planning the logistics of how three grade levels were going to schedule one computer lab to finish identical projects in a limited time-frame. I realized that what was being asked was literally impossible. As I started to panic, a veteran teacher put her hand on my forearm and whispered, "Just put it in your drawer and do your best. No one is going to check on it." And she was right. This project, and most of the other educational reforms, were devised in a sterile, administrative office with great intentions and little practicality for many districts. Since that day we have had a constant flow of program acronyms: PBIS, PBL, IGAP, ISAT, NCLB, PERA, RTI, CCSS, RtI, STEAM, all backed by expensive research studies and mandated implementation. One impractical solution after another that I have shoved into that "drawer,"  because no matter what label you put on it, quality teaching hasn't changed much in the last 34 years. 

Students need a positive relationship with a caring teacher who will take time to figure out who they are, what they need to learn next, and how best to help them reach their goals. So from the Elementary Teacher who loves to try new things, just keep on doing what you know is right for your students. And if there are any policy-makers out there, perhaps you should spend a week or two in our schools and classrooms to see what is actually going on before you come up with another acronym for my "drawer!"