First let me say that it is easy for many to sit back and bemoan the state of education in this country. Increased credibility is given to those who have taught. I have taught for approximately 8 years. 3 in Georgia public high schools, four in NC public high schools, 1 year in a private NC school, and several semesters at a community college. I have a Master's in Education. Does that prove I am an expert? No, certainly not! But it does give me some credibility to speak to the issues.
The motivation for this post started with a blog in the Atlanta Journal Constitution here: http://blogs.ajc.com/get-schooled-blog/2011/07/01/wrong-message-to-students-barely-good-enough-is-good-enough/?cp=2
Maureen Downey quoted a piece by the esteemed Etienne R. LeGrand, president and co-founder of the W.E.B. DuBois Society, concerning the matter of education and how Good Enough is NOT Good Enough. Please go read this article first before reading my comments. I sincerely hope it moves you as much as it moved me.
Everything she said was spot on target. Some excerpts,
'When we allowed the public education debate to focus on high school graduation as a marker for success, we unwittingly lowered the bar on expectations of what our children can achieve. Thus, high school graduation became the goal, not the springboard, and we have established for students the floor, not the ceiling, of our expected ambition for them."
Absolutely correct!! When we lower the standards of students to the lowest common denominator (or whatever makes school systems and government look good) we deny our children the chance to succeed. Success s like a coin. On one side is heads (Success) and on the other is tails (failure). You can't have one without the other. You must have the possibility of failure to define success.
Part of the education problem is the government's policy of "No Child LEft Behind" and its basic premises. (This is not a political issue but rather an educational issue so please leave political comments at home). The Basic premise of "No Child Left Behind" is that all children are equal and all should have an equal chance to succeed. Yes and No. Yes - All children should have an equal chance to succeed. No - Not all children are equal.
All children should be treated with equal respect and their potential recognized. while they are given the chance to catch up if they are behind where they should be at their grade level.
Each child is a unique individual with different skills and talents.
All individuals are just that, individuals. Each person goes through life with a unique set of skills, some by genetics and some by experience. But we are are not equally gifted. A professor at seminary commented to my wife and I that he had observed that students who did well in music also tended to do well in art and other languages. My family pretty much supports that- my wife plays the clarinet, speaks several languages well, and has some artistic ability; my son plays drums (huh, what did you say?), bass guitar, electric guitar, acoustic guitar, has done well in two languages, and has some artistic ability; my daughter knows several languages, writes computer programs (a foreign language if there ever was one), plays the flute, and is a great artist. Me? I can draw stick figures with a ruler and somebody holding my hand, I got through foreign language courses (to the relief of my professors), and my musical abilities are well known - two sharps and one flat. I have absolutely none of these talents or skills, BUT when it comes to Math, Science, and problem solving, the family turns to me. My first degree was in Physics with a minor in math. When it comes to solving problems, fixing broken things, logic, budgets, etc, - I am the go to guy.
My point is that we each have our own special set of skills. Even special needs people. I photographed the NC Special Olympic softball games in Raleigh for the last two years and it really touched me to watch them play. For an amazing story to to my photography blog here: http://hldphotos.blogspot.com/2010/06/special-olympics-of-north-carolina-2010.html This girl wouldn't quit. I haven't seen ball playing like I saw that day in a lot of professional games.
So what's wrong with "No Child Left Behind"? Since we aren't all equal with the same talents and abilities, how do we meed a common level of definition of success unless we lower the standard? (This goes back to Ms. LeGrand's idea of Good Enough isn't Good Enough). Over my years of teaching, I observed many students who suffered through math classes but were very talented. One student has always stuck in my mind from the Atlanta area. He was a poor math student but he had a notebook filled with pencil and charcoal drawings that I could only dream of being able to draw. But due to his inability to excel in math, the system called him a failure and he felt it. I tried to encourage him in his art work and to excel at the things he could do well. There is no art test in the system. But with No Child Left Behind, we lower the test requirements (they vary from state to state as each state sets there own level of passing. Does that make sense?) so that everybody can have a chance of passing. If they fail, they keep retaking the test until they pass and the education system receives a good scores for having so many pass. The passing level was 70% and has climbed over the years. Does anybody seriously believe that we will reach the 100% goal of everybody being proficient in math, science, literary arts, etc.? No Child Left Behind does (or at least hopes so)!!
My question is, "What is wrong with failing?" Some of our greatest inventors found success in their failures or in the failures of others. (Go find a copy of the original "Connections series on PBS - an amazing series on non-linear history and how failures led to successes). Instead of trying to have everybody pass an ambiguous test that has no meaning to many student's future lives, why don't we let the intellectually gifted succeed and let the others fail?
Heresy you say? Most other major developed countries in the world do just that. Witness how in Japan and China, we see news coverage of students quietly sitting and studiously learning. Also look at the GRE scores of those students as they enter our educational system. What we don't see are all the children who are not in those those schools. Many do not go through the higher education system, instead they go through the learning system of life. They have to find their successes via other means, some desirable and some not. Some do not pas the academic life but find their successes via other venues such as a trade or skill.
With No Child Left Behind, the result is that we lower the levels of competency to the point everybody can pass. The education system really believes that eventually 100% of students will be able to all pass the same proficiency tests and 100 % will graduate from high school. The results of such thinking are shown in Ms. LeGrand's remarks that students are so woefully ill-prepared for college. Of course they are, we lower the standard for everybody to pass. We will not let anybody fail and be left behind. My statement is failing doesn't mean being left behind, it means finding a different road to success.
Instead of having some students excel academically to lead this nation and others finding other routes of success, we have become obsessed with No Child Left Behind, ensuring all children will be educationally equal when the fact is they are not.
Academic success in for for everybody. What happened to the Master - Apprentice way of learning? A master of a trade taught their apprentice who, when skilled enough, became a master teacher to somebody else. In the olden days, such a learning occurred for blacksmiths, welders, and many other trades. Today, to become a skilled worker , you must go to school. Schools have become the singular gateway for all learning and advancement. Schools will teach all and all will learn - to the minimum level.
We are denying our children success in life at any level with the current course of education. We must let some fail and others succeed. To sound like something from the 60's, some must fail to find themselves. Failure can often times be a most valuable learning experience.
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