As the budget battle for 2011 is finally settled and the fight for the budget of 2012 is only beginning the question begging to be answered is, will this Congress accomplish anything besides the budget this year? Ultimately many issues are on the table unanswered and in desperate need of attention. Perhaps the most pressing of those issues is Education. Education is perhaps one of the biggest fights nationwide right now. The fight being between the lawmakers and the teachers combined with the unions. The fight does NOT seem to be getting any better; rather, the fight seems to be getting worse.
This past summer I had a conversation with a teacher. She was furious with the Obama administration over what they had or rather had not done with education. Her words have remained etched in my brain, “I stood out in the November rain holding signs for this guy, getting people to the polls, encouraging my friends to vote for him, and what do we get? Race to the top, more No Child Left Behind, more blame on teachers, and nothing in the way of the less testing we were promised.” I have thought of this teacher often especially in light of all the states revamping their budgets and trying to “bust unions.” She worked so hard to elect a person she felt would make the teacher profession better and in reality teachers are probably in some of the worst circumstances they have faced in decades.
Chris Christie
Tough talking New Jersey Governor has been outspoken about his views on teacher tenure. He states, “Lifetime job protections for public school educators hurt children in the classroom.” He has also viciously attacked the New Jersey Teacher’s union calling them “political thugs.” Teachers are up in arms about these comments and even speak out against his call to teachers to sacrifice with budget issues. Teachers are up in arms about the call for them to sacrifice as Christie gives tax breaks to the very wealthy. On ABC News Chris Christie calls for teachers to have a union that is as good as they are. He even calls teachers hard-working and dedicated. Is Chris Christie so wrong? Do school districts need to look at tenure? Are unions protecting bad teachers?
Some Stats
According to the documentary Waiting for Superman 1 out of every 57 doctors lose their license to practice medicine. Lawyers experience a 1 in 97 loss of licensure. Teachers have much better odds of keeping their jobs. Only 1 in 1,000 teachers are fired due to poor performance. It is hard to believe that standards are that low for teachers or teachers are all doing a fantastic job. Quite frankly I think that education is missing the point. We need a valid way to assess and determine what a good or bad teacher actually is. Only 1 in every 1,000 teachers are fired. Based upon the fact that we hear over and over again that our schools are failing it is important to look at the fact that we seem to be keeping the same people in place and expecting different results, teachers not making a difference, and administrators not identifying struggling teachers.
Race to Where?
During the 2008 election Barack Obama was adamant that the profession of education needed to be elevated, which included putting America’s best and brightest in front of our children. He also was clear that one test should not determine the success or failure of a school or individual teacher. What was President Obama’s answer? Race to the Top. Race to the Top was a grant competition for states to gain money for trying out a “new” idea to raise achievement in a way that could be scaled up to a national level or utilized in other states. The idea of having to compete for money for education which is a right to every child in this country angered most states, and teachers, who felt cheated by this allocation of education funds. Race to the Top funding was saved during the recent 11th hour budget fight. A popular quote about Race to the Top is that, “Education is not a race.”
In all Fairness
Teachers have a tough job. In addition to doing a tough job they rarely receive feedback for what they are doing. Their administrators or direct supervisors have little understanding of what is happening within the walls of their classroom. Parents lack involvement and are often too busy or too involved in other activities to even play a role in their child’s education. School boards often are out of touch with the classroom and yet they control so much of what happens to schools. Lastly, President Obama made big promises to education, specifically teachers when education is historically a state issue. States fund and regulate education within their states. Also, NCLB was in place long before President Obama took office. No one really likes it, but at the same time, I’m not sure anyone knows what to do with it. The short answer is that education needs to be overhauled in a way that is so drastic many wouldn’t even know where to begin.
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