This week's post is brought to you by the letter B

...for backwards.

I've written before how much I think modern education policy is going in the wrong direction. This post will be no exception. First, the Young Education Professionals' Blog has this great piece about the "3 blunders of Common Core" and solutions for each. While CCSS does have good ideas, its biggest blunder is that things happened much too quickly. As any policy-maker or scientist can tell you, slower changes for something as gigantic as the national education system, work better. It's easier to tell what works and what doesn't when there are fewer variables.

Valerie Strauss has also reported about two different issues that I would like to address: The first relates to the concept above, that change must happen slowly, and that it doesn't come out of nowhere. Finally, this other piece suggests that collaboration is at the core of strong policy, especially when it comes to the classroom, which I firmly believe. But when you have Race to the Top and similar initiatives, competition takes the place of collaboration. Though competition is not in and of itself a bad thing, education is not the place for it. When it comes to improving schools, things work much more smoothly if collaboration is firmly in place.

I'm not saying anything that has not been said before. But perhaps if these things keep getting said by parents, educators, students, and other people who are actually in the trenches of education, things will finally start getting better.

Everything is connected

I have yet to talk to someone who doesn't think that education is the key to success. We have heard this mantra and seen it first hand over and over again. We know the statistics about the link between education and poverty. My students are very aware of this: They are in the program to escape poverty.

Yet I am drawn to education policy not because I think it's a panacea for poverty alleviation (although it will certainly help). I am drawn to education policy because I think it's connected to so much more: for instance, the economy, international relations, and social justice. Hear me out: First, say you do believe the premise that with a good education, anyone can be successful. And think about what the definition is of success for many people: having enough money to live comfortably. People who live comfortably contribute to the economy. Therefore a well-educated population leads to a stronger economy. It is in our best economic interests to invest in education (which, by the way, may not be as expensive as we think).

Next, think about how many of us gauge "success" in this country. We are capitalists; therefore, many of us value competition. And when you compare the U.S.'s stats to many of those from other countries, we fall woefully behind. (There are several studies about this, the most recent one being here.) Improving education in this country will make this country look more desirable in how we approach education.

My last point was about social justice, which is incredibly broad. It of course ties into poverty alleviation, and that is one of the goals of education. But it also ties into making sure that every single child has access to an education system that fits his or her needs. This is not yet the case in much of this country.

This is why I teach. These are the reasons why education policy is so important: It affects everything.

Community & collaboration

Two things. First: because it is the last quarter and senioritis has set in, the attendance problem in my fifth period class (seniors) has gotten worse. I've had 4 students from that class I haven't seen since the quarter started. So I sent an email to their administrator and the Attendance Specialist (I'm not exactly sure what his job is, but he seems to be effective) about it. The next day, each of these students were in class. That was kind of amazing, though I wonder how long it will last.

Secondly: With the same class today, we finished up reading Macbeth and I wanted to do an interactive activity with it so I explained that the classroom was now a courtroom and divided the class into two groups. One group was playing the Prosecution, proving Lady Macbeth's guilt and sanity, and the other group was the Defense, proving that she was just an accomplice, and that she was insane. I told them to make their cases they had to find textual evidence from the play. I was anticipating groans when I said this, but there was nary a peep.

With this class in particular, I am weary of trying anything the least bit nontraditional, even something where students get to argue (and they LOVE to argue). Plus, this activity did not go as well as I had hoped with my previous senior class, the one I use with which to gauge the effectiveness of activities, since they seem to be generally less apathetic. So I was a little concerned when I introduced the activity, but they were totally into it. Even the students who weren't saying anything were interested in the arguments. It was a fantastic class. I hope the attendance and the interest will not completely dissipate before the end of the year.

Jon Stewart, you're my hero

I rarely watch TV, but when I do... usually my first choice is The Daily Show. Stewart's wit and interview skills are really freakin' amazing. It's too bad guys like that did not go into politics... but I digress.

Recently, Education Secretary Arne Duncan was on the show. If you missed it, here is the link. He did have some good things to say (I really loved his idea about the "wraparound" school, where it becomes a crucial community center, not just an 8-4 building), but for the most part, Stewart was ripping him a new one. It was one of the better interviews I have seen, if for no other reason than it got a professional policy maker to admit just how broken the current system is.

In other (better) news, I have a student in my first period who always brings his guitar with him to class. He almost always arrives early and starts to play a song while others are shuffling in. It's a great start to the day, and today he played "I Will Follow You Into The Dark" by Death Cab For Cutie. We had a really nice conversation about it before the bell rang. Yaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaay creativity!

A bit of repetition

...but there's not a whole lot to report with 5 days of school left (why is it that many? School should really be over now. Anyway...)

I found this article to be quite poignant. It's a repeat of many things I've already posted (particularly how poverty plays into education, Race to the Top, and unappreciation of teachers), but all are important.