Last Saturday night my family attended a benefit concert for Haiti Allies, a local program that has been worked in the poorest country in the Western Hemisphere for over 20 years.
One of the volunteers relayed a story that I cannot simply to stop turning over in my mind.
On a recent visit, he cut the hair of a local man, and while doing so the man stopped him and say "Hey, are you rich?" To which my fellow Madisonian replied, "I don't know. What's rich?"
"Do you eat every day?" the man asked
"Yes I do."
"Well then," the man from Haiti replied, "you're rich. If you eat every day, you arerich."
As America struggles in political turmoil over how to regain its "economic footing" and we observe the 11th anniversary of September 11, a date on which some of the world's people expressed clear hatred of who we are, this is a conversation I think we must seriously consider.
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Today our son entered public school. The first day of kindergarten was the theme of my Facebook news feed, as dozens of my fellow moms and dads sent their kids off on yellow buses, lunches packed, shoes carefully tied. I felt a part of that moment, but I was conscious of an additional layer to the experience in my home, where my husband and I spend so much time consciously agitating for the preservation of public education.
Until today, Conor attended the Madison Waldorf School. We enrolled him there partly because of a lack of a public preschool option, of course, but also because we felt that what he'd most benefit from was what Paul Tough calls in his wonderful new book How Children Succeed "character education" -- lessons in perseverance and generosity, grit and compassion. For three years we watched him flourish in this setting, where the 3 R's were ignored in favor of spirited play, outdoor romps, and fervent social interactions. He developed into a wonderful child, taught to love and care for his classmates, discouraged from righteous competition and commercial desires, and nurtured whole-heartedly by the best teacher I've ever experienced in real life: Itzel Butcher.
The truth is, the experience at Waldorf was so good, and Itzel so talented, that last spring I wavered on what to do, sometimes leaning towards keeping Conor there, avoiding what I feared public schools had become-- dull prisons focused on tracing letters, staring at smart boards, and moving in lock step from room to room.
But it didn't take me long before I realized not only the irrationality of my fears, but the sheer hypocrisy they hinted at. Did I really think that being a good citizen would result in my being a bad parent? How could I possibly consider a private school for my child unless I really believed the public schools were awful? The question, I came to realize, was not whether Conor might be somewhat better off at Waldorf, but whether I believed that the public schools would offer him a sufficiently good education that he would be absolutely fine-- and that with our actions, we could help buttress the nation's public schools. What did I really believe? Could I match my conscience with my actions? Yes. Of course I believe in the public schools-- if they were not offering a good education, I would not be vehemently defending them. This really wasn't a dilemma.
I write this while watching Deval Patrick tear it up at the Democratic National Convention. His passionate plea for liberals to grow a backbone and stand up for what we believe -- to stand up for public education-- is heard in our home. We act personally, locally for what we believe is good public policy for all of the nation's children. And the fact is, that is the kind of character we most want our son to possess.
The good news is that today Conor had a wonderful time at school. He was a bit scared at the moment he climbed onto the school bus, but returned home with a terrific report. Just watch, and see for yourself. We can't stop smiling.
Postscript: Read Adam Swift's "How Not to Be A Hypocrite." It's worth the effort to wade through the philosophy. And ponder this additional sociological critique-- it is admittedly far harder if your household is less economically secure than ours, and thus much more concerned with downward mobility. It's my privilege to be confident that my son will be fine in nearly every circumstance, as I do not worry often about losing my job or our home, nor do I fear (often) for his safety. My privileges do make this back-to-school moment easier, and I realize it.
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(2) The White House wades into the quagmire of university admissions, promoting creative thinking on how to achieve diversity. In one sense, just in time, since it sure looks like the Supreme Court is going to end the use of race in admissions by June. On the other hand, I wish the Administration would issue some cautions about how criteria like first-generation status and high school attended are hardly clean proxies for race. Plenty of folks want to do something less controversial, which socioeconomic diversity proxies will accomplish, but they can't and shouldn't pretend the outcomes achieved will be the same.
(3) Jerry Sandusky is innocent? So he says. "I didn't do those things. I'm not the monster I've been made out to be. I didn't engage in sexual activities with those kids." Others told me similar things during a recent trip to Penn State. I don't know, call me naive but I'm inclined to believe the testimony of the 8 or more adults who say they were raped, over the guy who likes to call anal sex "horseplay." I don't care what his "motives" were-- I care what his ACTIONS were. And by the way, does he sound drugged or drunk to anyone else?
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U.S. Education Secretary Arne Duncan today delivered a major speech on the Obama Administration's teacher quality priorities before the National Education Association. He challenged the NEA to think differently about approaches to teacher compensation, while thanking NEA for its support of National Board teacher certification. He also said that the Adminstration was not interested in imposing reforms on teachers, but wanted to work with educators to develop such reforms.
Here are some brief excerpts -- on teacher pay and reform:
I am big believer in this program, but let's also be honest: school systems pay teachers billions of dollars more each year for earning PD credentials that do very little to improve the quality of teaching.
At the same time, many schools give nothing at all to the teachers who go the extra mile and make all the difference in students' lives. Excellence matters and we should honor it—fairly, transparently, and on terms teachers can embrace.
The President and I have both said repeatedly that we are not going to impose reform but rather work with teachers, principals, and unions to find what works. And that is what we did in Chicago. We enlisted the help of 24 of the best teachers in the system to design a pilot performance compensation system. We also sat down with the union and bargained it out.
It was based on classroom observation, whole school performance and individual classroom performance, measured in part by growth in student learning. The rewards and incentives for good performance went to every adult in the school—including custodians and cafeteria workers—not just the individual teachers.
Where you see high-performing schools—it's the culture—every adult taking responsibility and creating a culture of high expectations.
On seniority and tenure--
And I'm telling you as well—that when inflexible seniority and rigid tenure rules that we designed put adults ahead of children—then we are not only putting kids at risk—we're putting the entire education system at risk. We're inviting the attack of parents and the public—and that is not good for any of us.
I believe that teacher unions are at a crossroads. These policies were created over the past century to protect the rights of teachers but they have produced an industrial factory model of education that treats all teachers like interchangeable widgets.
On data, student assessment and teacher evaluation--
Now let's talk about data. I understand that word can make people nervous but I see data first and foremost as a barometer. It tells us what is happening. Used properly, it can help teachers better understand the needs of their students. Too often, teachers don't have good data to inform instruction and help raise student achievement.
Data can also help identify and support teachers who are struggling. And it can help evaluate them. The problem is that some states prohibit linking student achievement and teacher effectiveness.
I understand that tests are far from perfect and that it is unfair to reduce the complex, nuanced work of teaching to a simple multiple choice exam. Test scores alone should never drive evaluation, compensation or tenure decisions. That would never make sense. But to remove student achievement entirely from evaluation is illogical and indefensible.
It's time we all admit that just as our testing system is deeply flawed—so is our teacher evaluation system—and the losers are not just the children. When great teachers are unrecognized and unrewarded—when struggling teachers are unsupported—and when failing teachers are unaddressed—the teaching profession is damaged.
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Tom Shales wrote a spot-on column ("In Pa. Debate, The Clear Loser Is ABC") in today's Washington Post slamming moderators Charles Gibson and George Stephanopoulos of ABC News for their performance in last evening's presidential debate between Senator Hillary Clinton and Senator Barack Obama. Shales chastized Gibson and Stephanopoulos for dwelling on "specious and gossipy trivia that already has been hashed and rehashed," rather than ask substantive questions about important policy issues like education.
Their efforts resulted in the Reverend Jeremiah Wright's name being mentioned 16 times during the debate. From the way-way-backkkk machine, even the Weather Underground was mentioned twice. I expected Timothy Leary to jump out from behind the curtain at any moment.
What discussion was there of education? Not much amidst the inane questions, parries and thrusts about stark raving mad pastors, imagined sniper fire, flag lapel pins, and bomb throwing radicals who were pardoned by President Clinton and who sit on nonprofit boards in Chicago.
In her opening statement, Senator Clinton vowed to "make our education system the true passport to opportunity." Later on, she called herself "a strong supporter of early childhood education and universal pre-kindergarten" and said she would "end" No Child Left Behind (NCLB). Early childhood is worthy of greater investment, but what exactly would she replace NCLB with?
Senator Obama framed some of his comments about education around the issue of tax fairness, saying that "those who are able to work the stock market and amass huge fortunes on capital gains are paying a lower tax rate than their secretaries." Obama went on to say that "investing in our schools" and other national priorities can't be done "for free." If I were a Republican, I'd call him "a tax and spend liberal." Of course, after 8 years of W, that seems like a breath of fresh air. Let's line up the millionaires and let them pay their fair share for a change.
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Over the past several weeks, three particularly interesting articles have been written about Barack Obama and education policy. The Huffington Post ran the first on March 14, the New Republic ran the second on March 26, and Slate ran the third on April 4.
In the Huffington Post, Michelle McNeil opined, "Would Obama approach education reform with a centrist frame-of-mind if he had the full power of the Presidency behind him, and wasn't fighting it out for the nomination?" I don't know about a 'centrist frame-of-mind', but I honestly believe he would approach it with a problem-solving mentality and not just kow-tow to the status quo much as I believe Senator Clinton would.
In the New Republic, Josh Patashnik writes: "There's at least one issue ... on which Obama's record puts him sharply at odds with the party's liberal establishment: education. Obama has long advocated a reformist agenda that looks favorably upon things like competition between schools, test-based accountability, and performance pay for teachers. But the Obama campaign has hesitated to trumpet its candidate's maverick credentials. As an increasingly influential chorus of donors and policy wonks pushes an agenda within the Democratic Party that frightens teachers' unions and their traditional liberal allies, Obama seems unsure how far he can go in reassuring the former group that he's one of them without alienating the latter. And this is a shame, because Obama may represent the best hope for real reform in decades."
Undoubtedly, I believe Obama is playing it safe by not emphasizing his education reform ideas within the context of a Democratic primary. That's smart politics, but it's made easier by many others issues--from the economy to Iraq--that are trumping education as priorities among the mass of Democratic primary voters and caucus goers.
In Slate, journalist and blogger Alexander Russo offers a more critical take on Obama and his "lackluster record" on education. Russo writes that as an Illinois state senator from Chicago, Obama failed to evidence leadership and choose sides in a debate between Chicago Public Schools (the school district) and local school councils over local control versus centralized accountability. The same dynamic is playing out around No Child Left Behind (NCLB), says Russo, but "it's hard to imagine [Obama] taking charge of the continuing debate over whether and how [NCLB] should be renewed."
Indeed, sometimes the past is prologue, but I'm not sure it would be true in an Obama administration. As US Senator, Obama has offered some very substantive proposals on teaching quality within the context of NCLB. He has supported policies such as educator induction and urban teacher residencies that would get to the root of building stronger capacity within troubled schools and districts. He has shown a personal commitment to these issues. I can see him staking out a "mend it, not end it" position on NCLB reauthorization and working with Senator Ted Kennedy and Congressman George Miller to work these proposals into a legislative package. Only time will tell.
What say you, Pennsylvania?
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