In many places, teachers receive sole blame for students who fail, but what is the reality? Are teachers the only ones to blame? Of course not! There is plenty of blame to go around.
Of course, before we get into the blame game, we need to discuss failure. How do we judge a failing school? Let's start with the idea of standardized tests. Some people think that students are failures because they fail (in PA) three sections of Math and three sections of Reading. I am not sure what other states use as their measuring sticks, so I will stick with Pennsylvania.
Let me start with how illogical that is for certain schools. Some schools have a high percentage of Special Education and ELL students. Those students are responsible for taking and becoming proficient in the same exact test that Regular Education students take. There are some exceptions to the rule and some Spec Ed and, I believe, ELL students can take a modified test, but that percentage is very low.
So, in High School, if we have a student come to us with a third grade reading level, which does happen and too often, we are expected to be miracle workers and move that student up from a third grade reading level to at least a 9th grade reading level by 11th grade. Research shows that within one year, most students can only master 2 reading levels. Doing some Math, that student who came in with a 3rd grade reading level would only achieve to a 7th grade reading level by the time they have to take an 11th grade test.
So that is failure number one and it works the same way with Math and ELL students who are not at level.
Failure two is poverty. Students who live in impoverished neighborhoods are likely to fail because too often, they are working to support their families, miss several days of school for various reasons, or have a hard time concentrating because they are wondering where their next, non-school, lunch is coming from.
Failure three lies within the parents. (Now before any parents send me hate mail, yes, I will be praising parents, and yes, I will be blaming teachers.) There are several parents who are supportive of their students and their success. They sit down at night and work through homework problems with their students or just encourage their students to do their homework, to study.
Then there are other parents who are thrust into situations that are not ideal. Some parents work two or more jobs and are not home to help their students with homework. Some parents are single parents do not have a high school education themselves, and therefore cannot help, and feel like they cannot even encourage their students to do well. There are also grandparents who are raising their grandchildren, and some of them no longer have the energy to help their students. Students who are in foster care are also suffering as they move from home to home. Many foster families are great and actually help the children they bring into their homes, but there are too many who just want that extra check and then are hands off with the children they foster.
Problem four lies in teen pregnancy. Too many teenagers are having consensual sex before graduating high school, and a large number of those sexually active are not having protected sex and getting pregnant. I have had students come to me in ninth grade that have already had at least (yes AT LEAST) one child. Having children at such a young age is not easy. I have known a few students who can balance school and having a child, but that is rare. There are programs out there that help teen parents, but it is a very steep climb even with extra help.
Problem five lies with teachers. Teachers are human, and they make mistakes. Some teachers should not be in the profession or need extra classes in how to manage a classroom or differentiate their lessons. The real blame on teachers should come from not speaking up. I started joining whatever committees I could very early in my career, which now spans eight years. Through these committees, I tried to refocus what reform should look like, but very often, our administrators' hands were tied by those above them.
There are also those teachers who join the profession to get their student loans paid off. They sign a contract, teach for for two or three years and leave. Yes, I point the finger at TFA. Now, don't get me wrong. Some of these TFA teachers are excellent teachers, and some of them stay and teach instead of going into the private sector. However, those teachers that do not stay on are hurting students. Students sometimes connect with these young teachers and when the teachers leave, the students feel like the teacher was only there for one reason and that is for themselves and not the students.
Problem six lies within the funding. Funding is not equal everywhere, and yet every school is expected to each 100% proficiency within a random timeline (2014). This means that students who need certain extra services just do not get them. Money is scarce and therefore tutoring is not available. Money is scarce, so teachers get laid off in large numbers and classroom size explodes. Money is scarce and Early Childhood programs are cut, and students do not receive the proper start to their education.
Problem seven deals with reform and reformers. If reformers do not include educators in the reform conversation, then they are not reforming education. They are spending money on what seems to be sociological research instead of actually wanting to help students. "What would happen if we created small schools?" "What would happen if we privatize (Charter schools) public schools?" "What would happen if we used public money to send students to private religious schools?"
versa. We are not addressing how to deal with education here. We are addressing how we can be like other countries. Remind me, why does that matter? Is our country not a first rate country? Is our economy not one of the strongest in the world?
The final problem that I address is the students themselves. Just like anywhere is society, there are some students who have no intrinsic motivation to do well. They look at standardized tests and they say to themselves, "This test will not prevent me from graduating from High School. This test will not prevent me from getting into college or getting the job I want. So, why does it matter if I do well? So what that my school might be turned into a Charter School. I won't be here when it changes over."
So, Mr. Arne Duncan, Mr. President, members of Congress, and so called Education Reformers, before you blame the teachers, let's dissect every issue. Merit Pay will not work if eight other problems exist. Charter Schools will not work if eight other problems exist.
Let's look at REAL REFORM by addressing ALL nine issues, not just attacking the teachers. Let's look at REAL REFORM instead of bullying your greatest ally in the helping students.
