[Added Ideas #8 & #9]
Every student in our Windsor Schools deserves to be on the same footing and have the same opportunity to learn. Will every student thrive, unfortunately not, but the opportunity needs to be there. It is the choice of the student and the parents!
Education is a privilege, and should not be confused with a Right. Bad behavior does untold harm to innocent students who are not allowed to learn. Kids with issues and problems must be removed for the benefit of all students, after due process of course. A few bad apples will spoil the education broth for all students. Think about driving a car for example as a right vs a privilege. I drive at any speed, cause property damage, create bodily harm, kill people, and be reckless with no loss of my RIGHT to drive. That might help you understand the difference between a right and a privilege. I can attend school, be disruptive, get into fights, disrespect authority, yell at teachers, and so forth, but I must be kept in school. The rights of the one to be difficult trumps the rights of the many who want to learn. Is that right? Is that what we want to do? Consider it a moment. Now back to the topic.
Here are some solutions to the educational mess we are in.
Idea: #1
Teachers that are willing to give up their tenure receive an instant $12K increase to their base salary. Some say tenure is unimportant and here is a way to prove it. Also teachers have a union and the union is there to fight for their jobs, so tenure is unnecessary. Yes the cost will be high, but the results are well worth the price. Consider in a private enterprise, you get a new boss you mind your P’s and Q’s because you might lose your job. In education, the dirty secret is, tenure makes it tough for administrators to implement new programs because the teachers, like all of us, do not like change. I am not saying all change is good, but tenure makes it tougher to implement those changes that are deemed necessary. I have had many retired teachers confirm this and even had a person say it does not happen, and in the next sentence said ‘we ignore new initiatives the first year or two’. I will pay for that tenure. The question to a teacher is, what is it worth?
Idea #2:
Communities should be able to inventively offer parental choice. What do we have to lose? NOTHING! Education is the responsibility of parents and we need to give them the tools to do what is right for their child. A great school has nothing to worry about, a poor schools wants to keep its students regardless of results because it creates a benefit for economic stakeholders, and not necessarily the students, parents, or taxpayers.
Idea #3:
School uniforms. It is a low cost and simple idea. Parents have overwhelmingly indicated a desire that students wear uniforms. Many years ago the BoE did a survey and the result -- if memory serves me -- was over 75% in favor of uniforms yet the majority rejected the idea. Uniforms are less expensive than “school clothes”. They can be swapped between parents, handed down, traded, and that benefits the less fortunate. They avoid the whole issue of what is appropriate so there is no decision making on what is or is not appropriate. Many cities have instituted a uniform program.
Idea #4:
I hear over and over that a well managed school with discipline, manners, respect and strict adherence to rules performs better, and all involved are happier. Clear and definitive rules, respect for authority, and clearly defined punishments administered consistently will breed a well behaved school population and increased school performance. We all may remember the story of the Joe Clark who walked through the halls with a bullhorn and Louisville Slugger and was the basis of the movie “Lean on Me”. I am not advocating the Joe Clark model, I am advocating for strict rules and consistent implentation.
Idea #5:
Mandatory exams or competency to be promoted to the next grade. In the elementary schools this approach is harmless. I was held back and it did no harm to me, some might disagree, however at lower grades it is a non-issue. We need accountability and we must stop pushing kids through the system. That is how we end up with high school students that can’t read. I was just told of another parent that is fighting to hold a child back. Why? We are here to educate kids, and not move them through for someone’s idea of socialization. We are here for an education! We also must give parents their due, and acknowledge they know their children best. Expectations will be met when communicated to all parties clearly and implemented consistently. So we should do the same in our schools. Failure to progress and show competency, means you get held back, it is clear and simple to understand. We can make adjustments for special situations. This will benefit ALL the stakeholders.
Idea #6:
Homogeneous grouping of students vs. heterogeneous grouping. In homogeneous grouping all students at a given level are grouped together so they can flourish at that level. Heterogeneous grouping takes all kids of all levels and groups them into a single classroom. Here is where we get into the LCD of education. The Lowest Common Denominator, remember the old math? Teachers must teach at the level that the majority can attain, and that means a lower level of material. Clearly a lower performing student will not attain quickly the performance of the top student, so the only option is to teach at a lower level to ‘grab’ all the students. LCD Grouping kids of similar levels improves performance challenges them and provides the balance of students the help they need at a level that allows them to perform well and thus do better. We have many classes such as gym, music, art, lunch time, recess, etc. where all the students can be grouped heterogeneously, but for the 3R’s we need to do what is best for all the students including the majority and that is to teach at the highest level of each student.
Idea #7:
Evaluation of teachers will be done based upon the upper class teachers secretly evaluating the success of the lower grade teachers. I have been told repeatedly that a teacher within a month if not a week can tell you what student had what teacher the prior year. So who best to determine success than the 8th grade teachers who are teaching the prior year 7th grade students. They can tell you who the good teachers are and who are the ones that need assistance. We need to think outside the box. In manufacturing Quality Control will tell you who the good machinists are and those that need additional training. We can do the same in education.
Idea #8:
We need to build on successes. This includes the use of positive internal community and family reinforcement. 'CatherineDennis' referred to positive peer pressure. I have since had conversations that have confirmed the concept can be effective, yields results, and a potential method to accomplish those results. Costs are minimal;Results are maximal. We need to learn to think outside of the box.
Idea #9:
We must create and empower a parent advocate or parent liaison for our students and their parents. This is a person that will advocate for the students and parents when a parent feels that the system is failing their child. For example, a student that is recommended for a challenge class is not placed in such a class, and the parents are getting the runaround as to why. I have heard that this happens and just once is too often.
I am looking for solutions, and I am sure some can nitpick, and at the same time I know these are good innovative inventive ideas to solve problems. We know throwing more money at the problem will not fix the problem and history is the true determiner of success. These ideas cost very little and can be implemented immediately with minimal costs and/or training with the exception of #1. Also do we really want to waste another 10 or 15 years with failed ideas that fail our kids for the benefit of the system.
