Recent media coverage of the documentary Waiting for Superman and the generous donation of $100 million donation to Newark schools have kept the debate about public education on the back burner. However, Joel Klein, chancellor of the New York City Department of Education, Michelle Rhee, chancellor of the District of Columbia Public Schools, followed by superintendents, educators, elected officials, labor unions and parents have outlined the public problems within the education system. In their 'manifesto' the main ideas highlighted are ensuring that the best teachers remain hired, regardless of seniority, removing incompetent teachers, giving teachers performance-based financial incentives, improved technology to monitor student’s learning habits, embrace online learning lessons, close underperforming schools, and embracing charter schools. Those involved that fixing the problems within the school system is the long-term fix to our economic problems. Education the youth for a prosperous future is what is most important.
http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2010/10/07/AR2010100705078.html
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Coming from an inner-city public high school, I saw many of the changes that Michelle Rhee and those in her school of thought propose, actually implemented. I saw a whole SLEW of great teachers lose their jobs, and several "incompetent" ones stay.
ReplyDeleteThere is no perfect system to remove "bad" teachers; more often than not, it is the shifting demographics and unrealistic standards that they have to deal with that are producing undesirable outcomes. Yes, teachers must have incentives to work to the best of their abilities, in order to best meet the needs of children. However, firing teachers left and right to make a point is going to do anything BUT attract bright, enthusiastic young people to the field of education. I was dead set on being a teacher in the urban school systems until I saw what happened in my final year of high school; now I plan to go to law school.
It is interesting that those in the greatest positions of power (i.e. Michelle Rhee, Arne Duncan) have no REAL educational experience. These are the ones making our policies. Yes, something major needs to be done to meet the growing needs of our public school students and to ensure that our country remains competitive in a global society. However, harshly punishing underperforming, underprivileged public schools, cutting their funding, and shifting our focus entirely to charter schools is, in my opinion, probably not the best option.