Some thoughts on improving schools from the the president of AFT:

[proud2BlibKansan]

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She decried the widespread scapegoating of teachers and teachers unions for public education's shortcomings. In visits with teachers in 17 states since her recent election, she said, many teachers were distressed that they and their work are being demeaned by politicians, the press and even the people who run their school systems.

"The blame game won't improve one more school, educate one more child, or recruit and retain one more outstanding teacher," said Weingarten, a frequent critic of top-down approaches to school reform that devalue teachers and their integral role in reform. "When education reform is done without teachers' input, it is doomed to failure. When education reform is done with teachers, it is destined for success."

Smart Investments in Education

The federal No Child Left Behind Act "has become a stand-in for real discussions at the state and national levels about a robust education policy that prepares our children for the 21st century," Weingarten said. Congress will take up reauthorization of NCLB, but in the meantime, Weingarten proposed what she called "smart investments in education" that can be debated, decided and implemented immediately. The 10-point Smart Investments in Education proposal calls for:

1. Providing universal early childhood education, starting with low-income children.

2. Preparing young people for high-skill, high-demand "green jobs."

3. Providing a boost to high-achieving students from low-income households.

4. Offering high-quality educational choices within the public school system.

5. Focusing intensely on improving low-performing schools.

6. Establishing community schools that serve the neediest children by bringing together services that they and their families need.

7. Ensuring that every school facility is a place where teachers can teach and students can learn.

8. Expanding teacher induction so that new teachers are not left to sink or swim.

9. Creating an online teacher resource network with information on curriculum, lesson plans and source documents to enhance teaching.

10. Offering every student a well-rounded education that would stand in stark contrast to the "standardized test score competition" that has resulted from NCLB.

The AFT also has put together short profiles of some schools that are implementing many of the strategies Weingarten proposed.

more: http://mo.aft.org/691/index.cfm?action=article&articleID=169b0fc4-4115-4bf8-945d-545071d2ed54

[Fire1]

1. #6 and 7, top priority if NCLB is ever to succeed.

[proud2BlibKansan]

2. I agree

also #10

[progressoid]

3. Or we could just trash NCLB and start over.

[Fire1]

5. Sounds good to me. It's not working anyway.

[Le Taz Hot]

4. Something these geniuses never even look at.

-How complete are the state achievement standards (each state has different standards).
-Does the curriculum match the standards (the answer is only 30% of the time).
-How does the curriculum get into the schools in the first place (can we say political bribes?)
-Does the curriculum match the assessment (the answer is "no").
-Most schools don't even come close to assessing cognitive rigor (Bloom's, Depth of Knowledge).

The bullshit this person is listing is the same recycled bullshit they've been pushing for the last 10 years or so and none of it comes close to addressing the real problems.

[Fire1]

6. And amen to that, because nobody wants to FACE the REAL

problems.

[MadHound]

7. One other thing, start paying teachers in a fashion that reflects their importance to society

We all say that we want the best teachers for our kids, yet the fact is that we pay teachers less than most garbagemen. If we truly want good teachers, if we want to attract and retain the best and the brightest, then we've got to start paying them accordingly. After all, teachers generally put in more hours in college than virtually any other undergraduate degree program, but upon leaving school, the average starting salary for a teacher is aprox. thirty thousand dollars, while the starting salary for accountants is forty one thousand dollars, and for IT folks, fifty one thousand. Yet who holds the future of our children in their hands? Oh, yeah.

It is past time to give teachers a nice hefty raise, at least twenty five percent, better yet 33% in order to make them competitive with other career options. That way we will attract the best and the brightest, along with having more success at retaining them.

[FloridaJudy]

8. How about putting some *value* on education?

And not decrying it as "elitist" or "geeky"? How about admiring people who use their brains to contribute to our common welfare, instead of sports stars or actors who may act like perfect brutes both in public and in their personal lives? There's a good reason why the children of recent immigrants often excel academically.

I see Obama's election as a good start. Here's a guy who's smart, educated, caring and not ashamed to consult other smart, educated people when looking for answers to complicated issues. It's a refreshing change from a guy who never admitted that a problem may be so complicated that it can't be resolved with a one word answer.