Reforming the Education System

Teachers in LA Unified are exhausted. They have been run into the ground by a lot of people who have no idea how demanding teaching really is and who think that deregulation, punitive evaluations and merit pay are the answer. They aren't.

Public education is failing not just because the kids don’t respect the education they're getting and the bureaucracy imposes a lot (No Child Left Behind, mandatory algebra), but because teachers suffer the gnawing anxiety that they could be doing a better job for their kids and the hostile scrutiny is discouraging them - their creativity and passion for teaching.

Of course teachers and their unions in LA have done a terrible job of getting rid of bad teachers. In New Zealand, where I taught, teachers unions are strong and there’s more camaraderie and consensus than here, yet bad teachers do not survive for long. Understanding how important that camaraderie is, is the key to understanding teaching. Some in the corporate world understand this - they call it "team-building."

It’s worth mentioning Diane Ravitch, who once promoted No Child Left Behind and charter schools and who felt the private sector could be a model for schools. She has changed her mind (here). Now she says there’s a “punitive atmosphere in the schools” (true) and blames the Obama administration for thinking that “schools will improve if we fire teachers and close schools” (she’s mischaracterizing their approach), and she concludes “What we need is not a marketplace, but a coherent curriculum that prepares all students” (true).

But on-going curriculum changes (and national standards) need to supplemented by other changes. Here are my picks:

1. Practical: provide better teacher training, not just for new teachers but the exhausted ones too – the ones who think they don’t need to change or who are so worn out they don’t want to think about it. Sabbaticals should be protected, not cut. Doug Lemov’s book Teach Like a Champion may be a good manual for teachers. I like what I’ve read so far.
2. Philosophical: teachers need to be encouraged to show flexibility and imagination and openness to kids’ ideas, especially in high schools. It’s not about command and control (the “Columbine problem” and it permeates many schools). As Ravitch says, change the punitive atmosphere. Foster camaraderie and consensus toward common goals and don’t divide and conquer. Of course it certainly helps for teachers to like kids. Many don’t.
3. Professionals: actively recruit those who would like to teach but think the initial requirements are ridiculous.
4. Parents: keep them out of school affairs. Teachers’ morale has been eroded by the constant interference.

Final thought: schools are too big - more here.