Here we go again!

The New York Book Review, where Diane Ravitch’s review of Steven Brill’s Class Warfare: Inside the Fight to Fix America’s Schools, doesn’t have a space for reader comments (so far as I can see) so I decided to just post my response on our blog.

After reading Ravitch’s scathing article concerning Steven Brill’s book on education reform, there was no question as to where she stood on the major issues facing American education today. Ravitch criticized Brill for his stance on education reform, which defames teachers unions and suggests that poor teachers are responsible for the current education crisis facing America. He suggests (much to Ravitch’s chagrin) that standardized test scores are a valid marker of the success of public school education.

There is no doubt that greater accountability is necessary for schools and teachers, however, basing the success of schools/teachers off of standardized test scores is misleading and detrimental. The policy changes Brill suggests for improving American education are not based on reality and ignore some serious problems in the American education system today, such as poverty and underfunded schools in depressed areas. Essentially, the difference in opinion between Brill and Ravitch seems to be related to experience and idealism/realism. In Brill’s perfect, ideal world, basing funding and accountability off standardized test scores would lead to stronger teachers and stronger schools. However, Ravitch has spent time and research in the schools and sees the reality that using test scores for accountability purposes only contributes to a vicious cycle, which proves to widen the gab between the upper and lower class – the successful and unsuccessful.

Ultimately, I felt Ravitch made several strong points and criticisms of Brill’s (and the removed, governmental system he represents) ideology. However, at times she was so vehement it almost read as more of a hysterical rant than a well-written review. Despite this, Ravitch made her points loud and clear and quite honestly drove her “opponent” into the ground.

*a side note: I must've created a blog with this site a while ago and picked this slightly embarassing screen name type thing.... is there a way I can change that? haha ehhh

Diane Ravitch

Ditto, Steve. She hits the nail squarely on the head with her observations about the "real" problems. I like to reference a quote from her book The Death and Life of the Great American School System regarding NCLB and the testing craze: "The strategy produced fear and obedience among educators...". (p16). As in the article "American Schools in Crisis," she reminds us that teachers should be leading the charge of defining reform, not being demonized as the problem. I was tickled by her reference to the origin of this craze when she reminded her reader that we are still here and the Soviet Union is not! She rightly cites points throughout history in which U.S. test scores were not the highest because we lead in innovation. Standardization produces the awe inspiring performances of lock-step that we see in North Korea and China, an unquestioning allegiance to authority. It negates innovation and creative problem solving and Ravitch is bold and courageous to say the emperor has no clothes. She is also right on the money when she addresses the role that poverty plays in our public school failures. How can children who live in homes with no books, little food, violence and trauma be expected to focus in a state of wonder at school? They are often in survival mode and barely getting through the day. Ravitch also points out that public schools a re mandated to accept and teach anyone who shows up on the doorstep, while private and charter schools can turn undesirable students away. I have a close friend who runs an urban Latino charter school and she described to me her admission policy. Parents are interviewed and judged by their willingness to enforce homework schedules and rigor in academics. Ravitch is correct to see this as an unlevel playing field when choosing which schools to penalize. And we should be suspicious of motive when corporate heads are leading the charge. Look at Pearson's profit margins!
I cannot close without bringing this issue home to my PDS experience. As I am in school that is obsessed with an attempt to raise test scores, it has a negative impact on what I am able to do in the classroom. The sad thing is that the test prep lessons are causing the kids to check out in boredom and then get scolded for what is a natural response to busy work for bureaucrats. Rejoice, those of you for whom it is not so. (Sorry for editorializing, Tim, but you did have us read Diane....)

More Problems

This has been a blast. Anyway, only one of the Diane Ravich articles is opening for me.. and it is not showing me anywhere to add a comment. Not sure if I am supposed to start up an account with nybooks, but I would really rather not. These types of sites often cause security risks for computers and with mine broken, I don't want to risk my wife's work computer. So, that being said, here are my two cents:

I have read many Ravich articles before. I tend to agree with her onj mostly everything, though sometimes she comes across as overly argumentative. As for this article, I think a lot of people should read this particular one because it provides a great example of how educational discussions have become predominantly geared around money, politics, and test scores. Hardly any of it talks about the kids and what they are learning or about how many solid teachers there are. That's sad.

Contact Zones

I agree that as educators we need to be willing to teach within contact zones. We need to deal with tough issues and push students to think beyond their class and social structures. It can be scary to branch out and it can be tempting to settle back into comfortable zones that just skim along the surface of subjects in an attempt to produce satisfactory grades, but it is imperative that we take the risk because the reward is priceless. I want to create a classroom environment that encourages students to openly share their struggles and thoughts even if they are complicated and perhaps off-task.

Problems

1 - I cannot find a way to click thru to the original Ravich article, as the article is opening up in Microsoft Word and it will not let me do anything else.

2 - I am also having problems opening up several of the attachments on the main page on D2L

3 - My laptop is broken and will be out of commission for several weeks. So, I will be jumping around on computers for the time being.

ReinvetingEnglish

The contact zone is exactly what the seventh graders I work with might need to be inspired to write. I hope I someday get the opportunity to find out. The reading of fiction and nonfiction texts which address social issues would have meaning for them that reaches beyond the classroom. The notion of schools being a place for human development, beyond rote academic tasks has been around for centuries, but the new obsession with standardized testing has squashed these noble goals for many teachers. In my future classroom, I will aspire to create units that have contact zone themes while adhering to core standards in the process. They do not have to be mutually exclusive.
The quote that we are all hyphenated Americans might be my opening line for such a unit. It makes the point succinctly and dramatically. Also, the note written by the Columbine shooters would be an excellent piece to discuss and write about a utopian school culture in which those boys would have been healed by their community. A question of what kind of school communities we can build in order to prevent the emotional pain of future school shooters. These kinds of units allow students to take ownership of their thinking and writing. Rather than scold Cliff for his headphones, I would say, "let's study the lyrics of Cliff's song as poetry and explore the merit of them as a piece of writing.". Rather than constant scolding and repression, I want to fold my students' social realities into the curriculum. We can still demand rigor in writing and reading skills while opening the hearts and minds of the generation that will someday lead us.

Contact Zone In The Classroom

Reinventing English was a pretty interesting, but at the same time some of the information kinda of shocked me. This was especially true when they talked about how racism, sexual orientation, religion, and the like dominate headlines in the news. Why do we feel the need to emphasize that (for example) "23 WOMEN Killed in the Name of Love"? It does make it harder for students to develop their own thoughts about this type of violence. I also think it makes it a lot harder for them to develop their own thoughts and opinions about other cultures, genders, religious beliefs, and so on.

After reading this idea of this contact zone, I found myself browsing books I could implement into my lessons that would challenge students to really take a look at the world they live in. after reading exerts from these books, it would be great to have them write in their journals how they feel after reading, what they would change, how their thoughts have changed about the subject at hand.

Another thing I envision in my classroom is the motto, "Leave It At The Door." By this, I simply mean that I don't care what your race is, what religion you practice (or don't), who your best friend is, who your enemy is, or even what gang you are affiliated with (as sad as this is, there are kids in the city schools affiliated with gangs as early as sixth grade). I want the students to walk into the classroom not worrying about others judging them because of the practices listed above. If a problem arises, I will address it, by why ignore what may or may not exist?

I have a lot more about this article that I've written down, but I guess it can wait until class! Any thoughts?