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Current Educational Policies: A Dad’s Reflection

/ Douglas Wieczorek / Leave a comment

I have many professional and personal connections to the world of education. I am a former social studies teacher, Assistant Principal, an emerging scholar in Teaching and Curriculum, and serve as an administrator in the teacher education unit at a regional university. I am also married to a high school math teacher, and a father of three daughters who are in 2nd grade (the twins) and 7th grade. My perspectives on education, education policy, and the profession at large are interpreted by my multiple identities. Today I write through the lens of a Dad, reflecting on the state of affairs in education as they impact my family on a micro-level, as I am sure they are affecting many children and families across New York.
Our oldest daughter recently took the new Common Core-aligned, New York State standardized tests in Spring 2013. The state education department issued a statement regarding the exam scores, and how they anticipated a significant drop in achievement results. At the end of the statement, the commissioner assured the public that these exams are critical to determining our students’ readiness for college work and subsequent careers. It is from this point at which I engaged in some serious reflection this past weekend, confronted by the over-compartmentalized vision of preparation defined by academic success.
My daughter started running cross-country for her school team this year and participated in an open meet on Saturday afternoon. At the race my family assembled at various points along the course to cheer on the runners. These young athletes left it all on the course, sprinting to the finish- some of them physically sick after the race. Some cried, some laughed, and some gave fist bumps to teammates or opposing runners for a job well-done. There was such a spirit of camaraderie that permeated through all the participants, regardless of what school they represented. What an accomplishment, a celebration!
We arrived home after the race, and I went to check the mailbox. And there it was- an envelope from the school district (which as a parent always generates immediate curiosity). I opened it right there at the end of the driveway. The envelope contained my daughter’s 6th grade New York State standardized test score results in English Language Arts (ELA) and mathematics.
So, do we open this now and review the results and talk about this today? What does this mean? How will my daughter feel about these results? Do we call the school on Monday? Do we care? The school district said not to worry, so should we believe them? It was not until that moment, after that race, that I truly resented the changes which have consumed our school communities.
The arrival of that envelope created such mixed feelings at our house on Saturday. For the better part of the day, we saw an example of one of the best opportunities our public education system has to offer. We witnessed hard-work, determination, teamwork, school spirit, community, growth, success, and failure. After watching and cheering on these young women, there is no doubt in my mind they will be successful, contributing citizens and the leaders of tomorrow. These athletes have something inside them that cannot be found in a curriculum, or measured, and is essential for success in life.

There is so much more to the sport than the completion of the event, the athletes’ times, or what place they came in. At the end of the race, there is a certain, quantitatively measured outcome, but what are the intangibles that are not measured? The significance of the race is not based on the outcomes of the race itself, but the lessons learned along the way. These hard-working, talented, tough, resilient young women are more than a test score- more than a snapshot exam. My daughter came in 68th place in that race, and I assure you that her test scores will not determine her level of college and career readiness — or her success as a person.

Where is SLACE?

/ Matthew Clemente / Leave a comment

The SLACE Archive is currently on hiatus while the SLACE Forum Blog is being created.  The SLACE Forum launched this past Monday.  Eventually, the SLACE Archive will resume as a subsidiary to the SLACE Forum.  For those of you who follow this blog, stay tuned. The SLACE Archive will resume in the next few weeks. 

Thank you to those of you who have followed the SLACE Archive. 

The Broader Education Policy Conversation

/ Gregory Clark / Leave a comment

The Broader Education Policy Conversation

This is a fitting post to begin a new year of blogging about (education) policy. Good policy does not only work to solve problems; it must also be vigilant in monitoring what problems exist. This notion calls us to not merely focus our attention on one problem, but to pay attention to the larger system within which we interact.

For example: If I were to pay attention solely to the uses and limitations of standardized testing in elementary schools, I may completely overlook the recent trends of racial segregation in Southern charter schools. This might happen despite any new advances in understanding whether or not Common Core is perceived as successful.

We must always be cognizant of the larger picture, being open to integrating new considerations and concerns. A holistic approach to policy is our best bet at improving the whole of our society. For me this sentiment is true of all policy, but especially education policy.

Jack Schneider, who writes the bulk of the opinion article in the above link, offers a critique of the current debates in education policy. His argument is that those engaged with education policy are too caught up in maximizing student test scores, fixing school administrations, and improving the academic credentials of their faculty. “Where is the talk of care in policy circles? Where is the talk of teachers as role models? Those are the characteristics that actually make a difference in kids’ lives”.

While I do not wish to answer the questions professor Schneider raises here in my blog post, I do want to encourage his approach to thinking about policy. We ought to be relentless in our defining what constitutes issues worth addressing in education policy. I recognize there is a division of labor among those who study and engage in education policy, but we must not focus our attention only on one cog of the machine. In between our thoughts about how the school choice movement impacts the academic achievement among low income students (if this is your drug of choice), we should pause to learn about and consider new realities which may play a role in how education is effectively delivered to the public. Maybe you’ll notice that the kindest of teachers can improve SAT scores. 

New Yorker on Civil Forfeiture

/ Matthew Clemente / Leave a comment

New Yorker on Civil Forfeiture

In a recent issue of the New Yorker, Sarah Stillman discusses how local governments use civil forfeiture to raise revenue and how often citizens who have not been convicted of a crime lose their property.  Stillman sat down with Patrick Radden Keefe and Nicohlas Thompson to discuss her piece on the New Yorker: Out Loud podcast. 

Here is a description of the podcast: 

This week in the magazine, Sarah Stillman reports on how local governments around the country are invoking the powers of civil forfeiture to take money and property from people who haven’t been convicted of any crime. Here, Nicholas Thompson talks with Stillman and Patrick Radden Keefe about these abuses and what they mean for the citizens targeted and the law-enforcement agencies using it to fund their budgets.