Who is to Blame for the Education Mess?
October 11, 2010 Leave a comment
It is not self-evident that the quality of teaching and teachers are mainly responsible for our education slipping backward? I think that experience in running complex enterprises is that in some cities and schools it is the teaching that is to blame, in others, it is school management, teaching methods and materials, community culture of education and bad (or good) school boards.
I would place enormous weight on school boards and the community that sets the priorities for education. Teachers will gravitate to places where teachers are trusted and respected.
I am very suspicious of single approaches to solving big problems.
It’s time for all of the adults — superintendents, educators, elected officials, labor unions and parents alike — to start acting like we are responsible for the future of our children. Because right now, across the country, kids are stuck in failing schools, just waiting for us to do something.
So, where do we start? With the basics. As President Obama has emphasized, the single most important factor determining whether students succeed in school is not the color of their skin or their ZIP code or even their parents’ income — it is the quality of their teacher.
via How to fix our schools: A manifesto by Joel Klein, Michelle Rhee and other education leaders.
About Stephen E. McGaughey
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