(Opinion) The poet and philosopher George Santayana once said, “Those who cannot remember the past are condemned to repeat it”. We may be repeating the course of a legendary school district in New York City, District #2.
One commenter to the Branford Eagle site recently recommended a book by the highly respected education historian, Diane Ravitch. The book, “The Death and Life of the Great American School System”, details her experience with education reform, citing many examples throughout our nation, concluding that we need a content rich curriculum with well versed teachers, an understanding of the value and limitations of testing, and a community-driven education philosophy. Her book takes on her previous faith in the federal program, No Child Left Behind, and persuasively documents the concerns with the business model of education.
One issue she discusses is in the third chapter of her book, ‘The Transformation of District 2’. It is amazing how this tale parallels the recent history of Branford.
District #2 includes the largely affluent southern tip of Manhattan all the way up to the Upper East Side with areas of poverty such as Chinatown and the Lower East Side. Anthony Alvarado was appointed as its superintendent in 1987. One of the first things he did was to introduce Balanced Literacy, a whole language program. Students were asked to decipher words in context and share reading experiences, often by sitting on a carpet as a group. Students were asked to make text-to-self connections from text and predict events as reading strategies. Balanced Literacy also promoted classroom libraries.
As I was reading Ravitch’s description, I recalled a request from Branford reading specialists in the schools seeking gently used carpets for reading groups. And we have given over $1500 just this year from book fair earnings to the teachers to build on their classroom libraries.
Balanced Literacy was not embraced by all. Its omission of phonics, grammar and spelling lessons were felt to be deficits. However, Alvarado wanted Balanced Literacy implemented in the exact manner it was intended. He hired consultants to provide professional development (explicit coaching) to the teachers even telling the teacher where to stand in the classroom. Teachers were forbidden to substitute or improvise or face transfer to another district.
Hmm. Entirely new teaching methodologies, top-down mandates, no room for teacher judgment…..I think I may have mentioned this once or twice before.
Here is the kicker. Not only did District #2 introduce Balanced Literacy, but it started using a new math program, TERC Investigations. Parents complained of its inquiry-based approach from the outset. In fact, NYCHOLD, which stands for Honest, Open, Logical, Decisions in Mathematical Education Reform, was founded by a parent (Elizabeth Carson) and a New York University mathematician (Dr. Bras Braams), to bring about a dialogue to reflect the experience of many across our nation concerned with mathematical education.
Wow. We have TERC Investigations in Branford. And, this program was expected to be taught as a sole curriculum with no supplementation—until recently, that is. As in District 2, coaches were brought in to instruct the teachers how to teach the program. And, coaches with inquiry-based math only agendas provided demonstrations to parents to show them how to do this alternative math. In fact, on May 19th at the full BOE meeting, Mary Muri, a former CT State Department of Education math consultant, presented her opinion of inquiry-based learning.. She used plastic colored squares to demonstrate how the area of a shape can increase without increasing the perimeter. She mentioned it is not necessary to develop a mastery of skills before moving on to new topics. She stated hands on learning was better. And, she said that people over age 40 have a hard time accepting this alternative approach because we just don’t understand.
Ravitch points out that the parents and experts raising logical concerns in District #2 were ignored. The parents, representing the role of community in schools, were put on the sidelines.
Ignored? Imagine that. Where on earth were the questions from the BOE at this meeting? After all, the BOE has been fed papers, information and questions from its citizens casting doubt on an inquiry-based only approach to math education. The BOE has been reminded that top-down mandates do not work. Yet, the BOE sat there, unified, at this meeting on May 19th. No plans to have a consultant with a different view were suggested. The situation was rather like having a Toyota car salesperson come speak about why everyone should own a Camry, rather than a BMW.
However, District #2 has been applauded by many and used as an example across our nation as the model district achieving great improvement. Soon many felt that the penicillin for school reform had been identified. Just follow this top-down mandate, Balanced Literacy, inquiry-based math instruction approach and soon, you too, can have education success.
But, one study from District #2 stood out and was unappreciated by many. This study showed that the poorest students in the district showed no educational gains within this structure. This report additionally found out there was no link with the amount of time spent with explicit coaching and better scores. Affluent families reported significant tutor usage, too. Report after report hailed the success of District #2, which was to serve as the framework for Mayor Bloomberg and Chancellor Joel Klein’s New York public school system.
In fact, to date there are many news stories bragging of the success of District #2. Mayor Bloomberg, the czar of the New York City school system, has received praise from educators across our nation, including Secretary of Education, Arne Duncan. However, when you take a closer look at the New York City data, it appears there is much more to the story.
San Diego, too, tried to mimic the achievement of District #2. Alan Bersin, formerly a federal prosecutor also with a strong business sense, was hired as superintendent and teamed up with Alvarado to bring the success of New York to the west coast. Together, they talked accountability and central control. Soon after, 15 principals were abruptly fired. Then, curriculum coaches were placed in schools, reportedly as spies for the superintendent. Most teachers learned quickly to go with the flow and not ask questions or else face being fired or transferred. Thus, teachers came down with a variety of stress-related illnesses. Teachers were terrified to speak up. In the end, the results expected from the District #2 model, the magic bullet, were not there.
The heavy top-down directives did not work.
They do not seem to be working in Branford either. The BOE wonders where the teachers are. Why are they not speaking up? Where are all of the parents? It must be a few silly parents. Trouble makers.
Ultimately, Bersin was replaced by Carl Cohn. Cohn noted that the ‘my way or the highway’ approach “ignored the fundamental principal of trust among those who make schooling effective: students, teachers, principals and administrators”. He realized that the teachers on the front lines needed to be built up rather than repeatedly stomped upon. In fact, San Diego is just starting to show signs of improvement.
Let us hope our new superintendent has the insight of Cohn rather than the control of Bersin or Mayor Bloomberg.
Whether or not test scores improve in San Diego, New York, Timbukto or Branford is not the issue. Ms. Ravitch questions, “Can teachers successfully educate children to think for themselves if teachers are not treated as professionals who think for themselves?”
There are many issues with education reform. Ravitch, as an education historian, has a better appreciation for this than any of us. She notes that first and foremost, there exists no quick fix for education reform. She mentions the merit of the 1983 report, “A Nation at Risk,” written by the National Commission on Excellence in Education. This report says that “the educational foundations of our society are presently being eroded by a rising tide of mediocrity that threatens our future as a Nation” and we “have lost sight of the basic purposes of schooling”.
We, too, have lost sight. We are loosing our sense of community. We are emphasizing accountability to tests, rather than to our children. We hesitate to question authority. We are grasping on to the status quo. We need a new vision.
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Thanks to the Independent and to Laura Troidle for this excellent review of Diane Ravitch's superb book.