Walt Gardner's Reality Check
Walt Gardner taught for 28 years in the Los Angeles Unified School District and was a lecturer in the UCLA Graduate School of Education. This blog is no longer being updated.
Education
Opinion
When Principals Abuse Their Power
New York City is home of the nation's largest school district and the venue for notorious cases of abuse of power by principals of elite schools. I've written before about events in this connection at Brooklyn Technical High School ("What About Principal Accountability? Sept. 8, 2010). Today, I focus on the Bronx High School of Science. (Stuyvesant High School is the other member of the storied triumvirate.)
Education
Opinion
Unappreciated Factor in Teacher Turnover
The daunting task of recruiting and retaining teachers in inner-city schools is now so well known that it seems little more can possibly be said. At least that's what I thought until I read about compassion fatigue. According to the American Nurses Association, it is "a combination of physical, emotional, and spiritual depletion associated with caring for patients in significant emotional pain and physical distress" ("When Nurses Catch Compassion Fatigue, Patients Suffer," The Wall Street Journal, Jan. 3).
Education
Opinion
Teachers Relinquish Rights in Religious Schools
Teachers opt to teach in religious schools for reasons known only to themselves. But I wonder if they fully understand what they give up when they choose to do so. Two cases before the courts illustrate the issue.
Education
Opinion
The Latest Wrinkle About Merit Pay for Teachers
They say if you live long enough you get to see it all. That's why I was not surprised to read about Impact Plus, billed as the nation's most advanced merit pay system for public school teachers ("In Washington, Large Rewards in Teacher Pay," The New York Times, Jan. 1). What distinguishes the District of Columbia's merit pay program from others around the country is the dramatic increase offered teachers who are rated "highly effective" for two consecutive years. One middle school special education teacher saw her salary rise 38 percent, from $63,000 to $87,000.
Education
Opinion
The Intrusion of Religion in Schools
It's disturbing to learn that public schools persist in promoting religion despite landmark decisions by the U.S. Supreme Court in 1962 and 1963. The latest reminder comes from Jefferson, S.C., where the American Civil Liberties Union has sued the Chesterfield County school district for the continuing promotion of religion in several of its schools ("Battling Anew Over the Place of Religion in Public Schools," The New York Times, Dec. 28). Specifically, a preacher at a school assembly was permitted to describe how Jesus Christ saved him from drugs. But as the Times reported, similar violations of the separation of church and state have also taken place in Pensacola, Fla. and Sumner County, Tenn.
Education
Opinion
Private Funding of Public Schools
The Bridgeport Education Reform Fund in all likelihood will mean nothing to most people. But ignoring the fund is a mistake because it is a model that figures to play an increasingly prominent role in the funding of schools in the years ahead in this country. Although the present venue is the largest city in Connecticut, whose schools were taken over by the state in July after the superintendent was fired, the strategy has the potential to spread to other underperforming school districts.
Education
Opinion
Testing Gone Wild
The news that New York State will lengthen its math and language arts tests for elementary and middle school students to three hours beginning this April is another reminder that common sense is woefully lacking in the accountability movement. According to John King Jr., the state's education commissioner, the change is part of the effort to "fine-tune tests of student performance" ("State Tests Extended to About Three Hours," The New York Times, Dec. 19).
Education
Opinion
A Narrow View of Community Colleges
Long plagued by an acute inferiority complex, community colleges are on the threshold of a new era that has the potential to remake their image. Yet at the same time, it's important to acknowledge that the transformation carries with it certain risks. I was reminded of this after reading Rahm Emanuel's op-ed in The Wall Street Journal ("Chicago's Plan to Match Education With Jobs," Dec. 19). He argues that community colleges need to be regarded as the "first choice for high-skill job training," rather as a "last ditch effort for remedial education." The only way to upgrade the reputation of community colleges is to guarantee that the diplomas they issue have "economic value."
Education
Opinion
What Lessons Do Military Base Schools Offer?
It's tempting to conclude that the success of schools on military bases in narrowing the achievement gap between black and white students has relevance to public schools. At least that's what reformers will likely maintain after reading Michael Winerip's informative column ("Military Children Stay a Step Ahead of Public School Students," The New York Times, Dec. 12).
Education
Opinion
Refining School Rankings
Americans love rankings. They serve as a quick and easy way of determining who or what is better than others in the same category. I understand their appeal, but I wonder if rankings do more harm than good because they fail to take into account vital nuances.
Education
Opinion
Read the Fine Print About School Choice
As readers of this column know, I've long supported parental choice of schools. But at the same time I've always cautioned about its limitations. Now comes the latest caveat that free-market reformers don't want you to know. It's important to bear it in mind because 13 states enacted school choice legislation this year, and 28 more states have legislation pending.
Education
Opinion
How Do Teachers Know What Students Know?
In dusting the shelves of my home library recently, I came across a paperback published in 1961 that has uncanny relevance to the debate today about mass testing (The Schools, Anchor Books). Martin Mayer was a reporter and editor who spent 30 months visiting about 150 schools from as far east as Helsinki to as far west as San Francisco. In the process, he interviewed more than 1,500 teachers. His provocative and insightful comments are a reminder that so much of what we consider new today has in fact been around for a long while.
Education
Opinion
What About History Education?
So much of the nation's attention has been focused on literacy, numeracy and science since No Child Left Behind became law that history has been lost in the shuffle. A new book by David Feith titled Teaching America (Rowman & Littlefield, 2011) calls the situation a "crisis" ("Boot Camp For Citizens," The Wall Street Journal, Dec. 9). I'm troubled by the neglect of the subject as much as Feith is, but I hasten to point out that fears about students' knowledge of history are not new.
Education
Opinion
Using Standardized Tests to Evaluate Teachers
The demand seems so reasonable: Evaluate teachers on the basis of how much their students have learned. After all, if schools exist to educate, then what's wrong with asking for evidence that they are successful? It's a fair question. The problem is agreeing on what kind of evidence to accept.