It seems to me that either our nation’s leaders have lost sight of what the purpose of education is, or they have redefined the purpose of education as “laudable”, tangible outcomes—diplomas, test scores, etc. I’m often left wondering if people truly believe that raising test scores or lowering dropout rates will really improve education. Surely they must know that students who can barely read receive diplomas; test scores can be falsified and furthermore not even close to quality representations of learning; and sitting, disengaged in a classroom for 7-8 hours a day is dropping out—mentally. That’s not to say that higher test scores and lower dropout rates are bad things, but simply that when it comes to public education they are neither the optimal goals for, nor measures of, learning.
Learning. Simply put that’s what the purpose of education is. Arguably it’s other things as well–finding your passions, gaining important knowledge, becoming an informed and active citizen, the list goes on. However in a word, it is simply learning.
Many supporters of market-based education reforms, the Race to the Top, the use of testing for teacher and student evaluation, and other education “fixes” that make me nauseated, claim that people, like me, are supporters of the status quo. They assert that we have no viable solutions to offer for the problems we identify, and furthermore that by rejecting traditional education metrics, we are embracing a status quo of low-performing, under-prepared students. To them, I’d like to say, higher test scores and diplomas does not an educated populace make.
If calling for pedagogical changes in our classrooms, a focus on learning for the purpose of learning, not passing a test, and the empowerment of teachers, parents, students, and communities when it comes to education reform is embracing the status quo, then I guess my critics are right. Unfortunately for them, none of the above is compatible with the status quo, which leaves me to conclude that it is not we, but rather they, who are embracing the status quo.
The status quo as I see it is education for credentials, not learning. It is testing. It is punishing students and teachers based on flawed metrics. It is setting the wrong goals—goals that can’t possibly improve education because they are not only unrealistic, but they also revolve around measures, not reforms. The status quo is repeating failed reforms and expecting to see different results.
A reform is a transformation…a change…a development intended to improve something, in this case, our public education system. A reform is a movement from teaching to the test to teaching students to love to learn. It is an improved teacher education system. It is an Elementary and Secondary Education Act that pushes states to be innovative and dedicate more resources to improving learning experiences for children. Reform is not increased testing or higher stakes, and it is not redefining success in terms of what can be easily measured. Linking teacher salary or employment status to test scores is not a reform. Handing out more diplomas is not a reform. And pointing fingers at those who dedicate their lives to educating our nation’s children is certainly not a reform.
From where I stand, I hear or see solutions being proposed every day. These proposals come from the top, but they also come from the bottom. They come politicians and administrators. From business leaders and teachers. Corporations and school districts. From parents, students, and community members. It’s not hard to guess which solutions gain momentum and capital, and garner the most power.
This weekend at the Save Our Schools Conference and March, educators, parents, students, and community members will fight to take back the power, to put the “public” back in public education. We aren’t protesting because we want to keep the status quo and we aren’t merely complaining about the poor quality of education in our nation. We are shouting as loud as we can, toiling to get leaders to listen to not just our tribulations, but our ideas. We are fighting to change the status quo—we are struggling to have a voice in education reform because we want all students to not only succeed in life and become active, engaged citizens, but to love to learn.
It’s time to revitalize our public education system and failure is not an option. The best ideas will not come from the top, they will come from those of us who are getting our hands dirty on the ground. Public education allies get ready, the battle over public education reform is one we cannot afford to lose.
