Sorice 1 ! Michele Sorice Gretchen Sprague English 12 December 6, 2013 Children Left Behind?

In the 1987 movie, The Principal, Rick Latimer is a high school history teacher with a drinking problem. One day, he goes a bit too far, and the Board of Education determines, unanimously, that Latimers behavior reflects very poorly on the district. The superintendent moves him to Brandel High Schoolthe most under-performing school in the districtas its principal. Brandel is riddled with crime and gang violence, and Rick attempts to clean up the school. Eventually, through finding new and unique ways to stay in control, Latimer is successful. Much like Rick Latimer in The Principal, educators must learn new and unique ways to do their jobs, to work with parents, and to deal with administrators; above all, education must be reformed in a way that is cost effective and conducive to student excellence. Schools, in general, try to present that the administration has the childs best interests in mind. As Alex Geordan, Superintendent of Canfield Local Schools asserts, Our children need our total support in order for them to reach their potential as great thinkers, innovators and leaders.1 Unfortunately, students across the nation have not been receiving the kind of support they
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require. Critics are quick to blame educators, but the fault is not solely theirs. School Boards of Education have not been supportive of teachers aspirations to educate their students in a way

1 !

Geordan, Alexander. Canfield Local Schools, "Superintendent." Last modified 2012. Accessed November 9, 2012.

Sorice 2 ! that prepares them for the real world. Diane Ravitch, former Assistant Secretary of Education, opines that, Our schools will not improve if we continually reorganize their structure and management without regard for their essential purpose.2 In the State of Ohio, for example, the focus
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of curriculum reform seems not to be student success, but financial savings. Ohios curriculum reform includes a ranking system, which divides teachers into four categories. This ranking system was devised by politicians, many of whom have not stood in front of a chalkboard. While evaluating teachers is important, teachers need to learn to work together with administrators to install an evaluation system that works. In the Montgomery County School District, both the administrators and the teachers union collaborated in producing a system of evaluation and, Over the years, Montgomery Countys system has produced rich evidence of success. Most important, the collaborative relationships established between the administration and the teachers union have enabled the district to continue to refine what works.3
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What works is intelligent allocation of resources, and an evaluation program that focuses not on ranking teachers, but on helping them excel in their own right. For instance, instead of [Devoting] scarce school district resources to routine, bureaucratic annual evaluations, Montgomery County Schools moved the resources where they were most needed, which allowed for both teachers and students to excel.4 Primarily, this cooperation between educators and adminis!

trators has allowed for increased autonomy in the classroom. The autonomy, Within certain

! 2

Diane Ravitch, The Death and Life of the Great American School System, (New York: Basic Books, 2010), 225.
3 ! 4 !

Mark Simon, "A Tale of Two Districts," Educational Leadership, 70, no. 3 (2012). Ibid.

Sorice 3 ! boundariesallows educators to get the material across in whatever way is best for students.5
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Educators and administrators must decide, together, where their scarce resources are most needed, and where the most benefit will be gained. It is imperative that administrators continue teacher evaluations; however, the way school districts across the country choose to evaluate their educatorsthrough emphasizing standardized test scoresis definitely not helping children. Ravitch observes that, Our schools will not improve if we rely exclusively on tests as the means of deciding the fate of studentsand schools.6 We have been basing student and teacher performance on tests that, Are not indica!

tive of what a child knows or how well a teacher is teaching, for far too long.7 It is imperative
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that we find ways of assessing student and teacher performance that are conducive to educational success. Elementary education is unfortunately overlooked in education reform policies. Much like the brick-and-mortar school buildings that sit in the hearts of cities and towns across America, the learning communities within them need a strong foundation on which to build. Education reform must be a ground-up process; we have to start in the elementary and middle schools to affect any change in the high schools. The National Education Goals Panel asserts, in a 1998 report, Virtually all [children] come to school with a lively intellect that, under the right condi-

! 5

John Tullio, (Unit principal at Canfield High School), interview by Michele Sorice, MP3 Audio, November 27, 2012.
6 ! 7 !

Ravitch, 226.

Erin Angelo, (Teacher at Canfield High School), interview by Michele Sorice, MP3 Audio, November 14, 2012.

Sorice 4 ! tions, can be supported, strengthened, and developed so that they can grasp essential skills and knowledge.8 The question now becomes, what are the right conditions?
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We must ensure that all children are ready to learn, as well as ensure that elementary schools are ready for the children we trust them to teach. In the best elementary schools, Information is presented in an organized and orderly way; students find it interesting and easy to remember and apply.9 How, though, can we make education exciting and interesting? Cheryl
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Tubic, a former third grade teacher in Canfield Local Schools, suggests the personality of the teacher is a major factor.10 We need to make decisions on placement in the classroom based
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upon the environment the child needs. Essentially, if the parents and teacher determine a student needs more structure, put him in a classroom with a teacher who will provide structure; if he needs more fun, put him in a classroom with a teacher who will provide fun. Administrators tend to look at how a test score will affect the district. However, as Tubic states, Nobody asks about the poor child behind the desk. Many students come into elementary school with skills deficits; therefore, educators, [Spend] the first six months of the year trying to figure out where our students stand. Tubic suggests a Prerequisite Skills Testso that educators know, from the start, where our students are deficit.11 In a world where parents, teachers and students cringe at the
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8 !

U.S. Department of Education. Ready Schools. Washington, DC: National Education Goals Panel, 1998. 2.
! 9

Ibid., 10.

10 !

Cheryl Tubic, (Teacher at Canfield Village Middle School), interview by Michele Sorice, MP3 Audio, November 24, 2012.
11 !

Ibid.

Sorice 5 ! mere thought of a test, another will be hard to swallow. However, a skills test is imperative if we want our children to succeed. Additionally, elementary educators receive neither the respect, nor the resources, that their colleagues in secondary education enjoy. Class sizes are reaching record numbers: up to thirty-five students per class in some instances, yet elementary teachers have very little support staff. Teachers do not have the time to individualize education, which, Causes more skills deficits and greater learning gaps.12 Old school teachers were taught to, Educate the whole
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child.13 This is becoming increasingly difficult, due to larger class sizes and a very limited
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schedule. Elementary school teachers are teaching from science books, Printed in the 1970s, are afforded comparably no technology, and are expected to act as parent to thirty-five children.14 How can children succeed in an environment that is not conducive to their success?
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To ensure success, we must find ways to get parents involved in their students education. As Gretchen Fernstrom, a second grade teacher at Hilltop Elementary School opines, Children cannot be successful without the support and participation of parents.15 To be quite frank,
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parental participation has been lacking in the twenty-first century. In order to get parents more involved, Tennessee has enactedlaws that would require parents to be more involved with their children's education.16 While this measure is extreme, the lawmakers in the state of Ten!

nessee are moving in the right direction. Nicole Vlajkovich, a secondary school teacher at Can12 ! 13 ! ! 14 15 ! 16 !

Ibid. Ibid. Ibid. Gretchen Fernstrom, Re: Education Reform, November 15, 2012. Facebook. "Parental Involvement Key to School Improvement." Knoxville News Sentinel, April 16, 2012.

Sorice 6 ! field High School suggests, Tax incentives for parental involvement. Whether those tax incentives are tied to student attendance or parental attendance at conferences and PTA meetings, we must, Tie achievement back to the parents.17 In so doing, a culture of incorporation will be cre!

ated. Parents will become more informed on their students performance, and become more active participants in the educational process. A major problem with reform seems to be our fiscal priorities, which are mixed up in this country. Nick Saban, coach of the Alabama Crimson Tide, receives a salary of: Just over $5.3 million.18 Just imagine the state of education if even a small fraction of the money Saban takes
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inor of the Crimson Tides reported revenue of $72.8 million in 2009-10,19 were to go to ed!

ucation. Education reform cannot be exclusively monetaryhowever, the cost of education in this country is growing excessively, and something must be done to curb that cost. The problem lies not with how much money is spent, but in the way money is spent. Instead of cutting funding for K-12 facilities, it is imperative that schools and governments find ways to better allocate the money that is spent. So, how should we spend education dollars? The answer is quite simple: bring the free enterprise system into the classroom. Essentially, pay physics teachers more than Phys. Ed teachers, Pay greatteachers more than average teachers,

! 17

Nicole Vlajkovich, (Teacher at Canfield High School), interview by Michele Sorice, November 27, 2012.
18 !

Monte Burke, "Nick Saban to Become Highest Paid Coach in College Football, Forbes, March 26, 2012.
19 !

Rachel Bachman, "For LSU and Alabama, Football is an Economic Strategy, Wall Street Journal, January 25, 2012.

Sorice 7 ! and help mediocre teachers find new careers.20 In fact, those mediocre teachers could find very
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lucrative careers coaching college football. At the same time, something must be done to incentivize education for the students. One in four students drop out or fail to graduate from Americas high schools.21 To constrain this drop
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rate, many decisions have been made, and laws passed, to encourage dropouts to return to school. For instance, in 1989, West Virginia instituted a new state law, That revokes drivers licenses for high school dropouts under age 18no school, no wheels.22 These kinds of propos!

als and laws are simple Band-Aids, and more must be done; however, these laws are a step in the right direction. We must also find ways to educate dropouts, who may find traditionally structured education impossible. For instance, many drop out due to economic reasons or pregnancy.23 For the
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students who live in poverty, educators must focus on showing Americas youth that, Education can be a way out [of poverty], anda pathway toward a better future.24 Our school systems can
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provide many alternatives, in the way of online courses, night school, and even one-on-one tutoring sessions.

20 !

Norm Augustine. "America's Education Problem isn't Money, It's How We Spend It." US News and World Report, June 8, 2012.
21 !

Paulson, Amanda. "High School Graduation Rate Inches Past 75 Percent." Christian Science Monitor, March 19, 2012.
! 22

Hiiler, Eric. "No School, No Wheels: State Law Gives New Meaning to Driver Education." Christian Science Monitor, February 2, 1989. 12.
23 !

Ibid.

24 ! Angelo.

Sorice 8 ! Keeping kids interested in school is a major obstacle for educators and administrators. Far too often, teachers see their students with glazed-over eyes and looks of boredom on their faces. Short of [handcuffing] students to their desks to keep them in school, administrators must help keep students interested by [developing] programs that satisfy a variety of students.25 By working within the system, we can increase levels of motivation, and build rela!

tionships with the students on the cusp. Professionals have suggested many new and unique ways to involve students. One such proposal is that of Linda Darling-Hammond, a Professor of Education at Stanford University. She suggests that, Getting kids into the communitywhether its by service projects or internshipswould be very beneficial to students and teachers alike.26 Concerning students, those
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participating would gain an understanding of responsibility to self and others through these internships and community service projects. If these projects were implemented at some point during the school day, for perhaps three hours, once a week, not only would students gain the realworld experience that is necessary for success, but educators and administrators would be able to collaborate on lesson plans and have time to individualize education, which is essential to student development.27 The furtherance of community involvement is necessary if we want to
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promote citizenship and form lifetime learners. We must also challenge the high-performing students, who often fall by the wayside because of standards-based learning and assessment. Many high school students are ready for col! 25 26 !

Tullio.

Linda Darling-Hammond, Redesigning Schools: What Matters and What Works. (lecture, Stanford University, 2002).
27 !

Ibid.

Sorice 9 ! lege-level courses, but are unable to take advantage of programs such as Ohios Senate Bill 140, which allows students to take college courses at any state institution of higher leaning. For these students, there needs to be a College in High School option, whereby Faculty from universities [will] teach the higher-level calculus, English, and history courses to the students who desire a more rigorous course-load.28 This will facilitate a love of learning, which should be the main fo!

cus of education, and the prime goal of educators. Rick Latimer, the high-school history teacher-turned-principal in 1987s The Principal, found new and unique ways to reform Brandel High School. Like Rick Latimer, educators today must work to reform schools in America, because a democratic society cannot long sustain itself if its citizens are uninformed and indifferent about its history, its government, and the workings of its economy.29 A school is not only a building; a school is a community of learners working
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together toward a common goal: a goal of understanding the world around them. Educating the nations youth must be Americas top priority, and while it is imperative that students know the basics of reading, writing and arithmetic, we must continue to challenge our youth to be better students, andin the long runbetter citizens.

28 ! 29 !

Ibid. Ravitch, 223.