The deseg suit and charter schools
April 17th, 2009 at 09:33am Linda Grist Cunningham
Question: What do charter schools have to do with the desegregation lawsuit that consumed the Rockford School District in the 1990s?
Answer: Charters are but the latest in a long string of last ditch solutions to an education system run aground because we refuse to upend the whole thing. And, charters are exactly like magnets and school choice, except maybe without so much union control.
Before I go any further, let me make this clear: This is not a indictment of individual teachers, professionals or classroom techniques. God love you for what you do under exceptionally trying situations.
Now, the but: But, for heaven sake, we’re using a 200-year-old model. Teacher in front of kids in desks. I don’t care if the desks are in open classrooms or traditional ones, or if it’s a one-room school or a 500-room school. The 1809 student could walk into the 2009 classroom and not be much disoriented.
We cling to our Backwheneye memories and refuse to do more than tweak our educational system. Back to deseg.
Remember the magnet schools and the school choice programs? Both were direct results of the deseg suit — and the loudest voices in town hated them. Magnets and choice were solutions to one problem: The traditional classroom wasn’t meeting the needs of today’s students.
We promised parents a choice of where to send their kids. To a school in a safe neighborhood where parents were engaged and teachers the best. We promised parents magnet schools that offered specialized curriculums for special gifts, interests and skills. We said magnets and choice would show the “public” schools how it was supposed to be done, forcing them to improve to the standards of the choice and magnet schools.
Sounds like all the charter school hype to me. One would think that if the idea of public schools that aren’t public schools is so good, then the magnets and choices should have worked. We ought to have jaw-dropping educational success. We don’t.
Because everyone of these solutions is premised on going outside and around the public school paradigm. Public schools don’t work, so create some new-fangled thing to function outside the existing structure. That’s nuts. Just nuts.
If we want public schools that work for today, it’s time for gut-wrenching, paradigm-shifting implosion. Rip the rug out from under administrative bureaucracies, unions, political patronage and PTOs.
Without a crisis, innovation will not occur. And, there’s been no crisis strong enough to shake the complacency out of the modern public school machine.
I’m cranky today and it shows. Maybe charters will be the miracle. I doubt it. They’re just one more in a long line of ideas that will fail because we refuse to deal with the weary, old, ineffective entitlement-mentality that is the core of today’s public school machine.
Entry Filed under: Uncategorized
9 Comments Add your own
1. bestchoices | April 19th, 2009 at 7:48 am
“Now, the but: But, for heaven sake, we’re using a 200-year-old model. Teacher in front of kids in desks. ”
Respectfully disputed, teachers are constantly being trained in new methods. Teachers are now facilitators of learning. Guided reading and Daily Five are two current methods in our schools & children move from center to center to partner reading and to teacher’s table. Math games in cooperative groups encourage learning. Computers for individualized prescriptive lessons are used. Data drives instruction and children come and go from the room to get special help in groups that are fluid, ever changing to best help each child on specific skills. And yes, the teacher does sometimes teach to the whole group but then moves through the room helping individuals. It is not a one-size-fits-all method any more. Today’s classroom using current best practices looks nothing like Rockford’s schools of the 80’s even.
Washington Communication & Arts Magnet of the 90’s under Dr. Connie Tucker was a school to be lauded. Private schools had nothing on Washington! Washington integrated computers, TV filming, excellent music & art, drama & Japanese into the curriculum! Washington was integrated and exciting. But RPS 205 let it go. We lost the excellent! I will watch but I don’t think a Charter will come close to what we had & lost.
The answer lies in the lack of a home life. It is a societal problem. I know of a class this year where NOT ONE PARENT came to Open House. We are trying to educate lost children. I will continue to advocate a public boarding school. Children need safe living conditions where they are nurtured and can sleep.
But no, respectfully, our schools do not need a complete overhaul. Teachers continually learn, continually change methods, and continually &, lately thanklessly, care for lost children.
2. Veritas | April 19th, 2009 at 8:32 am
Complete agreement that the public education system needs a total overhaul. The problem with magnets and school choice is that they were created and run by the same bureaucracy that can’t produce real progress in the rest of the system. Sort of like rearranging deck chairs on the Titanic.
Three main reasons for this failure: incompetence and risk aversion within administration, restrictive union contracts and costs, lack of public involvement in their own schools.
I don’t think it’s fair to lump charters with other failed models. Yes, they are ‘outside the system’ which is exactly why they work. All you have to do is look at their test scores, graduation rates, truancy and discipline to see how operational flexibility and innovation are the keys to improving public education.
I suggest you step out of the ivory news tower and go visit some successful charter schools in Chicago. Talk with the students, teachers and parents and see for yourself why they work.
3. Rev. David Thies | April 19th, 2009 at 7:54 pm
We are here — an alternative that satisfies all of the above of Linda’s “cranky” (her word) complaints. Independent, non-governmental schools avoid the barriers she mentioned — “administrative bureaucracies, unions, political patronage and PTOs.” We do it on shoestring budgets as taxing authorities collect from our school’s constituants who do not patronize most of the government school services. We would be able to offer to more if we looked at tax credits (yes, on property taxes, too) to those who patronize us, vouchers for those don’t pay taxes but whose patronage of us mean little government expense. (Straight vouchers can have their entanglements.)
Regarding the complaint (blogged) that government schools are hamstrung due to social and family ills, have you considered how many generations of secular (non-religious) education the governmental system has offered and how that contributes to the lack of development of social virtures? Without an anchor for a value system, how do you teach ethics to improve a generation of future parents? That is what the “public,” govenmental system attempts but fails at, generation after generation now. So pointing the finger to lack of family only points right back to its contributing source. Taking kids out of values day after day in school (the greatest time period for influence outside the family) produces predictably values deficient outcomes becoming endemic in a society. Charters, still under the bureaucracy (as the approval process has shown), will perpetuate the same flaw.
Not only does the public system need an overhaul, but established alternatives (like us) need greater support. Certainly, it would seem that they would be placed closer to an equal footing with the status quo, “public,” governmental system financially rather than their families paying the taxes but having less for tuition costs that many independent schools must require to survive (meaning often that the more elite only can afford what the “at risk” need just as much or more).
This is nothing against well-intentioned, and as effective as possible, teachers and even adminstrators trying to work within a flawed system. But the system limits them in what it won’t let them do: impart effective values and a religious (almost any one will do) anchor for them for motivation and a thirst for the betterment of the self and society at large. Of course, family choice of which anchoring system would be a part.
For a greater development of the argument, see our beginning effort at an endowment of our system at http://www.helpucef.org
4. bestchoices | April 20th, 2009 at 5:47 am
Rev. Thies: Yes, even values are taught in public schools under the term character education. And many Christian teachers interweave religious tenets, though not overtly. We must remember that some families do not make the choice. I’m not sure I heard a solution from you. Public schools give opportunity to all, even those who can’t pay for private, won’t support the parental demands of charters, or simply are not aware enough to make a choice.
5. Rev. David Thies | April 20th, 2009 at 6:11 am
In reply to the commentary on my submission, it seems that something is not getting through. A solution WAS offered: put independents schools on equal footing in funding rather than taxing their families for what is ineffective when they do not patronize even patronize it. Secondly, public, status quo schools do not give “opportunity to all” when they are ineffective at doing the job. Thirdly, if public teachers are “interveaving” religion, aren’t they acting “unconstituionally?” Is breaking the rules or slipping around them to do it teaching good values to a society? And lastly, in whatever values are taught in public school, how effective has that been? Token efforts do not accomplish an effective result. Substance is needed. There’s a real question as to whether “public” school can do that constitutionally.
In addition to values comes the other subject matter that opens the mind. At St. Paul Lutheran, like other independents, we offer foreign language at the gradeschool level (Latin), outstanding band and other music education, visual arts, along with the strength in basics (language, science, math). But the problem is access to it when we must have a barrier of tuition for families when governmental or “public” schools obtain their funding by mandate.
The point is that there are effective and different alternatives for our society. It would be nice to put them on equal footing so that more could utilize them. And we should not overlook, however, teachers in “public” schools that could be effective but with which the instituional “public” or governmental school system interferes. The answer: get us all out of that status quo “system.”
6. Mike Mapes | April 20th, 2009 at 11:45 am
Your commentary is good for creating controversy but does little to examine the issue. “Rip the rug out…” leaves the reader with the impression that there is little or nothing good about the public school system. Why not assign some objective reporters to write in depth about what is and is not working in our public system. This might lead to constructive dialog rather than the negative one that points blame with no basis in fact.
The issues that plague our public school system are less about the system and more about our society; poverty, drugs, gangs, lack of appreciation for a free education, and a further realization by students and parents that their part in education requires hard work and involvement. Overcoming these obstacles in any school system, Charter, Private, or Public are all but impossible and are not really problems with those systems but rather with society. We somehow expect our school systems to fix our problems in society…maybe we should stop trying to treat the symptoms and place blame and treat the real problems?
You are right in that Charter schools will not answer these problems. There are good Charter schools and there are bad ones. The Register Star’s overall coverage has seemingly leaned towards Charter schools being the answer. Unfortunately none of the Charter schools being considered have a record that points to their performance as being so outstanding that the public can look forward to success at these new schools, most do not have a record at all. They are simply an unknown quantity neither better nor worse. They will however come with some unintended consequences which have not been discussed at length, there will be closings of Public schools this to will not necessarily be better or worse either but it is going to occur.
Private schools and to a lesser extent Charters have advantages over Public schools, which again when reporters and editors write they fail to emphasis, these differences. If students do not follow the rules, which include behaving as well as making the grades, they will be shown the door and sent back to the Public schools…open to all.
We are about to bring in a new superintendent whose seemingly greatest ability is to move from job to job. This matches with the previous parade of superintendents here for two or three years and gone. This is a direct reflection on the school boards past and present, and as such it is a wonder that our system functions at all. The school board does need an overhaul and gets one every time there is an election so we as a community get what we vote for which is as often as not individuals with personal agendas. Perhaps the mayors proposal to appoint the school board has some degree of merit however it would come with it’s own set of problems and biases. So consider modifying his approach and have the mayor initially appoint but then when once an appointed members term ends the public then votes to retain or reject. Somewhat like voting to retain a judge. Also require 60% of the vote to retain a candidate, if not retained they could not be reappointed by the current mayor.
You and other columnists “Sweeney” point out that the Union is a problem yet I have not seen anyone substantiate this point of view with anything other than rhetoric. If the Union has gained the upper hand between employee / employer it is because of administration / school board. So while you can point the finger at the Union please place the blame where it should be put. Are there bad teachers in our system, YES! Are there bad administrators in our system, YES! Both need to be addressed and both can be addressed if we have a good administration and school board. Thompson while here only for a short while began to address both of these issues. Does the current superintendent to be have the same moxie? (Note I am neither pro or anti union like most things there is good and bad points that can be made about them.)
You further point out that our system needs changes to be up to date and you made a point of stating that students from 200 years ago would have little difficulty adapting to today’s classroom. While this may be correct you missed on one of the former magnet schools that is still there the public Montessori. Which if you had done your home work you would have noted that this different approach has been and is being successful in meeting the NCLB standards ongoing. This school also has been and is over chosen by both minority and majority students in other words it is a successful public school. Innovative and different yet when the school board / administration had a chance to create another Montessori school in our system it passed for unknown reasons and unknown Charters.
When it comes to changes have you noted that the curriculum being put forth by some of our new Charters is essentially the same being used in our Public system? Some kind of change? A couple of things the new Charters are calling for are longer days and smaller class size. I do recall that it was the board and the administration that cut back on length of school day and took out extra class hours that schools could have right now and these choices had nothing to do with the Union. Why is it that what is suddenly a good idea for the Charters is not good for the Public system. Whenever the Union bargains for smaller class size the answer is no yet the Charters are putting that out as one of their positive attributes. Does make you wonder why it is good for Charters but not for Public as a whole.
Unfortunately you are right about the “entitlement mentality” you only miss place where it needs to be applied. Students need to realize that they are only entitled to the opportunity to receive an education after that they have to earn it, parents need to realize that they are not entitled to drop children on the doorstep of a school and then not do their part at home. Society is not entitled to expect schools to fix the larger societal problems.
You also make it sound like no one is getting any kind of an education in our Public schools when in fact the majority of students are, the real question is to how to get all students to take the opportunity for education seriously. Those expectations start at home, ask teachers and administrators which students do well and they will tell you it is the students that come from homes that value education irrespective of that families socio-economic standing.
What I really hope is that you remain cranky and start holding everyone and everybody responsible for their part(s), students, parents, school board members, administrators, teachers, and the community at large to value education in all ways all of the time.
If you are going to call for “ripping the rug out” and an overall please enlighten everyone as to what direction to go in and how to accomplish it has like so many it is easy to take shots at the Public system it is not so easy to come up with solutions….
7. Veritas | April 22nd, 2009 at 6:35 am
Mr. Mapes, of the three charters approved so far, two have sterling performance records in Chicago (CICS, Galapagos) and one is a new program (Legacy). The first two have graduations rates and test scores higher than CPS (and our 205) with lower truancy and few discipline problems. Not sure how you call that ‘unknown quantity.’ The two being proposed now are ‘local’ startups focused on dropout recovery and minority boys needing mentoring and leadership skills. Seems like we need both of those, too. Of course, charters are only part of a broader solution, but I think we could use some of that performance here in Rockford as part of a ‘new’ 205.
8. Linda Grist Cunningham | April 22nd, 2009 at 10:00 am
Thanks to each of you for careful, caring and important points in this ongoing conversation on schools. I spent a lot of time this week listening to and talking with teachers who, individually, are among the best things going for our kids. I listened to business leaders who shared their frustrations. I listened to a couple of elected officials who essentially said “yep, but not our problem and nope we’re not taking this one on.” What was especially heartening were the conversations with classroom teachers, each one of whom offered up pointed and effective solutions.
I am not a fan of union systems that speak with one voice, but it is very important to remember one thing the Rockford School District REA has said repeatedly: Please, please listen to and include the teachers when developing solutions.
I’m guessing that if it is ever done, it’s rare.
9. Jeff Stewart | April 23rd, 2009 at 7:12 am
Many do not understand that in a capitalist society, creative distruction, or the failure of some organizations, spwan the creation of newere heathier organizations…
Public school reform has be talked about for my entire lifetime. Yet the results, graduations rates and test scores, have not collectibely improved, especially in comparison to world class insititutions.
I agree with Linda, we will need to wholesale change to create the dramtic improvement needed to prepare our kids for their global futures. The increadible impact of communication technologies over the past 30-40 years have barely been adopted in our ‘traditional’ warehouse schools. While leading business organizations have totally revamped every aspect of their operations as a result.
This is not the place to discuss how learning can be completey different… but here is a place that I can stand by Linda’s expression of the dramatic nature in which it need s to be reinvented.
Leave a Comment
Some HTML allowed:
<a href="" title=""> <abbr title=""> <acronym title=""> <b> <blockquote cite=""> <code> <em> <i> <strike> <strong>
Trackback this post | Subscribe to the comments via RSS Feed