Many people in the education field worked hard to help re-elect President Obama to his second term in office despite our serious disappointment with his leadership in public education. I was one of those teachers who happily knocked on Athens County doors during both campaigns. I now write this as an open letter to the president I support.
Mr. President, we need leadership on public education. We need a new Secretary of Education. Arnie Duncan is no friend of public schools and his Race To The Top initiative is no better than George W. Bush’s failed No Child Left Behind (which Bill Clinton also supported). It is time to ask teachers, parents and students how to improve our schools. We need to put schools back in the hands of educators who stand behind strong public schools.
Here is a short list of how to get started:
Let’s have a serious look at evaluation of learning. Filling in a bubble on a multiple choice test measures some things but not the things we care most about. We care about how our children are developing intellectually, socially and as citizens. We want our kids to be curious learners who take risks to solve complex problems. We want our children prepared to make not only good choices for themselves, but also good choices for our society and our planet. High-stakes tests do not achieve these goals.
Let’s have a serious look at fair and equal funding. Everyone knows that a wealthy district with a solid tax base has the advantage over a district struggling to hire teachers, buy new materials and maintain buildings. It is time to fund schools fairly and fund them well. Money makes a difference. Is there anyone who really believes otherwise? Ohio schools have undergone systematic cuts in revenue for years, and it hurts. Governor Kasich’s budget undermines fair funding of public schools.
Let’s have a serious look at the real “basics.” How do children learn? Hands-on engagement is essential. Students need to be studying real-life problems through discussion, critical reading, writing and thinking. Positive social interaction needs to be taught and emphasized in every classroom. A feeling of both safety and empowerment encourages learning. Any educator knows the litany but will tell you these are not the “basics” being encouraged by test obsession and it gets harder every year to teach with these true “basics.”
Let’s have a serious look at how we take care of kids during their school hours. What we feed kids every day in school matters. How we promote activity for health matters. Music and Art are not ‘add-ons’ but a part of a well-rounded curriculum. Processed doughnuts make no one smarter. Taking away recess only promotes hyperactivity. Cutting back physical education, music and art limits our students’ brain function. Limited budgets and money spent for tests and test prep take away from a balanced and healthy day.
Research and common sense have been telling us all this and so much more for decades. What we really need to do is stand up to the politicians who are obsessed with competition and the business model for schools. The experts on education are all around us. Ask any parent, any teacher or any administrator: What IS important in education? President Obama, you have many new faces in your cabinet. How about a Secretary of Education who can speak to real reform? I suggest you look to lifelong educators like Linda Darling-Hammond or Diane Ravitch, who have both clearly laid out reform that is not based on the profit-driven business model. There is plenty of room for all of us to make our concerns heard.
Joette Weber is an Athens resident and a member of Retired Teachers for Smart and Sane Education.
