9th November 2010
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If we are serious about improving our schools, we will take steps to improve our teacher force, as Finland and other nations have done. That would mean better screening to select the best candidates, higher salaries, better support and mentoring systems, and better working conditions. Guggenheim complains that only one in 2,500 teachers loses his or her teaching certificate, but fails to mention that 50 percent of those who enter teaching leave within five years, mostly because of poor working conditions, lack of adequate resources, and the stress of dealing with difficult children and disrespectful parents. Some who leave “fire themselves”; others were fired before they got tenure. We should also insist that only highly experienced teachers become principals (the “head teacher” in the school), not retired businessmen and military personnel. Every school should have a curriculum that includes a full range of studies, not just basic skills. And if we really are intent on school improvement, we must reduce the appalling rates of child poverty that impede success in school and in life.
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Diane Ravitch is my education reform hero. She says everything I’ve been wanting to say about why Guggenheim’s “Waiting for Superman” is problematic and reductive propaganda, but in a way that is brilliant and highly persuasive. Her book,
The Death and the Life of the Great American School System, is a must-read for anyone interested in the current state of education. Which is everyone right? And so this concludes the championing of my pet cause.
