In 1995, then-Gov. Angus King was ready to install signs at the Maine border touting that the state’s fourth-graders were the best in the nation when it came to reading. Nearly two decades later, there isn’t much to cheer about.
Last year, Maine’s fourth-graders scored just at the national average when it came to reading, based on the National Assessment of Educational Progress, a nationwide test in several subject areas.
This isn’t just an academic discussion. Poor school outcomes translate to an undertrained work force, an impediment to economic growth and financial prosperity.
Education Commissioner Stephen Bowen says it doesn’t matter what happened from 1994 to now to cause Maine’s performance to decline. Rather, he said, it is important that the state move in the right direction.
He could be right, but there isn’t much evidence to offer encouragement.
For years, there have been special interest groups devoted to improving educational outcomes in the state. Their promises ranged from near universal prekindergarten programs to grade-school reading proficiency well above the national average to dramatically increasing the number of Mainers with college degrees. All have come up short.
Even the Maine Development Foundation, a group dedicated to economic growth, is waving a flag, a red one.
The foundation set a benchmark of 50 percent of Maine students reaching reading proficiency by 2015. Instead, the state’s scores moved in the opposite direction.
In 1994, about 41 percent of Maine’s fourth-graders were reading at grade level or above, according to results from the National Assessment of Educational Progress, a test that measures students in a variety of subjects. That was 13 percentage points above the national average of 28 percent. Maine’s scores were the highest in the nation.
In 2011, after years of flat scores for Maine and improving ones in other states, Maine’s fourth-grade reading proficiency rate, according to NAEP, is 32 percent — dead even with the national average.
For this reason, the development foundation gave the state a red flag for reading proficiency this year in its annual Measures of Growth report.
“This is a predictor of future student success and public costs as well as a measure of the effectiveness of previous investments [in education] … Ultimately, positive movement on many other economic indicators starts with kids having the tools to become productive members of society,” the foundation said in its report.
In other words, if Maine doesn’t start making positive progress soon in reading — and graduation rates and other important education measures — the state’s economy will continue to suffer.
No new grand plans are needed. Schools like the West Bath School and Fairmount School in Bangor have shown that fully incorporating time-tested methods into everyday teaching can dramatically improve students’ reading.
New money isn’t needed. Maine already spends 50 percent more, per student, than the national average.
What is needed is a broad realization that the status quo is unacceptable and that higher standards must — and can — be met.
My son gets A’s in English and reading but craps out on the national standardized tests. What’s with that?
It could be any number of things Cheese. Your school board may be doing standards based education, they could be doing self-referenced assessments, they could be teaching things that aren’t on the standardized tests, your son could have test anxiety, or your son may simply not try on standardized tests knowing they have no impact on him. This is why standardized tests are a poor indicator of anything and should not be used for any measurement of substance.
Just read this… another reason we should place no stock in standardized tests. http://www.nydailynews.com/new-york/talking-pineapple-question-state-exam-stumps-article-1.1064657
Waiting Homework as much as 50% of a students grade and test scores at 30% makes no sense. One kid could have an educated mommy do homework for him fail every test and get a 91 another kid could grow up in an environment not conducive to doing homework not turn any in get 100 on every test and the best grade you could hope for would be a 50. The system seems biased to the kids who come from certain families. Grades have little to do with how much a kid learner or retained what they learned.
Personally I am against the concept of homework entirely. It should never be used to teach anything, is only used to reinforce what has already been learned, and probably isn’t helping the very people it is targeted to. You will notice that I never said anything about homework in my previous post.
Bob is right about how they weight the homework. It is always completed and is a requirement at our house. His mid-term HS tests and quizzes are A’s giving him an A for year… but…. There are these darn national tests again.
Thanks for your insight.
Those test score mean nothing. Your kids are getting A’s so they must be working hard . I have my issues with education . My girl friend has 6 yrs of college deans list many higher math classes than I have (Alg2,geo, cal, trig.stats) . I am so much better than her at math. No amount of education can replace a natural ability. Some of those test like an SAT are more of a glorified IQ test have little to do with what you learned. What you retain of what you learn is far more important than what you learn in the first place. Lets face it we forget 90% for what we learn. Instead of teaching for some standardized test the should focus on getting and keeping kids interested in learning for a lifetime.
Sadly you need those SAT scores to get into a good college. You are correct though, your native natural skill, whatever it happens to be, is what eventually carries you through. I just hope my sons skills makes him a decent living. Keep them away from the game console and make sure they go to bed tired. My philosophy.
Cheese more and more colleges are getting away from the SAT or ACT. In fact here is a list of some schools (some very exceptional, some mediocre just like any school) that considers the test optional. http://www.fairtest.org/university/optional Notice Bowdoin, Bates, Colby, NYU, UT Austin are on the list as well as most of the state colleges of Maine.
Thank you for taking the time to find and make that link for us. We appreciate it.
Ya I noticed My son goes to school In the Bangor school system . Homework is waited very heavily . I see it on (infinite campus). when he is at his moms during the school week she has issues. I see the system as a way to make the elite look more elite. The Bangor school system has might have high test scores but also one of the highest drop out rates in the state. I wonder if they kept more kids in school if test scores would be so high? I also do not believe that 4th grade test scores are a good indicator of how well kids will do latter on. A lot of it has to do with a persons life long interest in learning.
Could be Bob, I really have very little experience with the Bangor system. I know it is one of the top in the country in terms of academic achievement. How they accomplish that I don’t know. If they are encouraging kids to drop out it is a little shady but it does go a long way towards a meritocracy. Some segments of our population encourage that. Just as a quick FYI (please do not take it as an attack or a criticism it is really only meant to be helpful) it is weighted not waited. I understand how easily we can confuse the terms especially if we are not familiar with pedagogy.
When it comes to spelling proper grammar rules I am a bit weak in those areas. I do not think they encourage people to drop out of school. Now ask an average teacher a simple question like how many times the earth rotates in a year and I bet half could not answer without looking it up . Different people have different abilities that do not always show up on test. I think it is easy to just blame parents for kids not doing well when it is not the kids fault. It is sometimes hard for educators to understand because the majority did not grow up in an environment that did not place a high value on education. I see things much differently than most educators In my field almost 70% of people with a 2 year degree will fail thier state licence exam on the first try. Good thing I did not go to college i would have had only a 30% chance of passing. To think I was a “slow learner” in school.
No problem Bob, it really isn’t a spelling or grammar thing to begin with, it is a homophone and if you are unfamiliar with the context (which not being a teacher there is no reason you should be) you have a 50/50 shot of getting it right.
I do have an issue with your disparagement of teachers however. I bet more than half would be able to give you a correct answer to your question, it just depends on what we are considering correct. I mean the answer could be anything from 365 to 367 and be correct. I mean if we were counting only the rotations around its axis it would be 365 or 366 depending on the year but if we are counting the orbital revolution (another rotation) it would be 366-367 depending on the year.
Could be 1 too I guess if they were only thinking about the orbital revolution.
Ok You get it . I am not saying teachers are stupid by any means. I do think SOME teacher lack a bit of abstract reasoning ability. I remember Taking PSY101 and the instructor Was teaching about IQ he asked what was the sq rt of 100,000 I just happened to know the sq rt 10 So I was like 316.22776 I was a slow learner in school. Probably more to to lack for social skills, uneducated parents. Well anyways educations dose not always measure ones ability . When My son had a 3rd grade science fair One kid had on project the kid got an F and was crying. the teacher new his mother was in jail and dad was no winner. Other kids had projects at graduate school level . No way 3rd graders did it. They got and A. Destroy one kids self efficacy and bolster another’s self esteem at an early age. They they wonder why some kids drop out and other with average intelligence go to college. Some teacher see this stuff and work hard to level the playing field . Others see nothing wrong with the system .
Honestly Bob, that is why I went back to school. I left a job as an Engineer making good money to become a teacher. It has been a hard three years, the education classes are not in my wheelhouse and have been plenty challenging to me, but in two weeks it will be over. Hopefully I can be there to make the difference that is needed. I struggled in school (but was a phenomenal test taker) and it has never been something I am good at. I believe in giving children multiple paths to success and trying to tailor education to suit their interests and abilities. If I can help just one struggling student stick it out and be successful in life then it will be worth it.
Interesting an Engineer becoming a teacher. I thought people who could not make it in Engineering became teachers joking. I do not know if I totally buy into MBTI test but the point is different people learn differently. Thier is no one system that will work for all. Well I hope the politics do not make it difficult for you. I know many people in my field (electrician)with 2 year degrees that could never grasp the theory. Having an extra class amateur license theory comes easy to me. Education has many issues . The only reason I made it though high school was a few teachers that made a difference. The nonsense about labeling kids as slow at an early age when they do not seem to realize that some of these kids catch up latter on. Good luck.
Personally, I don’t think we should label anyone as slow, they should be allowed to find and develop their own potential and personality. Ultimately my philosophy of education boils down to people should be empowered to find a way to be of use to their community. They can determine exactly what that community looks like and is. For some people, it may be a world wide stage, for others their local community, and in some cases just their own house. We know there are many people who will need constant assistance and their version of helping their own community may be simply becoming slightly more independent (brushing their own hair or teeth). We all have innate potential and skills. Mine, I happen to be amazing at recalling information, synthesizing answers, and relating to people (always helpful, when I was engineering I had to do estimating and sales as well). I was very lucky. Most people are not as fortunate as I was, but that doesn’t mean that they can’t be taught to be productive.
The teachers who made a difference to me were those who could step out of the box and could dare to be different. They would not have been free to do that had it not been for the Union. Schools want teachers free from personality who always do what they are told. It doesn’t leave much room for visionary teachers. Personally, I know that I will not be able to really make waves until I have been there for three years and I get continuing contract. At that point, I can start introducing coding as an applied science, or providing true differentiation in math instruction (allowing some students to go way ahead while the others are learning at the same rate and freeing up time to help the students who are lagging behind). In essence, I can tailor education to every students need. Until then, I have to play the game and teach exactly how the School Board tells me to.
I wish you the best of luck . Seems like you know what you are getting yourself into. I have a few personality flaws . I tend to see a bit more negative than most people. I question authority and am not smart enough to chose my battles wisely it dose not make me very popular . Most teachers care a great deal. Some could never understand. Others just do not want to make waves. The history teacher who can say this is what the book say but this is how I see it will spark so much more interest. Maybe not be politically correct . Make a subject interesting show the conflict. Instead they teach nonsense the book says. Too bad the mainstream education is so focused on test scores and no on learning. Not all kids are cut out for a 4 year degree ,but in today’s world they all should have at least a diploma. We need a few more teacher like you.
Hey encouraging students to drop out (turn on, tune out, drop out?) is an easy way to raise the overall SAT scores. The % that go to college is improved and there is less waste on those that aren’t good enough, you know those unable to compete?
And we adults don’t have to do homework? No homework in college? No homework in trade school? No homework in the service? No homework in medical school, or law school? Where is your reality?
Who said anything about adults? The studies show that homework is not at all helpful to student learning. That is my concern. I do not care what you have to do, that is your life. My job as a teacher (or soon to be one) is to make sure my students learn. In terms of no homework in law school, many law schools do not have homework. The final grade is determined on the test score alone.
Am I to understand that you are not now a teacher in primary or secondary school?
Think back to when you first became an engeneer and discovered how much you had to un learn, re learn learn forthe first time and how much that you learned but did not ever find useful. I as a engineering technician in electronics had to teach engineers about practical parts of technology that was never taught in college, and amazsd some degreed people with understanding and explaining some issues.
My exwife once told me that when she started teaching after college she had to throw as much of what she was taught as she found that she could use.
Be careful being an expert with just theory.
http://www.alfiekohn.org/teaching/rethinkinghomework.htm Just somebody you should be familiar with. Alfie Kohn is this generations John Dewey. He is an absolutely brilliant man.
After reading a quick bio of Mr. Kohn I am lead to wonder if he has actually put any of his theories to use. No where can I see that he has raised children, just that he has written many books and does lectures on subjects that he does not seem to have any real experience with, an academic only.
This not a very good resume.
He is compared with only to Dewey (the librarian known for the Dewey Decimal System) but to Piaget (another educational theorist that college professors love).
Unless you’re studying to be an elementary or middle school teacher, Alfie Kohn’s ideas are so, like, five years ago. The new model for homework is a flipped classroom and Salman Khan’s theories. And yes, learning basic concepts happens outside of class, so the complex and difficult stuff (which Alfie does rail against on homework) is worked on in class. And trust me, my own personal experience (sample size of one, though) says that Kohn’s ideas do NOT work in a high school setting with average and above students, while Khan’s do.
http://www.wired.com/geekdad/2012/04/flipping-the-classroom/
Kohn will tell you that his theories are tailored for middle school and elementary school. In terms of Sal Khan (who I adore) he is not an educational theorist and has done no actual research into flipped classroom. I am sure Sal’s ideas work well for children from the top 50% of households. For children on the bottom, children without computers, without internet, and without electricity (they do exist here in Maine) they can be problematic.
That’s why I prefaced my comment with “unless you’re studying to be an elementary or middle school teacher…”. Don’t just trust those with degrees – the lack of “officialdom” and “titles” can actually be refreshing in education, especially since those espousing educational theories sit in regal universities and administrator’s offices, rather than putting their ideas to use first hand. You yourself said you appreciated most the teachers who stepped out of the box and dared to be different. Khan does have some nice research that supports the flipped classroom idea.
Yes, I live in Maine and know that some students don’t have access to great tools. Just like students who don’t have access to the proper mental “tools”, these are challenges that any good educator will find ways to solve. Allowing it to determine your teaching plan is akin to letting the bussing and athletic schedule govern academics.
You will learn much in your first few years of teaching, and I’m glad you have a good grasp of the theory – soon you’ll be able to put it to use with your own set of students.
I almost agree with you on this issue, sending a student with homework that he/she does not understand is not just not helpful it is a detriment to education.
That being said sending a student with homework that is understood is not just reinforcing the skill, but encouraging to the student.
I agree with you, but it still falls back to parental involvement. My son was swamped with homework, and would get overwhelmed. We ended up spending HOURS a night working thru every problem with a 6th grader. We asked the teacher if we could modify his homework to show proficiency in the required skills, but perhaps not have 20 of the same problem to drudge through. The teacher was more than happy to work with us, I think the fact that we cared enough to bring it to her attention proved that we were going to make sure he understood the concepts.
Somethings I have little control over . My son’s mother goes to the methadone clinic with a 9th grade education. I do not have custody . He is with me Thursday afternoon till Monday morn. It should not all fall onto parental involvement. Is it a child’s fault parent’s are not involved? Glad you could work somethings out with the school. I was a slow learner In school till high school. Having 2 uneducated poor parent’s. My senior class rank was in the top ten of my class. My mother said to me I always thought you were a slow learner the school told me so. Things like self efficacy are destroyed at an early age. I consider myself one of the lucky one’s. We have a system that is designed to make the elite look more elite. Pass the buck put the blame on bad parent’s . When do we work on things that can change the system?
Bob, families cannot be absolved of responsibility in their children’s education. Your situation sounds incredibly unfair and I’m glad your son has you looking out for him. The best way to get parents involved with their child’s education is communication. In RSU 25 the freshman faculty team have made more parental contacts this year than ever before and the results have been huge.
There has to be some responsibility on the family.
My son reads at a lexile level of 1,276 in 7th grade but fail both reading and English. The grading process has a lot more to do with homework than what is learned.
If homework is done and used right, it is absolutely necessary. It is a very good thing. Learning can not and should not just take place behind the schoolhouse doors. People need learn on their own as well. Many subjects require practice and STUDY. In high school there MUST and WILL be homework. Same with college, trade school, the service, professional schools like medical and law school, etc. We adults to homework all the time in our jobs and careers. So they might as well get used to it. My first grader must read her school book every night, and sometimes there is a little math too. GOOD. The practice is VERY helpful and SHOULD be done.
Well one of my post I stated . I passed my professional license first try with out 2 years at trade school. 70% with 2 years of trade school will fail on the first try. My point is that homework is weighted more than test scores. We do not know who dose the homework or how much help they get with it. Some teachers will not accept late homework or take 30 points off for being late. How dose giving lots of homework put disadvantage kids on a level playing field ? or home projects that cost money to put together? I am not saying do not give any homework. What I am saying is counting it as a large portion of one grades has nothing little to do with what they learn. When I think back at all the crap I learned in school I wonder I learned anything at all. Lets start out with the fairy tail of Christopher Columbus . People all thought the world was flat he was a hero. Now lets look at the facts. You see where I am coming from ? I love to learn things just I just question what the teach or how it is taught.
You know, my son complained about all the crap he was learning in highschool and was amazed when he found that he could figure out something that no one else in the class could, and was further amazed when the custodian said that he was right. It had something with an automatic sanitizing device failing and the solution had to be mixed manually. He was quite proud of himself.
Bob, I would say you are correct. That’s why our district enacted a policy that states homework can only account for 10% of a final grade.
That is great. The Bangor school system does not. Some of my sons classes as much as 50% of his grade is homework 30% test scores . When he is at his mother’s during the school week he has issues (methadone clinic mom). Not one of his classes dose homework not count for 30% or the grade. I got him into a program after school 4 day’s a week 1 1/2 hours a night. He failed 3 classes all do to homework not being completed, passed in or late. He scores too high on standardized test to qualify for special ed. So they are talking about retention BS. If you hold a kid back the odds of them dropping out of school goes up a great deal. Bangor School system’s Moto should be “excellence in education for most not all”. Plenty of money to spend on sports programs. They need a new football field at a cost of $7 million . They only play 7 games a year in Bangor. For all I care they could play football in Broadway park. Thier is a disconnect between to lower and middle to upper class people. Poor people tend to think it is the schools job to educate kids . Maybe partly because they are not educated not because they are BAD parents. The majority of educators do not seem to understand this because they did not come from that environment. They tend to blame it on bad parents. So my son who has issues with homework in 7th grade who probably reads better than a lot of kids getting a diploma might be held back a grade because of it. The kid from an elite family with an IQ of 90 makes honor role and get’s into a 4 year college in the same system.
The renovations to Cameron Stadium will be paid for by private sources. And no, the stadium isn’t just home to the Bangor High football team. It is also home to John Bapst Memorial High’s football team, plus both schools’ track teams. The renovations will also enable the stadium to be home for Bangor’s field hockey and soccer teams.
Being retained is not all bad, in a way I wish my son had been held back a year, I think that another year would have done him good, he has matured over this last year and early retention may have helped him.
Yes my son prevaricates too.
We need to return our entire educational system to the model that worked. The 1950’s. Back then parents were interested in their children’s education and so were the teachers. Kids were taught how to read, write and do arithmetic. If they didn’t pass they didn’t get promoted. In Bangor each k-6 school had a Principal who ran the school and answered to the Superintendent andSchool Board. There were no specialist other then in the class for the developmentally delayed (special ed) and a roving phys ed teacher would show up several times a year. Schools were places children went to learn and if a child wasn’t learning or misbehaving the parents were notified via a note sent home that had to be signed by the parents. Each of the elementary schools had an active PTA and meetings were held monthly. There were no Federal and State test and there were no police officers roaming the halls.
4mermainer, in the 1950’s the American education system was not that great. There is a reason we had to revamp in the late 50’s and early 60’s. High school graduation rates were abysmal and literacy rates in general were much lower. Sadly in America we have always lagged in education. It is a reason the teachers Unions initiated the concept of charter schools. They saw the mistakes local school boards were making because of political concerns and tried to improve the system. Of course nobody listened to them so we didn’t get that incarnation of charter schools. Now however with private companies seeing a profit motive there we decide to have charter schools.
Well things have certainly gotten better.
There is something to what you say I believe. Parents being involved has always been and still is important. The school system does put a lot of emphasis into socializing your child than they did in our day. The health class has a moral teaching tone to it. The teachers also spend a great deal more time espousing their views on politics. History might be ok if it is in historical context. Biology not so appropriate.
Children are also taught as early as middle school to control their education. It was impossible to discuss my child’s education with the teacher outside of earshot of my child for instance.
I believe it was during the Nixon Administration, and I only use that as a time reference, that teachers started dressing in a casual manner and started attempting to become the students friends rather then their teachers. Since then it has been a down hill spiral. There was a time in this State when if a kid had a high school education they were skilled in the basics and could contribute to the work force even if they did not go on to college. I agree with you about teachers espousing their political beliefs in class and frankly I do not feel that an elementary school class is the place for that. I strongly feel that until we get back to the basics of reading, writing and arithmetic we are doing our children a disservice.
The complexity of the workforce has changed as well. There used to be a time when if you could read, write, do basic arithmetic, and use a tape measurer you were considered skilled labor and compensated accordingly. Now we even make machinists have college degrees so they can program the CNC machines.
Again, I suggest folks read The Global Achievement Gap to find out what skills graduates need to succeed in today’s global economy. It is very enlightening.
Come on, I learned ladder programming on the job. That is much of what has changed, people especially personel people put far too much on degrees and not knowledge.
I always thought it was that they knew how little use their Liberal Arts degree was worth and assumed that all degrees were as useless, making a nondegreed individual even less useful.
Schools spend a lot emphasis on socializing kids? I think I learned most of what I got of socilizing outside of school. School was for work, which is probably why I did not enjoy school until Jr. High. Iworked then and school became fun, maybe I grew up a little too.
Oh, if only it were that easy! Unfortunately (or fortunately, depending how you look at it), technology is a genie that’s not going back into the bottle anytime soon.
Like in Bangor Doctor Webb really want’s to talk to me. Lets see her mother was a principal father a college professor . Makes $144k a year. I do not believe from her back ground she has an understanding of the plight of the lower class. When I talked to a school board member about the drop out rate I was told it is 5% . My reply was really only 5% of Bangor kids do not graduate?? The school board member says know one knows what the drop out rate is. Why do we pay these fools so much when they they have no idea about what goes on ? Saying the drop out rate is 5% is almost a flat out lie. A way to twist facts around . Every government web site places Bangor as one of the highest drop out rates in the state. Far from the poorest far from the least school spending or teacher pay. Anyone who is not one of the chosen ones is not included in the school board. I wonder how much they pay Tony Robins to land on his helicopter pad. Ignore the negative only focus on what makes them look good. The major focus is how many kids go to college. When the greater benefits to society would he less high school drop outs. 75% of people in prison do not have a diploma . A large percentage of people on welfare or drugs to not either. In today’s world a diploma is worth More than A GED is not worth nearly as much as a diploma even when compared to people with a diploma that could not pass a GED.
No, we should not return to the 50’s, BUT we should take what worked then and try it and see if it still works.
Our society has changed since the 50’s too. The parents in the 50’s and 60’s gave us everything they did not get and the culture of entitlement was started.
It has taken a couple generations but …
Was it planned or accidental?
That’s a great question.
It is probably a learning problem that needs some kind of specialist.
Or it could be that the school’s concept of an “A” is screwed up’.
Could the tests be politically biased?
I bet that a thousand reasons can be come up with but it won’t be the education system that has developed over the past few decades.
This article doesn’t cover much. We can do better? How? What does the MDOE propose? How about scrapping NCLB and going back to the basics. Reading is the cornerstone of a child’s entire education. My child is required to read EVERY school night. And each year, is required to do a little more. She is reading at 5th grade level in 3rd grade.
Sounds like you are an educated parent who values education and has instilled a love of reading in your child. You are doing what EVERY parent needs to do. It can’t just be the schools. Parents need to do their part too by having books, reading with their kids, having their kids read every night, etc. just as you do.
Agreed, there’s not much substance to this article. The MDOE has proposed quite a lot actually, some of which have already been made into law. Commissioner Bowen wants to create a huge paradigm shift in education and the first steps to pass have been teacher evaluations (LD 1858) and standards based education – aka, proficiency based education (LD 1422). It’s a good incentive, unfortunately the teacher evaluation law is punitive and doesn’t allow for appeal or grievance as well as opens the window for tying teacher performance to standardized test results. It only reinforces the idea that teachers are the problem and that administration and the state know better. Also, proficiency-based education is not something that should be mandated by the state. The MDOE and Legislature have really jumped the gun on this one as PBE is a dramatic change in teaching style and has grassroots support in only a handful of Maine districts so far.
SOME teachers are part of the problem in schools, that is complicated by some administrations not being responsible and getting rid of the problem teachers, this is further complicated by state and federal beurocrats making it harder for administrators to properly administrate their schools. Unions make the problem worse, by their purpose, by supporting the bad with the good.
This is not just an issue for education but most of our society.
The discussion has to be about cause and effect. Is the demise of family causing society to fail or did families suffer because our society has lost focus?
years of brain drain is certainly diluting the gene pool…
I believe that the reading proficiency of 4th graders is a direct result of them not getting their fundamentals in their earliest school experience.
Of all the tools that a person needs to succed in life, reading is the most important. In almost every endeavor at learning anything, if we are poor at reading and comprehension, we have a huge handicap that will hinder us the rest of our lives.
All the money that this and other stated funnel into fixing students in HS is a waste of time and resources. They shouldn’t need fixing or bringing up to speed. They should have the tools and know how to use them before they enter HS. Put the money into the earliest years of education. Any farmer will tell you that you can’t grow good crops with out the basics of good soil.
I believe it is a function of reading not being essential to most children’s ideas of life. We read because we had two channels on television, and one television (which was generally on the News, Jeopardy, or something else equally as lame to the children’s eyes). Now every child has a television in their rooms with infinite possibilities of entertainment. Why pick up a book? Seriously, you want to improve reading ability, get rid of all but one television in your house and monitor your kids viewing habits. Make them watch MPBN. They will go pick up a book as soon as Downton Abby comes on.
You are correct that the root cause would be parents using electronic gadgets to babysit their children.
MPBN??? That would rot their brains.:O
But look at how many educators think that giving computers to children is a good idea.
Worse, books will become a historical relic in just a couple years. Sighhhh
As a recently retired elementary teacher, I want to add, there is one, big problem, alone, that is determining dwindling academic excellence: the family. When children are sent to school, we teachers can only guide and instruct. We have literally no impact on family life. The indifference to education is appalling now. When parents take children out of school, for such frivolous reasons, as shopping for prom dresses, then all I say, is our future is in deep trouble. All one has to do is compare our educational climate with that of say, Japan, or South Korea. I think you get the point. The educational commities are standing on their heads, in an effort to improve education, but it is just not working.
It is all about the families, and overall, families in America are eroding, rapidly.
It isn’t just the family. Every parent wants what is best for their child, this hasn’t changed. Some parents don’t have the time, money, energy, or know how to help their children succeed in school certainly. I think far more troubling is the value society puts on school. We denigrate teachers constantly and put athletes who barely finished high school on a pedestal. We pay them accordingly. Our kids play video games for hours every week (not at all anti-video game, just set limits, a half hour a night). We teach children by the shows that we watch that the key to being famous is being as ignorant as possible (just watch the Jersey Shore, Toddlers and Tiaras or the like). We place no value on education. In fact, we have a presidential candidate who disparaged the other candidate as “having spent too much time at Harvard” (ironically, he spent one more year at Harvard than the other candidate). The society we have created shoulders far more of the responsibility than the parents.
I don’t think that people denigrate teachers as much as “education” denigrates teachers. for example which makes a teacher a better teacher; getting a further degree in education or practicing the work of teaching in a class room. Who is a better instructor for a teacher; the sucessful classroom teacher or the professor that has never taught children?
That beeing said … I absolutly agree with your assesment of society’s bizzare values. We value an entertainer (athlete, actor, comedian …) by paying them exorbadant salaries and police, firemen, teachers … a pittance and on the other hand we demonize all millionares as evil while making criminals heros and celebrities. I am not saying that some millionares are not criminals.
Some times we put far too much value on education, there are certainly courses taught in higher education that have little real value in life, this is particularily true of the courses that “enrich” life. Yes they round out an education, but the education would also be rounded out by taking many of these “courses outside of a school enviroment.
Gosh guys, you are criticizing the policy that got us here, the very policy you support on a daily basis. You can’t have your cake and eat it too, what does the BDN really stand for?
Attempting to influence family life is extremely difficult; I know, as I have tried many times over 30 yrs. I reached the point, that I would give examples of what I would do, or not do, in order to improve my child’s education. For example, I only allowed my children one hour of TV, or video game time after school. Parents would sit in at Parent/Teacher conferences, and nod their heads in agreement. It never worked. Those habits were never changed. Nor could I walk into homes at switch off the TV (and oh, did I ever want to!). Society does provide enormous challenges to a good, solid education, and unless parents, who are at the front line of education, are willing to change, willing to discipline themselves against all the corroding influences to education, nothing is going to happen. We are now facing a rapid decline in values, morals, etc, and we see it in the schools. Schools are actually a good indicator of the direction of society. Years ago, back in the 90’s, I found a core group of excellent students, perhaps 6-8, in a class of 20. These students went on to college, the military, etc, and are now productive members of society. Their parents were dedicated to education. They cared about their students’ future. They were willing to sacrifice, and discipline themselves and their children. NOW, you barely see 1-2 students per 20 in a class. It is hard to drum up enough students to play on sports teams. Most prefer to be entertained. Most dash out of school, to play video games on the computer. Sad, sad…. We put enormous amounts of $ into education, more than any other country. Yet, we are failing. WHY? The family. Yes, society holds some blame, but only the family can really make the immediate changes. I have always thought, that our country, still the wealthiest country on earth, has become soft with its wealth. Why try? Why work hard? Looking at economically challenged countries, and you will see parents and students dedicated to education. They make us look spoiled, and frivolous.
You seem to have an insight to much of the problems with education, and our country in general.
While we have made some significant gains in regard to diversity, equality and so forth; we have also lowered the importance of family, responsibility and I am afraid lowered the desire to better one self.
The American dream was to leave more to your children than you got from your parents. That has evolved (devolved?) into material goods but not but not much else.
Yes! Thank you! I was just reading through this article thinking,”hey, they made no comment about the influence of parents in this article..” then I read your response. I think there is only so much a classroom can do for chidren, the parents are ultimately responsible for their children’s education, because they influence their children into becoming motivated and interested in learning so they can give and not expect to be given. I only hope that my kids will standout like the ones you describe when they get into school.
we need teachers that teach… Not more money….
We need to dismantle the MEA. They are a big part of the problem. They have become a political entity that is not interested in education, only in bringing more money and power to themselves and the Democrats.
That’s a dumb thing to say, and you have no proof. It also keeps you from looking at the real and more difficult issues.
No proof? How much do you need? They suck in huge amounts of tax dollars that could be spent on education and use it to bolster themnselves and Democrat campaigns. It’s not like they try and hide it.
They actually do not receive any tax dollars. They receive payment from the teachers’ salaries.
in a sense they do get tax money. Teachers are paid from taxes, the union takes X% of their pay and then try to raise the teacher pay, so that the union gets more money, and on and on.
Larry, that argument only works if you are to assume that there is no value to teaching, or that teachers are overvalued. You yourself have conceded this is not the case. In order to have teachers, we must pay teachers. What they do with their money is up to them.
Look at the logic and take teaching or any public job out of the equation If party A receives its only income from a percentage of B’s pay from C and then tries to make C give more to B, is not A’s income from C.
Disagree with the logic’s validity but it is still logical?
The value of B (teachers)
If the Association supports Democratic candidates then that means that Democratic candidates are the most supportive of public education. Anyone can stand up and shout “I support education!”, but when you’re a politician, it is easy to see how you vote. And , by the way, the MEA has endorsed Republican candidates before.
“And , by the way, the MEA has endorsed Republican candidates before.”
It has happened, yes, about 1 out of 99 Democrats so that the MEA can continue the facade, “we are non-partisan,” which everyone knows is a complete farce.
They no more get tax money directly than most other corporations get.
You can’t be serious.
No, it is not a dumb thing to say.
The MEA/NEA is part of the problem.
And what more important issue is there than our children’s, and ours too, future?
Face it. If poor teachers are in the classroom, it is because of poor leadership. The association simply provides legal representation in case of a dismissal hearing, which is one of the benefits of paying dues. Tenure is negotiated, so management has to agree to it before it can be in the contract.
If you believe the MEA is the problem in education you are not paying attention to the issue at all. States with Unions outperform states without. Teachers Unions are the only way that we can keep creative teachers who focus on the students in the classroom, otherwise they run the risk of upsetting the administrators and the school board by not taking their marching orders (which are at times to go straight off a cliff). The Union supports the teachers and honestly often times it feels as if they are the only ones who support us and enable us to do the job of educating children.
That is crap. I know many teachers that feel that the union does not help the teacher.
That statistic seems to be based on SAT scores. Are the SAT scores the measure for all schools as they are here? The SAT scores went down in Maine because now ALL students take the SATs, not just the college bound as it was when I graduated.
This article was on a different set of tests taken far earlier than the SATs.
AS a teacher uou should understand that, or were you just being “creative”?
The MEA, and any other union, should not be dismantled. Their purpose needs to be redefined, or brought back to its core. Unions should be less about politics and more about protecting the industry they formed to protect. Unions have become a political money raiser for politics. That has to stop as much as the corporate political money raising, they both are destroying our country.
Unions were, at one time, and may again become an advocate for the membership, but that will only happen if the government becomes too demanding and the members take control of their union from the politicians that now control them.
“Unions have become a political money raiser for politics. ”
Only for Democrat politics. Key word, missing.
http://imtranslator.net/translate-and-speak/#window “F U Mofo what up dog? that’s the Sh…” – text to speech program with translator from imtranslator
I’m surprised Bowen says it doesn’t matter how we got from #1 to just average. I think it does matter although I agree it’s likely not all of the problem. Parents still care and want the best for their children but I think that most of them aren’t willing to take the hard road and actually DO what’s best.
It’s much easier to say yes, to give them a cell phone (put a phone in their room when my kids were younger), let them have a television and computer in their room and then let them do homework in their room assuming they’ll actually do it with all those distractions.
We had intentionally had a single television (requiring agreement on programs), homework was done at the kitchen table with one of us nearby to supervise. Non academic reading was required and computer time was coordinated to ensure it was available for homework. And lying about homework meant being grounded. If the teacher didn’t care if assignments weren’t completed on time we did and there were consequences for missing due dates.
I suspect that Mr. Bowen was trying to say that the faults of the past are not important now, we need to fix it now not lay blame.
I may be wrong he might be saying that he doesn’t care but ….
Analyzing and thoughtfully emulating programs at successful schools is a great way to start if you have a staff that is self-reflective and an administrator and community that understands it takes time to implement a culture change. The phones of the principals of the Fairmont and West Bath schools should be ringing off the hook.
Bowen, wisely, doesn’t want to kick the political hot potato of what caused the decline over the past 20 years. Obviously the push away from good programs accelerated this mess. Getting back to understandable basics will correct the problem and getting the state teachers colleges to teach the right programs to teachers will be the cornerstone.
Maine has the slowest income growth of any state in the last few years . i think that is one factor lover looked .
Bowen is a conservative political hack who mouths thoughts provided to him from conservatives groups within and outside of our State. His thoughts on this subject are almost totally dictated by politics not the welfare of us or our children. No government, educational structure, or educational instructor is ever going to solve the problems we have in education today. The answer to our current problems is the same one it’s always been, “Do our kids have someone at home that cares about their daily performance in school?” Right now, the answer to that question is largely NO. That’s what someone needs to change and it cost nothing.
You know, I am not at all a fan of a lot of what Bowen is trying to accomplish. I believe he relies a little too much on the advice of his friends at the heritage foundation, but I do not believe he is entirely a political hack. I think there are changes that could definitely be made to education. I believe he has an over reliance on the private sector (which has shown to get worse results in education) but I believe that moving towards standards based education can be a good thing (especially if it results in customized learning for each student). The problem becomes when the state tries to foist this on the schools without support and without money (which is what they tried to do originally, then they offered a little bit of money and no support).
And it takes time and study to implement a standards-based reporting system well.
Absolutely, but I believe the 2017 deadline is more than fair. I know there are schools who have been trying to develop one for years now, hopefully they are nearer something that can be used as a basis for other standards based schools. It would be great to not have to reinvent the wheel. What I hope they get away from is the fairly constricting/ yet not specific enough MLR:PEI’s, It will be nice if those could go away.
The deadline is not fair. Proficiency-based education (PBE) can be incredibly successful, but it is not something that should be mandated by the state.
Fortunately, there is a coalition of schools and districts, the Maine Cohort for Customized Learning, that have been working together to implement the model already. The real issue here is that support for PBE is coming from the wrong direction, top-down.
Stephen Bowen was a sucessful teacher, liked by students, parents and educators for many years. Maybe he has his own views that just agree with the “conservatives” and is not just mouthing the “thoughts provided to him from conservatives groups within and outside of our State”, I think that we can agree that our schools are failing, does that mean we should keep doing what we have been doing over the last few decades? I believe that is a sign of insanity.
The proliferation of electronic distractions is certainly a major contributor to the decline in reading success. Reading excellence, like excellence at anything, comes from practice. Time for reading outside of the school setting is taking a back seat to other endeavors: sports, video games, cell phone use just to name a few. Time strapped parents are too often letting their children be babysitted by these seemingly innocent time theives.