For an extended time, the current educational state has been rife with faulty reasoning, a dearth of accountability and an overwhelming sense of failure. The steps required for remedy have been precluded by political failure, social policies and the belief that a skewed foundation can somehow be leveled with the installation of new doors and windows.
Perhaps the most egregious fallacy is the outdated perception that our high schools continue to function as “institutions of high learning.” The years when a high school diploma was the pinnacle for those poised to enter the work force and forgo further academic exposure is long past.
Today’s high schools more accurately function as preparatory venues, the responsibilities of which are limited to ready a teenage population for the next level of collegiate or vocational participation. Working to prepare students for this next supportive level while presupposing a base of “higher learning” is a major disconnect, the ramifications of which overpower our educational institutions and create the current maladies of dropouts, student discontent and substandard educational results.
Remedying the current scenario is only possible through a systematic cleansing and the recognition of basic educational tenets, free from any political and social entanglements.
• Collegiate teacher training programs must be mandated to include a fifth year of educational residency training. A teaching license will be issued only after the successful completion of this residency program, consisting of a year of supervised teaching within a local school system.
• Teachers’ pay schedules should be identical within the state of Maine regardless of geographical location. The disparity among teaching appointments and excellence should no longer be affected by demographics or wealth.
• Administrative remediation programs should be mandated for any principal whose building has failed to adequately address the academic needs of its students, and has been removed or encouraged to leave. Only after successful completion of such a program could this individual be considered for future appointment. Recycling failing principals only perpetuates the continuum of mediocrity and failure.
• Social promotion of students must be eliminated. No student who falls significantly behind will advance to the next grade. From the third grade and beyond, any child testing with more than a one-year grade level deficiency in reading will be mandated to complete a 4-6 week summer reading remediation program established by individual school districts.
• Alternative schools will be provided in each school district to serve students who are unable to successfully function within their current school placement. Too often, these students do not receive the specific services required for their advancement and siphon an unacceptable amount of time and services away from others at their schools.
• Actual standard-based learning needs to be implemented. A demonstration of competency would guarantee advancement and would result in graduation when all standards are successfully mastered. Administrative self-serving barriers including age and socialization must be precluded from terminating the progress of succeeding students.
• Charter schools of various specialties should be established to ensure that students with specific needs and requirements will be able to receive a course of study relevant to their needs.
• Mandated consideration for individual instructional needs must be established as a basic tenet of instruction. Currently, only special education and selected pilot programs provide mandates to ensure “every child receives relevant educational strategies required for success.” There needs to be an “educational prescription” developed for each student, delineating specific needs and requirements for success.
• Statewide competency exams must be passed in all secondary academic subject areas before the awarding of credit. The only acceptable way to demonstrate competency in a specific subject area is through a specific testing of its content base.
• Educational tracking needs to again be recognized for its relevance and excellence. Students coupled with peers of similar needs and levels of competency are more willing to pursue excellence and achieve success within these settings.
Only with the advent of proven education strategies can the cycle of failure which currently exists within education be broken and a new foundation established that will successfully serve all students in a relevant and meaningful manner.
Ken Fogelman has been a special education teacher for 40 years who taught and served as department head at Sumner High School from 1999 to 2011.
While having some merit, I disagree that spending a year “in residency” would do much to make better teachers. Spending more time student teaching in top notch classrooms might make a difference but every place that currently has “student teachers” are not necessarily meritorious. Equal pay statewide is
a worthy goal assuming that all teachers have equal college preparation – they do not currently.
Misty2222,
Thanks for your reply. I spent my last three years at Sumner H.S. being mandated to attend after school programs (still in place) designed to teach individuals how to teach. It is pathetic and sad that programs like these are neccessary for some individuals, who after years in the classroom can not successfully practice their craft. A year of residency with an indivdual who has demonstrated competency would go a long way toward placing a neophyte on the correct path. Equal college preparation would be nice, but is not mandated to produce excellent teachers, any more than believing that all excellent physicians need having attended Harvard Medical School. Successful teaching is a learned craft, with specific goals and techniques. Having a propensity in the field is desireable, but not required for excellence. Ken
Many of the recommnedations are commendable. However, in these days of declining, even Draconian reductions in support for our shcools, how are alternative schools and charter schools going to be funded? For that matter, how can equal pay independent of geography or wealth of the district be accomplished, especially for the poorer districts?
Gopher,
Thanks for your reply. I assure you that if some of the waste endemic to the current system was reduced there would be enough funds available for some of the mentioned programs, even without a full scale frontal provision for its complete implementation. Ken
“Teachers’ pay schedules should be identical within the state of Maine regardless of geographical location.” Do you think people will work in Portland or Cumberland for the money educators make in Stuben?
Interesting that he advocates tracking, as many in-service teachers do…secretly. The Mainstreaming Police will be “tracking” him now.
FmrMTI,
Thanks for your reply.Your point regarding differential pay is correct. What can be done regarding differential geographical assignments is to provide housing vouchers, subsidies, or other incentives to entice teachers to forgo areas of higher pay for areas of their preference. This is often done with physicians in rural areas. Your point regarding tracking is accurate. Interestingly, tracking is always provided for the academic superior i.e. Advanced Placement classes, Honor Classes, etc. They just refuse to call it what it is, “tracking” and deny the same services for other students, who just as bright, do not possess the identical academic niceties.Ken
It would take major state intervention to create the pay environment you’re discussion, but I think it could yield real results. Ensuring local control while maintaining proper oversight would be a challenge and probably a political football. But it sure could encourage people to teach in rural areas.
FmrMTI,
Thanks for your response. I see no legal reason to preclude local communities from providing real estate incentives for recent educational hires. I don’t believe state intervention is mandated for local encouragements for those considering placement. However, if some state intervention is required, there is good reason to champion its cause. Ken
It’s not mandated, but small communities–especially those with a shrinking tax base–couldn’t afford it. I think many towns would welcome well-funded teaching positions that they could fill, but some might bristle at the strings that would be (and should be) attached by Augusta.
The more I think about it the more I like it, actually. My concerns would be about local curriculum control and the influence Money (from the left and right) at the state level could have. I would want Augusta to provide the slots, require qualification requirements, and conduct minimal oversight…nothing more.
Here here! I couldn’t agree more with your observations! We are far too busy “experimenting” with the latest and greatest cure alls (SBE comes to mind) to be consistent in education. Equivalent pay would help to level the field as far as quality of teachers is concerned and “tracking” is as stated secretly supported by many teachers, but most won’t voice their opinions because of vindictive administrators that are looking to make names for themselves through the educational ranks of the state.
Weneedbigbrother,
Thanks for your response. Your comments are more accurate than you probably realize. Thanks, Ken
There have been monetary concerns expressed by some readers regarding the thrust of my article’s visions. As a SINGLE example of how educational funds are wasted, two years ago three members of Sumner H.S.’s faculty and administration were flown to California to attend a two day “Hallejulah” educational conference which could have just as been easily viewd through video conferencing. Regardless of the money’s origin, the thousands of dollars expended for airfare, hotels, meals, and conference fees could have been used to establish a meaningful mentoring program for new teachers, as proposed in my article, or for a variety of other programs that could have directly impacted students. Multiply the expended funds by the hundreds of schools attending, and you can begin to appreciate the monies squandered even within this singular event. It’s a lot worse than most can appreciate. Ken
With all respect Mr. Fogelman, it sounds as though you have some kind of administrative axe to grind here. There may have been very specific reasons why they attended that out-of-state conference, and, as you say, you are unclear as to the source of the funds for it. There may not have been a remote participation option. I don’t know if you have any large-volume regular education experience (it says your background is special ed which is low-volume largely self-contained), but the notion of an individualized self-paced educational plan for each and every student, especially in large schools, is something that is very undoable absent the hiring of MANY more staff and drastically re-designing all programming. I can tell that it will not happen in many places, nor should it. The world is not “self-paced” and never will be. College isn’t. Law school isn’t. Business school isn’t. The Maine Police Academy isn’t. Vocational training isn’t. The military isn’t. Medical school isn’t. School is about preparing people for the real world. Self-pacing does not do that. And one can cite just as many reasons and just as much research to blunt many of your other points. There are mountains of evidence indicating the effectiveness of group-based instructional approaches, various forms of whole-class learning, etc. There is evidence that shows it is counter-productive to retain students as you suggest and pull them from their natural peer and age groups. That you seem to so easily dismiss the whole-person, social-development elements of the educational process is troubling. And you mention nothing whatsoever about the absolutely critical importance of the home environment. Every single bit of evidence out there shows over and again that kids from stable, loving, caring families with educational expectations and which are involved and support the educational process perform well above those that do not. Teachers, principals, and schools can never, ever replace the parenting. It would be nice to level the playing field as to pay, but good luck. Ain’t gonna happen anytime soon given how schools are financed, and many of your ideas would be very expensive in addition to that. Finally, I for one am sick and tired of hearing all this nonsense about how kids are being failed by our schools. That is just one huge hummer of an innacuracy. I live in a community where the median family income is about $35,000 a year. Yet the schools perform near the top of the state. How? With good teachers who manage classrooms well with structure and solid instruction, administrators that take learning and behavior seriously and don’t tolerate student conduct, and with MANY co-curriculars for students to say yes to. It is a culture that places a high value on learning and good behavior and one which follows through on those. And THAT is what works. And there are many schools all over this state that do very, very well. Indeed, we put out a very good product in general in this state given the socioeconomic challenges, and there is tons of evidence to support that too.
Dear Tinserblic,
Thanks for your response. No, there is no administrative ax to grind, just a frustration with an inflexible system that is stymied in its reluctance to improve. The fact that things are working in your area demonstrates the potential to succeed. Your negative response toward individual student identification is unfortunate. I have devised a cursory diagnostic form that helps identify specific areas of challenge and helps plot an individual plan for each student. Only a few minutes would be needed for a competent educator to identify and help plan a student’s course. It has been used successfully, with my support. Your idylic settings would certainly provide a more supportive lifestyle and through its branches, an improved educational response. Unfortunately, that lifestyle is often lacking and schools are increasingly asked to provide services that should be accessed elsewhere. A common fallacy within the realm of critical thinking is to offer an ideal to dispense with outcomes that depend on alternative circumstances. I am afraid that you have fallen into that abyss. We do agree that many good things are within the current realm of existence, but I think that we as an educational entity are clearly and accurately failing our students. My perspectives would not provide the panacea some may seek, but would greatly improve the situation at hand. Thanks again for your viewpoints. Ken
“Teachers’ pay schedules should be identical within the state of Maine regardless of geographical location.”
I think schools need greater discretion regarding teacher pay. Schools need to balance their budgetary needs with their desire to attract the best teachers. I am also of the opinion that if you have 15 applicants for the English position, but are having a hard time finding a qualified math teacher, you should be able to offer greater pay for the math position.