Staff Swap: A Revealing School Experiment

Mixed in with voucher and school choice nonsense, Wisconsin Gov. Walker pitched yet another useless and wasteful education reform this past week that panders to his free market-minded friends.  

His unproven plan to improve Wisconsin schools involves financially rewarding schools that score well on the state’s flawed school report cards. I suppose Gov. Walker believes the free market fairy will miraculously motivate the staff at underperforming schools to replicate the wisdom of the high-achieving schools in exchange for the almighty green carrot.

This nonsensical proposal presumes that staffs in high-needs schools around the state are failing because educators lack the motivation and/or know-how to help students succeed. As usual, Gov. Walker’s education plan ignores the reality of inequity plaguing our schools.

School Choice, A Free Market Fantasy

I worry Act 10 and the subsequent recall attempts have muddied the Wisconsin waters to a point many cannot see clearly what is best for our kids and schools. Clearly, the expansion of Wisconsin’s voucher program is a bad choice for Wisconsin public schools.

Certainly, some anecdotal success stories exist among voucher-using students, but (as Diane Ravitch explains) two decades of comprehensive educational research distinctly shows that, overall, voucher schools perform no better than traditional public schools.

Do not be blinded by the well-funded, school choice marketing of the the Koch Brothers’ Americans for Prosperity (AFP). AFP is not out to improve Wisconsin’s public schools. Traditional public education runs contradictory to the free market model of competition favored by AFP and other free market think tanks. These tanks think for Governor Walker.

Along with Learning, Let's Measure Love!

I hail from Mark Twain country. Thus, a little satire for this week's posting.

With Valentine’s Day nearing, my family just took its annual love survey.  

Using a privately-run, publicly-funded love rating system--my family members and I rate our love for one another using a scale of 1 to 5. While the surveys are done individually and anonymously, the answers are compiled collectively and the results are shared publicly.

In a spirit of transparency, I am proud to report that the family love meter reading comes in this year at an impressive 4.37. This is a rebound from last year’s dip to 4.28, but short of our all-time love meter high of 4.76 in 2011.

Three of six family members showed improvement. The new grandson broke in at an unprecedented, perfect score of 5.0 on the love meter. The two that did not improve only went down slightly at .09 and .12. The eldest child improved the most at .97. Mom and dad made love meter gains of .41  and .11, respectively.

Why, you may ask, do we go through this annual ritual and analysis of our family love? Of course, who better to turn to in matters of love than business-minded reformers. The data meisters profess that we must measure what we value. In our family, we value love, so--hence--the love meter matters. 

Far Right, But Far From Right

What’s right for public education is complicated. Opinions on what’s right are as diverse as the variables that affect school performance. My opinion of what’s right for public schools includes a Broader, Bolder Approach to Education, a culture of collaboration, teacher leadership, integration (racially and economically), respect for the teacher’s voice, ongoing professional development, student-centered learning, school-led community partnerships, recognition that learning is beyond measure, differentiated instruction, and, above all, extensive social and academic support for our neediest students.  My opinion alone is complicated.

In formulating comprehensive education ideas, I lean on the thoughts of model teachers (like Dwain “Doc” Preston, David Costigan, and others), renowned education researchers (like Robert Sternberg, Linda Darling-Hammond, David Berliner, and others), respected education analysts (like Diane Ravitch, Alfie Kohn, Valerie Strauss, Alan Block, and others), influential activists from the teaching profession (like Paul Thomas, Anthony Cody, Joe Bower, Nancy Flanagan, Katie Osgood, my wife, my colleagues, and others), and my own teaching experiences. Researching what’s right for public schools is complicated.

The thinking is not so complicated for the right busily repressing Wisconsin’s public schools. The GOP, with its stranglehold on Wisconsin’s state government, are implementing policies that are far from what’s right for Wisconsin’s public schools and simply what’s right for the far right.  

Rage and Guns

Today’s tragic school shooting in Connecticut reminds me of a time I wished I had a gun.

Dressing Up and Dressing Down Teachers

Much ado has been made about a proposed teacher dress code for my school district as non-teacher leaders formulate a new employee handbook to replace the expiring teacher contract.

A few weeks ago, school leaders unveiled a three-page draft of a proposed dress code for school employees to replace the current one-line (“wear appropriate dress”) policy. The proposed draft has been met with some push back from educators. The push back has been met with some push back. The teacher dissent is viewed as much ado about nothing by some school leaders. The dressing up of teachers feels like a dressing down.

Undoubtedly, the current employee handbook discussions distract all of us from the eight ball of school reform. Nonetheless, between nothing and the eight ball is a worthwhile discussion about professionalism in public education.

The local push to “codify and standardize” the teacher dress code syncs with the national trend to make public education more like the business world. Understandably, the external image is important to those in market-driven fields. First impressions are essential for repeat business. Encounters with repeat customers and clients can be sporadic. Even in markets frequented often by repeat customers--like grocery stores or coffee shops--relationships with customers can be superficial with the focus on the exchange of goods. I do not cast stones at businesses and other professionals that follow a prescriptive dress code.  In a money-goods/service exchange, the exterior image is essential to survival.

Not a Waterbed Without Water

Chiming in this week is Bill Conway--a world traveler, an acclaimed social studies teacher, and a colleague.

Recently, Wisconsin Governor Scott Walker has been touting his balanced budget and the surplus money he put into a rainy day fund. I have a hard time celebrating this news as our school district continues to face dire economic issues.  

Have we gone too far with these hatchet-style budget cuts?  Have we passed a tipping point?  Wisconsin’s Superintendent asks more for schools that are in need, while our Governor is promising to deliver less. Can we work with less? Can we deliver what our communities and children deserve with what we are being given?

I had an economics class in college, way back when. My professor used a waterbed analogy that I am reminded of often. Granted, I went to UW-Madison in the 80’s and a waterbed analogy may be hard to explain to today’s youth, but I think our adult readers will know what I mean. His point at the time was simple: Things cost what they cost. If you push down in one area of the bed, it will just force another area of the bed to rise. If, instead, you let out the water, it will stop being a bed.