By "freestyle" I hope this means "anything goes." So, here goes...
The issues clouding my mind this week create an enormous weight on my heart as well. Working with children gives me a glimpse into future American educational contention which should generate cause for concern.
Reading was once a primary element in the daily school curriculum. It took precedence over any other subject; Reading, Writing, and Arithmetic were referred to as the three fundamental subjects. Reading was always listed first, and for good reason. Those who did not attend school and could not read were generally NOT considered prime candidates for employment. Illiterate people were often forced to perform grueling manual labor and were not typically paid well. Sometimes their families starved and frequently lived in squalor.
It was fortunate for Americans that our government became abundantly aware of this issue and instituted radical changes in educational priorities. Better funding was available to schools. Soon, education was available to all children. The number of illiterate Americans dropped dramatically and our country established a reputation as a great leader in education.
Unfortunately, public education has recently taken a back seat to political priorities and excessive unnecessary government spending. Classrooms in public schools are often overcrowded, educators waste vast amounts of time on government mandated student assessments and are forced to "teach to the test," and essential learning programs have been cut in many public schools. The number of illiterate children in the U.S. has slowly begun to rise again as a result. "According to the National Adult Literacy Survey, 42 million adult Americans can't read; 50 million can recognize so few printed words they are limited to a 4th or 5th grade reading level; one out of every four teenagers drops out of high school, and of those who graduate, one out of every four has the equivalent or less of an eighth grade education" (Sweet, Jr., 1996).
Are we doomed to repeat past? Doesn't anyone see this coming? Do our children deserve substandard education for the sake of irresponsible government spending? Can the U.S. afford to be illiterate? Those are questions to ponder and lend serious consideration to, especially as we teeter on the brink of eventual financial disaster in our great nation.
Works Cited:
Sweet, Jr., Robert W. The National Right to Read Foundation, 1996 http://www.nrrf.org/essay_Illiteracy.html
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Hi, Lisa. Because I direct the Oregon Writing Project at EOU, I have contact with teachers across Eastern Oregon, and I agree with you that government policies are currently interfering with good teaching. Assessment is one problem. Educators start thinking that the only way to get through the assessment successfully is to teach to the test. Some of that I'm sure is worthwhile so that students are comfortable with the means by which their skills will be evaluated. However, I also think it leads to an impoverished curriculum in which teachers and students have few choices, can't follow their pleasure in learning, and can't respond well to challenges. Some districts have moved to mandated curricula where all teachers at a certain grade level need to use the same materials and be on the same page at the same time, which takes the joy out of teaching and learning. In addition, students know the teachers are angry about the assessments. They know that there are no incentives for their own performance and no sense of someone who cares reading their work, so they don't really show what they know. And, in some districts, computer labs are completely scheduled for assessments, so technology instruction isn't available for students. I also heard that students who are near passing are required to repeat the test multiple times to ensure the district has a good score. What are they supposed to feel when repeatedly they can't meet expectations, and the fate of their district rides on their shoulders? I think that is torture.
Personally, I think that education would be fine if class sizes were low and teachers had opportunities for dialogue with one another so that they could develop a reflective practice that was responsive to their classroom needs and to current scholarship on teaching. Lack of both is driving good teachers out of education and is deadening students so that they think learning is a bunch of hoops to jump through. Nancy
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