I recently blogged a new study by economist Henry Levin about the crucial importance of non-cognitive skills.
What matters most? Persistence, motivation, reliability, team work, the ability to work well with others, communication skills.
Levin cites Nobelist James Heckman, who said that parents read “The Tortoise and the Hare” and “The Little Engine That Could” to teach these lessons to their children.
How many really smart people fail in life because they lacked persistence and motivation?
Andrea Gabor got an email from the principal of Brockton High School.
She and the teachers succeeded in turning around their school without firing 80% of staff.
They did it the old-fashioned way, through team work.
But Arne likes mass firings.
Did the stars and crew of the anti-union film “Won’t Back Down” know that they were carrying a message on behalf of rightwing extremists?
This writer says no:
In hopes of raising test scores, elementary schools in Syracuse are eliminating recess.
This discounts mountains of research about the importance of non-cognitive skills, which are often learned on the playground,
And too there is the pesky fact that children need tine to run and play.
A sound mind in a healthy body.
But not in Syracuse.
The Democrats Abroad platform unequivocally supports the strengthening of public education and the education profession. It opposes privatization of public education. It opposes charter schools and vouchers. It supports the use of tests for diagnostic purposes and opposes the use of tests to evaluate teachers and schools. It opposes the outsourcing of any aspect of educational leadership. It supports the right of education employees to bargain collectively and opposes efforts to curtail that right.
It is refreshing to see that Democrats abroad are in touch with the historic ideals of the Democratic party.
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III. AMERICAN DOMESTIC ISSUES
We applaud our Administration’s accomplishments and encourage greater efforts to ensure equality of opportunity through public support
1. Education, Arts and Sciences
Education is a basic human right according to the Universal Declaration of Human Rights and a public responsibility. We must pro-actively develop a population that is globally aware, globally sensitive, globally responsible and globally engaged. We therefore:
SUPPORT strengthening quality public education for all American young people based on the following enduring American values and internationally-recognized best practices:
The purpose of education is to enable all children and young people to reach their full potential as individuals and to become socially responsible citizens of our country and the world;
Equality of opportunity and non-discrimination are the foundation of our democratic society and must be reflected in all aspects of educational governance, management, finance, school facilities, teaching and support professions;
Quality primary and secondary education are the basis on which all further learning takes place and young adults are equipped with the critical thinking, skills and knowledge to make further educational and professional choices throughout their lives;
Equal access, academic freedom and quality in higher education are national priorities. A key characteristic of successful individuals and societies is the quality of higher education;
America should protect education as a public good in a period of economic austerity. We need informed citizenry to preserve and strengthen democratic values and institutions that respect them;
SUPPORT the diagnostic use of formative evaluation and assessment to encourage learning.and OPPOSE the misuse of assessment regimes to evaluate teachers or schools as institutions. Evaluation of schools should celebrate community ownership and improvement.
URGE that all levels of government view teachers and their organizations as equal partners, independent but committed to the common endeavor of achieving successful education systems.
FAVOR policies that require that personnel in school leadership, governance and management have professional knowledge, specific to public service in education, and OPPOSE the outsourcing of any aspect of educational leadership. This disturbing trend de-professionalizes key foundations of our education systems and decision-making based on knowledge, experience, trust and democratic principles.
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SUPPORT the strengthening of education professionals’ collective bargaining rights, acquired over many years, and DEPLORE the threats to those rights that are currently posed by well-funded and irresponsible special interests.
FAVOR a concerted effort by national and state governments to undertake urgent rehabilation and upgrades of our school infrastructure, to ensure that our nation’s educational facilities are quality construction, safe and environmentally friendly.
FAVOR Federal assistance to states for the creation of free, universal, voluntary pre-kindergarten programs, integrated into the public education system, while ensuring that states require the licensing and certification of all preschool instructors. Early childhood care and education are intended to meet the needs of the whole child.
URGE the reform and renewal of the Elementary and Secondary Education Act, based on the principle that the Federal government’s first responsibility is to set the bar higher than it has ever been in terms of equality of access and service, rather than lowering it to enable ‘market’ forces to play.
APPLAUD President Obama’s efforts to provide more federal funding for higher education and his support of community colleges, including the 2012 creation of the Community College to Career Fund. Further action must be taken to improve equal access to all forms of tertiary education and to reduce the cost of higher education.
DEPLORE trends towards privatization and outsourcing of our children’s future, which undermine democratic institutions at home and internationally. An informed citizenry is the bedrock of democratic values and the institutions that respect them.
FAVOR restoration of public funding for education for states that have recently cut back spending and APPLAUD President Obama’s insistence that the Recovery Act save the jobs of hundreds of thousands of teachers and support staff as well as contribute to the rehabilitation of poorly maintained public schools in disadvantaged areas.
OPPOSE policies that rely on corporate management practices, competition without proven benefits, or the privatization of public education, all of which thoughtlessly privilege corporate values over America’s commitment to equal opportunity, alleviation of poverty, civil rights and respect for linguistic, social and cultural diversity.
FAVOR Internet access and training in new computer-based technologies in all public schools, which allow students from all background to engage critically in the information revolution and knowledge economy.
FAVOR more rapid integration of immigrant workers and students in tax-supported educational programs and schemes, and OPPOSE the short-sighted attempts of some states, such as Arizona, to eliminate English Language Learner programs.
OPPOSE any Constitutional Amendment mandating or permitting organized prayer in public schools. OPPOSE the teaching of creationism, intelligent design or any other programs understood to comprise the
notions of creationism, within the science curriculum in public schools.
FAVOR the adoption of education policies, curricula and international exchange programs for students and professionals that promote stronger awareness and appreciation of current events, global affairs, geography, foreign cultures, international understanding and foreign languages in order to help the U.S. in the increasingly globalized world.
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OPPOSE ineffective “choice” measures such as school vouchers, tax-credit programs and semi-public or for-profit charter schools that divert public funds to private initiatives. Parents in disadvantaged areas, and indeed most parents, prefer the improvement of existing neighborhood public schools to re-locating their children outside local communities.
FAVOR more objective, fact-based news coverage on Voice of America, Armed Services radio and other U.S.-funded globally based broadcasters, not only to improve our nation’s image but also as a contribution to the liberalization of cultural values in the global commonwealth.
FAVOR more and improved funding for the Corporation for Public Broadcasting and the National Endowment for the Humanities as these organizations are critical to the encouragement of cultural and creative expression in our country. We applaud the increase in funding for the National Endowment for the Arts to the highest level since 1992.
SUPPORT freedom of expression in the arts, within the U.S. and through our foreign policy.
FAVOR increased funding for the National Science Foundation and additional grants and tax credits for universities and businesses for specialized training programs.
I accidentally deleted yesterday’s post about platform of Democrats Abroad.
If you have a copy, would you send it to me so I may restore it?
Barbara Madeloni, a teacher at the University of Massachusetts-Amherst protested the field-testing of the Stanford-Pearson evaluation of her students. The New York Times wrote about her courage. She was fired (“given a letter of non-renewal”).
Please consider adding your name to the petition demanding her reinstatement.
Arne Duncan reminded us In his speech at the Democratic National Convention that President Obama opposes teaching to tests. Duncan didn’t say whether he agrees. It’s hard to take this sentiment seriously now that so many states are evaluating teachers by student test scores, at Duncan’s urging.
When this practice is one day acknowledged to be bogus, we will remember who imposed it.
Meanwhile Governor Dannel Malloy, who has specifically endorsed teaching to the tests, was made chairman of the National Governors Association’s education and the workforce committee.
As someone once said,, hypocrisy is the homage that vice pays to virtue.
Rick Roach is a school board member in Orange County, Florida. He took the state test, the FCAT, and concluded that it is a very poor measure of student learning and is consuming far too much instructional time.
Rick Roach joins the honor roll of champions of public education. The honor roll consists of people who fight for good education for all children; who oppose privatization and high-stakes testing; and who break ranks and take risks to speak out. They may be state board members, local school board members, superintendents, principals, teachers, parents, and concerned citizens.
A reader sent this story about him.
Last winter, when he took the FCAT, he failed both sections. He said he knew none of the answers to the math questions, but managed to get 62% on the reading section. His story was written up by Marion Brady for Valerie Strauss’s Answer Sheet column in the Washington Post.
Roach said this to Brady:
“A test that can determine a student’s future life chances should surely relate in some practical way to the requirements of life. I can’t see how that could possibly be true of the test I took.”
Then he added, “It makes no sense to me that a test with the potential for shaping a student’s entire future has so little apparent relevance to adult, real-world functioning. Who decided the kind of questions and their level of difficulty? Using what criteria? To whom did they have to defend their decisions? As subject-matter specialists, how qualified were they to make general judgments about the needs of this state’s children in a future they can’t possibly predict? Who set the pass-fail “cut score”? How?”
“I can’t escape the conclusion that decisions about the [state test] in particular and standardized tests in general are being made by individuals who lack perspective and aren’t really accountable.”
A reader in Maryland wrote to second the nomination of Joshua Starr as an outstanding superintendent who supports students, teachers, principals, and schools and resists harmful federal policy.
One of the outstanding features of the Montgomery County schools is the PAR approach to teacher evaluation. It is about 1,000 times better than VAM or VAA or any of the other test-based methods now dominating federal and state methods.
It’s an honor to serve under Josh Starr in Montgomery County, MD. He is a very approachable Superintendent (day one: call me Josh). He travels extensively to all the schools in the county, which is quite a feat. He knows the dangers of too much testing. He tweets regularly (MCPS and MCPSSUPER).
And yes, our PAR system is good. It’s detailed here:
http://www.mceanea.org/pdf/PAR2012-13MCEAGuide.pdf
One of the things I like most about PAR is this. If a teacher is found to be not teaching at an acceptable level, they aren’t just tossed under the bus. As we all know on this blog, there can be a multitude of reasons why someone is not teaching well, or maybe not as well as they used to. That teacher, once identified, gets help from a Consulting Teacher, who is a long time teacher of that subject. The two teachers work together for a year on helping the teacher become better, in whatever area(s) they need help in. At the end of the year, the PAR panel decides if the teacher has improved and can stay, or if the teacher should then be let go.
Bringing on new teachers is an expensive process and a big investment for the local community. Canning them after some bad test scores, without first trying to help that teacher correct any deficiencies, is a waste of taxpayer money. PAR helps preserve that investment.
Diane Ravitch's blog 