Education Concerns/Questions
I've been looking at the Democratic candidates education policies. As a former middle/high school English teacher turned teacher educator at the graduate level, I'm dissatisfied with all of the policies. None go far enough to adequately address the issues and offer specific responses. We can't offer universal preschool but only offer it to "at-risk" children. I say that in defense of "at risk" students" because it will simply perpetuate a two-tier system. In my opinion, we need universal preschool and kindergarten that is offered universally to ensure the quality of the programs. We need universal school delivery standards; otherwise, our schools will continue to perpetuate the status quo.
Here are some of my thoughts and questions, which I throw out like a message in a bottle in this online sea:
Teacher Preparation
Context:
Many teachers are stifled by the testing focus of NCLB. But many are overwhelmed by the task of teaching and the complex demands it places on teachers to understand content information, child/adolescent development, curriculum design, instructional strategies, and assessment. We need to strengthen our bottom line in terms of teacher preparation. Undergraduate and graduate programs can't easily require more courses beyond the minimum requirements of state departments of education, because they risk losing their students to cheaper, faster programs.
Question:
How can the federal government work with state departments of education, education accrediting organizations (like NEASC or NCATE), schools of education and the National Board for Teacher Certification to create a more rigorous model of teacher preparation that includes coursework in content areas, child/adolescent development, instruction, curriculum design, and assessment?
Teacher Pay
Context:
As Robert Reisch said on Marketplace this summer, we need to pay teachers more if we are going to attract the best and the brightest. I concur unequivocally. Instead, we blame experienced teachers for not taking lower-paying jobs in schools that are underfunded and understaffed. In what other profession do we have such expectations? All students should have excellent teachers, and we need to pay them equally.
Question:
Can teacher pay be balanced in accordance with federal pay scales for the different regions of the United States? How can the federal government align teacher pay scales with the federal pay scale and support states in this investment without creating yet another unfunded mandate?
Universal School Delivery Standards
Context:
In America, we accept that poor children go to school in poorly-funded schools. We live with the fact that we fund education through property taxes. We have federal requirements for student performance without federal school delivery standards, which should be met before any expectation is placed on students and teachers.
Question:
How can the federal government support efforts to achieve school delivery standards (such as universal preschool and kindergarten, access to technology, adequate space, materials)? If it can't set these norms and support states in achieving them, what value is there in having a federal department of education?