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Viewpoint: School leaders need more help, and not red tape, to transform education
Here are the ideas that AASA hopes will guide renewal of the nation’s education law
AASA advocates ‘to ensure that no additional harm is done by well-meaning legislators who do not realize the potential havoc their actions will wreak upon an already overburdened [education
The American Association of School Administrators’ mission has evolved into an advocacy role. As the oldest and largest organization representing school superintendents and other school system leaders, AASA now sees its primary function as the voice of school administrators in the nation’s capital. In fulfillment of that function, AASA’s Executive Committee and Governing Board met at the National Conference on Education in Denver last month to approve the association’s legislative agenda.
Advocating on behalf of public education is critical at a time when the Elementary and Secondary Education Act is due to be reauthorized, and our public system of education seems to be under constant attack from the media and self-appointed “reformers.” Regardless of the opinion those outside of education might hold, it is those of us who have long worked within the system who know it best and can bring about the changes that will lead to a high-quality education for all of our children.
To those critics who would point a finger and say, “Then why haven’t you made those changes,” we would respectfully suggest that they join us in changing or eliminating the myriad of federal, state, and local laws, rules, and regulations that have set the antiquated stage upon which educational acts take place.
Consequently, we advocate to ensure that no additional harm is done by well-meaning legislators and regulators who do not realize the potential havoc their actions will wreak upon an already overburdened system. We point to No Child Left Behind as a specific example. Although there were positive elements to that law, such as the reporting on the performance of sub-categories of students so that we could all see the sins covered by a school-wide average, the overemphasis on standardized testing and the metrics behind Adequate Yearly Progress have even led the president of the United States to refer to NCLB as a “flawed law.”
Along those lines, if ESEA is not reauthorized this year, then we beg the administration to use its regulatory power to grant significant relief from the punishments bestowed upon schools that fail to make AYP. Choice and Supplementary Educational Services are costly and have not proven to be workable solutions, but more and more schools will be forced to adopt them as the number of schools not making AYP increases.
2 Responses to Viewpoint: School leaders need more help, and not red tape, to transform education
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myoung10
March 2, 2011 at 3:06 pm
If truly equal teaching is taking place in this nation’s classrooms then the “achievement gap” should widen, not shrink. The “middle class white student” goes home to the environment that sent him to school achieving at a higher rate and consolidates the lessons he/she learned at school that day while the lower achieving student from poverty goes back to the environment that produced the deficit. Thirteen years of schooling would put the student that entered ahead of the game that much farther ahead if educators are doing their job. We must face facts; demography drives achievement. The goal of education should be to maximize the learning of every child and if that means that an “achievement gap” exists then so be it.
myoung10
March 2, 2011 at 3:06 pm
If truly equal teaching is taking place in this nation’s classrooms then the “achievement gap” should widen, not shrink. The “middle class white student” goes home to the environment that sent him to school achieving at a higher rate and consolidates the lessons he/she learned at school that day while the lower achieving student from poverty goes back to the environment that produced the deficit. Thirteen years of schooling would put the student that entered ahead of the game that much farther ahead if educators are doing their job. We must face facts; demography drives achievement. The goal of education should be to maximize the learning of every child and if that means that an “achievement gap” exists then so be it.
wallace
March 3, 2011 at 6:51 am
Not everyone, including teachers, has the ability to spew ideas on improvement. What I mean is that every person has a different learning ability and need. With that in mind, education should be revised, not thrown out the window. Education is a system of teaching, learning, inspiration, challenge and encouragement. There are slow learners and quick learners. Some students are blessed with a vision early on that they then manipulate to become reality. Others spring board off of other ideas with just the same amount of innovation. Why are we looking at reforming and revising education so that it is a factory that spits out 100% top learners? It cannot be done and it is a form of socialism. We need worker ants. We need queen bees. We need all the in-betweens. That is the balance that allows for things to work smoothly. The change, I think that is being sought is for families of worker ants to have a queen bee rise out of the group. We desperately are looking for positive change to rise up from the ashes. Look around you because it happens every day. Just ask a teacher. We see it happen, now mind you, we also witness disappointment, but nurturing a healthy, growing mind takes time, not force.
wallace
March 3, 2011 at 6:51 am
Not everyone, including teachers, has the ability to spew ideas on improvement. What I mean is that every person has a different learning ability and need. With that in mind, education should be revised, not thrown out the window. Education is a system of teaching, learning, inspiration, challenge and encouragement. There are slow learners and quick learners. Some students are blessed with a vision early on that they then manipulate to become reality. Others spring board off of other ideas with just the same amount of innovation. Why are we looking at reforming and revising education so that it is a factory that spits out 100% top learners? It cannot be done and it is a form of socialism. We need worker ants. We need queen bees. We need all the in-betweens. That is the balance that allows for things to work smoothly. The change, I think that is being sought is for families of worker ants to have a queen bee rise out of the group. We desperately are looking for positive change to rise up from the ashes. Look around you because it happens every day. Just ask a teacher. We see it happen, now mind you, we also witness disappointment, but nurturing a healthy, growing mind takes time, not force.