As we begin another new school year with news reports of Stanford 9 scores and District plans to better align our instruction to standards, we think it is more important than ever to step back from the often conflicting (and conflicted) messages we are hearing about reform and say "Congratulations" to Burbank teachers for a great job last year. In spite of the pressure cooker atmosphere that we all now work in, we have done another amazing job. Burbank schools have continued a steady trend of improvement in test scores and most achieved or exceeded API goals that were set for us.
This is a remarkable feat considering that our texts and tests were not aligned to the standards on which our students would be tested. This caused many of us to improvise by finding our own resources to augment our instruction. We all tried to balance instruction to the standards with the realization that some standards are more "testable" than others and that standardized tests fail to test so many things we know are important to a well rounded education. Character development such as perseverance, motivation, and respect for diversity are just not part of standardized testing. The higher thinking skills of evaluation, analysis, and synthesis are barely touched upon in multiple choice tests. The entire issue of citizenship skills and civic education is totally absent from today’s version of the Stanford 9. These are real issues that we spend valuable instruction time on, and yet we worry about how much we can afford to cut into the time that is increasingly being mandated for teaching "essential learnings" (read "testable standards") in an effort to boost test scores.
These are not idle academic concerns. In elementary classrooms teachers are finding it increasingly difficult, if not impossible, to find instruction time for music, art, and enrichment activities such as Jr. Great Books, "shared inquiry," literature investigations through readers’ theater, as well as historical simulations and presentations of student plays. All of you can think of other examples that we haven’t mentioned here. These are the elements of a quality education and the mark of excellent teaching. We all worry that these qualities are being compromised in the mad, politically driven rush to boost test scores.
What we do know is that teachers must be part of the decision making process on education reform and a whole host of issues that relate to it — standards, testing, curriculum, length of school days and the school year, professional development, and instructional methodology. The latest trend toward "teacher proof," scripted instruction requires careful analysis and thorough discussion among teachers, administrators, and school board members to determine where and when this method is most effective. Donna M. Ogle, President of the International Reading Association, put it this way: "For teachers to be successful with all students, an ongoing staff development and inquiry process for teachers needs to be in place. We need to watch this interest in making ‘teacher-proof" shortcuts carefully so that the real needs for teacher staff development are not obscured in shadows of quick, scripted solutions."
Professor Ogle goes on to cite a study of the difference in the way teachers in Japan and the U.S. perform their jobs. "They learned that Japanese teachers work together to solve instructional problems and spend several hours a week studying and working together. Teachers examine real teaching lessons and analyze how best to work with students on the content. In the second half of the year teachers then develop research questions and lessons to experiment with alternative ways of approaching instruction together."
There are those inside and outside of our profession who seem to careen from one new method to another, always searching for education’s "Holy Grail." Much of this is politically driven and prompted by the media. CTA President Wayne Johnson calls this phenomenon the "fad of the month." Experienced teachers know that there is no one way to achieve excellent teaching. There is no formula that can be applied to all teachers and all students. To search for it is pure folly — an illusion of wishful thinking. The reality is that the imperatives of good teaching and quality education are a full measure of common sense along with teachers who strongly influence instruction and assessment, and who are always collaborating to facilitate their own professional development.
These education imperatives must include:
- Salaries sufficient to attract well trained teachers who are dedicated to lifelong learning
– Class sizes that promote differentiated instruction
– School facilities that are safe and up-to-date, reflecting the importance we as a society place on education
– Books and materials available to all students
As Burbank teachers we already benefit by having many of these elements in place, or in the process of being put in place. As an Association, BTA and your co-presidents are dedicated to continuing this process and assuring that teachers are always part of the process through collaboration. As we have often heard Wayne Johnson say, "If you want to know what’s wrong with a school, ask teachers — they’ll not only tell you what’s wrong, they’ll tell you how to fix it."