PEORIA -- Put four experienced educators at a table to discuss educational policy and expect a boring evening, right? Wrong!
The Peoria Area League of Women Voters Oct. 5 educational policy panel was fascinating -- and one that every politician should hear. These people spoke the truth, as they saw it from the trenches. An audio recording will be posted below.
First the participants and the goals for the evening:
- Jerry Brookhart, Regional Superintendent of Education, an elected official with years of teaching and educational administration experience.
- John Wetterhauer, Principal of Charter Oak School in Peoria, an experienced teacher and administrator.
- Tim Sponsler, a retired school psychologist who has had administrative experience in both public and private schools, and former principal at East Peoria High School.
- Hedy Elliott Gardner, who teaches history at Calvin Coolidge School, GED courses at the Peoria County jail and at Procter Center and Harrison Homes, and is a former vice president of the Peoria Federation of Teachers.
The panel was to discuss the role of the federal government in public education in determining quality education, accountability including measuring teacher effectiveness through test data, and common core standards for all students K – 12, as well as the criteria for federal funding for schools.
This panel discussion was part of the Peoria League’s study of educational issues for the national League. In general the educators were critical of most of the federal government's interventions in public education, and felt education should mostly be a local and state matter.
Here are some of the key ideas and opinions from the discussion:
Brookhart: "Education is the largest political thing in the city, county and state" because "politics is the distribution of resources and the distribution of these dollars is the largest issue."
On common core standards: "we're a world economy and need standards to be competitive with the rest of the world." Standards are different from curriculum. Standards and accountability "are here to stay."
(Brookhart had to leave before the discussion ended because of another commitment.)
Wetterhauer: Children from different states entering Peoria District 150 schools vary widely. Some from the southern states are way behind, but from New England they're likely ahead.
"At Charter Oak we see the disconnect: have we made parents feel welcome? A school is only as strong as its community, its parents, teachers and administrators. I have single moms doing the best they can, some have three jobs. What do we do to help them? This is a huge issue."
"A core curriculum is important."
"We don't need monthly assessments," twice a year is enough. The ISAT only measures how well the student did that day. The goals of No Child Left Behind are unrealistic, and schools that score low are not "failing" if they're making progress.
Neighborhood schools are important and District 150 should go back to the K-8 model.
Sponsler: "I don't think the federal government should be involved" in standards and accountability. The US is very large and there's no common culture. States and local governments should be deciding most issues in education. The federal government has done a good job in ensuring civil rights for minorities, the poor and disabled students, but as for "the rest of it, they mired us in paperwork, politicized the process and came up with dumb ideas."
Schools face enormous challenges today, including financial challenges. "We don't have control of all the faactors. We should pay teachers enough to attract the best and the brightest."
But in Wisconsin they're cutting pay and benefits and collective bargaining rights. That's no way to attract people to the profession where half leave after five years. Instead "pay teachers like electricians" so they earn top dollar after five years." Politicians "say education is a top priority but where do we put our resources?"
"Can we cut military spending and still blow up the world 14 times" and give (teachers) adequate pay?
Minimum standards should be determined by local teachers with state input, not the federal government. "Everybody needs something to shoot for - goals. We need to meet standards for each grade level."
Gardner: The US seems headed toward third world status in education, and common standards are needed "to bring us back." But "we're testing too much, buried in bureaucracy," teaching to the tests.
"We're under pressure to teach to (the test)" but there are too many variables to judge teaching by a student test. "Teachers cut out subjects to get them (pupils) to pass the test," and they lose a well rounded education.
Multiple choice tests, done on a computer, don't tell a teacher much about a child. Creativity is not measured, and testing each month is a waste of time and money.
The federal government" has done a poor job." Much time and money was wasted on seeking Race to the Top grants, and looking for other competitive grants.
"It seems like a scam. Stop the madness and get back to teaching kids. We could have paid for larger class sizes instead but we blew it all on nothing (grant seeking that involved luncheons, travel and paying substitute teachers.)."
Neighborhood schools are very important where children can walk to school or there's an easy drive to school intead of busing across town. Some parents lack cars and phones and can't attend events far from home.
"A lot of my kids are 2,3,4 grade levels behind. They don't need iPads. In adult literacy, I use a 45-year-old book, Of Mice and Men. I teach in Harrison Homes in someone's kitchen. They still learn. In Havana, Cuba, they have quality education (without elaborate schools.) They do have discipline and value education. This is what we're missing. Money is important but we're fooling ourselves if we think this is the only answer."
"We need minimal conmpetency (standards) made by teachers at the local level. Too much of this assessment is money making business and it's gotten way out of hand."
Here's an audio of the discussion:
LWV Oct 5-1
Here's the question and answer session:
LWV Oct 5-2
-- Elaine Hopkins