High Performance Schools: School is Everybody’s House

Combining universal access to school with excel lence has been a his toric di lemma in U.S. schools. This dynamic tension is appearing in other nations as well as information age occupations demand highly literate workforces. Schools have adopted multilevel reform efforts to mee t the chal lenges o f educat ing today’s children. These efforts include: changes in teacher preparation; high expectations for teacher behaviors in the classroom; curriculum standards; state accountability measures; development of alternative public school models; pilot tests of alternative funding mechanisms for private schools; differential staffing in schools; and the use of high technology to individualize learning. The goal of providing all children with successful learning experiences is critical from both political and economic necessities. This paper explores the vital ingredients of high performance schools that are, in fact, inclusive. The final argument is that student welfare must be considered holistically with special attention to happiness, relatedness, and self-efficacy. 2 From the emperor down to the common people, all must consider the cultivation of a person as the root of all. It cannot be that, when the root is neglected, what springs from it will be wellordered. The Great Learning I (Confucius, trans. 1928) The United States has been in the midst of a relentless analysis of educational achievement since the appearance of A Nation at Risk (National Commission on Excellence in Education, 1983). The outcomes or goals of this scrutiny are often described in simplistic terms. For example, “every child reading at grade level,” “every child connected to the information superhighway,” “no social promotion,” “back to basics,” “phonics instruction for all.” The predominance of slogans represents the intense politicization of primary and secondary education. Governors and presidential candidates vie to be known as the education candidates. Their concerns about U. S. public education are based on rather controversial evidence (Berliner & Biddle, 1995) but the outcome is a nationwide movement toward standards-based education. The meaning of standards-based education is not identical across the U. S. and the relative weights given to various reform strategies differ dramatically (DarlingHammond, 1996; Darling-Hammond & Ball, 1999; Fullan, Galluzzo, Morris, & Watson, 1998; Symonds, Palmer, Lindorff, & McCann, 2000). 3 This paper describes a model of high performance schools which emphasizes the pivotal role played by teachers and the need for equitable access to success. The rather narrow focus the current discourse on standards creates is critiqued. It aims to show the dynamic links that exist among children’s home situations, the qualifications of their teachers, the quality of the instruction they are offered, and their attainment of high level cognitive skills. I write this paper with great humility, as I am not a philosopher nor historian of education, but a person who is recently intimately involved in education policy in the United States. My humility is also based on my limited understanding of educational endeavors across the globe. I offer this model, however, as a counterpoint for policy analysts in Hong Kong who are taking educational reform into their consideration. Much can be learned by the progress and the missteps of others. The ecological model presented is composed of influences on student learning. Such influences are quite numerous, so this paper will focus on educative communities, standards for teacher preparation, satisfying and expert careers in education, a rich curriculum, and the system of accountability. The most proximal influence on a child’s success is clearly his or her first and lifelong teachers, their parents. As much has already been written about parental influences on children and these may be particularly influenced by culture, it will not be elaborated in this paper. 4 Educative Communities Over 25 years ago, Goodlad (1984) published the important critique of public education in the United States, “A Place Called School.” In this still very relevant volume, Goodlad argued the 21st century would have increasing demands for highly educated people, but certain conditions were in place which have negative effect on schools in producing such people. Goodlad described the conditions as follows: • A young culture very preoccupied with self and less shaped by home, school, church or temple than in previous generations. Current school organization is a poor fit to their needs. • The slow response of schools to the technological revolution. • The poor fit between schools and the workplace. As families became less able to prepare children for the new jobs of the 20th century, schools may not be able to prepare children for the vocations of the 21st century. It is clear that Goodlad’s 1984 predictions have been well-supported. He proposed the need to use and relate more effectively all parts of society: home, school, church, temple, media, museums, workplaces, cultural agencies, and so on. The development of education as a community-wide function would complement the school’s special role to provide excellent general education. The impact of an “educative community” is astounding to consider. This concept includes but far surpasses community education practices 5 in the United States. Rather, it suggests a societal commitment to educate the young in liberal arts, civic participation, and vocational training. Standards for Teacher Preparation I’ve come to the frightening conclusion that I am the decisive element in the classroom. It’s my personal approach that creates the climate. It’s my daily mood that makes the weather. As a teacher, I possess a tremendous power to make a child’s life miserable or joyous. I can be a tool of torture or an instrument of inspiration. I can humiliate or humor, hurt or heal. In all situations it is my response that decides whether a crisis will be escalated or de-escalated and a child humanized or dehumanized. (Ginott, 1972, pp. 15-16) Strong and effective teacher education programs share common characteristics (American Council on Education, 1999; Major & Pines, 1999; Valli & Rennert-Ariev, 2000). The programs are located in universities in which teacher education is a central mission and the arts and science faculties and education faculty are linked around important educational objectives. The programs have received external validation of quality through national accreditation. The contents of excellent teacher education programs reflect important national standards; prepare young teachers to use technology, illustrate adequate invest6 ments in research on teaching and learning; have extensive field-based/case-based/problem-based educational activities, and are followed by effective induction programs. New Teacher Standards Of some special interest are the Interstate New Teacher Assessment and Support Consortium (INTASC) Standards. These are being adopted by a number of states in the U. S. as the basis for the first year review of teachers and the basis for initial licensure. Table 1 Ten Dimensions of Teacher Evaluation Content Pedagogy Communication and Technology Student Development Planning Diverse Learners Assessment Multiple Instructional Strategies Reflective Practice/Professional Growth Motivation and Management School and Community Involvement The ten dimensions are quite comprehensive and can be a guide to improvement program for teachers at universities. The standards are well-known to most educators, but some deserve to be discussed. (See Appendix A for brief definitions.) For example, the standards associated with content pedagogy and diverse learners have caused some controversy in the States. University teacher preparation programs differ fairly dramatically in the amount of discipline specific coursework that teacher candidates complete. More discipline knowledge and intense pedagogical preparation 7 are key ingredients for success. Turf and academic status issues have made forging model programs difficult. Poverty, racism, ethnic and linguistic diversity among children in the U. S. confront even very inexperienced teachers with overwhelming heterogeneity. Many children exhibit low academic performance. Some lessons have been learned, however, about the differential effectiveness of strategies with low performing students. For example, preschool and parent education, supplemental instruction, structured focus on reading, writing and mathematics, extensive teacher development in implementing curricula have all been found to increase children’s learning success. A publication by Jere Brophy (1999) from the International Academy of Education provides excellent specification for the multiple strategies standard. Although Brophy makes no certain claim for a set of universally effective teaching strategies, he presents 12 strategies which, in his mind, will have widespread application. Table 2 Research-based Strategies for High Achievement Supportive Classroom Environment Strategy Teaching Opportunity to Learn Practice and Application Activities Curricular Alignment Scaffolding Students’ Tasks Establishing Learning Orientations Cooperative Learning Coherent Content Goal-oriented Assessment Thoughtful Discourse Achievement Expectations Brief definitions of each of Brophy’s strategies are given in Appendix B. 8 Nothing concerns new teachers more than classroom discipline or the motivation and management standard . In addition, recent examples of shocking school violence have frightened many teachers. Although all these incidents were extremely tragic, the actual level of violence in American schools is quite low. Most teachers’ complaints are about verbal insubordination rather than physical confrontations. Quick and effective reactions to low levels of aggression are vital, however, in preventing escalations (Goldstein, 2001). Technology skills have received close scrutiny in recent federal studies. In general, as Goodlad predicted 26 years ago, teachers report only moderate confidence in their technology skills. The availability of hardware and software has greatly outstripped teacher preparation in this area. Formal and informal assessment skills should be at the heart of effective instructional planning. Formative and summative descriptions of children’s learning are key to instructional planning and evaluation. The focus on standardized testing in the U. S. has, however, become increasingly controversial. Cri t ics, such as Cook, Cunningham, and Tashlik (2000) target the low standards that are actually at the basis of much of the high stakes, and very lucrative testing programs (Katzman & Hodas, 9 1995). Educational psychologist, Robert Linn (2000), has also sounded a call of concern regarding the programs of high stakes tests that are sweeping the States. He identifies several weaknesses of the programs and warns that, “having high standards is not the same as having common standards. Common standards necessarily narrow the curriculum.” Advanced Teacher Characteristics University programs can be guided in their graduate programming by consulting the National Board for Professional Teaching Standards. The focus on preparing and developing teachers of high accomplishment is of the utmost importance in improving student learning. The five propositions of accomplished teaching are deceptively simple. See Appendix C for further elaboration. Table 3 Attributes of Accomplished Teachers Accomplished teachers: · are committed to students and their learning. · know the subjects they teach and how to teach those subjects to students. · are responsible for managing and monitoring student learning. · think systematically about their practice and learn from experience. · are members of learning communities. Satisfying Careers in Education No matter how vital teacher preparation is, educational agencies must be committed to facilitating satisfying careers. Unlike many other industrialized countries, teacher drop out rates in the U.S. are very high. As many 10 as 50% of new teachers leave the profession after only five years’ teaching. This will affect children’s performance as teacher experience tends to be correlated with improved student performance (Greenwald, Hedges, & Laine, 1996). There are many reasons why teachers leave the profession. In Texas a majority cite paperwork, administrative hassles, and difficult community relationships as the key concerns (Henderson & Henderson, 1998). The Carnegie Foundation listed ten areas of decision making where teacher involvement is essential to the health of the schools (Barth, 1999). If teachers were seen as leaders within their schools and, in fact, had authority in the following activities, job satisfaction would certainly increase (see table 4). It is interesting to notice that many of these leadersh ip func t ions a re wi th in a un ivers i ty professor’s purview, but almost none of them become regular activities for primary or secondary teachers. Some teachers, of course, when offered the opportunity to engage in school leadership, defer. Many cite already full plates, time pressures from work, family, and community obligations, or unsuppor t ive school adminis t ra tors . By far , however, the negative influence of peers seems to loom as the biggest roadblock (Barth, 1999). Some rather primitive adult relationships, inertia, risk aversion, and lack of confidence characterize certain schools that do not take to heart the truism from Pogo, “None of us is as smart as all of us.” 11 Table 4 Activities of Teacher Leaders Teacher Leaders will: 1. Design staff development and in-service programs. 2. Decide on school budgets. 3. Choose textbooks and instructional materials. 4. Shape the curriculum. 5. Set standards for student behavior. 6. Set promotion and retention standards. 7. Evaluate teacher performance. 8. Decide whether students are tracked into special classes. 9. Select new teachers. 10. Select new administrators.