Waiting for "Superman"

Starfish - Photo by JoAnn Sturman

Scott Sturman
fliesinyoureyes.com

Davis Guggenheim’s 2010 documentary movie examines the failing public school system and the steps which can be taken to reverse the trend. The road to reestablish American schools as the world's preeminent will be long and filled with obstacles. Two points are certain: good teachers make an enormous difference in student achievement, and the teachers' unions are a primary impediment to progress.

It is unusual to see a Hollywood motion picture which criticizes an organization which unwaveringly supports the Democratic party, but Waiting for “Superman” makes it clear the teachers' unions are no friends of children. Every step toward reform has been savagely contested by the National Education Association (NEA) and the American Federation of Teachers (AFT), who sanctimoniously proclaim their motivations are in the best interests of children.

Impressive improvements in math and reading proficiency have been realized in inner city charter schools. These are schools which receive public money but are able to circumvent the rules and regulations of normal public schools. The movie highlights the plight of students with high expectations who are destined for failure unless they are able to matriculate in these schools. Since these schools are highly desirable, a lottery is necessary to select prospective students. The chance of selection is less than 5%. It brings a tear to one's eye to realize their futures depend on chance alone.

As late as the 1970's American public schools were the best in the world. Since that time, the inflation adjusted amount of money spent per student has doubled, but test scores have plummeted to some of the lowest in the developed world. The money is being squandered on rules, regulations, and protecting poor teachers who have no business teaching children. In some cases teachers are tenured in two years. After that point it is nearly impossible to fire them for incompetence or unsatisfactory teaching performance. This point is made poignantly in the movie when the camera pans the infamous New York City “rubber room” where 550 egregious teachers who cannot be fired are paid full pay to read, sleep, or play cards at an annual cost of $30 million. This amounts to over $54,500 per body per year - enough to send 3000 students to a charter school! The AFT and NEA have resisted every effort to reward excellent teachers even though it is clear student performance is highly dependent on the quality of instruction.

The movie's denouement occurs when Michelle Rhee, the Washington, D.C. Superintendent of Public Instruction, proposes a potential doubling of teachers' salaries if they will accept performance based pay and renounce tenure. It is a much anticipated event, but the union will not even allow the issue to be brought to a vote. The fear of accountability is so great that the union opts for the status quo and sacrifices the future of the children they are supposed to insure.

Charter schools succeed, because of quality teachers and being able to operate independently of union and administration control. Yet the majority of American students do not have this benefit. A day does not go by when we are not reminded of another public school system suffering from cost overruns and poor student performance. The NEA's and AFT's answer is always the same – more money and regulation but no vouchers. Most children's parents do not have the financial means to pay for a private education and are reliant on the public schools. Vouchers allow public schools to be transformed to charter schools, because they shift the power away from unions and toward students and their parents. Competition and choice will force the beleaguered public schools to either change or perish.

Portability of K-12 Education

Bryce Canyon, Utah - photo by JoAnn Sturman

by Scott Sturman
fliesinyoureyes.com

In a below average income area in the 1960's where could one attend a public high school and graduate with two years of calculus, physical chemistry and organic chemistry, a year of physics, six years of foreign language, and two years of college level English? As a bonus there were few major discipline problems, and most qualified graduates attended college, while those less academically inclined received vocational training. The school supplied its share of National Merit Scholars with a considerable number of the students matriculating at top tier universities. New York? Boston? San Francisco? Quite possibly, but one could also find these educational opportunities in a city of a less cosmopolitan nature – Cheyenne, Wyoming.

There were two primary reasons for this success story. First of all, the school board was committed to the dissemination of a no frills, high quality education. At this time the Atlas Missile Program was under construction in the area. An influx of engineers and their families arrived who insisted on a top flight education for their children. The school administrators were flexible and unencumbered in their ability to institute sweeping changes quickly without undo interference from unions and special interest groups.

There was plenty of homework and no early dismissal days or extra days off to insure four day holiday weekends. Students were stratified in math and English classes from the second grade with placement in one of three levels: advanced, average, and remedial. In this manner the teachers were able to teach to the ability and motivation of their classes. There was a realistic approach to the curriculum which tailored the instruction to the individual student, so the high achievers remained motivated and the ones having difficulty received intensive instruction. The students' egos were secondary; nearly everyone read at an appropriate level at graduation.

The second reason is more subtle and cannot be duplicated unless... Most of our teachers were women who taught in an era when their employment opportunities were restricted to teaching, nursing, and clerical work. Thankfully, our daughters are no long constrained by these impediments, but the benefit to us students was a first rate education taught by competent educators. Due to this quirk we were taught by bright and motivated people who were able to provide a premium education in a remote area of the country. The question now is how society can attract more high achieving men and women to the teaching profession.

All four of my children attended public schools, but despite all the money spent and gimmicks employed none of them received the quality education I received. Some of their teachers were excellent, but many were average or substandard. My generation is no more intelligent than the current one, yet in most cases our first through twelfth grade education was vastly superior to the one available forty years later. Public education is too bureaucratic and too watered down to provide the product needed for future generations. Yet when confronted by the abysmal performance of the public education, politicians and the NEA offer the same solution – more money and, of course, more rules.

The statistics are striking. The correlation between the amount spent for education and SAT scores and other competence testing is weak. More money is not a substitute for good teachers, a sound curriculum, and discipline. The cost of administration and the excessive rules imposed from outside the classroom is levied at the expense of the students. When comparing students from the United States and foreign countries, as American children progress in grade level they fall farther behind their foreign competitors.

The solution is simple: competition. American colleges and universities are the best in the world. Students have the option of a wide array of public, private, parochial, and military schools competing aggressively for their participation. This contrasts vividly with the K-12 experience where most students often are forced to attend poorly performing schools. There is only one game in town, and it is not surprising drop rates are high, and many “graduates” are functionally illiterate.

A reoccurring theme of this series of essays will be, “What is best for the children?” Portability of educational benefits is no less important than portability of health care benefits. Vouchers are synonymous with the right to choose a premium education for one's child and should belong to the student, not the institution. The voucher should be applied to all types of schools – public, private, parochial, or military. Performance of the schools should be made public and compared by standardized tests, graduation rates, acceptance to universities after graduation, and the level of discipline maintained at each institution.

Parents of all socio economic groups will have the opportunity to find the best possible school for their children. If this need is provided by the public sector then it will prevail, but I have my doubts unless significant changes are met. In fact the public schools will have to change dramatically to survive, since they are laden with too many administrators, burdened by too many ambivalent teachers, struggle to effectively deal with discipline problems, and devote too many resources and time to low impact classes. Except for magnet schools most public schools cannot deliver the quality education of yesteryear.

Now about those high achieving teachers of past generations... The voucher system motivates enterprising educators to open their own schools or work for private schools where they can command higher salaries and teach with less bureaucratic interference. The amount spent for each student varies throughout the country, but consider a voucher worth $8000 per student per year. A class size of twenty five students generates $200,000. A school with five classrooms generates a $1,000,000 yearly. Teachers can establish the curriculum and manner of instruction best suited for their students and be judged by the results of their efforts. Successful teachers will be rewarded financially and free of nonsensical policies which detract from their profession. The real winners will be the children who will receive the quality education that once was available a long, long time ago.