The Education Gadfly Weekly

United Federation of Teachers
2007

In 2005, New York City's United Federation of Teachers set out to prove that a charter school could flourish within the strictures of a collective bargaining agreement. Climbing to the Crest documents the opening of the UFT Elementary Charter School, which promised two teachers for every 25 students and a highly-touted participatory decisionmaking framework involving parents and teachers. As with many charters, results have been mixed. But the documentary makes clear that this is not just a school--it is a calculated attempt to achieve symbolic victory for an embattled union. Although the film shows lots of footage of engaged youngsters and problem-solving teachers, it also features plenty of politics; here's UFT president Randy Weingarten attacking Mayor Bloomberg for scapegoating teacher unions, here she is rhetorically accusing charter advocates of leading a "scorched earth" campaign against unions. A Q&A session at a screening of the film had the same flavor. When charter advocate Andy Smarick (see his thoughts on the film here) asked Weingarten if she had changed her tune on charter operators like KIPP after opening a charter herself, she refused to answer directly but made the unsupported claim that certain "quick-fix" schools can't maintain early gains over time. Not to say that the UFT Elementary Charter is a bad school. Its emphasis on "CREST" values--community, respect, excellence, scholarship, and trustworthiness--is an excellent example of how a charter school can foster a culture of high achievement. But when Weingarten can't bring herself to commend KIPP, whose time-tested Five Pillars undoubtedly influenced the CREST values, and whose reputation for raising student achievement is unassailable, it's difficult to welcome her into the charter movement with open arms. See more information on the film and the school itself (as well as the recently opened UFT Secondary Charter School) here. 

Rafe Esquith
Viking Press
2007

Award-winning educator Rafe Esquith has long been known for teaching innovations, from his classroom economic system (in which pupils have to "rent" their desk space) to his students' universally-lauded Shakespearean productions. But as its hortatory title implies, Esquith's second book is more about how to teach than what to teach. The first two chapters lay out the foundation of Esquith's unique approach. First, every teacher should internalize four principles: replace fear with trust, be dependable, ensure that discipline is logical, and be a role model. Second, they should practice and preach the "Six Levels of Excellence," a moral system by which a personal code of conduct guides one's actions. (Esquith calls the pinnacle the "Atticus Finch" level.) Esquith recounts every experience and outlines every pedagogical technique through the prism of this two-tiered foundation; trips to Washington, D.C., choreographed rock shows, and higher-than-average SAT-9 scores all rely on this system. Pedagogy aside, Esquith's biting irreverence also makes for quite enjoyable reading. Take this observation, for instance: "The only thought-provoking element of staff meetings is guessing if the Powers That Be can possibly top the idiocy of the previous week's session." Or this: "I call these people ‘Copernicus teachers' because they substitute themselves in place of the sun as the center of the solar system." Of course, knocking administrators and bad apples is easy when you're a superstar. One hopes that Esquith's book may help more teachers achieve some independence from certain "Powers That Be," but a true teaching revolution will require more fundamental reforms, and many more Rafe Esquiths. Get your own copy of the book here.

Human-robot interaction may have been occurring a long time ago, but until now we've seen few practical uses for robotics in education. A new project aimed at connecting bed-ridden students to their classmates is now taking the first steps. Using PEBBLES (known to its creators as Providing Education by Bringing Learning Environments to Students) technology, a student who is either hospitalized or confined to her home can participate in class via a remotely controlled, life-like robot in the classroom. Third-grader Jerilyn McLean, who was diagnosed in 2005 with aplastic anemia, is the latest student to use PEBBLES. Via an audio/video feed, McLean's face appears as the robot's, allowing her to participate in class discussions. She also uses a joystick to make her robot perform everyday classroom actions like hunching over an exam, answering the teacher's questions, and, we suspect, passing notes if not throwing spit-balls. Fellow third-grader Kendal McGowan marvels at how PEBBLES eliminates what she previously thought were insurmountable geographic and social barriers to long-distance learning: "It's really fun, because she [McLean] can learn with us." Fortunately, McLean recovered from her illness; sadly, she now has to attend school in human form.

"iStudent," by Karen Campbell, Boston Globe, January 22, 2007

Teachers unions have lately taken a pummeling in the war of ideas (see here, for example) and yearn for some defending. Diane Ravitch provides it in this impassioned article from the AFT's flagship publication. And does so in part by pointing much-deserved fingers at district administrators: "If scores are low, the critics say it must be because of the teachers' contract, not because the district has a weak curriculum or lacks resources or has mediocre leadership. If some teachers are incompetent, it must be because of the contract, not because the district has a flawed, bureaucratic hiring process or has failed to evaluate new teachers before awarding them tenure." And her examples of curricular incompetence in New York City are enough to make you scream "Solidarity!" Still, while teachers should surely have a "voice" in important education decisions, particularly about curriculum and pedagogy, in the wrong hands (on either side of the table) Ravitch's "checks and balances" approach could yield paralysis. To us, that's part of the appeal of charter schools, where educators can coalesce around a shared educational vision, avoiding the us-versus-them mentality that permeates today's debates. Would that their visions were always worth coalescing around!  

"Why Teachers Unions are Good for Teachers--And the Public," by Diane Ravitch, American Educator, Winter 2006-2007

Though it's not the fundamental rethinking of No Child Left Behind that we would have preferred, the President's reauthorization proposal represents a pretty decent repair attempt. It's 50% "stay the course," 30% "tweak and tuck," and 20% "bold new ideas." Not bad for a president with 33% approval ratings, though the package as a whole has about a 0% chance of getting through Congress. In its entirety, it deserves a B-minus for addressing some of NCLB's greatest shortcomings. (No grade inflation here.) Let's break it down:

• Expanding parental choice: So what if most of these ideas don't have a prayer of getting past Chairmen Kennedy and Miller; they are worth a fight (and worth advocating in presidential campaigns, hint, hint). The best of the lot is a proposal to use federal dollars to replicate the D.C. voucher program in willing cities. Note, though, that the "city" doesn't have to apply, much less the school system. A willing non-profit could broker the entire program in a community--and manage the federal dollars. Through this mechanism, and by seeking volunteer communities, the plan avoids two fundamental problems with NCLB choice: first, putting entities (school districts) in charge of a reform they don't believe in, and second, promising parents options but doing nothing to expand supply. Other choice-related ideas are praiseworthy, too: offering free tutoring to students in the first year of "school improvement" instead of the second; boosting the tutoring allotment for rural students and those with disabilities or limited English proficiency; requiring districts to spend their entire set-aside for public school choice and free tutoring or watch it go away ("use it or lose it")--which incentivizes them to reach out to parents whole-heartedly; and tweaking the charter school assistance program to focus as much on school quality as charter quantity. The one problematic notion would allow schools to restrict public school choice and tutoring to students below "proficiency," as long as the school as a whole is meeting its goals and parents are informed of their options at least thirty days before the start of the school year. Talk about a perverse incentive for students to flub the test!  Grade: A
  
  
• Curbing Washington micromanagement: One of the most important ideas in the entire blueprint is expanding NCLB's "transferability provision." This proposal would allow districts the flexibility to dump much of their federal funding into one big pot to be used at their discretion, and could greatly reduce the red tape that currently drives local administrators crazy. As for the "highly qualified teachers" mandate--which has turned into not much more than a paperwork compliance exercise--the proposal is eerily silent. I'll interpret that to mean that the Administration wouldn't mind it going away, but you have to fight that fight, too, if you want an A on this score. Grade: B
  
  
• Getting tough with failing schools: The Administration's ideas here are a smart mix of more flexibility and less flexibility. On the one hand, they would allow superintendents to ignore collective bargaining agreements when it comes to chronically low-performing schools, to bust any charter school cap their state might have in place, and to hand these schools over to the mayor if they please. On the other hand, they would limit the "restructuring" options available to districts, requiring a major overhaul of bad schools, not just minor adjustments. Why not a higher grade? Simply put, it's not clear that Uncle Sam has the ability to enforce any of this, regardless of what ends up in federal statute. Grade: B-
  
  
• Creating a workable, rigorous standards-and-accountability system: Most importantly, the proposal would allow any state to use a "growth model" in its accountability system, as long as it can meet the stringent requirements spelled out in Secretary Spellings's pilot. That means giving credit to schools with lots of poor kids who are making great strides towards "proficiency" but aren't there yet, while avoiding a free-for-all that eliminates a sense of urgency. Plus, if done right, growth models could give incentives to schools to pay attention to students already at or above proficiency. The proposal also calls for America Diploma Project-like standards at the high school level that link coursework to college and workplace expectations. Still, the state standards at the heart of NCLB are likely to remain perilously low, as the Administration declined to embrace any version of national standards. Its idea to require states to disclose their NAEP proficiency rates on their school report cards is clever, and might slightly retard the "race to the bottom," but it certainly won't create a race to the top. Grade: C+ 
  
  
• Addressing the "narrowing of the curriculum": Here, the Administration really deserves two grades: An "A" for asking that the results of science tests to be included in schools' Adequate Yearly Progress ratings, and an "F" for leaving out history tests altogether. As this recent paper by Marty West showed, states that test in these subjects spend more time teaching them. Maybe the new NAEP history results (due out this spring and expected to be depressing) will spur some interest in adding history to the mix. Grade: C

All and all, not so shabby for the first comprehensive proposal out of the gate. Chairman Miller, Chairman Kennedy, and the No Child Left Behind Commission: now it's your turn. Let's see if you can jump to the head of the class.

"Bush Proposes Broadening the No Child Left Behind Act," by Diana Jean Schemo, New York Times, January 25, 2007  

Reporter Katherine Boo's recent piece in the New Yorker about education reform in Denver shows why good intentions, ideas, and actions are often slow to solve the problems of blighted schools. Boo tells the story of Superintendent Michael Bennet, a former editor-in-chief of the Yale Law Journal, millionaire businessman, and former mayoral aide, who has committed sundry resources to help Denver's most struggling students. But despite putting in place high expectations, a system that pushes all students toward college, and a merit pay plan for teachers (while closing failing schools and going door-to-door to visit hundreds of at-risk students), so far Bennet has relatively little to show for it. Still, there are glimmers of hope and progress amid the disheartening statistics--students who refuse to fail--and this piece finds them. Julissa Torrez, second in her class and determined to go to college, is one. This is no feel-good Hollywood depiction of inner-city education. It's more powerful and beautiful than that, because, as unusually good writing can do, it manages to depict hopefulness and sadness at the same time.

"Expectations," by Katherine Boo, New Yorker, January 15, 2007

Rafe Esquith
Viking Press
2007

Award-winning educator Rafe Esquith has long been known for teaching innovations, from his classroom economic system (in which pupils have to "rent" their desk space) to his students' universally-lauded Shakespearean productions. But as its hortatory title implies, Esquith's second book is more about how to teach than what to teach. The first two chapters lay out the foundation of Esquith's unique approach. First, every teacher should internalize four principles: replace fear with trust, be dependable, ensure that discipline is logical, and be a role model. Second, they should practice and preach the "Six Levels of Excellence," a moral system by which a personal code of conduct guides one's actions. (Esquith calls the pinnacle the "Atticus Finch" level.) Esquith recounts every experience and outlines every pedagogical technique through the prism of this two-tiered foundation; trips to Washington, D.C., choreographed rock shows, and higher-than-average SAT-9 scores all rely on this system. Pedagogy aside, Esquith's biting irreverence also makes for quite enjoyable reading. Take this observation, for instance: "The only thought-provoking element of staff meetings is guessing if the Powers That Be can possibly top the idiocy of the previous week's session." Or this: "I call these people ‘Copernicus teachers' because they substitute themselves in place of the sun as the center of the solar system." Of course, knocking administrators and bad apples is easy when you're a superstar. One hopes that Esquith's book may help more teachers achieve some independence from certain "Powers That Be," but a true teaching revolution will require more fundamental reforms, and many more Rafe Esquiths. Get your own copy of the book here.

United Federation of Teachers
2007

In 2005, New York City's United Federation of Teachers set out to prove that a charter school could flourish within the strictures of a collective bargaining agreement. Climbing to the Crest documents the opening of the UFT Elementary Charter School, which promised two teachers for every 25 students and a highly-touted participatory decisionmaking framework involving parents and teachers. As with many charters, results have been mixed. But the documentary makes clear that this is not just a school--it is a calculated attempt to achieve symbolic victory for an embattled union. Although the film shows lots of footage of engaged youngsters and problem-solving teachers, it also features plenty of politics; here's UFT president Randy Weingarten attacking Mayor Bloomberg for scapegoating teacher unions, here she is rhetorically accusing charter advocates of leading a "scorched earth" campaign against unions. A Q&A session at a screening of the film had the same flavor. When charter advocate Andy Smarick (see his thoughts on the film here) asked Weingarten if she had changed her tune on charter operators like KIPP after opening a charter herself, she refused to answer directly but made the unsupported claim that certain "quick-fix" schools can't maintain early gains over time. Not to say that the UFT Elementary Charter is a bad school. Its emphasis on "CREST" values--community, respect, excellence, scholarship, and trustworthiness--is an excellent example of how a charter school can foster a culture of high achievement. But when Weingarten can't bring herself to commend KIPP, whose time-tested Five Pillars undoubtedly influenced the CREST values, and whose reputation for raising student achievement is unassailable, it's difficult to welcome her into the charter movement with open arms. See more information on the film and the school itself (as well as the recently opened UFT Secondary Charter School) here.