Additionally, though I'm only 16 weeks pregnant, my husband and I already wrestle with whether to send our children to Seattle Public Schools (which aren't great), to try to somehow afford private school, or whether to homeschool. I've never been a fan of homeschooling, personally, but as we continue to educate ourselves and examine the situation we realize that may be the best option for our children.
So, onto the show.
Waiting for Superman
Recap
Oprah begins by showing the documentary Waiting for Superman to her studio audience. We're warned that they are extremely upset and shocked, and we get to see the trailer. The premise is that millions of kids in our nation are getting "a crappy education". The stats are horrifying: among 30 developed countries, the USA ranked 25th math and 21st in science. Oprah tells us that for the first time in American history this generation will be less literate than the one before it. Davis Guggenheim, acclaimed director of An Inconvenient Truth, follows around five families and their children, all in pursuit of a good education.
It's absolutely disgusting. In what I assume is a larger city, kids fill up a room with their parents. They have their name and a number on a card, and like old-school lottery, balls with the corresponding numbers are picked at random. Children, almost all of whom are minorities, are seen cheering jubilantly when their number is picked. Others, looking as young as second or third grade, are seen sobbing that theirs wasn't.
What are they trying to win? A trip to Disneyland? A laptop computer?
No. They're hoping to get into the "good" school. If their number isn't picked, that's it. They have to go to a low-performing school and accept that their chance at a great education came down to a wooden ball pulled from a metal cage, and was lost forever. Sound overly dramatic? Unless they miraculously are no longer impoverished and can afford private school then that's it. Their parents pay the same taxes as everyone else, and they get the crappy school, the crappy teachers, the crappy education.
It's killing me, but I won't respond. Yet. I'll keep recapping.
Davis Guggenheim & Bill Gates (yep, that Bill Gates)
Recap
Upon being asked why he made this movie, Guggenheim shares an anecdote. As a five-year-old, he took a 45 minute bus ride out of Washington, D.C., every day to attend school in Virginia. Upon asking his mother why he did this, she replied, "Because the schools in our city are broken." Now, 40 years later, each day he loads up his kids in a minivan, drives past three public schools and drops them off at a great (presumably private) school. He explains that thinking about the fact that kids in his neighborhood aren't getting a good education and don't have the opportunity his kids have just wouldn't leave him. He was helping his kids but not other people's, and so he hopes that this movie will make people care about other people's children as much as they care about their own.
Bill Gates explains that children going to the lowest-performing schools have a greater chance of going to jail than going to a four-year college. He believes that our very future as a nation is at stake, and that what must be done is taking the methods of great teachers, training teachers who are willing to learn these methods, and creating a system of high expectations to help fix our schools. Oprah has him explain what a charter school is: basically, a publicly funded (often with private donor help) school allowed to not operate under normal school rules, but the typical common denominator is longer school days and high expectations. As a result, charter schools are typically much higher performing than normal public schools.
Alarming statistic: there are over 2,000 "drop-out factories" in our nation; a drop-out factory is a school with a drop-out rate of at least 40%. This means that 1.2 million students don't graduate from high school, but instead drop-out, in our nation each year.
I love what Oprah says: no child should have to win the lottery to go to school.
Tears moment: a clip from the documentary shows a (I assume) single mother who went to a terrible public school when she was younger, so now she works multiple jobs to keep her young daughter in the private school that is located across the street from their apartment. However, she's unable to stay up on the tuition and her daughter has to watch in tears as her friends go to graduation from their grade (I'm guessing third) but she isn't allowed to attend.
When Oprah comes back live, that girl is in the studio audience with her mother and was crying. It was absolutely heartbreaking to see this little girl suffer simply because she's Black and lives in the city, and wasn't born white and living in the suburbs (where the vast, vast majority of good schools are). This is my commentary here, but that absolutely should not be. Just shouldn't be.
Michelle Rhee
Recap
She is the Public School Chancellor in Washington, D.C. (which has some of the nation's worst schools) and her drastic measures, including firing over 1,000 educators and principals and even shutting down 12 schools, has caused a firestorm. Both Oprah and Rhee reemphasize that they are not here to pick on great teachers. The problem is the bad teachers. Studies have shown that a child with three highly effective teachers in a row versus three ineffective teachers in a row can literally have a changed life trajectory.
Rhee hits on what was my mantra as a teacher: all children are capable of learning and excelling. The problem is not the student; the problem is the teacher. Rhee operates from the standpoint that if she wouldn't be willing to put her own child in a teacher's classroom, because they are "not so good", then why would she ever put another mother through that?
After the break, Oprah digs into one of the most pressing problems in our schools: it is nearly impossible to fire a chronically bad teacher. Teachers, thanks mostly to union contracts, basically must break a criminal law in order to be fired.
[Sidenote: I've read accounts of bad teachers who are accused of sexually inappropriate behavior, who can't be in a classroom but who don't have enough evidence for a conviction, so they get paid their full salary, benefits, etc., to sit in a room all day and read the newspaper while someone else gets paid to actually teach. As long as they show up they get paid. This is a chronic problem in New York City's public schools.]
Teachers are tenured after two years, and it's automatic; basically, you show up for two years and you are tenured. The result is a bureaucracy in which bad teachers get to keep their jobs, and the children pay the price.
Rhee describes an idea she came up with: the district would pay the high performing teachers double their salary (up to $140,000 a year in their system) if the teachers would agree, in turn, to give up their tenure (meaning they could be fired much more easily for low-performance). The union refused to put it to a vote. Her theory is that, at the end of the day, the union considered tenure a non-negotiable. Oprah comes off with a zinger: "Have the rules become so overly protective that we've forgotten who were really supposed to be protecting? And that's the children."
After the break, we hear the story of a girl named Emily, who sought to be able to go to a local charter school. Though she's intelligent, she doesn't test well, and her local public school uses test scores to "track" students. A student like Emily would be placed in the lower track and be taught by the less-good teachers. Instead she was able to get into the local charter school where she is excelling.
John Legend
Recap
Thankful for his opportunities to do well in public school, Grammy-winning musical artist John Legend feels that fixing the public schools is the greatest Civil Rights issue of our time. He explains that he went to a drop-out factory in Ohio, but he was in a high-performing track in which he was able to take advanced placement classes and had access to the best teachers in his school. Those without access to the great teachers were the ones who were dropping out. As a result, Legend has made it one of his passions to be part of the solution to fixing the public schools. Not only is the title track off his new album with The Roots a cover of Harold Melvin's Wake Up Everybody (click link for lyrics), but he sings the song Shine, the title track for Waiting for Superman.
Great Schools (aka the Tami is crying like a baby segment...blame pregnancy hormones!)
Recap
This segment shows videos from many schools across the nation that are doing well. All charter schools; the coolest section was a big assembly where the seniors announce in front of the entire school where they are attending college and the whole gym is in an uproar, celebrating with each student. That sure didn't happen in my high school. How very cool is that?
Oprah announces that her Angel Network, funded by donations from viewers, has spread over $80 million to helping educate children around the world. Oprah announces that since this is the last year of her show, she is closing the Angel Network. She brings up charter school leaders featured in the segment above and tells them that they each are receiving A MILLION DOLLARS for their charter school networks. Awesome! What a great ending note (and what a great way to spend the final $6 million of the Angel network's money).
Gospel Filter Review
This is a topic close to my heart. I think it's a topic close to Jesus' heart as well.
First, let's put to death the idea that education is not important. I have heard the sentiment from Christians that people trying to get an education are simply greedy and only trying to get a better financial position in life. For one, God created mankind in His image, and Jesus Himself confirms that the greatest commandment is that we would worship Him not just with all of our heart, soul, and strength, but also with all of our mind (Luke 10:27). This includes treating our education as an act of worshiping God. Secondly, wanting to be financially successful is not inherently greedy. I grew up in poverty and knew that education was my only escape. Wanting to live in a life situation that will provide well for myself and my family is not greed; it's a good desire. God is a Father who wants to take good care of His children; when we ask for bread He delights in providing it. Most often God's provision for the needy comes through the generosity of people sharing the excess of what God has provided for them. Ergo, education as a means to a better financial position is not inherently bad. It's what you do with it that matters--as always, it comes back to the heart.
Secondly, the reason I believe education in our nation should matter to Christians is directly connected to His particular love for widows, orphans, and the poor. A simple Bible search for widow yields 103 results. The same search for the term fatherless yields 42 results. God also loves the poor; a search for this term delivers a whopping 153 results, the vast majority referring to the financially poor. The statistical link between single mothers, who are often raising their children in poverty, and neighborhoods with low-performing schools is undeniable. Study after study has proven it, and I personally proved this in my own classroom, but the problem is not the poverty or the lack of a father; yes, those are hindrances. A single mother likely works multiple jobs and is not as accessible for study help as a child with two parents. An empty stomach greatly distracts children from their mad-minute math problems. However, students rise to high expectations and great teachers can help them go from a life headed toward jail to a life headed toward a Bachelor's degree. If this were your child, I am certain you would care. Even if it's not your child, as a Christian the widow (including single mothers), the fatherless, and the poor should be close to your heart because it's close to your Father God's heart.
In a similar vein, as mentioned early on, the correlation between low-performing schools and racial minorities is clear. The Bible is even more clear about the truth that God loves all races equally. He hates injustice and racism has no place in the life of a Christian because it does not exist in the heart of God. In Acts 10, God reveals to Peter that racism against Gentiles was not acceptable, and so Peter says:
“Truly I understand that God shows no partiality, but in every nation anyone who fears him and does what is right is acceptable to him. As for the word that he sent to Israel, preaching good news of peace through Jesus Christ (he is Lord of all)... To him all the prophets bear witness that everyone who believes in him receives forgiveness of sins through his name.”
Acts 10:34-36, 43God loves all races and Jesus' blood is equally available to all races. Acts 11:18 even says that a group of Jews, who traditionally hated Gentiles, "...glorified God, saying, 'Then to the gentiles also God has granted repentance that leads to life.'” Amen!
Ultimately, of course, education is not an end in itself. We are meant to worship God in all we do, and our minds are only one piece. Supporting good schools is one way to minister to the poor, single mothers, the fatherless, and orphans. Revolutionizing education to be just as good for an inner-city Black kid as it is for a white kid in the suburbs is only one way to eradicate racism. But this is a way we can minister to all of those I just mentioned, the hurting around us. Always our heart should be to see people know Jesus, live for His glory, and worship Him; letting our schools fall apart and ignoring it because our kids go to a good school doesn't show others His love and I propose that it shows a blind spot in our own sinful hearts.
I'm looking forward to Friday's episode (for why, see below) and am hoping that Oprah's involvement really can help change our nation's schools.
Up Tomorrow
Jon Stewart and Liza Minnelli.
Also, this upcoming Friday the show will be live from Harpo Studios in Chicago and will include a performance from John Legend, reaction to today's show, and an announcement that Oprah says will shake up public education.
I've been waiting to comment on this till I had a moment to myself to focus. :o)
ReplyDeleteFirst of all, I'm saying this as someone who is very committed to improving public schools-- I was in TFA, I still work for the public schools (though in an administrative capacity), I would send my child to public schools w/ no hesitation-- I suppose there are situations in which I would consider a private school, but it's almost hard for me to think of one-- I suppose if he had a very severe learning disablility that couldn't be addressed properly in the public schools.
There are some things from your recap I wondered about. First of all, what do you think of the "The parents need to help w/ homework/be more supportive" attitude? It really rubs me the wrong way. Like it or not, that attitude is a middle class, largely white, cultural norm. There have been several studies on this-- parents think they are supporting the school by sending their children, etc. For many parents, helping with homework and so on isn't a part of their culture. I don't think it's our job as educators to say, well, you have to do this our way. Rather, I think that if we can't fit our schools to the society that they are in, then we are not doing a good job as educators and schools.
Secondly, I don't get the villification of teacher's unions. Yes, I've read the New Yorker piece about the rubber rooms (the situation in NYC you mention). However, I work in a non-unionized state. Less than 1% of teachers are fired here. I don't think the unions are the issue. I think we, as a society, have made teaching into a pink-collar ghetto-- something women do, something it's OK to be not so great at. I think a societal change is what is going to get better teachers. My husband is a principal, and he routinely interviews women who say they want to teach for a year or two and then be a stay at home mom. That's fine, but why are sooo many women who think that attracted to teaching? Because it's seen as a profession where you can work for a year or two and then quit. Why isn't law or medicine seen that way? Or human resources, or accounting, or anything else you can think of? I also really disagree with Oprah's comment that we've lost sight of who we should be protecting. The union is there to protect the teachers. Not the students. Tami, you taught in a non unionized state. You saw some of the ridiculousness first hand. Having to pay $50 to take a personal day? The low pay? The crappy health insurance? These are issues that are best addressed by a unionized work force.
Finally, I agree with you that working for better schools is serving God. I struggle with my decision to leave the classroom for that reason. My job now is a lot of entering students to special ed.-- usually poor black students. I feel like I'm just The Man, keeping them down. I realize it's not that simple, but it's definitely the hardest part of my job right now.
I'll try to hit on the main things that stick out. First, I'm so glad that you are commenting especially since you disagree! I like the opportunity to work through things.
ReplyDeleteFirst, I realized I kind of missed a gold mine of opportunity in Friday's episode because the idea that parents don't care and thus we should forget about trying to involving them is a terrible one! Biblically, God calls parents to raise their children and be involved in their education--spiritually, to be certain, but the idea that education is the school's job and the parents are abdicated of responsibility is just as much of a lie as the idea that parents who send their kids to church have no responsibility to be involved in their child's daily walk with God.
To be fair, I don't think we should punish kids whose parents don't care and won't care. We should provide the extra support to those children. But just as we raise the expectations for children to learn and achieve educational excellence so also should we call parents to step up to the plate and take responsibility to be involved in their child's education.
Also, I think the second show really helped clarify that the unions aren't the enemy. There is a real problem with unions, but they aren't evil. I can say that I do know well how horrible the conditions were in NC, though much of the problem there is that people don't get fired because a bad teacher has no one better to replace them. I'm sure you saw that the replacements were often MUCH worse than the lame teacher who quite showing up to work.
However, the problem in a place like here, in WA, is that bad teachers can't be fired. For example, many history teachers (and you know that's my heartbeat!) are older men who are football coaches and the like, who find the teacher schedule to best fit their primary desire to be a coach. They like war, so they become a history teacher. So, they are terrible teachers who sit at their desk, reading the internet, while they have kids work out of their textbook and maybe they give lectures when they get to the Civil War or World Wars I & II. Meanwhile, plenty of teachers just out of college who really want a job and are excited to apply all of the great teaching tools they learned can't get hired because there are no openings. That's the main reason I no longer teach, because it's almost impossible to find a job as a history teacher unless you are also carrying some sort of coaching credential. I love football but since I'm not a football coach I don't have a chance.
Lastly, I do think teachers should be protected against the stuff like firing a great teacher in their 20th year just because a first year, who might not be good at all, saves the district $30k a year. But there is truth to the fact that many students are paying the price of a terrible education and their teachers can't be replaced with better ones due to union rules.
Anyway. That's a lot for now. Your further thoughts are appreciated!