Lesson's From the World's Best Public School?

Lesson's From the World's Best Public School

http://www.newsweek.com/2014/05/09/shanghai-high-confidential-249224.html

I have long stated that the fundamental flaw of the school reform crowd lies in their oft-repeated claim that American public schools are in crisis- that scores range anywhere from being in free-fall to stagnant when compared to scores of public schools from around the world- as if that means something. Many better informed academics have made better arguments than I am capable here, however, it continues to be frustrating to be faced with a constant barrage of claims that all start with this same premise.

The Newsweek article, Lesson's From the World's Best Public School, does a remarkable job at both highlighting the benefits and drawbacks of the public school system in Shanghai, China. The initial entry into the article starts by providing the reader with the idea that this will simply repeat the same old schtick about foreign schools- higher expectations, cultural pressures, talented and effective teachers, committed and involved parents- and it does. But buried beneath this sheen, is a damning critique of the international assessment process.

So, let's explore Shanghai's public school programs and the impact in students and their families:

Time- 16 hour days (school plus study/homework) during the week and only one day to enjoy human existence on the weekend. Perhaps it's just me, but I think human existence goes well beyond work load and time commitment. When do these kids get to be kids? And I don't mean that in a whiny over-parenting way. I mean it in a developmentally healthy way. All work and no play . . . . ?

Homework- Upwards of 5 hours of homework/night plus 10 hours on Sunday? That's a full-time job after your full-time job! Would American parents actually stand for this sort of drive toward excellence? Hardly. This actually happened: One day last semester, I went to the Main Office at the beginning of the school day to drop off work for an absent student. While I was there I decided to check my mailbox. In my mailbox was a copy of the new "Bible for homework hating parents: "The Homework Myth: Why Our Kids Get Too Much of a Bad Thing" by Alfie Kohn. Attached to the front cover was a yellow sticky-note that simply stated- "To Mr. Shaver- FYI!!!!!" 

I didn't need to read the book to get the not-so-subtle and passively aggressive statement. By the way- this was from an honors level parent in a class where the students have on average THREE homework assignments per week. Each taking about 20-30 minutes to complete. I even provide the students with ALL of their homework assignments in a packet the first day or two of the unit so that they can complete them at their leisure. The problem- MOST of the students (admittedly upwards of 70%) wait until the last day or two to complete the 16 or so assignments. Suddenly, a manageable task becomes overwhelming as little Janie and Johnny try to cram a unit's worth of work into a single marathon session. Serves them right? Wrong. Let the parental hate mail fly! It's not their children's fault, it's the teachers fault for providing so little time.

Parental Involvement- One of the cure-all's that we consistently hear about in education circles is the impact of parental involvement in their children's education. Unfortunately, most parents have no idea what this is supposed to look like. Do they attend everything at school? Do they advocate for their child? If so, to what degree? Should they help with homework? But what if they don't understand it themselves? Tiger Mom's? Helicopter Parents? All of it just another version of bad. We've raised a generation of narcissists and then we wonder why they don't do what we ask. 

Mostly what schools need from parents, is constant reinforcement of the school and teacher roles in learning; guidance toward time management and organization; an occasional nudge and spark to stay on task/study, and most of all- a safe, healthy and nurturing home. You want to know where America fails in educating it's children, look no further. For as long as I have been a teacher, there have been students who wait outside the school doors every morning longing to get in because their home lives are so miserable or unsafe. Sometimes arriving up to two hours prior to the start of school, these kids need a place to go and school is the best, and sometimes only, option. And then we expect these kids to be college and career ready?

Respect for Teachers- "A teacher is the most exalted figure of respect outside of a student’s parents. The teacher speaks, the student listens. More than listen, the student memorizes and needs to be able to spit back virtually everything he or she is taught." I think we all know where teachers stand on this one. See above. When I started out teaching in the late 90's, I felt genuinely well-respected. However, throughout the 2000's, the climate took a noticeable and drastic change in the opposite direction. Suddenly, teachers were the problem to all of societies ills- economic, social, political . . . a scapegoat of sorts. So when you're the scapegoat at family homes, it's pretty easy to be less than respected at school.

Schooling- As described in the article, Shanghai and other public school systems around the world, have tiered public schools. These tiers are determined by a range of factors from socio-economic status, ethnic grouping, testing ability and childhood development. The advanced students move into one track, while the others move elsewhere. In some countries, this may include 3-4 different tracks. For testing purposes, the PISA and other test administrators focus their energies on the college or university bound groups. In the United States, this means everyone. In states like New York, every single student is educated with a college-bound curriculum. No longer available are the local diplomas that allowed lower ability students to graduate with pride. Today, the ONLY options for graduation are college-ready or GED. Not quite one-size fits all, but pretty close. 

So pretty much apples-to-oranges when we talk comparing student achievement levels. In most US school districts, there is a healthy chunk of students you're just happy got out! 

Overall, programs like PISA do nothing to advance the idea that some countries are better at educating their children. Some are better at it, and there is plenty we could learn from many of them. However, when you politicize a flawed system to leverage it for economic gain, we all lose.