The world is changing in dramatic ways. Are our schools and children keeping pace?
Looking back at my tenure as Michigan's Superintendent of Public Instruction, 2001-2005, I ponder Is the glass half full or half empty with regard to the quality of our public schools? Being an eternal optimist, I quickly conclude that the glass is half full.
Yet, we have a long way to go to fill it to the top.
Put simply, our public schools are nowhere near as bad as public school critics want you to believe. Nor are they all as good as some of who set education policy, earn their living within the school walls, and represent the public education establishment defend them to be. The truth lies somewhere in the middle. We have schools that are soaring and schools that are sinking. Our collective job will not be done until all of our schools and children are performing to standards that will make them and us competitive in this 21st innovation century.
Three truths are clear:
Children are learning in our public schools every day in spite of the great hurdles many dedicated teachers face. As a community, we must do more to lift up our public schools and the throngs of dedicated, competent educators who dedicate their lives to our children. We must throw out the hammer often used to bash our public education system and replace it in our minds and in our words with a ladder that symbolizes lifting up our schools, our teachers and our children. The negative hyperbole that creates cynicism and skepticism among us must end.
The world is changing in dramatic ways and our system of public education must embrace those changes or it will be totally engulfed by them. Public education cannot become a captive of its own past successes. In Michigan, we have moved from a society where thinking has replaced lifting for a living. The battle to revolutionize public education must be fought from within or those from the outside will chip away and erode the credibility of our schools.
Public schools helped take our country to the dance of greatness. There is no guarantee that a fickle public looking for something better and dissatisfied with the pace of change will not eventually choose to dance with a different partner. Our collective future is sitting in our classrooms today. No, it is not just sitting within the relative comfort of our suburban schools. Our future lies just as much in the classrooms of our urban centers of Detroit, Pontiac and Benton Harbor. The viability of our society, the strength of our economy, the quality of our lives, the vibrancy of our democracy and our place in the world depend on the quality of all of our public schools.
The problems in public education are much broader than the talk about finance that has been the focus of late. There are children who are not reading and computing at grade level. There are children who are not being taught appropriately so they might be successful. Both of these facts are as overwhelming as they are unacceptable. One need only to look at our prison system where the majority of inmates are illiterate to see the outcome of society failing our children. Yet, we also know that rhetoric has never educated a single child. Only competent, well-prepared and equipped teachers and parents can accomplish this task.
We need higher expectation for all of our children. No more excuses. By setting high academic standards for all children and engaging all who value our children we shall provide ladders that will help lift them up. It can be done. It must be done!
Simply put, there is nothing wrong with our public schools that cannot be fixed by what is right about our public schools. The real Statue of Liberty, the symbol of hope and opportunity in America, is not in the New York Harbor - it lies in our community's public schools. And the torch is the light of our great educators making a difference in our world and lighting the way -- one child at a time.
Schools across out state and nation need to improve. The improvements need to be measured by a standardized test, but not solely driven by the test mania that currently grips our state and nation. We must not allow the magic and miracle of teaching and learning to be driven by a single test. Our schools must inspire, support, and encourage our teachers to make learning come alive for students and to challenge them to develop their potential.
Our public schools and our teachers are filling our youth with knowledge every day. Yes, I believe the cup is half full and much work remains to be done.
Looking back at my tenure as Michigan's Superintendent of Public Instruction, 2001-2005, I ponder Is the glass half full or half empty with regard to the quality of our public schools? Being an eternal optimist, I quickly conclude that the glass is half full.
Yet, we have a long way to go to fill it to the top.
Put simply, our public schools are nowhere near as bad as public school critics want you to believe. Nor are they all as good as some of who set education policy, earn their living within the school walls, and represent the public education establishment defend them to be. The truth lies somewhere in the middle. We have schools that are soaring and schools that are sinking. Our collective job will not be done until all of our schools and children are performing to standards that will make them and us competitive in this 21st innovation century.
Three truths are clear:
Children are learning in our public schools every day in spite of the great hurdles many dedicated teachers face. As a community, we must do more to lift up our public schools and the throngs of dedicated, competent educators who dedicate their lives to our children. We must throw out the hammer often used to bash our public education system and replace it in our minds and in our words with a ladder that symbolizes lifting up our schools, our teachers and our children. The negative hyperbole that creates cynicism and skepticism among us must end.
The world is changing in dramatic ways and our system of public education must embrace those changes or it will be totally engulfed by them. Public education cannot become a captive of its own past successes. In Michigan, we have moved from a society where thinking has replaced lifting for a living. The battle to revolutionize public education must be fought from within or those from the outside will chip away and erode the credibility of our schools.
Public schools helped take our country to the dance of greatness. There is no guarantee that a fickle public looking for something better and dissatisfied with the pace of change will not eventually choose to dance with a different partner. Our collective future is sitting in our classrooms today. No, it is not just sitting within the relative comfort of our suburban schools. Our future lies just as much in the classrooms of our urban centers of Detroit, Pontiac and Benton Harbor. The viability of our society, the strength of our economy, the quality of our lives, the vibrancy of our democracy and our place in the world depend on the quality of all of our public schools.
The problems in public education are much broader than the talk about finance that has been the focus of late. There are children who are not reading and computing at grade level. There are children who are not being taught appropriately so they might be successful. Both of these facts are as overwhelming as they are unacceptable. One need only to look at our prison system where the majority of inmates are illiterate to see the outcome of society failing our children. Yet, we also know that rhetoric has never educated a single child. Only competent, well-prepared and equipped teachers and parents can accomplish this task.
We need higher expectation for all of our children. No more excuses. By setting high academic standards for all children and engaging all who value our children we shall provide ladders that will help lift them up. It can be done. It must be done!
Simply put, there is nothing wrong with our public schools that cannot be fixed by what is right about our public schools. The real Statue of Liberty, the symbol of hope and opportunity in America, is not in the New York Harbor - it lies in our community's public schools. And the torch is the light of our great educators making a difference in our world and lighting the way -- one child at a time.
Schools across out state and nation need to improve. The improvements need to be measured by a standardized test, but not solely driven by the test mania that currently grips our state and nation. We must not allow the magic and miracle of teaching and learning to be driven by a single test. Our schools must inspire, support, and encourage our teachers to make learning come alive for students and to challenge them to develop their potential.
Our public schools and our teachers are filling our youth with knowledge every day. Yes, I believe the cup is half full and much work remains to be done.
