Obama’s Education Disconnect
Yet, here was Obama yesterday (February 1, 2010) on the YouTube Interview, responding to a question from a math teacher about what Obama thinks it means to be a well educated person. After first saying that there is an economic component to being well educated (being a good worker and getting paid more as a college graduate), he went on to say:
"It's absolutely true that a high quality education is not just a matter of being a good worker; it's also a matter of being a good citizen, it's also a matter of being able to think critically, evaluate the world around you, make sure that you can process all the information that's coming at us in a way that helps you make good decisions about your own life, but also helps you participate in the life of the country. I'm a big believer that the most important thing that a kid can learn in school is how to learn and how to think... That requires more than just rote learning, although it certainly requires good habits and discipline in school. It also requires that in the classroom they're getting the kind of creative teaching that is so important.
"And that's why our administration has initiated something called Race to the Top, where my Secretary of Education Arne Duncan has helped to design a competition among states so they can foster the kinds of excellence in learning everywhere, not just in some schools, not just in some states, but in every school and every state. If states want money we're going to reward excellence, and we will show them what has been proven to work in terms of encouraging the kind of critical thinking that all of our children need." (emphasis added)
There are some great points in that brief snippet from President Obama, about learning how to learn and gaining the skills to participate actively as a citizen of our society. Yet there is a stark disconnect between Obama's stated goal of nurturing critical thinking, creative teaching, and good citizens, and his support for increased accountability based on student test scores. How does one result from the other? And what can we do ensure that the democratic educational goals President Obama clearly believes in are reflected in educational policy and practice?
Posted in Standards and EvaluationEducation PolicyPhilosophy of EducationTeaching on Feb 02, 2010 - 01:22 PM
The Obama administration is ramping up its focus on education following last week's State of the Union. Unfortunately, it does not seem to go very far in taking a broader look at learning and giving teachers and young people more of a voice in the education process. Positive proposals include expanding the system of rating schools to include more than just test scores and using a student growth-based metric rather than a static grade comparison across schools. However, there is still no talk about more authentic forms of assessment or supporting student growth beyond academics, and the Race to the Top initiative, which guides additional education spending, remains focused on linking teacher retention to student test scores. See today's New York Times article on the subject for more details.Yet, here was Obama yesterday (February 1, 2010) on the YouTube Interview, responding to a question from a math teacher about what Obama thinks it means to be a well educated person. After first saying that there is an economic component to being well educated (being a good worker and getting paid more as a college graduate), he went on to say:
"It's absolutely true that a high quality education is not just a matter of being a good worker; it's also a matter of being a good citizen, it's also a matter of being able to think critically, evaluate the world around you, make sure that you can process all the information that's coming at us in a way that helps you make good decisions about your own life, but also helps you participate in the life of the country. I'm a big believer that the most important thing that a kid can learn in school is how to learn and how to think... That requires more than just rote learning, although it certainly requires good habits and discipline in school. It also requires that in the classroom they're getting the kind of creative teaching that is so important.
"And that's why our administration has initiated something called Race to the Top, where my Secretary of Education Arne Duncan has helped to design a competition among states so they can foster the kinds of excellence in learning everywhere, not just in some schools, not just in some states, but in every school and every state. If states want money we're going to reward excellence, and we will show them what has been proven to work in terms of encouraging the kind of critical thinking that all of our children need." (emphasis added)
There are some great points in that brief snippet from President Obama, about learning how to learn and gaining the skills to participate actively as a citizen of our society. Yet there is a stark disconnect between Obama's stated goal of nurturing critical thinking, creative teaching, and good citizens, and his support for increased accountability based on student test scores. How does one result from the other? And what can we do ensure that the democratic educational goals President Obama clearly believes in are reflected in educational policy and practice?
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jbenkovitz
Dana, I just finished reading your article about Obama’s disconnect—very insightful and very true. Simply inspiring. If it’s okay, I’d like to suggest the following link to have Arne Duncan removed from his role as Secretary of Education.
Link: http://www.petitiononline.com/2010abcd/
As I included with my signature on the above petition:
The Race to the Top model seems to reinforce the flawed mandates outlined in No Child Left Behind. This does not feel like Hope or Change, but rather more of the same. Our education system should be defined by a constructivist, authentic, and exploratory curriculum that rewards teachers for creativity and challenges students to think critically. Education matters. You cannot measure teaching and learning within the current assessment system because it fails to account for the magic that occurs in so many of our classrooms across the country. We must listen to and learn from the voices of progressive educators such as Alfie Kohn, Jonathan Kozol, Linda Darling-Hammond, and Deborah Meier. We are in desperate need of a Secretary of Education with a Degree in Education, known for progressive research and practical experience—not one with a Sociology Degree along with an agenda that results in competition and extrinsic rewards tied to norm referenced, culturally biased, multiple choice tests.
Thanks for listening. - Jen B.
on Feb 14, 2010 - 12:09 PM