Some thoughts on tests, teachers, and the arts

Tests

The purpose of learning should never be to simply pass a test, but that is sadly how too many students view their experience in school today. I remember, back in the day, when school could be fun! And I don’t mean misbehaving-fun. I mean devoting an entire math period in sixth grade to playing kickball, so that the next day, we could practice fractions and decimals by calculating our batting averages. Engaged in analyzing my own statistics, I learned much more in one day of stimulating learning than I would have in two days of going over multiple choice tests. “Quality over quantity” should always be kept in mind when it comes to testing and education.

Also in relation to the “quality over quantity” point, I was frustrated to read the following in a policy paper by Martha Coakley on education: “The traditional model of a six-hour school day is simply not adequate to equip students with the knowledge and skills they need to succeed (page 6).” Really Martha? Ask any child if she wants a longer school day and she is going to respond with an adamant “NO.” I am all for afterschool enrichment activities and sports, but in my opinion, six hours of school, 180 days a year should be more than enough time for formal teaching if it is done right. And that should even leave enough time for a game of kickball once in a while.

Teachers

I have mixed feelings about the documentary Waiting for Superman. On the one hand, I loved learning about Geoffrey Canada’s work at the Harlem Children’s Zone. My favorite line from him was when he said that there is no “Superman” coming to the rescue, implying that it is our collective responsibility to improve our schools. On the other hand, I think the film came down too harshly on teachers unions. I just don’t buy the idea that if we de-unionize our country’s teachers, that will somehow make them better at their jobs. It is my belief that most teachers are doing the best they can with limited resources to prepare their students for what lies ahead.

So naturally, when I heard Don Berwick begin the explanation of his education policy by stating that we need to do more to support our teachers, I was hooked. Berwick knows firsthand from his systems-improvement work in healthcare that you can spend millions of dollars on ad campaigns and new technology, but if the hearts of the workers aren’t in it, the system isn’t going to improve. So let’s stop blaming our teachers for the failings of our public schools and do more to remind them why they decided to become teachers in the first place.

The Arts

Every student in every public school in Massachusetts should have access to a high quality arts education. One of the best examples of how the arts can transform the lives of students comes from Orchard Gardens K-8 Pilot School in Roxbury, MA. Orchard Gardens was featured on NBC Nightly News  just over a year ago because of the principal’s success in introducing a new, high quality arts program at the school. How did he pay for it? He made the bold move of eliminating the school’s security infrastructure and reinvesting the savings in the arts. Would this work everywhere? Probably not, but the story does show how even a modest investment in arts education can pay huge dividends both in the lives of our children and our society at large.