Revolution in Education

I was thinking about what I had written last night, yes it was a wee bit depressing, and I started to think more about this concept of providing some kind of a revolution in education. The more I talk with any and all of my colleagues, the more I realize exactly how necessary it is for educators to stop being silent about things. For years, educators have been rolling with the punches, and the cuts, and the new legislations; and ever single time, we have been on the losing end of things. More cuts come, more teachers lose their jobs, class sizes go through the roof. We stick with things as best as we can because we know that the kids need us. Well, I think it's time that message was heard in a louder fashion.

I don't know exactly what this might entail, a good start to things would be teachers doing more than just talking with other teachers about all the changes we need to be making. We need to be a more visible group in the public. We need to be in the fact of law makers, and not allow them to push us aside. Perhaps this is just the ranting of an idealist here, but it is time for educators to come together and tell America some of the truths about education.

Some of these truths people don't like to hear. Some of these truths are essentially just good talking points for other people to use while still avoiding any action themselves. One of the main ones you hear; "Schools need to be funded better!" You hear people say this all the time! You know that schools put up votes for bonds very frequently, that do exactly that. Those bonds help fund school renovations, updating of technology, providing adequate text books, etc... Yet, when it comes time to do it, people vote it down because it might slightly increase their taxes.

Probably the biggest truth that people don't want to hear, teachers aren't the only people responsible for a student's education. Accountability is a big buzz word that is thrown around a lot lately. Yet its implementation is flawed throughout education. If students are failing, teachers are demoted, or cut, or the school receives less money. I'm not saying that there is no such thing as a bad teacher, I know for a fact that there is, but to put the entire ownership of the student's success or failure onto the school and, ultimately, the teachers is a mistake. Students have more to do with their own success than any teacher. If a student is completely unwilling to do any work, or to even show up to class, then how can the school be held accountable for that? All of this incentive for the students to do well is thrown at the school and at the teachers, but I think that's a mistake, because teachers and schools already want the kids to do well, and to succeed, and to move from one grade to the next, but this mindless shuffling of kids from grade to grade when a great deal of them are not prepared to move on to the next level is astonishing. I had a colleague tell me that her assistant principal told her, after a grading period, that too many of her senior students were failing, and that she needed to be passing more of them. She showed me her grade book, these students are all missing MULTIPLE major assignments. Some of them hadn't even bothered to show up to class all semester, yet my colleague was being told that too many were failing. Who should be the person being held accountable in that situation? The teacher who actually is doing their job, or the student who has done no work at all?

This will be a process, but I want there to be a revolution in education. It's hard to start such a thing from a blog that most people will probably just jump over, but who knows. Stranger things have happened. Those of you who read this and want to help, please join as a follower of this blog. Give me, or any other educator you know, ideas of how we can make education a priority again.