Another Reason to Kill the Textbook Industry: Part II

I blogged awhile back about why curriculum decisions made by the Texas Board of Education were another reason to kill the textbook industry.

Here's one more.  In this day of online access to a plethora of online resources, both primary and secondary, it boggles my mind that we still promote the use of generic, unimaginative, I'd-rather-chew-broken-glass-than-read-another-page-of-this textbooks. But then, we have a multi-million dollar industry to support, don't we, and well-entrenched interests with access to Congress and the president who want to ensure their market.

Enter Arne Duncan and the Race to the Top, glowingly reported on by the NY Times with the reductionist headline: Teacher's Unions' Last Stand.  Now we know!  Our educational woes are all the fault of the teachers' unions, which stand in the way of true progress in favor of job security while protecting teachers with sub-par performance.

As Duncan states, "It's all about the teachers"  (as if students play no part in their education), and he paints of vision of higher pay for qualified teachers and...here's the crux...increased testing.
For states to win RTTT funds,  points

would be allocated based on the quality of a state’s “data systems” for tracking student performance in all grades--which is a euphemism for the kind of full bore testing regime that makes many parents and children cringe but that reformers argue is necessary for any serious attempt to track not only student progress but also teacher effectiveness.

As NCLB has amply demonstrated, when high-stakes testing determines financial outcomes, people retreat to the trenches and drill, baby, drill. And textbooks are perfect for that.

The problem with everything I've seen proposed by the government is it only reinforces current definitions of education, placing the focus on the teacher (Duncan's quote above) on the relaying of information to passive receivers.  If only it were that easy.

Never mind the practical consideration of where in the world the country will find 3.5 million Jaime Escalantes, if that's what we need to solve the problem.  Why are we again placing the emphasis on the teacher, instead of firmly on student-centered education, where it belongs? Why are we failing to acknowledge and utilize the paradigm shift created by our current technology?

If teaching doesn't move beyond  "sage on the stage" methodology, we are a doomed profession. That may have been fine in an era of limited access to information, but not in an age when I can carry the entire internet in my pocket. I even read somewhere that smartphones will eventually kill laptops...and we're still seating students in straight little rows in confined classrooms....and teaching out of textbooks.

Our jobs are not so much about content now, though that's certainly part of it. They're about teaching students to be effective learners, with whatever that means for our respective disciplines. We need to guide them towards meaningful ways of gathering, analyzing, and evaluating resources (the "self directed text construction" I blogged about a few days ago), then teach them to use technology constructively to reshape that information into personally meaningful outcomes.

And that's why Arne Duncan is wrong; it's NOT about the teachers. It's about empowering and motivating students to take charge of their own learning.  I would love to think I'm as gifted a teacher as Jaime Escalante, but I don't kid myself.  I'm a good teacher, though, and there are thousands of us out there, engaging students in real world problems and issues for which there are no immediate answers; yet we encourage them to ask the right questions and ponder possible solutions, with the whole world as their resource.

You don't need a classroom for that--or at least not a physical one. And you certainly don't need textbooks.  Moreover, while that kind of learning can be tested, it's not reducible to multiple choice responses.  I believe in testing and accountability, but only if the tests measure something meaningful. Knowing whether a given word acts as a gerund or a participle in a sentence is NOT meaningful.

Promoting this kind of learning isn't easy.  My next post will focus on the iPad, the promised software upgrade, and how it could well be on its way to becoming a useful tool for students to engage meaninfully with information sources.

UPDATE:  BTW, if you're not following Bridging Differences at Education Week, add it to your reader immediately.  The blog is an ongoing conversation between Diane Ravitch (and hasn't SHE turned around her views?) and Deborah Meier.  Ravitch had a telling quotation from a recent post:

I think the Race to the Top is a massive waste of money that will produce perverse consequences. Hundreds, perhaps thousands, of schools will be privatized, handed over in some cases to incompetent or unscrupulous organizations. Teachers will be pushed to focus more of their energy on unworthy tests. Many schools will discover there is less time to teach the arts or sciences or foreign languages or history.

A big question I have yet to hear answered:  The top of what?  How are we defining the top?  Is there any consensus on what we mean by that?  If not, how do we assess whether students are there? Or the best means for getting them there?  People's jobs are riding on this.  We better be clear what we mean.

URGENT: Make Your Voice Heard

From a letter by Sara Kelly Johns

We have two days to make an impact for students by giving comments on the President's Race to the Top initiative that will put $4.35 billion in Race to the Top competitive grants to support education reform and innovation in classrooms. School libraries are the entire school's classroom for 21st century learning and need to be included. Your comments are crucial and the door closes after Friday! Use these talking points developed by the AASL Advocacy Committee (based on the AASL Legislative Committee's background paper for the ALA Washington Office's efforts on RTT) to send in your comments today to racetothetopcomments@ed.gov
Your immediate help is needed!


Please take a few moments to read about Race to the Top (RTT) and send brief positive comments to racetothetopcomments@ed.gov by Friday, August 28th.

States leading the way on school reform will be eligible to compete for $4.35 billion in Race to the Top competitive grants to support education reform and innovation in classrooms. Between the 2009 budget and the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act (ARRA), more than $10 billion in grant money will be available to states and districts that are driving reform. School libraries need to be included in these grants!

Below you will find information about RTT, talking points, and writing tips.

RTT (Race to the Top):
By funding RTT as part of the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act of 2009 (ARRA), President Obama and Secretary of Education, Arne Duncan, are clearly signaling that they see education reform as part of the path to economic recovery. Since school libraries prepare students with the 21st Century Skills identified by business, government, and education experts as necessary for 21st Century success, RTT offers an opportunity for school libraries to support and become part of this national educational reform effort. Race to the Top funding is a “golden” opportunity to position libraries and school librarians in a central role in the academic program of schools to make measurable contributions to students’ learning and academic achievement.

The Plan for Reform:
The U.S. Department of Education is challenging states to develop "comprehensive strategies for addressing the four central areas of reform that will drive school improvement:"
· Adopting internationally benchmarked standards and assessments that prepare students for success in college and the workplace;
· Recruiting, developing, retaining, and rewarding effective teachers and principals;
· Building data systems that measure student success and inform teachers and principals how they can improve their practices; and
· Turning around our lowest-performing schools

Talking Points--Connecting to the four-point Plan for Reform:

1. Adopting internationally benchmarked standards and assessments that prepare students for success in college and the workplace;

The AASL Standards for the 21st-Century Learner align with and expand upon the essential skills identified by the Partnership for 21st Century Skills to prepare students for success in higher education, life, and the world of work.


2. Recruiting, developing, retaining, and rewarding effective teachers and principals;

As instructional and technology leaders, school librarians offer support to both students and faculty through education and resources. In addition to providing professional development opportunities, school librarians work across the curriculum and grade levels to collaborate with teachers and have the opportunity to model best practices. Like building level administrators, school librarians have an horizontal and vertical perspective on curriculum and instruction within their buildings. Library Media Specialists are the uniquely qualified and prepared teachers who teach critical specialized skills identified in the AASL Standards for the 21st-Century Learner and the Partnership for 21st Century Skills. Professional school librarians are among the first positions cut when school systems face economic hardships. Students lose valuable and unique learning opportunities and teachers lose a key educational partner and source of professional development and support.

"School librarians are important instructional partners in supporting and expanding existing curriculum. [They] work with teachers to change what is possible in the classroom and support exciting learning opportunities with books, computer resources, and more" (U.S. National Commission on Libraries and Information Science).

3. Building data systems that measure student success and inform teachers and principals how they can improve their practices;
School librarians are teachers who assess student learning and have a tradition of measuring their impact through surveys and statistics. They hold a unique position in the school that lends itself to reflective evaluation of all students at all levels and in all content areas.

4. Turning around our lowest-performing schools

State after state research studies document that a strong state-licensed school librarian who manages a networked school library provides equitable access to up-to-date resources, implements a dynamic instructional programs, and fosters a culture that nurtures reading and learning throughout the school has been the common thread found to impact student achievement.

"Across the U.S., research has shown that students in schools with good school libraries and certified school librarans learn more, get better grades and score higher on standardized test scores than their peers in schools without libraries. More than 60 studies have shown clear evidence of this connection between stdent achievement and the presence of school libraries with qualified school librarians" (U.S. National Commission on Libraries and Information Science).


When writing, focus on:

· STUDENTS & student learning, especially:
content standards
creative thinking
problem solving
critical thinking-evaluation
information ethics
responsibility and safety
authentic, real-world applications
Collaboration with other teachers and members of the learning community
Technology integration
Assessment
Equitable access for all students


“The Ask” (make it clear why you are writing...what action do you want the US Dept. of Ed. to take):

As the United States Department of Education works to reform education and to prepare our students for future success, it is in our students' best interests to have access to a strong state-licensed school librarian who manages a networked school library, provides equitable access to up-to-date resources, implements dynamic instructional programs, and fosters a culture that nurtures reading and learning throughout the school. Many students have lost or are in danger of losing these valuable opportunities. RTT has the potential to fund access to these critical and essential services that the school library is uniquely situated to provide.

Writing Tips:

· Know what you are asking for.
· Start with a brief description of that request.
· Be accurate, specific, and concise.
· Use research from reputable sources.
· Be child-centered. This is about meeting the needs of children; it cannot be all about school libraries.
· When possible and appropriate include a BRIEF student-centered story to put a face on your "ask."
Keep messages positive...short & sweet!