POSTED ON BEHALF OF DOUG

One of the things people need to remember is that how teachers are paid is not up to them. We have free collective bargaining so teachers co-determine how they are paid. Teachers like the systeem as is since it is part of the backcloth of the best education system on Earth.

If teachers do not agree and a system is imposed on them then you are in for years of strife and disruption. A system based on merit pay will not work in education. Has been tried and failed endless numbers of times.

You are beating a dead horse. The literature is full of the reasons merit pay does not work.

Jay Greene agrees with Doug:  No point in trying to improve our public education system.  Stop beating the dead horse and focus on stepping over it.  http://educationnext.org/fix-schools-by-not-fixing-schools/

And that’s exactly what parents who can afford it do.  Enrollment in private schools continues to climb since Stats Canada last reported sharp increases:  http://www.statcan.gc.ca/daily-quotidien/010704/dq010704b-eng.htm  In that 2001 report, 74% of families with incomes over $125K had fled the public system.  Does anyone know what it is today?

Six years ago, CBC reported that a third of parents were sending their kids for private tutoring.  http://www.cbc.ca/news/canada/story/2009/09/04/f-tutoring.html  Since then, the number of tutoring centers has exploded, and there are also in-home tutoring, on-line tutoring, drop-in tutoring, specialty (eg: GMAT) tutoring, and several other private ways of getting the education that kids need to succeed. 

Our public education system is working just fine, best in the world.  Nothing to see here, no further improvements possible, just move on.

POSTED ON BEHALF OF DOUG

Daniel Willingham


http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=uONqxysWEk8

Funny how Willingham is cherry-picked, because he rightly pointed out the flaws in added-value. Otherwise, Willingham is not welcomed in the 21st century public education classrooms, just in case the students might get tainted with efficient methods of learning, and even improved the students’ cognitive deficits.

What I would really like to see, is having schools become truly accountable for the learning of the bottom half of the achievers. In Canada - right across the country, there is 2 to 3 year waiting lists for assessments. The only way to access SE services, the kid has to have a diagnoses, and meanwhile the bottom 50 % wait in the inclusive classroom. How many children are pass into the next grade being one or more grade levels in the basic 3 Rs. How does a kid who is promoted and NOT socially promoted throughout the primary grades, at the end of grade 3 entering grade 4 - at a grade 1 level in writing and math, but apparently at grade level in reading with a standard score of 59 in low phonemic awareness? 

The latter example is my child, and a good example of a kid who learned to read by memorizing words. Regardless what experience the teachers had, the accountability recommendations outlined by Clifton, would make no difference to the bottom 50 % of the students. A number of reasons for it, but the main reason is the training of teachers. No teacher is required to be well-versed on the reading and learning science of the 21st century. None of the teachers could answer my simple questions back in 2001, nor the education officials with the PHDs in education - the simple questions of phonemic awareness, why my kid - her writing had only consonants, and no vowels. Why she was bombing out on the simple stuff in math, but excel in the advance concepts. Its how she passed math and yet this kid could not string a few words together at the end of grade 3. Yet, throughout the 3 years, according to the educators with their teachers’ certificates, no reading problem, no learning problems and definitely no learning disability. It turned out, my child had major problems, and she was not alone in the classroom.

As a parent, I duly expect teachers with university degrees, to have the knowledge and expertise in the learning and cognitive sciences. that are useful for the education of children. I don’t know how useful the pedagogy courses are when the educators cannot answered the simple questions that parents may have, or have children who are not steadily improving in their learning.

Would it not be more useful, to target the bottom half of the classroom, to check for steady improvement and progress of children?  Perhaps, no student would be kept waiting for education services if teachers’ jobs and salaries were on the line?  For students like my kid, would finally get the systematic phonetic instruction methods or Orton-Gillingham methods, instead of tossing a laptop without correcting the reading and writing deficits which is the latest tactic to avoid remediation.  For each child that does not progress, a detail report must be file explaining why the child did not progress in skills and knowledge.

Oh yes - perhaps the curriculum and teaching methods would be transformed overnight and finally the excuses would end. The above is one of the reasons, why parents are exiting out of public schools and heavy use of tutoring services for the basic 3 Rs. And Tom, you have no idea what parents are doing at home to addressed the academic weaknesses of their children. Spending hours with them on the basic 3 Rs, and SQE has regular visitors daily, to avail of the help for their children.

POSTED ON BEHALF OF DOUG

Accountability is the enemy of quality education. When the British asked high quality teachers why they quit teaching before their first 5 years, they were almost in unison “oppressive accountability is the enemy of educational professionalism” good people do not want to work in environments of heavy manners.

High quality teachers are like artists. Artists don’t like to be told what to do and how to do it, especially from those who are not also artists.

Educational decision making must be done by educational professionals.

“Educational decision making must be done by educational professionals.”, always comes with the line of, “Artists don’t like to be told what to do and how to do it, especially from those who are not also artists.”

The thoughts emerged from the 19th century educationalists and education philosophers, to counteract the education theories emerging from Europe from the non-educational professionals. Madam Montessori is one such person, who was a medical physician by trade. In Wikipedia, ” However, conflict between Montessori and the American educational establishment, and especially the publication in 1914 of a critical booklet, The Montessori System Examined by influential education teacher William Heard Kilpatrick, limited the spread of her ideas, and they languished after 1914.”  http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Montessori_education

The Montessori methods represent a big threat to the established public education system, the educationalists, the pedagogical theories and the beliefs of the established public education system. In Kilpatrick’s book, the sneering of the Montessori System leaps out of the pages. Kilpatrick saves most of his venom towards the emerging pedagogical theory, based on the science of the day - scientific pedagogy.
The book - http://archive.org/stream/montessorisystem00kilprich#page/n9/mode/2up

I shall direct your attention to pages 54 to 60, on the reading and writing instruction, that Kilpatrick dismisses as not being very useful in the instruction of English. In 2013, the instruction of the phonemic sounds is still a taboo in the primary classrooms, and at the very least not pedagogical correct in the teacher faculties. Montessori faced the same criticism from her counterparts with educational degrees, sneering at her work with children who were considered defective, mentally retarded and feeble-minded. “In 1899, Montessori became director of the State Orthophrenic School, where her work with the retarded was so successful that the majority of her students were able to pass the state education exams. While other people exclaimed over this phenomenal success, Montessori pondered its implication for normal children. If the mentally deficient could do as well on the exams as normal children, in what poor state must those normal children be! This reflection led her to devote her life to education.”  http://www.atlassociety.org/guide-montessori

I deliberately selected the last link to point out the political and belief systems that are entwined and entrenched in not only the public education system but throughout society. In the 21st century classroom, Doug declares - “High quality teachers are like artists. Artists don’t like to be told what to do and how to do it, especially from those who are not also artists.”  Doug sneers at accountability, the recording of data, and more importantly the pedagogical belief of teaching independence to the individual child, by providing the tools and skills. 

“To let a child do as he likes when he has not yet developed any powers of control is to betray the idea of freedom.” she states. “No one can be free unless he is independent: therefore, the first, active manifestations of the child’s individual liberty must be so guided that through this activity he may arrive at independence.”
http://www.montessorianswers.com/progressives.html

Ergo, in the 21st century, just like the beginning of the 20th century, the bottom 50 % of the classroom are left to their own devices, swimming against a tide of progressive pedagogues that repeats the messages of not being very smart versus the counter-tide of accountability measures that confirms the thinking of the children who think that they are not very smart, and in the end, reinforces the progressive pedagogues and theories that replicates year in and year out, the dismal student outcomes. To which the education reformers are trying to correct in a public education model rooted in the 19th century knowledge and beliefs matrix, where the 21st century educationalists are enforcing that children should not be educated in a way where the individuality of a child is greater then the collective group of children.

Hence, by the beginning of the 19th century - teaching becomes an art form, the teachers, the artists and the students are the canvases. Unfortunately, the canvases representing students are not very good for the students, because of the insistence by the 21st century educationalists of the public education system, imposing their will upon all students and throughout society. Non-educators are still not welcome, just like in the time of Madam Montessori’s and her new educational theory and pedagogy. Just like the reformers of the 19th century, and yes Montessori was being called a reformer by the American educationalists, the 21st century education reformers are still dealing with the same crap, as the 19th century education reformers.

POSTED ON BEHALF OF DOUG

I taught in a Montessori school in Spain, I have read all of her books. Montessori was a socialist who set up Casa Bambini for WW1 orphans. She always respected the opinions of professional educators. The field of ECE was almost totally uncharted when she began.

I love her methods, largely absorbed by public schools unless under patent to her son. I would never leave a child in Montessori post grade 1. Too unstructured past that point.

Have you read my links on Madam Montessori?  You would not be stating the misconceptions if you had read the links. The only reason why the Montessori methods, as well as the other methods such as the Orton-Gillingham method for reading instruction are not part and parcel of the public education system, is because of the refusal of the educationalists to accept education theories and methods based on the science from people who did not hold an education degree.

Don’t worry Doug, I am collecting all of the evidence, compliments of the educationalists and education philosophers to the present time - connecting the dots why the children with learning difficulties are sitting in the 21st century classroom, still being educated as if they are in the 19th century classroom. Its really an eye opener, comparing the progressive education theories of the 19th century to the 21st century progressive education theories. Virtually carbon copies of each other and the only difference is the change in language. The 21st century progressive educationalists are still trying to proved their theories are correct, no matter what the student outcomes. Meanwhile Montessori and Orton, science has catch up that has proven that Montessori and Orton were on the right track - proven methods for ALL children.  Alas, Montessori and Orton are dismissed just like the global researchers including some Canadians, their research work buried so deeply in fear it might infect the 21 century classroom educators. Yikes, Direct Instruction, systematic phonetic instruction, standard algorithms, and direct explicit instruction in handwriting must not enter the 21st century classroom.

Don’t you worry Doug, my next educationalist is a dude from Russia, still being worshiped as one of the great demigods in today’s teachers’ faculties. I call it magical thinking, where the student tries hard enough, he will wish himself into become a good student academically. Working double-time inside the schools to replicate the same dismal student outcomes as if everyone is still living in the 19th century. Too bad, the parents and the reformers are working against the public educationalists and their claim that teaching is an art form. Students want an education. What they don’t want is to become a canvas so the educators can decide who will or will not received a top rated education. A good beginning is to start at fully addressing and changing reading instruction so ALL children can become good readers.

But according to the Russia dude, that is impossible. His legacy lives on in today’s public schools where children are sentenced to a lifetime of poor literacy and numeracy. The old belief that intelligence is fixed raises its ugly head to reinforce the progressive pedagogues rooted in the 19th century. Poor Montessori for daring to think the impossible -  “In 1899, Montessori became director of the State Orthophrenic School, where her work with the retarded was so successful that the majority of her students were able to pass the state education exams….Montessori pondered its implication for normal children. If the mentally deficient could do as well on the exams as normal children, in what poor state must those normal children be! This reflection led her to devote her life to education.”  http://www.atlassociety.org/guide-montessori

The Russian dude thought the Montessori method was perfect for the upper crust of Russian society, but NOT for the lower classes. Magical thinking was his game, developing theories that marched to the progressive educationalists and the emerging theories that are now well entrenched in the public education system.

By the way Doug, very little of the Montessori methods have been absorbed in the public education system. The evidence is within the primary and early childhood education. When I was still living in Ontario, the JK teacher spoke to me after the first day of school. During the short discussion I had with her, it was all about the nursery school that my youngest attended. The Montessori methods being used extensively, and she warned me that the approaches being used at the public school are not Montessori. She wanted to know if I had made arrangements just in case the public JK was not right for my child. I said no, but it should not posed a problem. Then the conversation shifted to the differences of public schooling and other alternatives for children with learning differences and language difficulties. The teacher had a personal stake, because of her own children. Another teacher not very happy with the direction of pedagogy and methods inside the public schools. Don’t worry Doug, she is now retired probably still grumbling about the state of public education. More then likely, working part-time or even volunteering at the private or non-profit nursery schools who are working with children who have language and other difficulties that will impact learning when the students enters formal schooling.

Rod Clifton’s recommendations are welcome by teacher/academics - subject specialists that are passionate about their field.  They would clear out the ‘clown car’ and focus principals on hiring teachers and not coaches.

Some parents can step ‘over the dead horse’ but most cannot.  Clearing out the clown car in public education is a thing worth doing.

best, Mirka