Educational Reform By Jared Reyes

What is “education reform”, anyway? Education reform can be summarized by six BIG IDEAS: BIG IDEA #1: Education schools often promote well-intended but misleading myths about teaching and learning. BIG IDEA #2: Teacher certification, which is based on education schools’ well-intended but misleading ideas, contributes little to teachers’ effectiveness, and perpetuates the teacher shortage. BIG IDEA #3: Administrators are influenced by the prevailing ideas in education schools; as a result, they often promote academic programs that lack important knowledge and skills.

What is “education reform”, anyway? BIG IDEA #4: Parents and other “outsiders” often have different views of what constitutes a sound education, but have little influence on the content and implementation in the public schools. BIG IDEA #5: School choice empowers parents to select schools that reflect what they want for their children, and provides teachers with more options for their work environment. BIG IDEA #6: School choice is necessary but not sufficient to improve public education. Education must also transform itself from a belief-based profession into an evidence-based profession.

So let’s start with the first BIG IDEA… BIG IDEA #1: Education schools often promote well-intended but misleading myths about teaching and learning.

Myths Education Schools Promote Learning Styles – Forty years of research have not found evidence that there are visual, kinesthetic, and auditory learners or that teachers can achieve better results by trying appeal to “learning styles”. Multiple Intelligences – Mainstream psychologists have little regard for the idea that there are seven different kinds of intelligence (or what most people would call talents), and even the theory’s originator said educators have taken it too far. Rote Memorization – This misleading phrase is employed to argue against any sort of factual knowledge, and used to defend curricula that lack important content. Some rote memorization is required to learn rudimentary knowledge, such as the letters of the alphabet.

Myths Education Schools Promote Entertainment vs. Learning – The idea that subject matter should be presented as “fun and games”. The reality is that most initial learning is not fun, and a well-intended emphasis on “fun” can waste time and reduce students’ long term interest and motivation because the instruction fails to provide knowledge and skills needed to enjoy lifelong learning. The Eclectic Teacher – The idea that teachers should string together lessons drawn from multiple sources in an effort to customize learning to students. Large scale research suggests that well-designed, scientifically validated curricula that use the same teaching approach for all students with relatively minor modifications can achieve consistently positive results.

Myths Education Schools Promote The “Good Teacher” – The idea that teachers personal qualities trump curriculum and methods, and that good teachers are born, not made. However, when curricula and methods are ineffective, it doesn’t matter how smart, dynamic, or committed to students a teacher is. Brain Compatible Learning – The idea that teaching should reflect our understanding of how the brain works physically. Mainstream neuroscientists regard this as something akin to quackery. Disabilities – The idea that students’ learning disabilities, poverty, or families explain their lack of achievement. However, 95% of learning disabilities are mild.1 Personal circumstances can be mitigated through high expectations, solid teaching, and student effort. 1”Myths About Teaching and Learning”, page 130

And now for the next BIG IDEA… BIG IDEA #2: Teacher certification, which is based on education schools’ well-intended but misleading ideas, contributes little to teachers’ effectiveness, and perpetuates the teacher shortage.

Certified Doesn’t Mean Qualified Teacher Effectiveness “Even if all of the research on certification is considered uncritically, at best the conclusion is that the traditional certification process may only add some marginal value.”1 87% of education schools fail to prepare teachers to teach elementary math.2 85% of education schools fail to prepare teachers in scientifically-based reading instruction.3 High-achieving graduates without formal education training who worked in low-income schools produced “higher test scores than the other teachers in their schools—not just other novice teachers or uncertified teachers, but also veterans and certified teachers”4

Certified Doesn’t Mean Qualified Teacher Shortage The time and expense of traditional certification discourages many applicants from considering joining the profession. Maryland’s alternative certification intended to attract career changers has only produced 1% of our teachers1; in contrast, New Jersey’s alternative certification produces 20-25% of its teachers.2 Non-traditional candidates are often more diverse and bring stronger academic backgrounds than traditional candidates.3

One Solution: The American Board American Board Certification Streamlined route into teaching, requiring a college degree, mentoring, and pedagogy and subject exams. Recognized under No Child Left Behind. 95% of principals rated American Board teachers to be as effective or more effective than their peers.1 Teacher retention is 85% over the first three years compared to 67% nationwide.1

And now for the next BIG IDEA… BIG IDEA #3: Administrators are influenced by the prevailing ideas in education schools; as a result, they often promote academic programs that lack important knowledge and skills.

And now for the next BIG IDEA… BIG IDEA #4: Parents and other “outsiders” often have different views of what constitutes a sound education, but have little influence on the content and implementation in the public schools.

And now for the next BIG IDEA… BIG IDEA #5: School choice empowers parents to pick schools that reflect what they want for their children, and provides teachers with more options for their work environment.

And now for the last BIG IDEA… BIG IDEA #6: School choice is necessary but not sufficient to improve public education. Education must also transform itself from a belief-based profession into an evidence-based profession.

Making Education Evidence-Based Chasing Fads – The nation’s most eminent historian of education explained that American schools have chased fads for 100 years, often re-packaging the same failed ideas under new names. (For example, the “whole word” method of the 1920s became the “whole language” method of the 1980s.)

And now…the conclusion! Education reform focuses on BIG IDEAS. “Ideas have consequences.” “Only ideas have long and lasting consequences”. Over the long term, changing who is elected won’t lead to sustainable improvements, only better ideas will.

But the system reinforces misleading ideas… …and keeps parents out of the loop. Education Schools Teachers Administrators Unions BOE Candidates & Members State Law The Classroom Trains Become Regulates Influence Influence Influence Influence Oversee Influence Lobby For

But parents can change things… Parents must first get informed (that’s what we focus on) Informed parents will insist upon improvements, and will help educate other parents. Please consider getting involved in a campaign: Your children’s experience in the public schools and your family’s ability to choose the school your child attends will likely be affected by the outcome of this election.