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 There’s
No Good Reason
They Can’t Be Expected To Learn
Nancy Salvato
June 16, 2004 |
The public agenda came out with a new report
last month called Teaching Interrupted [1]. In it were some very interesting
statistics. Many of the frustrations that I have experienced in my education
career were confirmed as being common issues in the middle school
environment. Some of the more compelling findings were about discipline.
Over half of the teachers agree that districts tend to back down from
assertive parents, in effect causing further discipline problems. Teachers
tend to ease up on student misconduct because they worry they won’t get
parental support. Most teachers believe that the parents are responsible for
failing to teach their children to act appropriately
Eight out of ten teachers believe that schools would function better if
persistent troublemakers were removed from the classrooms. The academic, in
fact the whole school, experience of most students suffers because of these
offenders. (An interesting side note, three out of four teachers feel that
students with Individual Education Plans who misbehave are treated too
lightly.) Lack of discipline affects the teacher’s experience as well. One
out of three considers quitting because of bad student conduct.
Six misbehaviors top the list. This includes: students who disrupt class by
talking out of turn and horsing around, cheating, lateness, disrespect,
bullying and rowdiness. One teacher was quoted, "What I find amazing, and I
teach middle school seventh and eighth graders, is this lack of morals.
There’s just disrespect for classroom materials; they’ll write all over
things, desks, rulers…I don’t even think they think (it’s) wrong. The gum
chewing…the yawning aloud or putting their feet up on the desk…like they
don’t know that was inappropriate.” [1]
A common belief among educators is that private schools outdo the public
with regards to discipline because they have stricter rules and kick out
troublemakers. In fact, 82% of our teachers would prefer to work in a school
with a supportive administration than for a significant higher salary.
Almost all teachers agree that the principal sets the tone for discipline
and order. Only one in four teachers concurs with the idea that students
misbehave because the teacher has not made the lesson engaging. Most
teachers and parents believe that the majority of students, no matter where
they live, can display appropriate behavior if expectations are clear and
rules enforced.
Although it has been confirmed that what most schools need is more
discipline and order, educational pedagogy persists in propagating the
theory that teachers need to make their classes more interesting and give
the students more autonomy in their education. We clearly need to move in a
different direction so that "no children are left behind”.
In the words of George W. Bush, "We are challenging the soft bigotry of low
expectations." and, "All children can learn.” Within those two quotes lays
the agenda that should be at the forefront of every school in the nation. To
achieve these goals, I recommend that we follow the example of Clarke Street
School in Milwaukee, Wisconsin.
"The school's philosophy is clearly that the tough realities of life for
students aren't a reason why they can't learn.” [2] The administration has
taken some unique steps to ensure that their students do learn. You could
say they’ve gone back to basics.
They employ conservative educational philosophy, such as; direct
instructional methods, drill and repetition, phonics and Accelerated Readers
rather than utilize the cooperative learning and student directed
intellectual explorations endorsed by progressive education advocates the
last four decades.
Their resource money is reserved to employ a large number of Educational
Assistants rather than purchase equipment. This helps to assure that the
norm is to have more than one teacher working with a group of students.
During reading they only instruct small groups of children. In addition,
there are focus teachers who rotate throughout the building to strengthen
work on specific subjects.
Finally, they take rule infractions very seriously. "Discipline is tight and
strongly enforced starting with things that many would regard as minor.” [3]
The idea is "that you nail kids for little things, they don't become big
things." [4] If a student breaks a rule, because recess is a privilege, a
common consequence is to have to spend recess against a wall in a large
entrance area that leads to the playground, for as long as 10 days in a row.
Clarke Street does use incentives to encourage the students to show up for
school and turn in their homework, yet they understand the need for a large
amount of structure to enhance the learning environment. Even while walking
the halls there are strict rules. Though many students live in poverty and
crime filled neighborhoods, the school won’t excuse their attitudes or have
lower expectations for them.
The principal says that, "None of the disadvantages of central-city children
such as poverty or coming from households not conducive to success in
school, have anything to do with how their brains work,” [5] and, "We have
to believe in our children and expect from our children what everyone else
expects from their children." [6]
On state standardized tests, 90% of Clarke Street’s fourth-graders scored
proficient or better in reading (nationwide it was 63%) and 89% of students
scored proficient or better in math (nationwide it was 54%). This is
attributed to their academic focus on fundamental skills such as Reading,
Writing, and Arithmetic. But there is more to it than that!
[2,3,4,5,6] Great expectations, greater results
http://www.jsonline.com/news/metro/nov01/clarke18111701a.asp
[1] Teaching Interrupted
http://www.publicagenda.org/research/pdfs/teaching_interrupted.pdf
Nancy Salvato is an educator in Illinois and an independent
contractor for Prism Educational Consulting.
Click here for her complete bio.
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