Policy and Accountability

During my Public Purposes of Education class, we have discussed the linear history of educational policies, starting with the formation of the Office of Education in 1868, which later became the Department of Education in 1980. The main purpose for such government office was to address the education of the newly-freed population. This issue, as we all know, gave way to the landmark legislation of Brown vs. Board of Education, which made segregation in public schools illegal.

Through the diplomatic issues of the 1960’s, the focus of the education debate shifted gears. The government was no longer looking towards education as a means to provide equal opportunity to every American, but as a means to compete in the international theatre. They began a never ending “obsession” with proficiency in the core subjects of science, reading, and math. It seems like every piece of legislation that was passed from the 60’s onward stressed the need for accountability, and the emphasis of the three core subjects.

Now, I am not making any form of scholarly review or assessment of educational policy in the United States. I am simply attempting to make some sense of the mess in which our educational system lies. It seems as if, out of all of the objectives planned by the government for public education, the purpose hidden behind these objectives is everything but the betterment of kids and the nurturing of productive and educated citizens. Weather it is the emphasis of the sciences and mathematics in global competition, to the need for “accountability”; I parenthesize the word accountability because it refers to the accountability for the federal funds that are put into public education. To me, accountability should be shown for how our students are treated and short-changed in some communities, while in others, children thrive and have better opportunities. Education is the way in which we prepare our kids for their future, and in a sense, for our future as well because they will be the ones making the major political decisions when we no longer can.

Different Counties, Very Different Schools

In my Public Purposes of Education class, this week, we took a look at something called NCLB (or No Child Left Behind) Report. The state of New Jersey, I don’t know if other states do this as well, makes it available for people to view information on the different public schools in the state. The reports contain information regarding demographic data, graduation rates, and weather or not the school is making annual yearly progress, or AYP. When looking at schools within the same county, the reports seem to look somewhat alike. But when you compare schools from two different districts, especially when the difference comes down to income and other demographic data, then you can see how these different schools are not all performing at the same rate.

For example, a school, without using names, in a school district where the median household income is of approximately $65, 000 a year has a higher performance on tests, a higher graduation rate, and a lower drop-out rate than a school in a district where the median household income is of approximately 26, 000 a year. Considering the fact that schools in the state of New Jersey receive the majority of their income from means other than federal funding, these means being property taxes and so on, the implications are astounding. The schools that are in lower income areas are probably subjected to lower income coming from property taxes, as compare to an area where the homes are valued higher. Adding insult to injury, when these schools fail to make AYP for a certain number of years in a row, which is probably likely for a school that lacks the funds and the support systems to compete at higher levels, then the little funding that they do get from the federal government is cut. This makes absolutely no sense to me.

As a result of these No Child Left Behind policies, these so called “at risk schools”, are forced to spend the majority of their time trying to prepare these students to take these exams, and tutoring them to pass them. This puts an enormous strain, or I should say drain, on other subject areas like History and the Arts. Some schools are forced to make radical schedule changes to accommodate for the teaching of just Reading and Math in preparation for these exams. And, let’s say these “at risk schools” end up losing a part of what little funding they already get. These budget issues affect everything from classroom resources to the improvement, or lack there of, of facilities and the salaries that their districts can afford to pay their teachers.

These situations are always disturbing to look at, especially when we tend to ignore the things that happen in places where we don’t live or frequent, and in schools in which our children don’t or would not attend. And while I don’t have the answers to the same questions I bring up in my own mind about this issue, it seems as if not even the “super smart” people in our government know them either. I think that if they did, our educational system would not be in the level of deterioration in which it finds itself right now, or in the least, be somewhat better.


1. The information regarding NCLB Reports can be available through the US Census Bureau: http://quickfacts.census.gov, key word NCLB Report cards.

Cultural Diversity and Teaching

At the end of the twentieth century, researchers began to predict that within a decade, minorities would account for the greater number of students in the United States. In their publication called Current Issues and Trends in Education, a book generally used for training new teachers, Jerry Aldridge and Renitta Goldman point out that “studies on immigration, migration, and fertility patterns have indicated that by the year 2010, about 38 percent of people younger than the age of 18 will be Black, Asian American, or Hispanic”1. Yet, why is it that despite of the changing demographics of our schools and the increased cultural diversity within them, the diversity of our teachers continues to lag behind?

According to the National Center for Educational Statistics, during the years 2003-2004, about 83 percent of public school teachers were White. Teachers of minority backgrounds accounted for 16.9 percent, to include Blacks, Hispanics, Asians, Native Americans, and Native Pacific Islanders2. This means that while our schools are becoming more culturally diverse, our teachers are not. That difference can ultimately lead to situations where students don’t necessarily identify with their teachers and therefore feel disadvantaged. These fundamental differences can be anything from diversity of background and experiences to language issues. We have to face the fact. Depending on the district in which we teach, most of our students will speak a language other than English.

So what is the best course of action? Perhaps we should encourage up and coming teachers to be fluent in a second language. Increased communication between students and teachers makes teaching and learning a whole lot easier. It also makes the educator more relatable to his or her students. But perhaps solutions lie in another place, as well. If we can encourage our minority students to aspire to the noble profession of teaching, maybe we can change this percentage difference and make it more equitable all around.



1. Aldridge, Jerry and Glodman, Renitta. Current Issues and Trends in Education. New York: Pearson Education, Inc., 2007.
2. Schools and Staffing Survey, http://nces.ed.gov/surveys/sass/tables/state_2004_18.asp. Percentage of teachers in the United States broken
broken down by race and ethnicity.

Unique School, Outstanding Students

As a young teacher in training, I’ve been assigned the task, if you would want to call it that, to visit an urban high school, in Newark, New Jersey, in order to observe and commence a series of field training exercises. I must admit that my initial reaction was, “oh my God”. I know the city, and I know that some schools there have a certain reputation for having certain deficiencies, to include difficult student behavior. In spite of all this I looked at it from a positive standpoint and with an open mind, and I must say that I was so pleasantly mistaken.

Driving into the city was quite an uneventful moment. I had visited there recently, so I was aware of the sights and sounds going on around me: from the construction on the highway, to the new stadium, to the Prudential Center Arena that was opened not too long ago. The movement of people was also as expected; tons of people pouring out of shops and the enormous amount of eateries available. You could see the crowd move almost like clock work, in synch with the changing traffic signals. Upon reaching the end of the street I was on, I could see the county court house to my left and the community college to my right which, on my directions were set as landmarks indicating that I had to make a left turn. I turned, and as I did so I looked at the street sign and realized that the street had been named after the school I was supposed to visit.

After parking my car, as well as taking a few deep breaths, I made my way to the school. I was quickly halted by the fact that I couldn’t open the front. Then it dawned on me. If the front door has no handles, then it’s probably no longer used as an entrance. So, after finally finding the entrance, I had another obstacle to take on, the metal detector. I must admit that it made me hesitate for a moment, but once I thought about it I realized that these days, most school, even some in suburbs, have installed metal detectors. Once I had regained my composure, I was able to enjoy the melody of sounds emanating from that building.

What makes this school unique is that there entire curriculum is centered on the arts, and although the core subjects (English, Math, History, and Science) have to be taught, their main focus is the arts. This makes an incredible difference because kids have to audition to be admitted, and once there, they get to do what they love every day and incorporate that into their learning of other subject areas. This means that these kids are thrilled to be there. I could see that all around me: kids singing and dancing in the hallways, students’ art being on display all throughout the school, and the sense of pride on behalf of the faculty for their students. I could also the history of it, this being the first high school of the arts in the country, all over the building, which explained why the street was named after it.

I made it a point to describe the school’s setting and location as detailed as I could, as briefly as I could, because I believe that it ties into the kind of kids that attend this school. In a place where opportunities are hard to come by, and where families are not your usual “suburban type” family, I met kids that were making their dreams come true in doing what they love, while improving their opportunities for the future. This school, and its faculty, is making that possible for them. I could sense the passion in these teachers, as well as the administrators, for wanting to inspire these kids to reach higher and achieve their dreams. And I must say that I am thankful for having the opportunity to meet these people. I have never been more glad to be wrong.