(NAME-MCE) Draconian Measures at Rhode Island High School Are Misconceived

[Anselmo Villanueva]

Draconian Measures at Rhode Island High School Are
Misconceived

By Walt Gardner on March  1, 2010  6:21 AM

http://blogs.edweek.org/edweek/walt_gardners_reality_check/2010/03/draconian_measures_at_ri_high_school_are_misdirected.html


Whenever I attend a social function, I'm invariably confronted by other
guests who can't understand why schools have gotten so bad. They are angry
and frustrated. Truth to tell, if I hadn't taught for 28 years in a public
school, I would probably feel that way too because the media are notorious
for their coverage of all that is negative in the world of public
education.

The latest incident along this line took place at Central Falls, R.I. on
Feb. 23, when the Board of Trustees of the state's smallest and poorest city
voted five to two to fire the entire teaching staff, guidance counselors,
three assistant principals and principal of the high school. The reason
given was persistent low test scores and a graduation rate of 48 percent.

The purge is the favored tactic these days to turn around failing schools.
The stated rationale is that such draconian steps are necessary when all
else has failed. But there is far more here if readers are willing to
approach the matter with an open mind.

The fact is that all else has not failed because all else has not yet been
tried. If Central Falls is even remotely similar to other communities where
poverty is rampant, students bring to class huge deficits that schools
serving affluent students simply do not face. As a result, teachers in
Central Falls are forced to perform what amounts to triage on a daily basis
before they can begin to teach their lessons.

This concept is rare in suburban schools, which are populated by students
from upper socioeconomic backgrounds. Therefore, when the bell rings,
teachers in these schools can get down to teaching subject matter - not be
forced to attend to extraneous factors. I don't deny that students from
affluent families have their serious personal issues, but I doubt that they
come to class malnourished and exhausted on a regular basis.

I began to appreciate this reality when I had an 8:00 senior composition
class. One of the students continually dozed off while the other students
worked on their assignments. When I asked him after class why, he told me
that he was exhausted because he had to work on the docks until late at
night in order to bring home extra income. I verified his explanation.

Now imagine if I had a class composed mainly of these students, rather than
just one. What chance would I have to teach them? And should I be held
accountable when I failed to produce evidence showing progress, let alone
proficiency? Yet this is precisely what is taking place in schools across
the country that serve large numbers of disadvantaged students.

That's why teachers in Central Falls are being scapegoated. Factors beyond
their control are largely responsible for the school's sub-par results. It
will be interesting to see what their replacements can accomplish with the
same students over time. And if the new hires don't do significantly better,
will they too meet the same fate? If so, how many times will the process be
repeated before the futility of this strategy is finally acknowledged?

I wrote this before, and I'll write it again: Learning is a partnership
between teachers, parents, students and the
community.