Columbus teacher re: Improving schools

http://www.dispatch.com/live/content/editorials/stories/2011/05/18/0518-web-only-letter-to-the-editor.html

'The real problems began when well-intentioned but misguided judges mandated city-wide busing and many students were sent to new schools in strange neighborhoods, where neither they nor their parents felt at home, and new students came into South with no feeling of belonging, no stake in the neighborhood or the school.'

'In other words - schools do not exist in a vacuum - the problems in our schools are a reflection of the problems in their communities and Stephens was right when he said "These problems can't be solved by schools alone." Yet, many people don't seem to understand that, and our "reform" efforts have involved stupidities like tinkering with the school schedule, requiring more training for teachers, and ever more testing - which a teacher friend of mine once said was kind of like trying to make a kid grow faster by measuring him more often.'

Columbus Dispatch, May 18, 2011

Improving schools

I was a teacher at South High School for 23 years. In many ways it the best time of my life, and It has been a source of great sorrow to watch the steadily worsening situation there, to the point that Superintendent Gene Harris is considering contracting some outside group to administer the school. I believe several factors have contributed to this sad state of affairs, and columnist Thomas M. Stephens identified the most important on in his column in last Sunday's paper.

When I started at South in 1969, it was already what we used to call an "inner-city" school, but it was diverse - about 60% white, 40% black, families from across the economic spectrum, including some from the lovely old homes in German Village. Some students struggled with poverty and difficult home situations, but most had parents who supported them, believed that education was the key to a better life, and drugs were rare. It was a true community school - many students walked or biked, and parents could easily get to the school to check on things; we used to have neighbors come to our football games who didn't even have kids in school. We had many wonderful, dedicated, enthusiastic teachers and hard-working administrators who commanded respect. It was a great place to be.

The real problems began when well-intentioned but misguided judges mandated city-wide busing and many students were sent to new schools in strange neighborhoods, where neither they nor their parents felt at home, and new students came into South with no feeling of belonging, no stake in the neighborhood or the school. Over the years we got an increasing number of Southeast Asian students fleeing the Vietnam war, some from wealthy families who could afford to send them out, some who were "boat people" with only the clothes on their backs. Later, we also started to get Hispanics and Somalis. Many of them were poor and had little education in their own countries, and they struggled to fit into a new country with food, customs and a language that they didn't understand.

So, discipline problems became more frequent and teaching and learning became more difficult and many of the parents who had the resources began to move out of the neighborhood or send their children to private schools. As the school became more populated by minorities, it became less diverse economically, and as Stephens pointed out, socioeconomic status correlates more highly to success in school than any other factor - not because rich kids are smarter than poor kids, but because they are more likely to have parents who are educated themselves and know how to prepare and support their children through the educational process. Then too, the economy itself became more difficult - a good number of our parents used to work at places like Timken Roller Bearing, or Columbus Coated Fabrics - places that don't exist any more. The school became poorer academically because the whole neighborhood became poorer, literally.

At the same time, our popular culture changed - we have ample evidence that drugs destroy families, and drugs became more common in our schools because they became more common in our society in general. Movies and TV shows have become far more sexually explicit and vulgar language is the norm. This has made life harder for both parents and teachers, (even in the wealthier suburban schools.) It's hard for school authorities to maintain a learning atmosphere when students are dressed like streetwalkers and hoodlums, and hard to convince kids it's not ok to use words that they hear in the songs they listen to and the TV programs they watch. And it's hard for school authorities to see the point of suspending students for bad language when parents speak the same way - or when they've had three fights that day or a report of a gun in the building. Students can't learn without order in the classroom, and discipline in some Columbus schools has become virtually non-existent - it can't exist without support from parents, the court system, and even the state legislature. Stephens said "Schools do need to be more responsive to students by providing programs and instruction that fit their needs, not predetermined by state laws." Well, yes! We cannot turn South in Worthington Kilbourne just by applying state standards.

In other words - schools do not exist in a vacuum - the problems in our schools are a reflection of the problems in their communities and Stephens was right when he said "These problems can't be solved by schools alone." Yet, many people don't seem to understand that, and our "reform" efforts have involved stupidities like tinkering with the school schedule, requiring more training for teachers, and ever more testing - which a teacher friend of mine once said was kind of like trying to make a kid grow faster by measuring him more often. Stephens' column was the first suggestion I've seen in print that we need to spend some of the money we're currently spending on schools to establish family support systems, and teach parents how to help their children succeed in school. The new, expensive renovation at South is lovely, and ought to make the students feel more like the community cares about them, but of course it has not made a difference in academic achievement. We need to change our course if we're serious about improving failing schools.

Brenda Petruzzella, Columbus