Current Literature
Why It is Time to Re-imagine our Education System in the United States
A Synopsis of the Literature
Because of my individual readings and the interactions noted above, I have acquired a deeper understanding, from multiple perspectives, of significant issues facing the educational system today. In particular, several themes emerged from the literature. After reading Darling-Hammond’s The Flat World (2010), it is interesting to note that Darling-Hammond’s five critical areas of educational reform are emphasized by the authors of the various texts presented. For the purposed of this reflection, I have grouped these themes into categories that are the most significant to me as a scholar-practitioner: equity and access, deeper learning, teacher preparation quality and educational policy.
Equity and Access
Darling-Hammond (2010) stresses the need to ensure that all students and teachers have access to the high quality resources and school environments necessary for teaching and learning to occur. Like Kozol (2005) and Ryan (2011), Darling-Hammond notes that there are significant barriers to students experiencing equity of access in many of our inner city schools resulting from unfair funding formulas and segregation caused by white flight. Thus, as Harris (1993) argues, whiteness is in effect a property benefit of the privileged class leading to roadblocks to education for students of color. Moreover, as Hess (2011) contends, middle class parents funding of additional opportunities through private tutoring and coaching widens the equity gap. The lack of equity and access extends beyond that of materials and physical space. In fact, as referenced by Kozol, Hess and Darling-Hammond, students in inner city schools often suffer from lowered expectations, inferior teaching practices and a lack of highly qualified teachers.
Teacher Preparation and Quality
Darling-Hammond (2010) presents research that reveals access to a highly qualified and effective teacher is one of the most successful strategies to decrease the achievement gap. Yet, as Darling-Hammond, Kozol (2005) and Hess (2011) stress, many of our inner city students are not afforded that right. In a competitive economy, inner city schools lack the resources and funding needed to recruit and retain the quality teachers the students desperately need (Kozol, 2005; Darling-Hammond, 2010; Hess, 2011 ). According to Darling-Hammond (2010) and Hess (2011), teachers who are not certified, or who lack quality training from their preparation program, often work in our inner city classrooms. Hess (2011) extends the problem with teacher qualification arguing that states and universities must strengthen the teacher licensing, oversight and accountability processes based on competence. Brill (2011) stresses that teacher unions protect ineffective teachers, exacerbating the problem.
I found it interesting that the texts that focused on higher education noted a lack of attention to critical thinking skills, similar to the concerns noted in K-12. If Hacker and Dreifus (2011) and Arum and Roksa (2011) are correct in their assertion that many post-secondary institutions are failing to prepare students for careers, then they are also failing to prepare teachers for the classrooms. It is no wonder that Selingo (2013) foresees tremendous changes taking place in our universities. We are already beginning to see these trends with online, challenging and free courses from respected institutions such as MIT and Harvard through the EdX platform. Students are demanding opportunities for deeper learning that are accessible and are not cost-prohibitive.
Deeper Learning
Transformation of schools is not simple, as is evidenced by the literature. Bourdieu (1986) suggests that our schools are agencies of social reproduction and are not social equalizers. Freire (2000) furthers Bourdieu’s assertion and argues that our language learners and students of color suffer due to lowered expectations established by their teachers and educational systems. In their research, Kozol (2005) and Granada and Contreras (2009) note similar concerns. Kozol and Granada and Contreras stress that teachers provide Black and Hispanic students, in particular, with curriculum that emphasizes basic skills. Because of the emphasis on basic skills at the expense of deeper learning and authentic application, many students in inner city schools drop out. Those that complete their education may not be prepared for 21st century colleges and careers, if their schools did not set high expectations for learners.
Darling-Hammond (2010), Kozol (2005) and Ryan (2011) note that minority students and students from lower SES backgrounds suffer from lowered expectations and inequitable disciplinary actions. They argue that greater numbers of dropouts are imprisoned at young ages because of the failure of the education system. Darling-Hammond, Kozol and Ryan stress that the school to prison pipeline means that the government is diverting funding needed for improvement of our education systems to fund the judicial and correctional systems. Clearly, current educational policy and legislation is not ensuring all students receive a quality education.
Educational Policy
If the goal of education in America is to provide all students with opportunities beyond high school, we need an overhaul of the educational policy that has allowed great inequities of access and opportunity to continue (Darling-Hammond, 2010; Kozol, 2005; Hess, 2011; Ryan, 2011). Educational policy makers must reevaluate the current system of assessment and accountability to ensure we are measuring what we intend, and that sanctions result in supports for students and teachers, not penalties that actually perpetuate inequities and barriers (Darling-Hammond, 2010; Kozol, 2005; Hess, 2011; Ravitch, 2011). As Ryan (2011) indicates funding is not enough to ensure equity and access. It is time for educators to take a stand and push for a transformation of our system of education.
References
Arum, R. & Roksa, J. (2011). Academically adrift: Limited learning on college campuses. Chicago, IL: University of Chicago Press.
Bandura, A. (1971). Social learning theory. New York, NY: General Learning Press.
Bourdieu, P. (1986). The forms of capital. In J. E. Richardson (Ed.), Handbook for Theory of Research for Secondary Education. Westwood, CT: Greenwood Press.
Brill, S. (2011). Class warfare inside the fight to fix America’s schools. New York, NY: Simon & Schuster.
Darling-Hammond, L (2010). The flat world and education: How America's commitment to equity will determine our future. New York, NY: Teachers College
Press.
Freire, P. (2000). Pedagogy of the oppressed, (30th ed.). New York, NY: Bloomsbury.
Granada, P.C. & Contreras, F. (2009). The Latino education crisis: The consequence of failed social policies. Boston, MA: Harvard University Press.
Hacker, A. & Dreifus, C. (2011). Higher education?: How colleges are wasting our money and failing our kids---and what we can do about it. New York, NY: St. Martin
Griffiths.
Harris, C. (1993). Whiteness as property. Harvard Law Review, 106(8), 1707-1791.
Hess, F. (2011). The same thing over and over: How school reformers get stuck in yesterday’s ideas. Boston, MA: Harvard University Press.
Kozol, J. (2005). The shame of the nation: The restoration of apartheid schooling in America. New York, NY: Three Rivers Press.
Payne, C. M. (2008). So much reform so little change: The persistence of failure in urban schools. Boston, MA: Harvard Education Press.
Ravitch, D. (2011). The death and life of the great American school system: How testing and choice are undermining education. Philadelphia, PA: Basic Books.
Ryan, J. (2011). Five miles away, a world apart: One city, two schools, and the story of educational opportunity in modern America. Oxford, UK: Oxford University
Press.
Selingo, J. (2013). College unbound: The future of higher education and what it means for students. Boston, MA: Houghton Mifflin Harcourt.