“I've had a lot of discussions with teachers all
throughout Iowa. And they feel betrayed and frustrated by No Child Left
Behind,” said Senator Barrack Obama at the Democratic
(pre-)Presidential Debate in Iowa this past Sunday.
Like
many teachers, I took notice of this comment, sitting up slightly on my
couch and leaning toward the television, eager to hear more.
“[Teachers]
can't be judged simply on standardized tests that don't take into
account whether children are prepared before they get to school or
not,” he said.
“YES!” I thought. “And, at the same time……..No.”
I know that many teachers have felt betrayed and frustrated by NCLB and refer to the legislation with scathing language. I
believe that Senator Obama was sincere in his attempts to be thoughtful
and responsive to the anger that teachers have experienced.
Obama’s
comments, however, reflect the attitude that educators held several
years ago, when educators and administrators were furious at the
legislation for its heavy performance demands and severe financial
consequences that rendered schools ineffective. The angry maxims of ‘Teaching to the Test’ were teachers’ expressions of powerlessness.
What
is true now, however, is a new understanding in education—one that is
rooted in the mandated education standards, and is achieved by putting
authority back in the hands of teachers.
The process is called ‘Strategic Design’ by some, ‘Backwards Design’ by others, or more simply ‘Standards Based Instruction.’ I
know, from first hand experience, the process is being taught at the
University of Michigan and implemented with astounding success in
high-needs charter schools in Los Angeles.
The general concept—Students need to learn the material that is mandated in state standards, and they deserve to learn it to proficiency. They must know it up and down, constructed and deconstructed. They must know why its true, how we know its true, and where it is relevant to their everyday lives. If
students can grasp the concepts at this higher level of thinking, then
they have all the knowledge necessary to excel on a standardized test
that examines that material.
To anyone who is impassioned about educating America’s youth, this notion seems like a “Duh.” But the reality is that students are not being taught this way in many American schools. Students are memorizing, not synthesizing. Textbooks, not standards, are dictating what material will be taught. Furthermore,
teachers are grasping at scattered techniques, strategies and
activities that do not do justice to their own skills to know and to
teach their students.
It is no wonder that
NCLB caused teachers to feel betrayed; the legislation was an attempt
to bully struggling teachers into success, rather than supporting them
and trusting them to find their way. Now, however, teachers are beginning to move past the anger and the betrayal. They are responding to the problems in education and they are creating real solutions.
The new message in Education is this: Teachers have found focus and faith in their mission to teach; No child will be left behind.