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Michael Kennedy: Teachers aren't the problem

By MICHAEL KENNEDY

Last update: June 16, 2009 - 6:50 PM

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With the school year over and summer blooming into itsTom Sawyer rhythms, I want to offer a few thoughts before we close the classroom doors for the next few weeks. To the politicians, commentators, educational consultants and others who feel the entire problem with education is the quality of teachers in certain schools: Back off. Go sit in the corner and put on that dunce cap. We're the best asset you've got, and you are either too blind to see it or too limited in your imagination to grasp the fact that we are the strongest link in the chain. We are not the problem. We are the solution, but we cannot do our work as well as we wish unless you take some responsibility for the following factors in limited public education: 1. Stability.

Schools that work in communities with stable populations do far better than schools where the populations are in perpetual turnover. Parents and students need to know what is expected of them from year to year in order to plan for the future. Schools with a stable faculty, a stable curriculum and reasonable expectations over the long run tend to do better. Schools with populations of families that move a lot -- or with administrators who shift in the winds of intimidation or indifference -- do poorly.

2. Supportive administrators.

Somewhere along the line a lot of administrators, superintendents and school boards got lost in their own myth of self-importance. The purpose of the principals, the superintendent and the consultants is to support and help the teachers. That means they need to listen to the teachers and stop dictating hot air. The use of teachers with imagination and insight is something to be treasured. These days teaching is more often a lock-step practice of presenting material and test preparation. Sadly, this is in direct proportion to state-mandated test scores. Most schools that do poorly on these tests concentrate on little but doing well on the exams. They ignore imagination, innovation, the joy of learning and the growth that comes from taking risks. More often than not they drill, drill, drill the tests into the kids, killing any hope of actual teaching for fear of looking bad. Tell the principal to take a long walk and let the teachers show how it's done.

3. Parents who know how to be parents.

This issue is rarely addressed. It does not have any ties to economics, race or educational background. Yes, all parents care about their children, but, frankly, some care a whole lot more than others. When I go to parent conferences, I see roughly 35 percent of my students' parents. Many parents have no idea who I am in relation to their child. I've taught in schools where I met with less than 15 percent of the parents. We have the students for less than eight hours a day. The families have them for the other 16 hours. Those parents who follow their child's activities, who set standards at home, who make an effort to talk to us, who yank those iPods out of those ears and pull those pants up so they don't sag below those teenage butts get better results.

• • •

Are there bad teachers? Absolutely. Should they be removed from the profession? Yes, as quickly as possible. However, there are many, many wonderful teachers in the schools, and their work is being hurt by the lack of attention to the other issues that are holding back progress in education.

We're tired of being your punching bag -- your easy excuse for avoiding real issues. Here is your homework for the summer: Give our communities some stability. You have to handle the issues of poverty and unemployment to get to the root of that stability. Give us effective support staff (currently misnamed as administrators). Find out what these people actually do all day long in those endless meetings. If they're not out in the schools learning what the teachers need, fire them. They're wasting everybody's time. Finally, work to help parents and families learn how to deal with domestic issues, parenting issues and effective ways to nurture their children. Once you do that, get out of the way with your mindless tests and evaluations. We know what we're doing. Give us the tools, then get out of our way. It's as simple as that.

Michael Kennedy is a teacher at Southwest High School in Minneapolis.

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