For Profit Education to Blame?

As we continue to digest and react to the happenings on the grounds at the University of Virgina the fallout continues.  After the epic 12-hour Board of Visitors Meeting naming McIntyre Dean  Carl Zenthaml as the Interim President, the Vice Rector Mark Kington and noted professor Bill Wulf have announced they are leaving.  It is hard to imagine Helen Drages would be reappointed in 2 weeks by governor Bob McDonnell.   The Daily Progress reported today that the potential fact that when Sullivan's became an obstacle to a plan to partner for online learning, her fate was sealed  Hmmmm?

Forgive me for thinking this is the most plausible explanation for the whole debacle.  You draw your own conclusions but there appears tat the very least to be a lot of people writing letters.  Imagine though what the for profit giant Education Management Corporation would stand to gain by securing their place in developing UVa's online presence.
EMC's growth strategy is to tap into public and private education funds through UVa and like my colleague stated this all just fits too nicely.    In short  For Profit Education(K-12, Apollo Group, Bridgeport, et al.) needs markets and colleges(and public schools) are those markets. 

Peter Kiernan, Darden School Board of Trustees Chair who resigned a short while into all of this,  was closely tied in and coincidentally a former partner of Education Management Corporation(and Goldman Sachs), a company in which Goldman Sachs acquired a major stake. EDMC is “one of the largest providers of private post-secondary education in North America."  Can't blame business people for doing business, except when they do it in the manner many now suspect. 

Set aside the merits of Online Learning or the fact we have business people not educators weighing the merits of such programs, the basic problem remains that if is there is a sliver a truth to any of this money and profit has become a poor substitute for why we have schools and learning institutions. When education becomes about money and private financial outcomes we are destined for bad things.  To bring it full circle we cannot judge this as good or bad unless we shine a light upon all the shadows.   By contractual amendment Sullivan can only speak out so much on this and is prohibited from making disparaging comments.  So someone else will have to help piece this all together.  It does appear to be about business. And based on public response to what has transpired here, most people agree this is no way to do business. Helen Dragas and the Board of Visitors are framed as the villains but that might be overly simplistic.  They might be, this exact lack of response was responsible for Jefferson's most famous work.  He preferred to be remembered for the founding of UVa.

The TU does not necessarily think online learning or virtual education is bad.  Nor do we dislike money.    I don;t even have a problem with most rich people.  :)   It is the for profit aspect that is troubling.  These are public schools and institutions and part of the public trust. They are intended to serve the greater good and not the bottom line. Once we hand them the keys will we be able to take them back?  I can live with selling naming rights to a rest stop but not sure I'm OK with sending my kids to State University of Inc. 

Make too much sense?   Read what you want, believe what you will, I am not alone.   

 Check out this UVa Alum and current Dukies theory on these things.  She dialed her theory in back on June 13th. 

Love to hear some other thoughts on this.


PS I have never seen Sasquatch, a yeti or skunk ape...yet.

"Always Learning"

The solution to America's education problem:
1) Fire all of the bad test makers
2) Give principals the authority to get rid of bad assessments or questions
3) Get rid of the self-interested corporate lobbyists

This shouldn't upset the good test companies. I'm sure all of the good test-makers out there want the bad one's out just as much as the rest of us. But until we stop yielding to the union of corporate test-makers and start making policy that benefits children first we are stuck in this status quo of subjecting children to sub-standard testing.

If anyone complains about this idea then it's probably because they're afraid of change. They've become complacent with the protection that lack of transparency has afforded. The quality test-makers will applaud this approach as healthy and necessary for the success of our children in the 21st century.

Some might argue that publishing the errors of these testers is unethical, but in a system of public education, parents have the right to know what kind of quality they're getting. We learn from mistakes, but when those mistakes interfere with the future of our children and the vitality of our economy nation, we must put the children first.

Click on the pictures below for a better look at one of the latest failures of this status-quo entrenched testing business.

Where Are the Solutions?

I don’t believe the general public or the political systems that serve them truly understand the complex nature of school reform.  Consider the following:

For over a decade, teachers have been dissuaded from using lecture as an instructional method...

…BUT, within the last two years, a large amount of press time and funding has gone toward the Khan Academy, which essentially follows the principle of lecture and practice instruction.

For over a decade, graduation requirements have increased in quality and quantity…

…We also expect more students to meet these demands without giving them more time to do so.

For over a decade, teachers and school systems have struggled to make sure that students aren’t crushed under an overburden of homework…

…Yet the “flipped” classroom model is touted as a new form of teaching that will change education, never mind it absolutely requires significant homework or it won’t work.

For over a decade, standards and tests have grown to dominate the curriculum of many school subjects.  School, and increasingly teacher effectiveness is judged largely on the results of this testing…

…While creativity and not “teaching to the test” are celebrated in rhetoric, the ever present reality remains: a drop in pass rates on the tests will result in negative publicity and potentially punitive measures.

For over a decade, choice has been promoted as a solution to increase the effectiveness of education by adding competition...

…Still, no one has solved the problem of effectively educating an entire population, some of whom would choose “no education” over “any education” if given that freedom of choice.

For over a decade, vocational education has taken a back seat to the ideal of “college and workforce” readiness...

…And in our public education system we’ve moved so much toward “student achievement” as the sole measure of performance that creativity, interpersonal skills, work ethic, motivation, and even positive behavior (all critical for both college and workforce readiness) are no longer reinforced.

For over a decade, we have tried to move education out of the twentieth century factory model of production…

…Now incentive structures, strict hierarchies of authority, standardization of teaching and testing applied to schools and teachers directly contradict this attitude.

So the men and women who directly commit their lives to working with children daily are simply self-interested.  While the men and women who engage in conference hopping, ladder climbing, and political back-scratching are putting Students First.  And those who profit from speaking engagements, consulting gigs, and high profile media exposure are in it for the kids.

Crisis of "their" Creation?

Problems sure, but an "education crisis"?

    One of TU's previous posts proposed that the popularly held feeling about our schools is inaccurate.  Ask just about anyone out there about how we are doing and there is a startling degree of uniformity from the majority of respondents.  "Failing".  What this says is that those preaching the message of gloom and doom surrounding our nation's schools have been amazingly successful. The rub is that while there is need for change, the idea that schools are all in crisis is simply not true. 

   The catalyst for the message rose partly from the chronic gaps in performance between American schools and foreign schools on international tests.  Beginning several decades ago it gained more momentum when among other issues, concerns over performance among racial and economic groups drew more attention.  Goals 2000, No Child Left Behind and now Race to the Top seemed designed to provide evidence of failure.  This was leveraged into a frantic call for dramatic reform.  It could be argued some schools and some kids are in a state of crisis.  More accurately some communities are in crisis and schools reflect that.  But a national crisis involving all our schools?   Who stands to benefit from such a conclusion?

   Many argue that it is the children in our schools.  Possibly true, but opinions differ greatly on this.  To date, a call to action and the reforms generated by this "crisis" have failed to effectively remedy the ills so often mentioned as the cause of our failure.  The merits of reform generate a great deal of impassioned argument.  Their implementation has unarguably generated a powerful response among teachers.  The response from those at ground level so far lacks a visible leader(Diane Ravitch is one exception) or influential outlet equal to that of reformers.  This causes the teacher voice to lack clarity and platform causing any concerns they do express to be ignored or to go unheeded.

   In the hands of the failure reformers, what is heard from teachers is interpreted by the public as "all the things that teachers and unions oppose"and played as support for the status quo.  That turns many people off to teacher concerns, even if they are valid.  What teacher is opposed to what is good for kids?  None worth their salt.  Schools and teachers constantly strive to do better, always have. The questions remains what path is best to bring this about.   Despite the uncertainty and opposition, the movement toward rapid and sweeping change gains momentum.  What the source of this momentum?  Or should we again ask who is source?

   Reformers, that's who.  Individuals like Gates, Duncan, Rhee, Bloomberg come to mind.  Democrats for Education, Stand for Children, Teach for America along with innumerable foundations with varied missions all share the mantra of crisis.  One group less visible to those not in schools that stands to benefit from a failing schools assumption is for profit education.  Whether it be a testing company, edupreneur, software firm, education management group or a large corporate style foundation, many have staked a claim to public funding and are working hard to steer it where they want.  They are advancing their cause by spreading the crisis message.   There is no shortage of talkers seeking and conferences out there putting the failure message front and center.  Large sums are being spent on advertising or lobbying of politicians who have all too easily bought into the rhetoric of failing schools in order to leverage their own political gain.  So they too feed the crisis beast.     Supporters of this corporate privatization approach contend private groups can do a better job.  Opponents might point out they also tend to cost more in the long run and siphon funds away from students.  In the process untold damage is being done to a vital institution.  Ultimately what matters is results. Testing is the core of what's used for comparison by reformers and much is left in terms of rating their true value.  Most teachers express doubt as their validity and how scores are being used.

What will be the result of such a major shift in education?

   The result of this approach to education is potentially harmful.  Informed voices of reason are overshadowed by the call to fix the perceived failure.  In a society that demands success the  public expects measurable results and buys into this crisis mentality accepting more radical measures.  The blanket thrown over the public schools labeling them as failing is one from which they cannot escape on their own.  They will need the public's help to stem the tide of education "de"-form.  That would be a challenge with the national crisis mentality.  This path prevents focus and identification of issues that could be resolved independently and successfully.  Beneficial changes have occurred but you have to search for them.  In sum the smothering perception of failure has more done damage than good to schools and the people in them.  At the bottom of the education chain, in the local community and classroom, it has created to more problems than it has solved.  That's where any change worth its salt must originate, in the school.  Such innovations today are hard to come by with all the reform mandates.  So this perceived crisis has led us to the brink of a real crisis.

    Much is currently being done wrong.  Testing, privatization, top down corporate style reform is replacing much of the identity that was the strength of the community public schools.  Change and improvement are welcome if beneficial but there is little inclusive dialogue on how to go about this.   True education reform is nothing new and nothing to fear.  What would John Dewey think of where we are headed?  Have we have allowed certain groups and influential individuals to convince the American public we are failing so that any and all change is deemed as good.  One prime example would be the celebration of school closures? How can anyone hold that up as a success?  The deep divide among those in the school and those who seek to control them is evident in such a scenario. Testing scandals and debate about actual turnaround results of key reformers like Klein and Rhee are evidence the issues are far from settled. 

   Not working directly in education it is difficult to grasp the scope and scale of the issues involved.   Reformers at the top believe they understand them.  Using public ignorance as a tool, reformers have essentially been given the keys to the kingdom.   Emboldened by this authority they roll out increasingly drastic and irreversible ideas.  More and more monocracies are tolerated.   They decided schools were failing.  They launch more efforts to convince others of this fact.  They used this environment to assume even more control,  a dangerous amount in many cases.  They've done little to include educators in the reform process and have created a polemical landscape rife with accusations and even fear.

   Those promoting the failing mentality have become opportunists and seek sources of public funding.  Diverting public monies to their latest effort with seemingly little accountability.  Sounds familiar doesn't it?  Their high profiles in many cases have set them up for lucrative positions when they jump ship, leaving others to clean up the mess and do the heavy lifting.   The darlings of private foundations they set to work weakening aspects of the teaching profession so they opening the door for their ideas unopposed.  They work hard to influence Congress and state legislatures that their ideas warrant support thereby completing the cycle.  Outcome based measures of quality have become misguided, vague, ill defined and subject to manipulation.   If this acceptance of unproven and unwise change continues to be tolerated what will be left? 

   The simplicity of a national "crisis" approach is appealing.  It taps into the belief that educating our kids is among our most important tasks.  How we choose to go about doing that is increasingly becoming narrowly focused, controlled, defined and implemented.  If we fail even a single student it is indeed a terrible thing. But that does not equate failure for the school and certainly not systemic nationwide failure.   Schools accomplish much that cannot be measured.   Are we constructing a system that seeks to "educate" kids but falls short of things that will truly help them better themselves?  With the current trends are we really able to prepare them to function as citizens and serve the greater good?  We are creating a system built around failure. Continuing to do so will only create more problems that need to be solved.  Depending on the measures used you may or may not think we are in crisis.  What is certain is that a growing belief in that fact threatens to leave an actual crisis in its wake.   Then again maybe that was the point of those creating this crisis?

Charity from Crisis

"Beggars can't be choosy."

Whether it is a moral truism or not, it certainly plays out as a practical truth.

Who are you, the recipient, to judge what I, the giver, have so generously given to you.  This is why we scrutinize the items of the customer in front of us when we see them pay with food stamps.  If they're using my dime to feed their family then they have no business buying some of the "luxury" items in that cart.

Many institutions from fire departments to universities rely on funding from donors to supplement the public funds on which they operate.  We tend to support these organizations because we a)see the value in the service they provide or b)benefit from their services (past, present, or future).  Other charities don't usually get the benefit of our intentional and direct investment, we're happy giving them our leftovers.  Whether it's end of year unloading, spring cleaning, or emptying our change on the way out of the store for the Salvation Army ringer, many times our contributions to charities that serve the poor are out of guilt or convenience.

Our current narrative casts public education into the second group for many Americans.  The current story says that public education is an institution not just failing to meet an overwhelming need, but indirectly responsible for social ills for which the public should take responsibility.  Groups with virtuous goals such as "Teach for America" sell a PR package that our consumer society gladly buys.  Lack of education leads to poverty and a poor system of education has led to economic crisis.

The current story of public education tells that millions of children are being failed by a poorly functioning system hindered by low expectations, stifling unions, and incompetent teachers.  Millions of children are "academically starving" and the public institutions created to feed them are failing to do their job.

The system of accountability created in Virginia with Standards of Learning testing in the 1990's and with NCLB at the federal level have lended credibility to this story.  Accountability has created the context for a national dialogue which highlights failures and dismisses success.  In our current popular story, we are in crisis.

Crises can bring out the best... and the worst.  A crisis presents an opportunity to try things a little differently, perhaps even a little dangerous or reckless that we wouldn't normally accept.  After a natural disaster, building codes which were meant to protect citizens could become obstacles for immediate shelter.  Terminal patients, having little to lose may often opt for the unproven treatment.  We also find opportunists in the midst of crises, standing to gain from the desperation of another.

This popular narrative of crisis would have us believe that the children of America are being failed academically by its system of public education.  Instead of addressing the impact of poverty and social context, the government and "no-excuse" reformers lay the blame on schools.  This story places the academic plight of American children in the same realm as poverty, hunger, homelessness-- issues of charity rather than public responsibility.

Education is not charity, it is a public responsibility.