Imagine for a moment that you were in charge of a public school. What would you do differently?
I’ve been thinking a lot about that recently. So has The New York Times, which recently ran a story in which 37 experts rated 30 possible changes. The Times’ roster of experts does not include a single classroom teacher, an oversight that’s hard to explain. Nor did the newspaper ask any education reporters for their judgments (an oversight that upsets me, even though it may not bother you). I wrote about this recently on my blog, here and here.
The experts recruited by the Times had several favorite reforms: 1) small group tutoring, 2) adopting what’s known as ‘The Science of Reading,’ and 3) universal pre-kindergarten, and 4) more money.
In this column and over the next few weeks, I’m going to recommend roughly two dozen changes, only a few of which will require spending more money—and not very much at that.
These suggestions are based on my having spent 41 years in the back of classrooms in just about every state and a handful of other countries, plus four years teaching, 18 years as a public school parent, and quite a few years as a student. I know these approaches work because I’ve witnessed it.
It’s important to understand that poor academic performance and declining attendance are symptoms of what ails public education. They are not the problem. Therefore, trying to raise test scores with more drill and test practice is as dumb and ineffective as treating strep throat with lozenges. Attacking the problem of poor attendance by expanding the truancy police to force kids to come to school is equally stupid and counter-productive.
A second observation: The conventional view of education is that schools produce graduates from their assembly line. This is the much-criticized ‘factory model’ of education. Let’s turn that on its head. Keep the factory, but think of students as ‘knowledge workers,’ whose job is to create knowledge, not regurgitate facts and figures. By that logic, schools are ‘knowledge factories,’ and creating is the polar opposite of regurgitation.
Here are four changes that I would make immediately.
- Revived (or expanded) extra-curricular activities like music, theatre, journalism, dance, debate, and sports. All of these teach team play and–more importantly–failure. In these activities, students learn to rely on each other and to pick themselves up after falling short. And to pick up their teammates.
What we adults call, often disparagingly, ‘extra-curricular’ activities are often the main reason kids come to school.
- Separate English, math, and science classes for boys and girls in middle and high school. My wife, a career educator, made me aware of a fascinating paradox: Girls do better in single-sex classrooms, but boys do better in mixed classrooms. In a mixed classroom some girls are intimidated and hide their intelligence and suppress their curiosity. Studying alone, without boys around, girls shine. In mixed classrooms, many boys often try to impress girls with their knowledge, although others may believe that being ‘smart’ is not ‘manly.’
The rest of the school activities like cafeteria and extra curricular activities should be mixed.
I’ve seen this done very effectively in several charter schools in New Orleans.
- Short, unstructured, but frequent recess breaks in elementary school, as is done in some Japanese schools I’ve visited. And by ‘frequent,’ I mean at least three and perhaps more 15-20 minute unstructured breaks from sitting at a desk. Kids, especially young kids, need to move. As workers, we aren’t expected to sit all day, so why do we expect that of young children?
High school and middle school students have class change breaks five or six times a day, their opportunities to move around.
Or emulate Sweden: “In Sweden, outdoor free play is a foundational part of early education. Daily outdoor time is expected — often in all types of weather — based on the belief that movement, risk-taking, and unstructured exploration are essential to development. The cultural philosophy of friluftsliv (“open-air living”) reflects the understanding that children regulate and learn best when connected to movement and nature.”
- Business cards for teachers: They are professionals and deserve to be treated with dignity and respect. It will change the dynamic in every parent-teacher meeting when the teacher can offer their business card and say, “Hi, Mr. Merrow, I’m Nancy Ross. It’s a pleasure to meet you,” instead of the awkward “Hello, I’m Mrs. Ross.”
Academic counselors get cards too. Administrators already have them, proof of their importance if you need convincing.
And if some businesses offer to provide the business cards as long as they can put their logo on the card, tell them, politely, to f**k off.. Advertising would defeat the whole purpose.
Two of these changes, separate academic classes and multiple recesses, won’t cost a dime. Business cards might cost a few hundred dollars, depending on how many teachers are involved. Restoring ‘extra curricular’ activities could be expensive; ramping them up shouldn’t cost a lot.
Those are four changes I would make right away if I ran a school. There are at least 18 more on my list, so I hope you will stay tuned. And I hope you will share your own ideas and suggestions on my Substack page or right here at Themerrowreport.com.
