Teacher Shortages? No Surprise. | Live Long and Prosper

Teacher Shortages? No Surprise. | Live Long and Prosper:

Teacher Shortages? No Surprise.

BLAMING TEACHERS

“Reformers” love to talk about “failing schools.” In America, “failing schools” are most often schools filled with students who were born into poverty.

Test Scores, Students and Learning: Our overall scores are unspectacular because of our high rate of child poverty. (WSJ)

When researchers control for the effect of poverty, American scores on international tests are at the top of the world. Our overall scores are unspectacular because of our high rate of child poverty. The U.S. has the second highest level of child poverty among all 34 economically advanced countries. In some big city public school districts, the poverty rate is over 80%. Poverty means poor nutrition, inadequate health care and lack of access to books, among other things. All of these profoundly impact school performance.

This is compelling evidence that the problem is poverty, not teachers, teacher unions or schools of education. This is also compelling evidence that we should be protecting students from the effects of poverty, not investing in the Common Core.
Stephen Krashen

(See also David Berliner Responds to Economists Who Discount Role of Child Poverty)

So-called “failing schools” are closed only to be replaced with charters (which also, inevitably “fail”). Their staffs are fired or moved elsewhere. The disruption of students’ lives is the political fallout of federal, state and local governments’ inability to deal with poverty in their communities, i.e. “failing municipalities” in a “failing society.”

Rather than attack the root cause of low achievement — poverty — politicians, and policy makers attack the invisible bogeyman of “bad” teachers. Teachers unions are blamed. The adults who teach and live with the students every day are blamed for the effects of poverty on learning and achievement.

“Reformers” force schools to fail by requiring higher test scores while providing less support for teachers and students. The “failing school” becomes a self-fulfilling prophecy, and the vulture-capitalists move in to take over, grabbing public dollars with no public oversight while they replace public schools.

TEACHER SHORTAGES

The pressure on teachers to help students pass “the test” is enormous and throughout the country teacher shortages are increasing.

In Indianapolis, 200 educators have left Teacher Shortages? No Surprise. | Live Long and Prosper: