‘It pains me to write this': Obama’s first summit on high schools was a big fail
Ted Dintersmith is a venture capitalist and father of two who is now focused on education-related initiatives that call for a radical restructuring of what and how students learn. He organized, funded and produced the well-received documentary “Most Likely to Succeed,” and co-authored a book titled “Most Likely to Succeed: Preparing Our Kids for the Innovation Era.”
Now on a 50-state tour to encourage communities to rethink the purpose of school, Dintersmith stopped in Washington last month to attend the first White House Summit on Next Generation High Schools, which the Obama administration said would “highlight new actions by philanthropy, industry, school leaders, and others, who are committed to re-thinking the way that high school education is delivered in this country.”
To make a long story short, Dintersmith was not impressed with the summit. In the following post, he explains what he saw and heard and why he was so sorely disappointed about the experience. Because a focus of his discussion involves high school math, it is worth noting that Dintersmith majored in physics and English as an undergraduate, with research in physics that led to publication. He earned a master’s degree in applied physics and a doctorate in engineering from Stanford University, with a concentration on mathematical modeling. He also taught a math-intensive course at Stanford on microeconomics, and he has worked with many top scientists and engineers in a 30-year business career. So it’s safe to say that Dintersmith approaches a discussion of high school math with context.
By Ted Dintersmith
It pains me to write this article. It really does.
You see, I was all-in as a volunteer for Barack Obama in 2007-2008. On the National Finance Committee from the beginning. Donated and raised money for him, twisting every arm I could find. Walked door-to-door in Iowa for 10 snowy days before the caucuses. Was part of the 2009 transition process. And was selected by the president to represent the United States at the 2012 United Nations General Assembly, where I focused on global education issues.
The Obama administration is staffed by talented people with the best of intentions. I respect their 100-hour workweeks and accomplishments. But when it comes to education, this administration has done more damage than George W. Bush and No Child Left Behind. And that was very hard to do. While NCLB amplified the role of standardized testing in U.S. education, Race To The Top took it to the next unfortunate level. It bribed states to link student test performance to an accountability system for teachers, making test prep the all-consuming focus of school. These policies failed at their stated goal of improving test scores, while disengaging students, demoralizing teachers, and driving meaningful and engaged learning from our classrooms.
With the recent announcement that Education Secretary Arne Duncan is stepping down, and the president’s subsequent statement that we’ve gone overboard on standardized testing, I had hoped things in D.C. had taken a turn for the better. So when I was invited to last month’s White House Summit on Next Generation High Schools, I was excited. By the end of the summit, though, it was the words of George Bernard Shaw, not something from the summit, that ran through my mind:
“We are made wise not by the recollection of our past, but by the responsibility for our future.”
The lead figures for the day were people with impressive titles and resources, but underwhelming ideas. The opening speaker described his powerful personal story, and then addressed the serious issue of the 19 percent of our kids who don’t graduate from high school. He pointed to the need to give more kids access to courses like Algebra II and chemistry. I struggled to visualize bored students suddenly fired up and ready to go to school so they can memorize the periodic table. Frequently using the phrase “false ‘It pains me to write this': Obama’s first summit on high schools was a big fail - The Washington Post:
