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For Every School Reform Dream, There Is a Nightmare

vonzastrowc's picture
By Claus von Zastrow on June 28, 2010

For every dream, there is a corresponding nightmare. Whether we fulfill the dream or succumb to the nightmare depends on whether quality or economy is the prime mover of our work. That fact heightens the ferocity of current debates on school reform.

Take, for example, the standards movement. I still believe in the dream of standards. First-rate standards can create a compelling common vision for what students should know and be able to do. Excellent curriculum, assessments, staff development and teaching tools--all tied to those standards--can help teachers and students reach those goals.

But in far too many places, the dream became a nightmare. Fairly rotten multiple-choice tests became de facto standards, test prep became the curriculum, and staff development went by the wayside. And tools for teachers? Forget it.

This brand of standards based reform on the cheap was a perversion of the original idea. It just fueled opposition to the whole standards movement.

Another example: the dream of "disruptive" technologies. The internet can give students in the remotest little hamlets access to top teachers thousands of miles away. Computers can teach basic skills and allow teachers to focus on higher order skills. "Serious" computer games can get students excited about learning while gathering detailed data on each student's strengths and weaknesses.

And then there's the nightmare scenario. As budgets grow tight, computers replace teachers and focus mostly on low-level skills that are easiest to model. Serious games, which cost a lot, become drills, which don't. Students have fewer relationships with caring adults.

I don't mean to say that the nightmare vision must come to pass. Our most riveting dreams for the future of schools can certainly combine quality and economy. Standards based reform and new technologies can do just that.

But history teaches us just how powerful the temptation to cut corners can be. You can't always blame old-timers for greeting the dreamers with cynicism.

Yet cynicism won't get us anywhere. We have to build trust as we build new visions for schools.

Link to this story: http://www.learningfirst.org/every-school-reform-dream-there-nightmare

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I counted some of the time my

Submitted by Mrs. C on Mon, 06/28/2010 - 13:17

I counted some of the time my children played Civilization toward their history hours. You can really learn a LOT from the Civilopedia (which btw, helps you win... use your enemies' weaknesses against them) and finding out about each civilization's "special unit." So my school-age children already know about Hannibal's war elephant or Roman legions.

It just goes to show that teaching doesn't have to be supplemented with an expensive game, either. I suppose the best use of the teacher's time would be to figure out what teachers can do that parents and computers in class cannot, and then work the school schedule accordingly. I know... I have a keen grasp of the obvious, don't I? :)

PS. God help us if we were to take multiple choice tests too seriously; they stink.

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Hi, Mrs C-- I think you're

Submitted by vonzastrowc on Tue, 06/29/2010 - 06:04

Hi, Mrs C--

I think you're right--Teaching doesn't have to be supplemented by expensive technology. Old-fashioned games can work as well as high-tech games. That said, the "serious gaming" idea is very interesting, because computer games can have very sophisticated mechanisms for measuring students' strenghths and weaknesses. Teachers can get a detailed report on where the student did well and where she didn't--The computer can highlight concepts she hasn't grasped. And the student can be more engaged in the work.

The problem, of course, is that serious games are very expensive to develop--and traditional game producers aren't exactly leaping into the breach.

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Have you seen Spelling Time

Submitted by Mrs. C on Tue, 06/29/2010 - 13:06

Have you seen Spelling Time online? This would be SO MUCH more fun than the stupid "copy these words three times each" homework you and I went through as kids. You can give kids in your class a link to your classroom page and customize your lists, etc. We play the cheap free version because I spend my big money on math programs, knowing it is *my* weak spot. :)

http://www.spellingtime.com/

Take a look. I found it helpful and promise I'm not getting reimbursed or anything like that. Genuine sharing.

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"Teaching doesn't have to be

Submitted by WendyX on Thu, 07/01/2010 - 01:28

"Teaching doesn't have to be supplemented by expensive technology" - I agree with Mrs.C

Effective teaching comes from effective use of available resources. We can cut the cost of teaching materials without sacrificing the quality of learning that students can get. Even the simplest materials can work just fine, as long as it is delivered and discussed effectively. Of course effective delivery should come with effective assessment to see if learning's were really acquired. Achieving Quality Education. is a challenge,everyone should take.

God bless!

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