3) School Administration Needs to be Reformed

Of course there are notable exceptions, and to be certain, most all school administrators are decent people, but there is a dearth of good educational leadership.

In my experience, principals are not hired for their pedagogical understanding, but for their willingness to be compliant to the authority of central office. Those who prove to be the most compliant ascend to mid-level management and develop a penchant for pushing paper, exerting power over their former colleagues and ushering in the latest educational trend. Few have any defined educational vision that goes beyond the most basic understanding of how learning works. Superintendents are usually too far removed from the realities of the classroom. In my 27 years of teaching I don’t think I would need two hands to count the number of times a local school board member or school administrator (other then a principal) visited my classroom or has come to an academic function.

It might be a surprise to Alaskans, but every one of our districts has a relatively fair mechanism in place to remove incompetent teachers – even tenured teachers. Principals can identify ineffective educators and put them on needs-improvement plan that then guides a struggling teacher towards success in the classroom. If a teacher on a needs-improvement plan does not demonstrate acceptable growth, they then can be fired. While most anyone can identify a problem teacher, few principals are capable of actually devising a sound plan of improvement so those few teachers who need help rarely are given it.

4) Teachers Should Be Given More Time

A typical high school has a seven period day and each teacher is expected to prepare for six classes (sometimes one is lucky to teach the same subject more than once a day). In elementary schools, most every teacher prepares new lessons in math, science, reading, writing and social studies, etc. every single day and for children performing at different levels. There are also papers to grade and enter in the computer; meetings to attend; hall, bus and recess duties; supplies to order; an occasional visit to the restroom…the list does go on. If there is an expectation for teachers to prepare dynamic and meaningful learning activities, teachers should not have to teach more than four hours each day. The consequence is that we need to hire more teachers – but think about it. Can we really expect anyone to be successful teaching six classes of 25 kids or more each day? It’s why there are now so many worksheets, so much drudgework, even more boring lectures and why there are fewer hands-on lessons that fully engage a students imagination.

5) The Culture of Sports Needs to be De-emphasized

A few years back, I stood inside the main doors of a Kenai peninsula high school with the principal and commented on the number of plaques honoring each student who held a school record in each sport the school offered. I wondered out loud why those with the highest SAT scores or who were selected as National Merit Scholars were not also included. At another peninsula high school a team that recently won a small schools state sport championships were regaled with a school-wide tribute. Classes were stopped and all students and teachers were expected to bridge their hands and cheer as the team ran the gauntlet under the extended arms. Yep, a couple of central office administrators and school board members showed up to show their admiration. At this same school, students have won national and international academic competitions without so much as a handshake of recognition from the principal. Sport is the tail that wags the dog of education and that attitude causes more harm than does good. Oh, I am all about fitness and know the value of team and individual sports, but if we really want schools to focus on the acquisition of reading, writing and computational skills and if we want our students to understand science and to appreciate the struggle of humankind to make the world a better place, we need to de-emphasis the culture that views academic success as secondary to success in sports.