This post at Schools Matter reminded me of a conversation I recently had.
For those of us who follow the media’s reporting of No Child Left Behind with its emphasis on accountability for teachers and schools, testing and punitive consequences, it is refreshing to see that someone in the media is reframing the debate and bringing the real, practical issues regarding the war on teachers and educators by policy makers who have failed to address the economic and social issues that are directly linked to how well children perform in school.
Let this be a hopeful sign that as NCLB comes up for reauthorization, more and more Americans will begin to understand that teachers are not the problem. It’s time for everyone to take responsibility for allowing lies and propaganda to poison the discourse and distract us from the very real issues facing of economic inequality, race and poverty that have permeated our society and make the job of teachers more difficult.
With all the rhetoric being tossed about on both sides, about standards and accountablility, about leaving no child behind, about vouchers and charters and private schools, why aren’t more people talking about this?
By and large, the schools that are failing are the poorest schools in the country. Forget money spent per student, forget textbooks and class size and resources…not that I’m saying these things aren’t important, but I don’t believe any of them are the real root of the problem.
Poverty is the real root of the problem. And until we seriously do something about poverty, the poorest kids in the poorest schools will continue to struggle. Period.
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