I’ve been doing a great deal of thinking about schooling since I read Jack Mahoney’s column on the op-ed page of the July 13 Lakeville Journal. Jack is a great guy, a popular former principal at Housatonic Valley Regional High School (whose 2005 graduation is pictured at right) and smart as a whip. On a couple of occasions I have used him as an authoritative source when writing about educational issues and trends. He always has something interesting and insightful to say.
His column is one of many in a series entitled “The Perfect School.” And I agree with much of what Jack wrote in the piece — that is until at the end when he states with certainty that “When the Perfect School is built it will not be private.”
First of all, some full disclosure is in order. If you’ve read my bio on this blog, you know that I have been associated with independent schools for most of my life — either as student or employee. So I do not pretend to be someone with a deep background in public schools, although my wife has worked in one since 1990 and my two children attend one here in the Northwest Corner.
As he so often is, Jack is precisely to the point in his argument that the value of a private school education is often overrated. A simple cost/benefit analysis will show you that $25-30,000 per year per student (which is about the going rate for day student tuitions around here) doesn’t necessarily get you a proportionate increase in quality compared to whatever it is you are paying in taxes to your school district (which for most of us is in the neighborhood of $2,000 to $5,000 annually).
And even the social and academic prestige of attending a school like Groton or Hotchkiss isn’t what it used to be. If you are an ambitious and motivated student, for example, and you want to get into a great college, you don’t need a private school diploma. To the capable and motivated student thinking of going to Housatonic, I would say get yourself into that great humanities program there and take challenging courses such as the dozen or so advanced placement alternatives there are. Immerse yourself in athletics and extracurriculars, get solid recommendations from your teachers and you will go places fast.
And when you finally graduate from a highly selective college, almost no one cares where you went to high school (as I myself have discovered) unless you aspire to be on the faculty at one of those private schools.
And, of course there is the related hypocrisy factor of dyed-in-the-wool Democrats who are always telling us how their party speaks for the common man but who would never send their own child to public schools, where they would actually have to rub elbows with the great unwashed (Chelsea Clinton comes to mind).
But that doesn’t mean I am an uncritical observer of public education either. Most public schools I have looked at do a good job under difficult circumstances. Others, however, are simply awful. While some faculty members at public schools are supremely talented and driven by sheer professional pride to be dynamic educators and strong role models, too many others simply go through the motions. They sleepwalk through their days, tolerate unacceptable behavior from students and are generally an embarrassment to their colleagues. To make matters worse, they go about their business secure in the knowledge that termination is almost impossible because of anachronistic tenure laws that protect teachers at the expense of students, their parents and (ultimately) taxpayers.
To be fair, some educators start out with all guns blazing but then fizzle, the victim of that great demon — teacher burn-out. I myself experienced the phenomenon, but I left education in 1996 to pursue another career. This is common in private schools, but far less so in public schools, where job protection, nice salaries and excellent benefits entice even those who are underperforming to stay on long enough to vest their pensions. Needless to say, the students are the losers.
I have seen lousy teachers in private schools, too. But they don’t tend to last as long. If they don’t improve, subpar educators are generally sent packing and encouraged to find another career before they can inflict any more damage on their students.
Which brings me to the point on which Jack and I will surely disagree. I don’t know why it is so difficult for the education establishment to accept the premise that competition will actually make public schools better. As Clive Crook points out in an excellent column in The National Journal, it took an entire generation for school districts to re-embrace phonics and move away from whole language — a method of teaching reading by … well … not teaching reading at all.
When faced with strong evidence that a learning strategy is not working, public schools and state departments of education have little incentive to change. After all, a captive audience must continue to pump those tax dollars into the system whether the schools achieve results or not. Private schools must (by necessity) be more dynamic, accountable and results-oriented — lest they lose the students who keep them afloat.
We must continue to explore all means possible (including taxpayer funded vouchers) to make a quality education affordable to all. Don’t we all feel that even the less fortunate among us deserve quality healthcare? Education is no less important. Just ask a poor family fed up with a failing school but unable to do a thing about it.
9 responses so far ↓
1 Doug Manning // Jul 17, 2006 at 8:40 pm
Some interesting research on the public/private debate has recently been released, entitled ‘Comparing Private Schools and Public Schools Using Hierarchical Linear Modeling’. My own thoughts on this research are available at the Proactive Living blog.
I agree with many of your points in this post. I especially agree that the school system must change and it has not demonstrated an ability to lead in that area. However, competition is not the answer, only because a free market would perpetuate many of the traditional aspects of school that make them ineffective for an increasing number of students. The answer lies more with the work of researchers like Michael Fullan and a movement towards education requiring greater emphasis on the development of a self-managed learner.
2 Robin Leech // Jul 18, 2006 at 1:50 am
I certainly think that your next to last paragraph is analytically correct. I also feel that the public education system is hindered by the atmosphere fostered by the extreme mix of minds/mindsets that the students attending public schools bring to the public schools systemns: unfortunately, there isn’t the uniformity of ‘purpose’ throughout (most of) the school body which encourages students to strive for academic excellence throughout the system; if it were, teachers in the public school system would have a significantly easier time teaching uniformly motivated students, as is mostly the case in many, but not all, of the private schools. Is the cost differential worth it? I’m afraid it is because students of a uniform mind set are easier to teach, have more motivations to move ahead, and less distractions (of a fractured public school body) that can lead many (initially) well intended students astray; these being far more prevalent in the public schools system than in the private schools. Discipline, and discipline capabilities in the private schools is far more effective and helps weed out those who would otherwise drag down the ’school body’ and teachability in the private schools. It is a harsh reality, although there are indeed some superior public school systems in CT.
3 Terry // Jul 18, 2006 at 12:42 pm
Doug,
I agree completely about the one-sized-fits-all mentality being a drag on the public education system. But I don’t know where you get the impression that private schools have the same approach. By necessity they must carve out a market niche and serve it, so I’m not sure I understand you when you say there is a “one-size-fits-all system present in both public and private schools …”.
As for the study, I haven’t read it but people’s reactions to studies are often more interesting than the studies themselves. When we see a study (or a poll, for that matter) that confirms what we already believe, we tend to accept it as proof that we are right. If the poll/study is conducted by people we like, we say it is credible. If it is done by people we don’t like and yields results we don’t like, then we attack the methodology or possible bias of the parties involved. If it is done by people we don’t like but with results we DO like, we say, “Even THEY admit that …”
The key component of the study you cite is the “adjustment” for “for individual student characteristics.” It would be very interesting to see how precisely it is applied. I will look at the study and get back to you …
4 Jenny // Jul 18, 2006 at 1:44 pm
There are so many straw men here it’s hard to see past them to your main point. Elitist liberals, Chelsea Clinton, whole language - do they have to be trotted out in every discussion about education policy? The attack on whole language in particular just won’t die. Whole language teaching, done right, doesn’t eliminate phonics - it says that phonics is one of a whole range of strategies that learners need. The point is that there is no one size fits all - people learn in a variety of ways. (That’s an idea that public education really struggles with!) Children should encounter great literature, they should write, they should learn sight words, and they should learn phonics. Like any great innovation, when it gets taught badly by poorly educated teachers, it doesn’t work, but that’s true about phonics or any other approach.
As to your larger point, I’m concerned that our current method of forcing change on school systems that aren’t working doesn’t solve the problem at all. I’m speaking of high stakes testing - favored by the No Child Left Behind crowd - that hinges a whole school’s fate on a few standardized tests. Can anyone point to an independent study that shows this strategy has improved student achievement?
5 Catherine Paton // Jul 18, 2006 at 8:17 pm
I’m thrilled you are mentioning school during the hazy days of summer. The idea that we can even discuss education is radical insofar as there is a huge, longstanding bureaucratic WALL which can take years to detect and scramble up..let alone over to a meaningful forum.
A retired person is full of insights and even enthusiasm, as is any new parent or educator. The basic message all must accept as common is “NOT INTERESTED” as in “No time, not my department, not my issue, not in the budget..” and my all-time favorite, “insurance liability won’t allow it”. That has been the reason people cannot go off-campus to learn more readily (or even outside, I imagine). Liability is why more volunteers (including most parents), no matter how talented or eager, are not invited into the schools regularly (that’s also due to scheduling and increasing curriculum demands).
However, state legislation has recently passed saying schools should allow more involvement from parents (and the community although that may be a wishful thought). The current policy at some schools locally (and some libraries and other “public places”) is to limit postings and communications more and more to items pertaining directly to the facility in terms of Curriculum, stated goals. Faculty and managers need to comply with more regulations. No peace posters, community outreach or other “unrelated” communications can be made freely, not in our corner of America.
Remember, the need for this is to protct everyone from being sued for inadvertently favoring one group over another, remaining fair or disinterested, not embarrassing anyone by allowing open discussion of controversial subjects (even discussing what a conflict is and how to handle conflicts of any nature was deemed by one public facility as “inappropriate”, as was discussing mental health issues or getting books out in the public on such…)
But back to schools, where military can recruit high schoolers and have access to student records, where police are called (by law) is a racial slur is made, sexual harassment is detected among students, alongside more traditional violence or drug possession.
Students need to know they can be prosecuted as an adult at age 16, which can include matters in intimate relationships such as date rape, having sex with someone more than three years younger if under 16, and a host of other
crimes they may not realize they are committing…(maybe most know and hope they won’t get caught). Driving under the influence or with drugs in the car is a major offense, and people must not kid themselves it’s not..the penalties can add up quickly. Few employers are ready to hire someone with a criminal record. Back at home or in school or in public, yelling can lead to an arrest for disorderly conduct. That can lead to someone (a parent for instance) being made to leave their home for six months on the spot, even mothers who have young children. These are new developments in the law designed typically to protect women in difficult relationships, but the system needs tweaking…Legal advocates are trying to do that, but it will likely take months or more.
Parents, and regular citizens, as well as students need to work hard to know how our community and systems work. Don’t be afraid to learn, to ask questions or to voice an opinion. Know that much of that will not be allowed at school, if it’s “off topic”. Maybe the best school is one that is ongoing in the minds and hearts of all the citizenry…and doesn’t pass the buck or take long vacations or sit back and wait for things to improve eventually.
6 Paul Bartomioli // Jul 22, 2006 at 12:24 pm
Education is about opportunities. The opportunities at a private High School vastly exceed that of public. The Chinese have the largest, most rapidly growing economy, with India a close second. So, how many levels of Mandarin are available at Housy? How many touch feely “diversity” courses deal with the culture and traditions of these countries? Heck, how deep are the discussions on the Muslim way of life versus the rest of the world?
BTW, the total cost of education for our children is not as low as has been stated. In addition to salaries and benefits for all faculty and staff, about 80% of the budget, there is building maintenance, books and supplies, food costs, equipment purchases, bus services, etc. Take the entire budget for your education department and divide it by the number of students enrolled. THAT is what it costs to educate a child; even that is low, because some expenses are in the myriad “regional budgets” that exist to cover common costs.
The perfect high school will not be public. The NEA, the national union our local teachers are members of, released it “goals” for this year. None of first 10 items listed dealt with classroom eduation. Does anyone see a problem with that?
Hindisght is 20/20. I will do my utmost to not repeat past mistakes in the education of my children.
7 Judy Moran // Jul 22, 2006 at 4:00 pm
Your commentary, and all the responses to it, are an interesting start to a discussion which too often gets bogged down due to the sheer enormity of the variables involved. My immediate response is to state a few “observations” that surely won’t solve any problems, but may at least give some talking points.
1. Public schools — through no fault of their own, really — can no longer acknowledge that all students are not created with equal ability. One of the more upsetting things I heard at a PTA meeting was a presentaiton from an academic consultant who stated that he wanted to “raise the number of children who were scoring above average on the standardized tests.” Anyone with a fairly basic understanding of standardized testing realizes that “average” is actually a quantifiable concept, and that any test that produced a larger number of students scoring “above average” would, by definition, be meaningless. The real problem is the idea that everyone should be able to achieve at some pre-determined level on an equal basis. Most of us have no problem acknowledging that not everyone can be a Tiger Woods, or a Leonard Bernstein, or a Christie Brinkley, for that matter. But political correctness these days seems to demand that everyone should be able to perform at a fairly high level when it comes to academics. And I won’t even get into the idea that any specific test, given on any specific day, hardly even measures what a particular student is capable of with any degree of accuracy.
2. Discipline is a large factor when it comes to the educational process. Even a student with a sincere desire to learn can be foiled if too much of the limited class time is spent deadling with a small group of students — or only one — who not only have no desire to learn themselves, but have no interest in what happens to everyone else around them. This is as much a societal issue as anything else, and while intolerance of others should not be encouraged, there is such a thing as too much tolerance. Societies only work when there is a clear understanding that everyone must play their part, and a clear consequence for those who infringe on others’ rights.
3. To be fair to public schools, the reasons that private schools have a built-in advantage have little to do with money. It is that they do not have to take on the task of teaching everyone; they do not have to tolerate any behavior from any student; they do not have to keep a teacher who should, for everyone’s sake, find another way of making a living. I agree that the tenure system is anachronistic, but I also have seen that schools are political institutions as much as any other large organization, and simply being an excellent teacher does not make someone immune from conflicts that have nothing to do with their teaching ability. There does need to be some system to ensure that one’s continued professional existence does not rely only on keeping one or two administrators happy. I don’t have the perfect answer, but I do think we can set up a system that functions more fairly than the one we have. Using multiple methods of evaluation that include the students, other teachers and the community, in addition to the administration, should at least keep the worst abuses from occurring.
I’ve rambled on quite a bit here, but this is a topic that is quite obviously the most important any of us can talk about, and should involve the community far more than it does.
8 Jenny // Jul 27, 2006 at 2:08 am
One more random thought - spent a little time visiting random blogs and came across one written by someone living in the Phillipines - he described in many of his posts the schoolwork his 8 year old son was doing (second-grade age) - sounded like what kids here do in fourth grade, with lots of tests and quizzes. Are our expectations too low?
9 Paul Bartomioli // Jul 29, 2006 at 8:42 pm
In order for expectations to be low, you must have expectations of learning. However in the universal daycare system known as public education in America, there are no expectations.
Time will pass, will you?
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