MY TURN: School days, golden rule days

“This country was built on American respect for education,” Ronald Reagan. Thomas Jefferson warned that government “tyranny” would emerge unless “the people at large” were “educated at the common expense of all.” Yet more than half of Americans (51%) say our public education system is going in the wrong direction.

We have been “fixing” education since the Russian satellite, Sputnik, was launched Oct. 4, 1957. This spurred the U.S. to boost federal investment in research and development, education and national security. 

The concern culminated in 1983 with the publication of “A Nation at Risk: The Imperative for Educational Reform,” and the fixing began. We had “No Child Left Behind" (NCLB) passed in 2001 emphasizing accountability, teacher quality and parental options. Advocates said it helped raise test scores and improve school performance. Every Student Succeeds Act (ESSA) became law in 2015. ESSA kept some ideas from NCLB, like testing students to see their educational progress. It also gave more power to the states.

All students having access to quality education remains a central goal of educational policy. The shift from NCLB to ESSA reflects an ongoing effort to balance high standards and accountability with the need for local control. Now 10 years after ESSA, we talk of abolishing the federal Department of Education. Does this mean the “Nation at Risk” is over, we fixed it? Even better “No Child Is Left Behind” succeeded? Are states now able to insure “Every Student Succeeds?” Perfect.

Still 51% of U.S. adults say the country’s public K-12 education system is generally going in the wrong direction. Nowhere have I read that testing primarily on math and reading was the key to a better education. Civics and history are seldom mentioned. Testing is an essential measure but not for evaluating teachers' performance. Perhaps factors beyond the schoolhouse, the lack of support for childcare and parental leave, and other social and economic policies remain impactful. How does taking money from public education and giving it to private schools help? Apparently, it does help some better off parents with children in private schools. Are our state legislators stepping up to make education better?

A Nation at Risk called for more funding, longer school days and more homework as needed to improve public education. Yet public education remains drastically underfunded. Many states are providing far less money to their schools today. Our schools are crumbling, and educators are leaving the profession in droves, unable to make ends meet on stagnant salaries. The national average per-student expenditure in 2021-22 based on fall enrollment was $15,368. In 2022, Idaho spent an average of $9,832 on per student spending according to state data. It is rated 50th in the nation in student funding. Obviously, the money part has been ignored along with most of the other recommendations.  

We have school districts reducing to four school day weeks. Our education system is intended to provide quality leadership with educated certified teachers, periodic parent teacher conferences, parent teacher associations (PTA) and school boards that have public meetings anyone can attend. Still we have parents acting rudely to teachers and board members over concerns for critical race theory, which is not part of any K-12 curriculum. Why would parents become disruptive of any meeting when they have open access? Teachers fear that anything they say might be used against them and affect their careers. Legislators offer no clear explanation on what is happening but instead they reduce funding and claim that public funds to private schools is a solution. There have been no studies that claimed private schools, essentially unregulated, result in better educated students.

Less class hours, intimidation of teachers and others, less money for public education, shifting money to private schools will never improve education. Our public schools need some changes to the existing structure. Some transformation on the ways that work better for students and teachers. We should be discussing this with educators, not legislators. Then we can begin talking concretely about policies, routines, and practices that might help. The insights of practitioners with a clear sense of how things work in practice might be a better way proceed. The changes needed may require less outside innovation and more internal transformation.

• • •

Phil Ward is a Coeur d’Alene resident.