Progressive Education Fantasyland: a Rant of Rant-ish Proportions

I'm just going to enjoy this fantasy for a two months, give or take, before the lottery for the 2010-2011 school year at Unity Charter School in Morristown is held.

Yes, it's far. And yet:

There are many reasons I'm a huge fan of charter schools.

*For one, I believe successful charter schools can do a number of goods: attract students whose learning styles, needs and family educational philosophy match well with its mission.

*Urban charter schools like this school in Jersey City appeal to parents who might otherwise feel that the only way their children can avoid mediocre public schools is to decamp for the suburbs. Offering a new educational path creates a diverse school and improves civic health.

*Charter schools thin out overcrowded schools. E's first-grade class--at her school and nearly every other in West Orange--is a boomish blip on the population radar. When three schools in town requested an additional first grade teacher for this school year, the new superintendent granted only two schools their wish. E's school, where parents are less well-off and less visible, was not given another teacher. I can only imagine what slights public schools receive when their parents are even less visible or empowered. Like the East Los Angeles public school where my friend Amy taught: it received a bully of a principal that had been shuffled there from another school, protected from getting the firing he deserved.

*Finally, they remind traditional schools of alternative ways of teaching and learning. There are best practices within both kinds of schools, and they have the opportunity to share ideas, even if only in theoretical comparison.

***
The typical "kid-ness" of an elementary school is exacerbated by overcrowding.I'm sensitive to noise and chaos, and surely there are children in school who are, too. When crowded classroms meet the traditional, hardwired "school" mentality, the school day looks like this: children at recess are sent to the blacktop instead of the play structures for safety reasons--just too many kids. A flower garden on the grounds remains scenery to students, and never a lesson. Older teachers and aides raise their voices with no compunction. Cafeteria aides "punish" the entire cafeteria of children by assigning seats through the rest of the school year. In other words, school exacts a series of small injuries towards a child's peace and sense of option.

This is what I see, but it's not atypical. That is, unless the schools are created from a more deliberate, studied philosophy in a progressive community. There is lots of that in our neighboring towns. That could be, ultimately, our only option. But I still can't help but feel outraged that these options must be bought with a mortgage and taxes. Do other communities mistrust anything but traditional, sit-in-your-seat structure for less well-off children? Some people argue that the "structure model" is a gift for urban children who might experience social disorder in their home life. If so, then lets keep that, too. I'm not denying that it can be useful. Just not for every child.

I hunger for innovation. To see that spark in a teacher or principal's eye. I long for three-dimensional learning, especially for boys. I desperately wish for 90 percent less homework, and the abolishment of the bleak, take-home ditto. It is not my place to tell teachers how to do their job, but all my instincts tell me that my children will suffer under the current era of Educational Numbers. Even under Obama, the larger climate is still firmly entrenched in testville. Sec. of Ed. Arne Duncan wants schools to compete for extra money if they can "quantify" their success: faculty excellence, student scores. The children will be buried beneath the quantification of their "SUCCESS." Mr. Duncan, can you quantify students' love of learning? Or how many mornings they want to go to school? How about incentivizing for that? And how do you prevent schools, panicking about ESL children and overcrowding, from doing everything in their power to buck up those numbers, even if it means students spend time each day working on sample test sheets, bored to death? That's what a teacher-friend's suburban-district principal wanted him to do. He doesn't do it, but if the shit hit the fan, he wouldn't have a choice.

So, to the Lottery we go.

I could do more to make our public school reflect my hopes. Everyone could. I have done more in a few months than I expected I could. That felt great, and of course I want to do more. I continue to propose ideas. I help out. But it astounds me when basic things continue to be overlooked: an absence of outdoor recycling bins, a nearly useless bench for parents near the play structure. Apparently parents continue to sit on the single slat while their children play, saying nothing. As if they don't deserve better.

(This leads to considerations of self-esteem and community empowerment. Immigrant parents speak up less, according to research for my last book. At the simplest level, it leads to mild alienation. At the worst, it allows the school to fail their child's needs. Yes, I'm making a lot of huge generalizations here. I'm just observing and learning as I go, even as I come from my own perspective.)

Involved parents are sometimes seen at PTA meetings, where agenda items include: fundraiser catalogs, Cheesecake Sale, soda pop tabs for the Ronald McDonald House, even a program in which Perdue gives a small school donation for each purchase of certain chicken products. (I'll bet the list includes nuggets.) For the food services staff, Perdue steps it up with the Perdue's Loyalty Program. Food services staff can purchase points toward electronics, sporting goods, office and foodservice equipment. Hope the school gets those goodies. One can only wonder, really, or doubt.

The takeaway message? It's the same as at many PTA meetings across the country. If you want to support our school, don't really worry about the details. Just be a good parent and shop. (Then please sign up for the gift fair, where you can help the children shop.)

I've told the Bean's principal that I'm not invigorated to help with these fundraisers. Families don't need catalog cheesecake, I told her. I say it with kindness and tact but also with conviction. She's allowed to think I'm a giant pain: I also have helped in a big, tangible way. So, as Obama likes to say, Let's Be Clear: my desire to shift the entire dialogue will not win me any popularity contests. But if school wants to teach values, lets move past lessons on bullying and self-esteem into an "others-oriented" approach to education. There's more self-esteem to be taught in that.

(The irony of DRIVING to a charter school focused on sustainability has not escaped me. We'll see how this all plays out: I haven't the slightest. Certainly, we can join one of the school's carpools.)

There are thousands more words to write on this, but I need to process and research them for another forum. There are issues of school segregation and innovation, race and the problem of the "good schools." Even the most progressive parents have conspired to make testing king, even as they give lip service to social learning. And no one wants to talk about it, beyond their line that they "found the best school for their child." To crib Bill Clinton, it's our own anxiety, stupid. And mine, too.