The Teachers' Education Institute
Contact: Dr. David L. Mollet tel/fax (619) 463-1270 email: tei@cox.net
6656 Reservoir Lane, San Diego, CA 92115
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The Teachers' Education Institute Contact: Dr. David L. Mollet tel/fax (619) 463-1270 email: tei@cox.net 6656 Reservoir Lane, San Diego, CA 92115 |
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Improving education in California "Civilizations in decline are consistently characterized by a tendency towards standardization and uniformity." 1. description of the problem (includes comparative student achievement ratings, California’s dropout rate); Description of the Problem California’s Dropout Rate Gary Orefield, director of the Harvard project states “Large urban school districts in California have become dropout factories. The economic and social impacts of this dropout crisis are too enormous for California to ignore.” Alan Bonsteel, president of the CPEC says, “The budget crisis will eventually go away but a teenager who drops out of high school today will be a tragedy for our society for a half-century to come.” Both the Harvard Report and the CPEC agree that the first step to resolving the crisis is to acknowledge that it exists. Considering what students have to continually go through at elementary school it is little wonder that many enter high school with little motivation to learn and want to leave as soon as possible. P.S. San Diego USD - In the 7 years of Bersin's tenure dropout rate has increased 23% - although the state dropout rate has increased (with one exception) every year, San Diego USD has outpaced the state every year. Underlying Causes Everywhere I have experienced closed education empires. In an historical perspective what is happening in the USA is the worst socialization of education that has ever occurred in the developed world. An indication of closeness of the system is that I found educators far more open in communist Russia, Poland and Czechoslovakia when I visited there in 1973. Major surgery is necessary but the type of reform implemented in San Diego in the last six years will, if applied elsewhere, only worsen an already bad situation. The tragic thing is that people do not even realize the closeness of the present system. I think it is an indication of the threat of factual evidence that administrators responsible for the education of our children refuse to even examine such evidence. I would add that I not only speak as an experienced educator but also as an administrator. I was Chairman and Vice-Chairman of various committees in the old West Riding of Yorkshire (an area bigger than San Diego) in the UK for nearly seven years. The position was voluntary (we did not even receive traveling expenses) but I always found time to listen to any member of the public if they wished to see me - quite the opposite to my experience in San Diego and area. Ineffective Standardized Student Testing The USA, and certainly California, is obsessed with testing students of all ages. Finland and New Zealand have quite a different approach to monitoring students’ progress. For example the New Zealand Ministry of Education fully appreciates that learning patterns can be different, “Successful outcomes for all students require a range of learning pathways. One size does not fit all. Children arrive at school with different early childhood experiences and different levels of development. How students learn, the pace at which they learn and their interests vary between individuals. These differences are recognized, to an extent, through the current system. This gives teachers and schools responsibility for organizational and teaching decisions and through provision for immersion learning and designated character schools. However, the current system needs to continually look for ways to provide flexible pathways, especially for learners with diverse needs.” Sadly, I have never seen a similar statement by an education policy maker in San Diego, California or the USA. Ill-spent Education Spending The United States was also cited as having the poorest outcomes per dollar spent on education. As (former) Education Secretary Rod Paige said on seeing the latest report, “If we are less competitive educationally, we will soon become less competitive economically. That’s just a cruel fact.” The results from the OECD studies indicate that, at the secondary-school level, the learning gap between the United States and its competitors in Europe and Asia is widening. Also, countries as diverse as Finland and New Zealand show that what happens in the education of elementary school children will determine how such students perform at high school level and in adult life. Project fifty years in the future and which countries will be in ascendancy and which in decline? The evidence speaks for itself. Treatment of Teachers People become teachers usually because they have something to give. It is a heavy burden to go before 25-35 students hour after hour, day after day, week after week, year after year and those that do possess something very special. I do not think it is coincidence that in countries where teachers are respected and empowered students are high-achievers; in countries where they are not respected and disempowered students achieve less. For optimizing performance teachers need our respect and support. Aside from parents they know the children better than anyone. They need a thorough professional training and further in-service support and courses. They also need to be empowered - more will be said about this later. Insipid and Ineffective Curriculum Reasons for the US decline Ignoring Research It reflects badly on what is happening in California that we continually have to implement policies, particularly testing young children, that goes against overwhelming international evidence of the futility and wastage in doing so. There is very little freedom in education when compared with the freedom in countries such as Finland, New Zealand and Czech Republic. For example, art and music should be basic ingredients of the education of the elementary school child. This is not arbitrary. They are needed in order to optimize neurological development (see http://members.cox.net/tei/teiPages/Finland.htm and http://members.cox.net/tei/teiPages/FinlandMusic.htm). The policies mandated by the State of California have resulted in almost total neglect in these areas. Detailed descriptions of the permanent damage to children is left to another time. It is crucial that both content and methodology are age-related. When this occurs children achieve and both their learning and wellbeing are optimized. Every young child is an artist, every young child possesses wonder and curiosity. When education relates to the mindset of the recipient children learn, enjoy the experience and are motivated to learn more. For details please see http://members.cox.net/tei/TEI_ResearchLeftRightHandBrain.pdf Consequences Figure 1 shows that China is producing three times more engineers than the United States. Figure 2 shows that the U.S. again comes out very low, even compared to European countries, in terms of the percentage of bachelor’s degrees awarded in the fields of engineering and science. Figure 1: BS/BA Degrees Among 24-year olds in 2001
Fig 2: Engineering & Science Degrees as a % of all Bachelor Degrees Another disturbing trend is in the numbers of individuals receiving a Ph.D. in physical science and engineering. In 1987, 4,700 U.S. citizens received these degrees, compared to 5,600 Asians. In 2001, the U.S. figure had dropped slightly to 4,400 and the number of Asians had risen to 24,900. That is a dramatic shift. We should also note that the percentage of Asians getting science and engineering Ph.D.s at U.S. universities is declining. Indeed, 25 percent fewer Asians got such degrees at U.S. universities in 2001 than in 1996. This data relating to physical science and engineering Ph.D.s was assembled by Professor R. E. Smalley, a Nobel Prize-winning scientist from Rice University. His disturbing conclusion: “By 2010, 90 percent of all Ph.D. physical scientists and engineers in the world will be Asian living in Asia.” Waning Economic Competitiveness Teacher Retention and Wastage A Personal Note Again, I was able to share a number of the things especially the fact how the present educational administrative structure diminished responsibility at a local level and how the arts and music are crucial ingredients for balanced hemispheric development and for optimizing students’ learning and wellbeing. I was grateful for the opportunity to do this and also to briefly meet the Minister of Education. I will never know whether I had any influence, nor does it matter, but some eighteen months later a Commission was set up to examine the education structure in New Zealand and I submitted a detailed description of why it was important for schools to be part of the community and that local responsibility should be paramount. In 1988 the Commission issued its report and later the changes were implemented. (For details please see http://members.cox.net/tei/NewZealand_Experience.pdf) Everything that I wanted to happen in education occurred and I settled down to a very pleasant lifestyle in beautiful New Zealand. I won’t go into of why I returned to San Diego except to say the cost has been considerable. I should be enjoying life in New Zealand, playing golf and bridge, walking and fishing and writing e-lessons and e-reports at my leisure. What I am involved in has cost me two university careers, a forty year old marriage (my wife never forgave me for returning to California), a New Zealand pension and universal health care. I do not need any kudos for that. I know that already perhaps thousands of teachers are using the lessons and material I have written and I am, therefore, possibly having an influence on the education of hundreds of thousands of students. I cannot ask for more although if I did have appropriate resources I could reach many more teachers. But compared with having an input into optimizing students’ learning and wellbeing my personal preferences are somewhat irrelevant. However, it has been very hard sledding in California. I was here four years full-time (1981-1985) ten years part-time (1985-1995) and ten years full-time (1995-present) and, understandably, my level of frustration is somewhat high. I had planned to spend twenty-five years in the USA contributing in any way I could contributing to optimizing childrens’ learning and wellbeing. I never imagined the system would be the most inflexible and closed I have ever encountered. The twenty-five years ends in August and at that time I had planned to evaluate whether I should stay or return to New Zealand. It has not been easy seeing so many children hurting and personally remaining powerless! However, at the beginning of the year I at last found a school that supports my work (albeit it, in Los Angeles) and you have positively responded to my letter (my second response in ten years!) so perhaps, at last, things are looking up! I hope you may be interested in further correspondence. Next time I will elaborate upon solutions to some of the problems. Major reforms are desperately needed but the type of reform implemented in San Diego in the last six years will only exacerbate an already difficult and bad situation. Provision of e-lessons and e-information by Teachers’ Education Institute (TEI) When I have the time I write and upload e-lessons. It has taken me the best part of fifteen years to write and produce the four hundred e-lessons available (and I also have to learn the necessary computer skills so please make allowances if you visit http://members.cox.net/tei/). I do not seek anything for myself but at the present rate of progress it would take me nearly five hundred years to produce the e-lessons I want to make available. If you are able to support our initiative in any way we would be most grateful. Our objective is to provide free detailed e-lessons for every subject area for the elementary student. If required, we would also provide information as to the raison d’être, and also the content and methodology, of each e-lesson. (For teachers’ responses to the information available at please see http://members.cox.net/tei/TEI_TeachersResonses.pdf). There are phases and stages of development that are universal in nature. The countries that implement policies nearest to our own curricula are Finland and New Zealand and we do not believe it is accidental that students in these countries are high achievers. In many ways California and the USA implement policies that are not in sympathy with the programs offered in Finland and New Zealand and we are not surprised that the performance of US students does not compare well with these countries. I am happy to provide a detailed comparison of why New Zealand students outperform US students, one of the main reasons being the rich curriculum that relates to the mindset of children. I am also happy to provide TEI sample lessons indicating how the arts can be integrated into academic subject areas. It is but one indication of the present system that many parents are denied the type of education they want for their children. Ocean Charter School started in September 2004. The school already has over 200 applications for the 35 vacancies in the next academic year. In a healthy, free and democratic education system that would not be occurring. Parents would possess multiple choices so sadly Ocean Charter School will be turning away nearly 200 children who should be receiving the education it offers. I hope the above information is of interest to you and that you will respond. Regarding solutions, TEI is clear about the policies that need to be implemented. However, there exist considerable political constraints and it is unavoidable that the rectifying strategies should take these into account. We are happy to provide you with information if required and would suggest a stage approach to the implementation of possible solutions. However, TEI is clear that we can diminish the damage to children by providing e-lessons and for the foreseeable future we will focus on achieving this objective. I look forward to hearing from you. Please do not think that the above is criticism for criticism's sake. I am always glad to emphasize the many good things about the California education system. For example, the tertiary education system is the best I have experienced and they way different ethnic minorities have been absorbed into California society without conflict provides a model for the rest of the world. However, my main concern is what I regard as our most precious possession, namely childrens' minds, and I am clear that the present system is damaging both to their learning and wellbeing. To do nothing would be unacceptable. History deals harshly with those that ignore factual evidence presented clearly and unambiguously. |