Where Have all the Teachers Gone?

The recent recession has wreaked havoc with the teaching profession. According to figure provide by the US Depart of Labor, there are 250,000 fewer teachers than there were prior the recession. During that same time enrollment in America’s public schools has increased by more than 800,000 students. To deal with pupil increased of that size, there should have been an INCREASE in the number of teachers.  These cuts occurred in both urban as well as rural schools and impacted many stares. Those states impacted the most have been, California, Maryland, Michigan( not surprising with Detroit declaring bankruptcy), North Carolina, and Texas.

The fallout from these cutbacks has severely impacted class size, even in states where class size limits have been mandated by law. Classes of more than 30 pupils are not unusual. Since many school districts depend on local property taxes to fund schools, it is not surprising that the more affluent districts have fared better during the recession.  Within many of the schools, many of the “specialists”  in reading and special education have been hit hard.

The overriding question is what do we do now? Keep in mind that in states like Wisconsin, reduction in teaching staffs has been tied to politics and union busting. As we emerge from the recession it is critical that teachers, parents and community leaders focus on restoring positions and re- generate enthusiasm for the profession. The implications of inaction will be far reaching and the generation of students that we are counting on to lead us through the century and provide for the future of the United States will be in great jeopardy.

c.2013 J. Margolis

Merry Christmas

Best wishes to all of our readers for a Merry Christmas and a Happy and prosperous New Year.

Remembering Sandy Hook

While the month of December is best known as a happy and joyous month filled with holidays, friends, 

and family and sharing, it has also been the cruelest of months. On December 1^st 1997 several students were shot and killed in a school in Paducah, Kentucky. One year ago,on December 14, 2013 the Sandy Hook Elementary School in Connecticut was rocked by another senseless and tragic shooting. 20 students and 6 adults were killed by the shooter along with the shooter’s mother.

While the education community mourns the losses of student and staff, we need to take a moment to reflect on what has been done and should bedone to ensure the safety of students and faculty in America’s schools.  Recently a network television reporter made attempts to gain entry to several schools to test their security. Most of the schools passed, either denying him entry or having an escort take him to the main office. The reporter did gain access to one school rather easily and started walking down the halls looking for the office.

After all the education community has suffered- Columbine High School, Virginia Tech, Paducah and Sandy Hook, we need to continue to be diligent and provide our students with maximum security without inhibiting their curiosity and desire to learn in a nurturing and creative environment. This is no small task.

  Let us remember those who lost their lives just for being students and teachers and strive to make America’s schools  safe for all who enter.

C.2013 J. Margolis

Ravitch’s Latest Book Takes aim at School Privatization

Can school be transformed into an industrial model and still be successful? The answer is a resounding no, according to Diane Ravitch, professor and author in her latest book” Reign of Error. “She cites the fact that issues like merit pay, school vouchers, for-profit schools, and even the Teach for America programs; all have flaws as corporate moguls try to fix public education with marketplace schemes that are also investment opportunities.

Ravitch notes that the childhood poverty rate in America is higher than in any other advanced country. She writes that UNICEF reports that this rate may be as high as 23 percent. According to the author “achievement gaps are rooted in social, political and economic structures.” Basically we as a nation have to deal with these issues if we are ever going to create a major paradigm shift in American public education.

If there is one facet our public education system that needs to be preserved and enhanced it is our early childhood and preschool programs.  This is the place where we need to focus a great deal of our investment. If parents do not have the time, resources or inclination to jumpstart their children’s’ education, then some other institution must.  Much in the same way schools inherited administering the free and reduced lunch program, accepted the responsibility to teach students about drug and alcohol abuse as well as sex education, America’s teachers need to be prepared to stimulate the young  and curious minds of those children who walk into our schools.

 Professor Ravitch believes that there is linkage between education and the future of democracy. That notion was first proposed by Declaration of Independence Signer Dr. Benjamin Rush in the 18^th century, just as the fledgling United States of America was being created. There is no denying that the education system in the US need to be fixed and soon.  Policymakers cannot continually jump from one “new best thing” to another with reckless abandon and hope that the quick fixes will cure the system forever.

Reign of Error- The Hoax of the Privatization Movement and the Danger to America’s Public Schools

c.2013 Alfred A. Knopf Publishers

Can be order from Amazon.com from this site.