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Parent Rights Transparent and Enshrined in law

February 12, 2014 by Tunya

Yes, parents have rights in the education of their children. A few people may mutter: "But they have duties too." What I have found is that those in the know, or on the inside circles in education do know AND ENJOY these rights. But, they are not written down. This is unfair for the usually shy, trusting parents who first start seeing the need to advocate.

After a nearly half century of promoting parent rights there may finally be some breakthroughs to make parent rights more transparent. They need not be chiselled in stone on the townhall wall, but they should be prominent — on the school walls, library bulletin boards, in the students' daybooks etc.

Yesterday I read about Idaho, and sent this comment:

http://www.idahoednews.org/news/house-introduces-parents-bill-of-rights/#comment-188391

Transparent Parent Rights Long Overdue

Yes, many of the rights proposed are already there. But few parents really feel welcome in asserting them, even if they are well informed. Those who really benefit and enjoy their rights are usually parents in the professions, not your everyday parent. That is unfair. That is why this bill is a breakthrough and hopefully — eventually — these rights will be posted in all schools, hospitals, day care centers, government offices, etc.

What I would suggest, however, is that a working committee do more exploratory work on widening some of the rights, especially in education. With the Common Core Curriculum concerns being expressed it seems that parents have been quite excluded from what is being proposed.

I would suggest a look at this document that we compiled over 30 years ago when fads and experiments were the rage. http://genuine-education-reform-today.org/2010/04/06/parent-rights-and-their-childrens-education/

PS: I am from Canada. I wish you the best in this endeavour.

Today, I gained news of California's concrete proposals, based on research, to advance the parent cause.

This link to the 15pg report http://edsource.org/today/wp-content/uploads/Power-of-Parents-Feb-2014.pdf?utm_source=Parent-power+release+email+&utm_campaign=Parent+Power+Report+Release&utm_medium=email

I like this priority: "schools will be assessed as to how successful they are in working with parents.'

More later about California.

Category Education Reform, GOOD NEWS, Parent Tribal Memory | Tags: | No Comments
The Fiction of education reform

February 11, 2014 by Tunya
Book Review

Beyond Public Education, Myron Lieberman, 1986, Praeger

Fact and Fiction of Education Reform

Lieberman's book could be the starting point for anyone concerned with our public schools. He says that all the reform efforts of the last few decades are unrealistic and even "harmful" to education. His book largely refers to the American scene, but from what I've read most of the insights apply to the Canadian scene as well.

If you've ever been frustrated by the system, the following insights from a long-time insider since the 50s are revealing. The major obstacles to educational reform include:
- The structure governing public education
- Teacher unions
- Tenure laws
- Insulation from competition or alternatives
- Leadership gap
Even as reform efforts may point to desirable new directions, their major flaw is failing to acknowledge the above obstacles which are too real to ignore. The symbolic gestures at reform produce the illusion of concern and serve to perpetuate the status quo with its vested interests.

Media gullibility obscures the political, educational and intellectual bankruptcy of the reform movement. Educational reform is taking place in newspaper articles and television broadcasts, not in classrooms.

Educational deterioration is real enough, though understated, says Dr. Lieberman.
- Illiteracy is a major problem
- Many remedial courses in colleges/universities are needed to bring students up to speed
- Avoidance of testing contributes to grade inflation and covers up decline in achievement
- Increase in high school programs lacking any defensible academic purposes
Audience for Whom the Message is Addressed

One of my major objectives is to help parents reject cosmetic changes in education that leave the status quo essentially unchanged. My analysis is intended to explain how and why parent participation in school affairs is usually futile – Lieberman

Of course, all the myriad policy-makers and players are enjoined to read the book: unions, school boards, legislators, media, business people, etc. From my experience, the analysis in the book equips the status quo for greater resistance to parents than to assist parents. Now, 20 years after the publication of that book and after my first reading of it I think that is true. The status quo persists. (Example: 7 of the 9 trustees at the Vancouver School Board are teachers, ex-teachers, or in the education system one way or another and one member is an ex teacher union official. Isn’t that conflict of interest? One board member has been there for over 20 years! Now that is status quo! Should there be term limits? How effective can parent voice be before such a body?)

Whatâ's to Be Done?

Lieberman states repeatedly that the purpose of the whole effort is an educated citizenry, not the apparatus that has grown up around the effort. He makes two suggestions for real improvement in education:
1. Improve Family Choice Since parents have no voice in educational governance or quality control, at least if they had a choice of schools, their "consumer" activity would trigger competition, improvement, etc. The vehicle for this would be tuition tax credits or vouchers.
2. Entrepreneurial Schools Either founded by businesses or educator entrepreneurs, these schools would be more efficient, relevant, innovative and responsive to their constituents (parents and students). Their emphasis would be on results, marketable skills, jobs, and personal pride.
For the first time ever, a complete un-masking of the education industry by an ex teacher, ex teacher union negotiator and a university professor and now chairman of the Education Policy Institute.

[This was written 28 years ago when I was still optimimistic. Parents still have little choice. TA]
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Reporting “to” Parents — Vanishing

February 10, 2014 by Tunya

Without consent of the public, "transformations" are happening (being imposed) in government public education systems in many parts of the world. This is 2014. One such "transformation" — the Common Core Curriculum in the US — is being seriously challenged and may not last the year.

Part of the "transformation" relates to how parents are informed about their child's progress in school. The principle behind reporting to parents is so that parents can help monitor progress — and STEP IN when progress is not as expected. Reporting to parents is now, in the manuals, changed in wording to say "communicating with" parents or other such phrases. Often this means parents do not get letter grades by help them see if their child is at GRADE LEVEL.

Here is a cartoon that illustrates the problem. Note the words — construct, inquirer, creative — part of the new language.

Category Education Reform, Parent Tribal Memory | Tags: | No Comments
Math results signal alarm re “discovery/inquiry” methods

February 9, 2014 by Tunya

British Columbia, along with many other parts of the Western World, is undergoing “transformation” of its government education system. While the New National Curriculum in Australia and the Common Core in the US are subject to considerable scrutiny and dispute, the BC “personalized education BC ED Plan” has so far bypassed any serious critique. It’s only since the PISA Math scores revealed Canada’s slip that parents and some academics in Math have started to raise an alarm. The Globe&Mail has been featuring this concern in BC and in other provinces. Below is a comment I made to G&M story — BC’s Education Reforms Are Running Into Resistance http://www.theglobeandmail.com/news/british-columbia/bcs-educational-reforms-are-running-into-resistance/article16276583/#dashboard/follows/

Despite a math petition now circulating in BC, Minister Fassbender said that a “transformation” to “personalized learning” would still go ahead.

Before the provincial election (May 14) we were told by a Ministry official that — regardless of which party wins — the BC Ed Plan would continue to go ahead: “Because it’s international!”

Now tell me: Where did this mandate come from? What if the Green Party won, or the NDP? What if a sizeable numbers of parents, teachers and citizens had misgivings?

Well, this tightly wound up project is no toy. It’s ready to roll. A 426 page Transition Binder lays it all out. And, hold on to your hats, we are told the teacher union — Yes, the most militant, ideologically left, teacher union in Canada — is front and center in the design and development of the curriculum.

Sure, there is an obligatory “consultation” for feedback, but it’s all bogus. Only insiders know about the website where moderators answer individual questions with pat answers.

Report cards are a big issue in BC. During the last teacher strike they were withheld for a whole year and parents had to email or otherwise communicate with teachers to get some sense of where their kids were at. I think this was a test-run about how far the system can go in squeezing parents out of the picture.

Right now two school districts are dropping letter grades in favor of some new “communication” styles. A good number of parents are starting to complain and parents who feel undermined in their role to monitor their child’s progress have inundated one local radio station. These parent voices are being heard but not listened to.

In one government paper about the overall Plan I saw that parent resistance might be expected, and in another section I saw mention of “edcamps for parents”. Does that sound like the Chinese Cultural Revolution where dissenters were sent out to the fields for re-education?

And, let’s get back to the “international” question. Yes, there are international moves by agencies, including UNESC0 and Millennial Development goals where the young are expected to become “global citizens”. Instead of focusing on skills, content and knowledge they are to adopt the 4 c’s — collaboration, communication, creativity and critical thinking. The Common Core discussions in the US and 21st C Learning Skills in Canada are part of the “international” machinations going on.

So, if you want some flavor of how “discovery” or New Age math will be like, please watch this short 4 minute video of an Arkansas parent opposing the Common Core and demonstrating how a simple “rigorous” math question is turned into a 108 step “discovery”, exploration and problem-solving personal experience ! https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wZEGijN_8R0#t=23

Category Education Reform, Parent Tribal Memory | Tags: | No Comments
Do Some Cultures Have More Ambition?

February 8, 2014 by Tunya

A new book just out analyzes America and how culture plays a role in academic and economic success. I have just ordered it so will provide my comments later. Amazon.com has a good number of Reader Reviews to help us sort out the issues.

The Triple Package: How Three Unlikely Traits Explain the Rise and Fall of Cultural Groups in America 2014 Amy Chua, Jed Rubenfeld

The three traits are — superiority complex, insecurity, iself discipline. Our Globe&Mail newspaper and online story drew 100 comments http://www.theglobeandmail.com/globe-debate/amy-chuas-dangerous-ideas/article16750252/#dashboard/follows/and below is mine:

Saw The Reviews — Ordered The Book

It was a review by Robert Morris of Dallas Texas that sent a jolt through me. This is the pivotal author’s quote:

“The real promise of a Triple Package America is the promise of a day when there are no longer any successful groups in the United States — only successful individuals."

This conclusion shocks me because I have been closely monitoring the US project called Common Core Standards — a federal program that induces states to homogenize school curricula to common standards. I do not see any resulting “successful individuals” emerging from this program — just groupthink collectivist masses.

I would have thought these authors would have valued diversity. That independence and resistance to the “dumbing-down” general direction of schooling would be applauded.

There’s probably a lot we can learn from these aspirational groups about resisting the push and pull of a state apparatus that aims for homogeneity — and need I say, a compliant citizenry !

Category Book Reviews, Education Reform, Parent Tribal Memory | Tags: | No Comments