In finishing Diane Ravitch's The Death and Life of the Great American School System: How Testing and Choice Are Undermining Education, I felt several emotions. I was shocked by how many atrocious testing-accountability measures had occurred in the educational climate in the recent past that I was unaware of or uninformed about. I felt hopeful that Ravitch does see ways that our public education system can be salvaged, even after the detriments of numerous reform attempts. If President Obama were to call me on the telephone, asking me to replace Harvey Duncan and give him 5 things to be done to improve education, I would tell him:
1) To realize that there are no "quick fixes" for our education system. To "fix" the system, many stakeholders must participate.
2) We must envision the type of education we want our children and citizens of society to have. From there, we can start to set goals.
3) We must make sure that every school has a coherent, well-conceived curriculum, that encompasses all that we want our students to learn. This curriculum should not be based on the raising of test scores.
4) We must make sure that our assessments are as well-developed and as sound as our well-conceived curriculum(s). Additionally, assessments should be used to help those who need help, not punish those who do not meet an assessment standard. By "throwing away" students, teachers, or administrators who do not meet a standard, what lesson are we teaching our fellow citizens?
5) We must have schools that are staffed with well-qualified teachers. And to attract well-qualified teachers, the profession should be offered compensation that is competitive with other well-respected professions that serve the community.
6) Finally, we must recognize that schools are part of a larger system. To quote Ravitch, "Schools do not exist in isolation...Schooling requires the active participation of many, including students, families, public officials, local organizations, and the larger community" (2010, p. 239). When this is recognized, we can begin to conceive ways in which all stakeholders of education can improve their end, and stop scapegoating teachers and the public school system for all of society's ills.
Thanks to Ravitch, I am now aware of the unjust measures happening in our nation's public school system. These unjust measures, under the guise of "reform," unfortunately have the worst effects on the students we teach. As a teacher, I can fight these injustices by teaching my students in the best way I know how, making sure they leave my class knowing what they must know to be citizens of the world, even if it may not have a positive impact on standardized test scores. As a citizen, I can pass on Ravitch's book to people I know, so that all are aware of what is happening in the educational system, hidden from us due to political and corporate reasons. Additionally, I can vote in elections, and support my teachers' union.
A FUTURE IN FOREIGN LANGUAGE TEACHING
Two foreign language associations I would like to investigate more are ACTFL (American Council of Teaching Foreign Language) and CLTA (California Language Teachers Association). From browsing their websites, I see that both of these associations offer professional development opportunities for language teachers. Language teachers are a rare breed (in a positive sense), and these professional development conferences would be a great way to meet other language enthusiasts who can share their ideas and triumphs.
If I had unlimited time and money, here is my wish-list of foreign language teacher things I would like to accomplish in the next 3 years:
1) Experiential trips I would take: Attend the Sacramento French Film Festival, celebrate Bastille Day in San Francisco, eat at Fleur de Lys, watch Les Miserables at the Orpheum before it leaves San Francisco, see as many contemporary French films as possible being shown in independent theaters
2) Books I would read en version originiale: Les Miserables, The Hunchback of Notre Dame, L'etranger, Le Comte de Monte Cristo, Cyrano de Bergerac
3) Conferences and trainings I would attend: National Gallery of Art's Teacher Institute on Impressionism and Post-Impressionism, American French teacher training through the French Embassy (grants to practice French in France!)
4) Places I would see in the world: Cannes Film Festival, Montreal, Morocco, New Orleans, French Polynesia
