It never ceases to amaze me how seemingly unconnected incidents
can crystallize our understanding and expand our consciousness.
Several months ago I had the pleasure of eating lunch at one of my
favorite burger joints. As I was paying for my meal, I saw a sign
behind the counter that read,
”
Beatings will continue until morale improves.
”
I laughed and went on my way.
It never ceases to amaze me how seemingly unconnected incidents can crystallize our understanding and expand our consciousness. Several months ago I had the pleasure of eating lunch at one of my favorite burger joints. As I was paying for my meal, I saw a sign behind the counter that read, “Beatings will continue until morale improves.” I laughed and went on my way.
Last week I attended a meeting at Jackson Elementary School where staff, parents, and community members engaged in honest, somewhat painful conversations about how they can work collaboratively to develop an improvement plan to get them out of Program Improvement. It was clear that everyone in the room was deeply concerned with the light being shown upon their school and, by association, their students. Finally, this weekend, I got to do one of my favorite things: read to my children. I read “One,” by Kathryn Otoshi, because I was told it had a great message about friendship and preventing bullying. My kids were listening intently as I read, “One turned to the colors and said, ‘If someone is mean and picks on me, I, for One, stand up and say, No.’ ” I continued and found them hanging on every word as I turned to the last page and read, “Sometimes it just takes One.” Instantly, burgers, Jackson, and “One” became not so unconnected. In fact, they collectively gave me clarity and purpose. I realized that someone must stand up for our students and the institution – public education – that supports and empowers them and say “No” to politicians and uninformed adults and their unrelenting “beatings,” and I am more than comfortable being that someone.
I do not believe in making excuses. We need to improve our graduation rates, we need to increase the number of students – especially economically disadvantaged students and students of color – going to college, we need to narrow the achievement gap, we need to increase rigor while offering a well-rounded education, and we need to create bully-free, safe learning environments for all children, but these challenges do not a crisis make.
Depression and low self-concept threaten the emotional and physical well-being of our young people, and the last thing they need are politicians manufacturing an educational crisis for personal gain and adults perpetuating the myth that schools are getting worse and the future for our students is getting bleaker. What is worse is that they use half truths to manufacture said crisis (post-Sputnik paranoia, A Nation at Risk, No Child Left Behind, et al.). Their favorite stories are of declining test scores and our inability to compete in a global market.
Careful analysis shows upward trends on the SAT and the National Assessment of Educational Progress and significant gains in mathematics on the Trends in International Mathematics and Science Study while educating a much more diverse population.
Consider how test data are being manipulated to paint a concerning, inaccurate picture of Jackson, now in its fourth year of Program Improvement and one would assume it is due to lack of progress on the California Standards Test; yet, a closer look would demonstrate quite the opposite. Jackson is in year four because they did not meet their Adequate Yearly Progress benchmarks in English Language Arts and math for the Hispanic and economically disadvantaged subgroups, but those scores have been improving since 2002. The ELA proficiency for Hispanic students has increased from 18.4 to 32.4 percent since 2002 and their math proficiency has increased from 18.4 to 40.7 percent during the same time period. The ELA proficiency for economically disadvantaged students has increased from 9.6 to 26.4 percent and their math proficiency has increased from 16.3 to 38 percent. Ironically, Jackson’s API growth from 716 to 794 would have earned them a California Distinguished School recognition just a couple of years ago. Do the numbers support the assertion that there is a crisis or do the numbers demonstrate the insanity of a system that will find 99 percent of all California schools in Program Improvement in 2014? The assertion that our nation is losing its competitive edge in the global market is equally false. The Institute for Management Development uses more than 300 criteria to rank the international competitiveness of countries and found the United States to be No. 1 since 1994. Similarly, the World Economic Forum annually ranks nations and found the United States to be No. 1 amongst 131 nations.
Our staff is doing great things and our students are excelling. This year alone, we have two students, Emily Mandel and Joshua Yip, who are National Merit Scholarship finalists – a distinction that puts them in the top 1 percent of students in America. We have had many students recognized by Morgan Hill Rotary Club for their academic excellence and citizenship. One elementary student thanked his teachers for an education that will help him become the first “Asian-American President of the United States of America.” For his sake and the sake of all students, I have to say “No” to the “beatings” that are hurting student morale. Perhaps, instead, we could celebrate all that is right in education and help our students create a much brighter future.
Wes Smith is the superintendent of Morgan Hill Unified School District. He lives in Morgan Hill with his wife and three children, who attend Morgan Hill schools.
