Accountablity for Pre-K? Don't include the rich!

My passionate feelings about education are not easily silenced. I was recently reminded of this during my GRE course in which we discussed how to argue with an excerpt opprobriously stating "the problem of poorly trained teachers that... is bound to become a good deal less serious."

Never mind that this sentence is clearly not written in English. It brings out the misguided notion that teacher training, whatever that ambiguous term means, produces great teachers. While teacher training is certainly valuable, I argue that most parents want an efficient and effective teacher. If s/he happens to become one through rigorous teacher training, so be it. However, if people happen to be conversant and proficient their subject area and has a natural knack for teaching, that works for me too. Most parents of students have taught, which now numbers around 400, want to know a) if their child is understanding the work b) if I am maximizing learning in the classroom (i.e. not passing off the job of instruction to the parents in the role of homework or enrichments). Yes, these parents are almost always poor. Yes, these parents mostly did not go to college. No, these facts do not matter. What matters is that I was expected to teach a large quantity of skills and information in a physically safe environment during a specific and confined time. Period.

Is this what rich parents want? I don't know. I’ve never taught their children. However, judging by their constant and vocal opposition to any initiative to make teacher's responsible, I would say no. They tend favor classrooms centered on emotional growth, and fostering intellectual curiosity. The skills, information and arguably most importantly behavior and language needed to succeed in the general world is naturally absorbed by their offspring outside the classroom simply though exposure.

Does this approach to learning work for lower-income parents? No. More often then not, these parents want teaching not play in school. I don’t think this is a ridiculous desire. Berkeley professor Bruce Fuller, author of “Standardized Childhood: The Political and Cultural Struggle Over Early Education” notes these parents believe schools should reinforce children’s deference and respect for adults, and that teachers have the ability and responsibility to teach math and reading. Crazy wants? Apparently to the parents from the elite whose schools are stocked with teachers who are encouraged to abdicate these responsibilities because these parents know these essential skills are being taught at home. How do they know? Because it is they, the parents, who are teaching these skills and reinforcing them.

Who suffers? When these parents who are teaching and reinforcing early reading and math skills at home through enrichment programs, activities and games start forcing their pedagogy on those who cannot or do not wish to teach these skills at home, and start removing explicit and/or direct instruction from the schools and replacing it with a student centered culture of discovery, who suffers? You got it. The poor. Great job progressives.