[net-gold] Sizer's Schools: Solution to Substandard Secondary Schooling?
- From: "David P. Dillard" <jwne@xxxxxxxxxx>
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- Date: Mon, 16 Jul 2012 07:52:40 -0400 (EDT)
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Date: Sun, 15 Jul 2012 13:03:40 -0700
From: Richard Hake <rrhake@xxxxxxxxxxxxx>
Reply-To: Net-Gold@xxxxxxxxxxxxxxx
To: AERA-L@xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx
Cc: Net-Gold@xxxxxxxxxxxxxxx
Subject: [Net-Gold] Sizer's Schools: Solution to Substandard Secondary
Schooling?
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ABSTRACT: I have found that few high-school
teachers are aware of the exemplary work of the
late Theodore Sizer <http://bit.ly/Naxiso > and
his "Coalition of Essential Schools
<http://bit.ly/NI96vo>. I suspect that they, like
Horace, the high-school English teacher in
Sizer's classic 1984 "Horace's Compromise"
<http://amzn.to/NRt86z>, are so overworked and
underpaid that they have little time for anything
but meeting their classes, grading papers, and
putting food on the table.
.
At the time of Sizer's death in 2009, Patrick J.
McQuillan <http://bit.ly/MvQyKI> wrote an
insightful eulogy to Sizer in an "Education Week"
article titled "What Ted Sizer Meant to Us" at
<http://bit.ly/NUB4E9> which concluded: "With the
passing of Ted Sizer, progressive educators have
an opportunity to reflect on and reinvigorate
American education with a commitment to ensuring
that all students are known and held to high
standards, that we create conditions which allow
teachers to realize these ideals, and that
America becomes a more informed, more caring, and
more thoughtful nation."
.
Those who wish to dig deeper might be interested
in the 7 books preceded by a double asterisk **
in the REFERENCE list of the complete post.
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When I ask high-school teachers whether or not
they're aware of the exemplary work of the late
Theodore Sizer
<http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Theodore_Sizer> and
his "Coalition of Essential Schools
<http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Coalition_of_Essential_Schools>
they almost always answer "No".
.
I suspect that the negative responses are
primarily due to the fact that most high-school
teachers, like Horace, the high-school English
teacher in "Horace's Compromise" [Sizer (1984)],
are so overworked and underpaid that they have
little time for anything but meeting their
classes, grading papers, and putting food on the
table.
.
At the time of Sizer's death in 2009, Patrick J.
McQuillann (2009) <http://bit.ly/MvQyKI>, in
"Education Week" article titled "What Ted Sizer
Meant to Us" wrote an insightful eulogy to Sizer
[bracketed by lines "MMMMM. . . . ."; my CAPS; my
inserts at ". . . . .[[insert]]. . . . "]:
.
MMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMM
.
The death this month of Theodore R. Sizer leaves
an immense void in the American educational
landscape. Dean of the Harvard Graduate School of
Education from 1964 to 1972 (and the youngest
dean in Harvard history), headmaster of Phillips
Academy in Andover, Mass., professor at Brown
University, founder and chairperson of the
Coalition of Essential Schools
[<http://www.essentialschools.org/>]. . . . .
[[Note the "Join" link at the top of the page -
why not work to move your high-school into the
Coalition?]].. . . ., founder and co-director
(with his wife, Nancy) of the Francis W. Parker
Charter Essential School. The list of
accomplishments is long
.
. . . . . . . . . . . . .
.
In his classic work "Horace's Compromise," he
documented the attitudes, practices, and
structures that engendered mediocrity throughout
the country's secondary school system. His
subsequent professional work sought to remedy
these debilitating "compromises."
.
. . . . . . . .. . . . . . .
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Coming at a time that "A Nation at Risk"
<http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/A_Nation_at_Risk>]].
. . . would lay a foundation for neoliberal
philosophy to dominate U.S. educational policy,
Ted Sizer offered an alternative approach to the
shortcomings of American education, ONE ROOTED IN
THE VISION OF JOHN DEWEY AND PROGRESSIVE REFORM.
[[<http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/John_Dewey>]]
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. . .
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Based on the research he conducted in high
schools across the country that resulted in
"Horace's Compromise," Ted highlighted the
"compromises" teachers endured while adjusting
and adapting to an ineffective system. They were
responsible for so many students that they
assigned little substantive work. Lacking time to
know students well, teachers leveled their
expectations to perceived student abilities. To
ensure that they "covered" the entire curriculum,
many topics were addressed superficially.
.
With these and other concerns in mind, in 1984
Sizer created "the Coalition," a network of
schools committed to a set of shared beliefs and
priorities, what he and his associates termed the
"common principles."
.
Unlike the "National Commission on Excellence in
Education," the authors of "A Nation at Risk,"
TED DID NOT CENTER HIS CONCERNS ON AMERICA'S
NATIONAL SECURITY OR GLOBAL ECONOMIC
COMPETITIVENESS. His focus was the "triangle of
learning"- the relationship between student,
teacher, and subject matter. To be successful, in
his view, schools had to nurture this dynamic
interrelationship. Drawing on the aphorism "Less
is more," Ted also maintained that SCHOOL
CURRICULA SHOULD BE GROUNDED IN A LIMITED ARRAY
OF ESSENTIAL SKILLS AND CONTENT, rather than
drawing on a superficial body of loosely related
knowledge having dubious value beyond Friday's
quiz. . . . . .
.
Well aware that students were key to any
successful reform, Ted advocated "personalizing"
student-teacher relationships, ensuring that
"faculty knew students as people and learners,"
as he would say. Once these pieces were in place,
TED TRUSTED TEACHERS to organize their curriculum
and educate their students. Our present emphasis
on high-stakes standardized exams sends teachers
and students a set of very different messages.
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Having visited over 100 high schools in his
research for Horace-public, private, and
parochial institutions - Ted saw first-hand how
values permeate so much of school life.
Accordingly, the common principles he set forth
attend to affective as well as academic concerns,
noting that schools "should explicitly and
self-consciously promote a commitment to trust
(until abused) and decency (the values of
fairness, generosity and tolerance)." As Ted
would explain, "Thoughtful people in algebra
class are thoughtful people in life."
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Current educational policies pay little attention
to these kinder, gentler dimensions of teaching
and learning. And though aspects of the common
principles may seem soft, Ted Sizer endorsed HIGH
EXPECTATIONS AND RIGOROUS STUDY for all students
well before the tenets underlying the "No Child
Left Behind Act" were even a glimmer in the eye
of E.D. Hirsch Jr. and Diane Ravitch. . . . . . .
.[[since then Ravitch has done a 180 - see e.g.,
"The Death and Life of the Great American School
System: How Testing and Choice Are Undermining
Education" (Ravitch, 2011)]]. . . .. As the
common principles state so simply: "A school's
goals should apply to all students."
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At a symposium in Baltimore in October of 1987,
Ted offered a summary of the beliefs and
practices that informed the coalition's work:
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"We believe the primary purpose of school is to
develop students' intellect. That is essential
for everybody in society. . . . . We believe one
learns best by doing things-not by being told,
but being engaged. . . . . So students need to
be the workers, not the teacher. . . . . . You
can't treat students like Frank Perdue treats his
chickens. We need to respect their differences. .
. . . . As a teacher, you can't have 175
students. You can't know that many minds and
understand how they make mistakes. . . . . [W]e
need to take students seriously. Don't let any
kids feel anonymous. We need to develop their
minds and develop their character. . . . . These
are the ideas that drive the Coalition. . . . . .
[I]f they are taken seriously, they imply an
ambitious change in the way schools organize
themselves."
.
Through its work, the Coalition of Essential
Schools became nationally prominent. At present,
with a national center in Oakland, Calif., the
coalition network includes about 300 member
schools with varying degrees of affiliation. . .
. . .[[currently, Wikipedia
<http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Coalition_of_Essential_Schools>
gives "an incomplete list of more than 600 CES
member schools"]]. . . . . . Beyond this
organizational structure, coalition practices
have gained a foothold in mainstream school
settings over the past 25 years. Advisories,
SOCRATIC SEMINARS, and exhibitions are but three
increasingly popular educational practices with
deep roots in the coalition's work.
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WITH THE PASSING OF TED SIZER, PROGRESSIVE
EDUCATORS HAVE AN OPPORTUNITY TO REFLECT ON AND
REINVIGORATE AMERICAN EDUCATION WITH A COMMITMENT
TO ENSURING THAT ALL STUDENTS ARE KNOWN AND HELD
TO HIGH STANDARDS, THAT WE CREATE CONDITIONS
WHICH ALLOW TEACHERS TO REALIZE THESE IDEALS, AND
THAT AMERICA BECOMES A MORE INFORMED, MORE
CARING, AND MORE THOUGHTFUL NATION.
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Of course, this is naive. But Ted Sizer was
naive, and he knew it. That was one of the joys
of watching him work. Picasso's black and white
sketch of Don Quixote on horseback hung
prominently in his office. . . . .[[
<http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Don_Quixote_(Picasso)
. . . . . ]] Whether in inner-city Baltimore or
the estate-lined streets of Bronxville, N.Y., Ted
believed he could help schools become more
rigorous, humane, and engaging in ways that
honored the culture and traditions of the local
community. His vision contrasts sharply with our
current reality.
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But as the pendulum swings, and the American
public comes to appreciate the inability of "No
Child Left Behind" to alter the inequities or
remedy the ineptitude of American public
education, in Ted's honor we should reaffirm our
commitment to naiveté. It certainly worked well
for him.
.
MMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMM
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Those who wish to dig deeper into Sizer's heroic
efforts to improve high-school education might be
interested in the 7 books preceded by a double
asterisk ** in the REFERENCE list below.
.
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.
Richard Hake, Emeritus Professor of Physics, Indiana University
Links to Articles: <http://bit.ly/a6M5y0>
Links to SDI Labs: <http://bit.ly/9nGd3M>
Blog: <http://bit.ly/9yGsXh>
Twitter <http://bit.ly/juvd52>
GooglePlus: <http://bit.ly/KwZ6mE>
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Reform efforts must move beyond today's narrow
habit of conceiving education as only something
that adults formally "deliver" to children in
classrooms.
- Ted Sizer (2003)
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REFERENCES [All URL's shortened by
<http://bit.ly/> and accessed on 15 July 2012.
The double asterisks ** denote books for those
who wish to dig deeper into Sizer's heroic
efforts to improve high-school education.]
.
.
.
McQuillan, P.J. 2009. "What Ted Sizer Meant to
Us." Education Week, 29 October; online
<http://bit.ly/NUB4E9>. Copied into the
Math-Teach archives by Jerry Becker at
http://bit.ly/NavfEF and from there copied into
the POD archives by Hake at
<http://bit.ly/N9CxZ6>.
.
**Meier, D., A. Kohn, L. Darling-Hammond, T.R.
Sizer, & G. Wood. 2004. "Many Children Left
Behind: How the No Child Left Behind Act Is
Damaging Our Children and Our Schools." Beacon
Press, publisher's information at
<http://bit.ly/OuV1Oa>. Amazon.com information at
<http://amzn.to/MvaD53>, note the searchable
"Look Inside" feature.
.
Ravitch, D. 2011. "The Death and Life of the
Great American School System: How Testing and
Choice Are Undermining Education." Basic Books,
publisher's information at
<http://bit.ly/pN1NJo>. Amazon.com information at
<http://amzn.to/LSKZwh>.
.
**Sizer, T.R. 1984. "Horace's Compromise."
Mariner Books, publisher's information at
<http://bit.ly/MwLcjj>. Amazon.com information at
<http://amzn.to/NRt86z>, note the searchable
"Look Inside" feature.
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**Sizer, T.R. 1992. "Horace's School: Redesigning
the American High School." Mariner Books,
publisher's information at
<http://bit.ly/NIjwLs>. Amazon.com information at
<http://amzn.to/NYDEY8>, note the searchable
"Look Inside" feature.
.
**Sizer, T.R. 1996. "Horace's Hope: What Works
for the American High School." Mariner Books,
publisher's information at
<http://bit.ly/PWGCk0>. Amazon.com information at
<http://amzn.to/NoUvpa>, note the searchable
"Look Inside" feature.
.
**Sizer, T.R., N.F. Sizer. 1999. "The Students
Are Watching: Schools and the Moral Contract."
Beacon Press, publisher's information at
<http://bit.ly/NuPv1a>. Amazon.com information at
<http://amzn.to/NFQjAO>, note the searchable
"Look Inside" feature.
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Sizer, T. 2003. "Two Reports: The reason for
disappointing results is likely to be found less
in the schools and to be largely due to the
manner and settings in which contemporary youths
grow up. ... Context counts," Education Week, 23
April; online to subscribers at
<http://bit.ly/PWO6nb>.
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**Sizer, T.R. 2004. "The Red Pencil: Convictions
from Experience in Education." Yale University
Press, publisher's information at
<http://bit.ly/MrI8KM>. Amazon.com information at
<http://amzn.to/NzW7bh>, note the searchable
"Look Inside" feature.
**Sizer, T.R. & N.F. Sizer, & D. Meier. 2004.
"Keeping School: Letters to Families from
Principals of Two Small Schools." Beacon Press,
publisher's information at
<http://bit.ly/Nszwmu>. Amazon.com information at
<http://amzn.to/LRW2G5>, note the searchable
"Look Inside" feature.
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