education
Richland Senator Listening Tour
Posted on 21. Dec, 2009 by Kelly.
(This is a guest blog by Karen Albers, a Richland community member.)
We held a successful ‘Education Reform Listening Tour’ in Richland on Wed, Dec 16. As soon as I received the word from Kelly Munn of our date, I contacted my school board and we all went to work. This may sound unusual to some, but parents and the community enjoy a unique partnership with the Richland School District. Even our own 8th district Senator, Jerome Delvin and his legislative assistant helped promote the event!
Since Senator McAuliffe and Oemig flew here, we had an opportunity to showcase our school district before the event. RSD superintendent, Dr Jean Lane, arranged for the senators to listen to a presentation by Jason Lee Elementary teachers on using data to track student performance and they received a student led tour of Delta High School, a STEM school.
Hanford PTSA and the Chief Jo PTSA organized a “meet, greet and eat” reception for the senators. Parents, teachers, school superintendents and board members, and legislators enjoyed a relaxing time while exchanging ideas and pleasantries.
The main event commenced at 5:00 pm. I’m not sure of the exact number, but I would guess that we had about 35-40 attendees. Following introductions by the senators, the floor was opened for questions. Both Senator McAuliffe and Senator Oemig responded to the individuals at the microphone. The first question of the evening (evidently a perennial favorite) was asked by a teacher regarding why there aren’t any teachers on the “Quality Education Council.” The next question had me concerned that the teachers were going to monopolize the evening, especially since this particular teacher came across abrupt with her disrespectful tone and commentary. But that quickly changed when the superintendents from some of the smaller school districts lined up at the microphone to talk about LEA and how its reduction/elimination would have devastating effects on their school districts. Although Senator’s McAuliffe and Oemig were probably well aware of the arguments to preserve LEA funding, I believe the issue becomes significantly more real when they hear testimony provided by the affected stakeholders. Senator Oemig agreed with the parent raising the issue that the school transportation “as the crow flies” formula needs to be fixed. Another parent asked a two-part question concerning quality teachers’ compensation for incenting/retaining and as well as performance/merit based pay. I must admit that I was somewhat disappointed in the non-committal response regarding tying teacher compensation to outcomes, but was assured that there is a committee looking into equitable teacher compensation. A WSU Math professor offered two points: high schools are not doing a good job at preparing students for college level math and that we do not need to continue to throw money into proving the achievement gap disparities using high stakes testing since it has been well documented and proven. A school board member raised his concerns about high stakes testing and to replace them with multiple measures. One parent humbly requested that the senators stay focused on the children as they try to work with the current budget.
Questions about LEA and budget cuts were a given, but I was surprised that there weren’t any questions about CORE 24 (not a favorite topic among many local high school principals), Race to the Top funding (since that’s been a hot topic in the media) and early learning (another program suffering major cuts due to budget). Of course the elephant in the room (briefly mentioned by a teacher), was the question regarding a ‘dedicated revenue source’ for education, to which Senator Oemig responded that it usually evokes a ‘robust’ discussion.
All too often we focus on the differences between the ‘east side’ and ‘west side’ of Washington. But education is a common denominator for all of us. I hope that Senator’s McAuliffe and Oemigs’ trip to Richland provided them with a better understanding and appreciation for the issues that are important to us, and I hope that we have a better understanding and appreciation for the daunting task ahead of them once the legislative session reconvenes in January.
Karen Albers
Continue Reading
Have you read Outliers by Malcolm Gladwell?
Posted on 01. Jul, 2009 by Kelly.
This is the same author who wrote Blink and the Tipping Point, both really interesting books. This latest book is based on a theme that it takes 10,000 hours to be an expert at something and that you need a particular set of circumstances to be really successful. Basically, be in the right place at the right time with the right set of characteristics.
He has a really interesting view on education. If it takes 10,000 to become an expert, then the country that brings more education faster to its students is going to be more successful. He then compares our corn growing based culture with rice growing cultures. In a corn growing culture we have one main crop; we work really hard for 6-8 months a year, but basically take 3-4 months off. In a rice-growing community they have three harvests a year, they work every day, all day, every day of the year. It’s no surprise that rice growing cultures have their kids in school most of the year. The idea of taking three months off from learning/working is just alien. In a corn growing culture though, taking the summer off is normal, it’s expected, it’s a time to relax.
My children have been on summer vacation for the past two weeks. I keep thinking about how they are playing X-box, texting their friends and doing nominal chores while others kids in this global economy are studying math and science. How those kids are getting closer to their 10,000 hours faster than my kids. That just by the circumstances of the culture they were born in determines how much they learn in a year.
I have this nagging feeling my kids are missing out. Read the book, or just read the section on education. It’s very thought provoking.
