Schools are in crisis. What’s a parent to do? Ed Nation celebrities weigh in.
The experts at NBC’s Education Nation are mostly talking about teachers. Where do parents come into the mix? I decided to try to ask them what steps parents need to take. The answers validated much of what so many parents already do, but the responses also suggest that some of these thought leaders (I won’t name names and you can guess who I’m talking about) haven’t really thought that much about the question.
Michelle Rhee: Wake up and demand the data
The D.C. supervisor who makes education administration look like a martial art (think Michelle Yeoh battling bureaucracy in pumps) was back stage looking not even a little bit sweaty after her evisceration of — I mean debate with — American Federation of Teachers president Randi Weingarten. (It was actually a panel discussion following the NBC screening of Davis Guggenheim’s Waiting for Superman, but all chat paled compared to their one-on-one verbal sparring).
“So what’s a parent supposed to do with all this?” I asked, trying not to whine.
“Actually I think there’s a lot parents can do,” she returned enthusiastically. “You probably read about how the LA Times provided data about Los Angeles teachers. Parents need to evaluate the data — they need to know about their child’s test scores, and they need to be able to look up how effective their child’s teacher is. Parents need to say, ‘We deserve the data!’ Notice this was done by a newspaper, not a district or a state, even though a lot of districts and states have that information, but they don’t make it available.”
Davis Guggenheim: Don’t walk, run to a cinema near you
The Superman director had a line of well-wishers and a press manager that wasn’t allowing him to give interviews. So I just asked him his opinion. If parents were to do one thing for their children — choose a school, advocate for reform, or work with their kids at home academically — what would he recommend?
Microscopic pause. “I don’t mean to be self-promotional, but I would say see the film, because parents need the big picture,” he explained. “A lot of parents don’t know how badly their kids are really doing so they can’t make decisions.” Was he really suggesting you see a movie instead of read to your child? On the other hand, our schools suffer because parents are thinking mostly as individuals, when in fact we are the biggest, most potentially powerful voice in education reform by sheer number and emotional investment. When we focus all our energies on our children’s education (or even on a school fundraiser), it’s easy to lose sight of the larger picture.
Byron Garrett: Raise the big issues with your teacher and principal
Byron Garrett, CEO of the PTA, tells me the PTA has “embraced the moment” and plans to host a series of meetings after screenings of Waiting for Superman around the nation. What’s the first step for parents in contributing to this national conversation? Take the big issues and bring them back to your school.
”Parents need to have candid conversations with educators and administrators,” he said. “Parents need to be able to ask them how can we work together to address the problems in these schools.” He added that the PTA is planning a series of tools and tips that will help parents fight for systemic changes in their school system.
Arnie Duncan: Less TV, more learning
After the Secretary of Education announced a national campaign to change the face of the teaching profession in this country via incentives, grants, loans and other government goodies, he was asked about what the government is going to do to “make parents accountable.” He punted the question but admitted that in the past the government hasn’t done enough to engage parents and pledged to double funds for “parental engagement programs” to the tune of $270 million dollars. According to my math, this would allot about $2,800 per public school. (How would you spend that parent engagement money at your school?)
Later I asked Duncan about his advice for parents in participating in what he called the “tipping point” of education reform. “I come at this as a Dad,” he said. “There’s not a lot of TV in my house. We do lots of work around homework and spend lots of time partnering with teachers.” I didn’t get a second question but I would have asked him if he thinks parents need a union too.
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