Finding a Yardstick for Education

万得福

By Stuart Deane

As a retired teacher, I am both saddened and angered by the frenzy for standardized testing to evaluate both students and teachers, though I have been retired for ten years and no longer have a stake in the game.

On the other hand, I have some insights after 35 years in the profession—three as a science and physical education teacher at a school for juvenile offenders in Dorchester, Mass, and 32 years as a history/health/science/French/journalism/special education teacher at Masconomet Regional on the North Shore of Massachusetts.

William Butler Yeats photographed in 1903 by Alice Boughton (Wikipedia)

My favorite description of education comes from William Butler Yeats:

Education is not the filling of a pail, but the lighting of a fire.

The measure for success in education should not be a ruler but rather a thermometer.

The root word for education is educe, to draw out, not induce, to force in.

Teaching is that magic moment when two people connect to elevate the self-esteem of a young person, to promote understanding, or to ignite a love of a particular academic discipline.

The highest goals of education should be a love of literature, a passion for writing, an appreciation of history, a recognition of the beauty of math and science in explaining the world, the lighting of a creative idea in an artist, the development of self-confidence in an athlete, an intrigue for how things work in an industrial arts student …

Does drilling for standardized tests promote any of that?

The highlights in my career are the notes I received from students and parents. Two follow:

I don’t know what to say (wrote a controversial journalist/special education student upon his graduation). You were one of the few who stuck with me and my stubbornness. You helped me care about something, and even though I never showed it, I am extremely grateful. You showed me my true calling, spent hours arguing with me, and still had time to keep track of my attention deficit disorder. I will be eternally grateful.

One of the nicest letters I ever received came from a parent at the end of four long, often difficult, years:

Joshua will be starting his internship tomorrow. This is an end to his affiliation academically with Masco and a new beginning for him. It is also an end to a special relationship. You have been Joshua’s gift at Masco. He has had a wonderful ally and advocate in you. Throughout his journey you have been there one hundred percent. He has stood tall at times, and at times he has stumbled, yet you were committed to him through it all. Our son certainly had a caring, loving, supportive friend and teacher. You are the right person for the right job. Thank you for being there.

What standardized test would measure that?

By the way, I never did receive a note that said, “Thank you for raising my standardized test scores.”

And as for those from primarily the business world and the conservative end of the political spectrum who feel that teachers and teachers’ unions are the problem, let me ask you this question:  How are attacking benefits, complicating working conditions, and stifling creativity by emphasizing test results a good idea for attracting the brightest into teaching in the future?

Good plan, guys.

Teaching is not easy. Try it sometime. Go into a school and serve as a substitute teacher. Then we’ll talk.

Running a school is not like running a business. One focuses on people, the other, making money. Different goals, different means to an end.

Running a business does not make one an expert in running a school any more than running a school makes one an expert in running a business.

The purpose of education is not just the preparation of a work force. At its noblest, it is the enrichment of life.

The current emphasis on standardized testing is somewhat akin to painting-by-the-numbers, if I may use an art analogy. The outcome may look like art, but it is predictable, standard, uninspired and, perhaps most important, confining.

Let’s find good teachers, support them, let them be creative, and watch what happens.