How do you improve schools? --Tom

In my recent reading of the news I came across some of the following articles or websites all dealing with the question of how do you improve our schools.

The first article is from the New York Times, Next Test: Value of $125,000-a-Year Teachers.

In it the author says,

"The school, called the Equity Project, is premised on the theory that excellent teachers — and not revolutionary technology, talented principals or small class size — are the critical ingredient for success. Experts hope it could offer a window into some of the most pressing and elusive questions in education: Is a collection of superb teachers enough to make a great school? Are six-figure salaries the way to get them? And just what makes a teacher great?"

I love those questions, particularly that last one. I just finished a year of study and training to become a teacher in which I wrestled with that very question. I don't want to be just a good teacher. I want to be a great teacher, but how exactly do I do that?

I also came across another New York Times op-ed article entitled, Five Ways To Fix America's Schools. In brief the author says that we should:

• raise the age of compulsory education up to 19 in all states
• borrow high pressure sales tactics for use in reducing casual truancy in schools
• advertise more effectively to get students to college or post-secondary education
• make the college accreditation reports from the Department of Education available to the public
• produce more qualified applicants for higher education

I don't necessarily agree with all of these points, especially the last one, which seems to be saying just teach students better. If it were that easy I think schools would already be doing it.

Finally, the last bit of information I have stumbled across is from the New Teacher Project and their report entitled The Widget Effect. It was mentioned in an op-ed in the Philadelphia Enquirer written by the head of the Philadelphia School System. The overall premise is that school systems need to change the way they evaluate and measure teacher performance because teachers are such an important part of the educational process. It cites information from a study showing that less than one percent of teachers receive unsatisfactory ratings each year, even in schools where students are doing poorly. I invite you to check it out in more detail.