Strengthening education policy

We’ve gone in and out of arguments to grant U.S. citizens here jobs. We do so to the extent where we even unjustly vilify better-educated guest workers in private industries.

As we venture into the emerging controversy, we equally ignore that prevailing conditions hailed from being sheltered for decades in “everything is government.” Regressive policy adaptation!

Have we heard anything at least from the Legislature’s heads of committees on education to address this issue? Or are they still snoozing on the switchboard? It’s about formulating comprehensive policy on education, encouraging locals to engage in skills acquisition at the high school or college level to prepare for competition at the job market.

According to a Heritage Foundation study on education and economic freedom, “education enhances people’s efforts to lift themselves out of poverty and earn their own success through hard work and entrepreneurship. Contrary to popular misconception, empirical evidence indicates that the free-market principles that underlie economic freedom are the most effective means of producing these desirable educational outcomes for most people.”

“Most can agree on basic standards of literacy and other requirements for an educated citizenry facing the demands and opportunities of the information economy of the 21st century…” The long-term goal in the “social pyramid is the placement of top leaders at the apex, good executives in the middle, and highly civic conscious broad mass at the base.” It could be done through education!

“In a globalized world, students from Ohio are no longer merely competing with students from across the state or the country, but with students from around the world. In order to remain competitive, educational systems need flexibility, competition, and choice—the foundations of economic freedom.

“Literacy and Basic Education. One of the most easily recognized indicators of the success of a society’s provision of basic social goods is the literacy of its citizens. Literacy is the foundation for continued success in advanced information-age economies as well as increased educational and economic achievement throughout the lifetimes of its citizens.

“Higher Education. A country’s capacity to provide high-quality primary and secondary educational opportunities is a key component of its future success. For a country to become competitive globally, however, it must have educational facilities and private business enterprises that employ innovative, highly productive people who are able to do cutting-edge research and to develop groundbreaking goods and services.

“These qualities depend largely on the strength of a country’s institutions of higher learning. The higher levels of education and training that workers receive translate into not just higher salaries, but into more productive and innovative economies.

“Finally, and most importantly, widespread literacy is a vital requirement for a healthy constitutional democratic republic and the wellbeing of its people.”

‘Great teachers…’
With school opening, I’m sure parents must have asked the question who would be their kids’ teachers. Indeed, it is most fitting that such query is asked forthwith.

Ms. Dana Goldstein, author of The Teacher Wars, recently published by Doubleday, and a staff writer for the Marshall Project, wrote that great teachers:
• Have active intellectual lives outside their classrooms. 
Economists have discovered that teachers with high SAT scores or perfect college GPAs are generally no better for their students than teachers with less impressive credentials. But teachers with large vocabularies are better at their jobs because this trait is associated with being intelligent, well read and curious.

In 1903, W.E.B. Du Bois, who once taught in a one-room schoolhouse in rural Tennessee, wrote that teachers must “be broad-minded, cultured men and women” able to “scatter civilization” among the next generation. The best teachers often love to travel, have fascinating hobbies or speak passionately about their favorite philosopher or poet.

• Believe intelligence is achievable, not inborn. 
Effective educators reject the idea that smarts are something that only some students have; they expect all children to perform at high levels, even those who are unruly, learning disabled, or struggling with English.

How can you tell if a teacher has high expectations? Ask your child if he or she has learned anything new today. Research suggests that most students already know almost half of what is taught in most classes. Lame teachers—like one I watched spend a full 10 minutes explaining to a class in a Colorado Springs middle school that “denominator” refers to the bottom half of a fraction—spend too much time reviewing basic facts and too little time introducing deeper concepts.

• Are data-driven. 
Effective teachers assess students at the beginning of new units to identify their strengths and weaknesses, and then quiz students again when units end to determine whether concepts and skills have sunk in. Research from the cognitive psychologists Andrew Butler and Henry Roediger confirms that students score higher on end-of-year exams when quizzed by their teachers along the way.

• Ask great questions. 
According to the scholar John Hattie, when teachers focus lessons on concepts that are broader than those on multiple-choice tests, children’s scores on higher-level assessments—like those that require writing—increase. How can you identify a high-quality question in your child’s schoolwork? It tests for conceptual, not factual, understanding—not “When did the Great Depression occur?” but “What economic, social and political factors led to the Great Depression?”

“Parents shouldn’t be the only ones looking for these four traits. Principals and policy makers should focus less on standardized test scores than on these more sophisticated measures of excellence. Together, we can create a groundswell of demand for great teaching in every classroom.”

It’s important for parents to quiz quality of instructions and it is equally vital that you don’t leave everything to the teacher. A proactive role in the education of your kids would definitely help throughout the year.