by Stuart Singer, The Teacher Leader
In an effort to close their minority achievement gap, Montgomery County (MD) Public Schools (MCPS) like many other school systems has turned to Disneyland for educational advice. According to an article in the Washington Post:
”In their ongoing quest to eliminate academic achievement gaps, Montgomery County educators are seeking help from the Magic Kingdom.
“It is not enough, they realized, to spend more on poor children or to promote college-level classes for all if school employees are not fully committed to the cause.
“Maryland’s largest school system sent a delegation to Disney’s complex in Orlando a few years ago for a lesson in motivating employees from a company that specializes in making dreams come true.”
And what advice did this considerable investment of time and money obtain?
“‘People need a reason to come to work. At Disney, we teach our employees the first day that we are here to create happiness,’ said Bruce Jones, programming director for the Disney Institute, which coaches outsiders in the entertainment giant’s business methods. ‘What we talk about with educators is, ‘Let’s not forget why we got into this: These are real kids.’”
No wonder the place is called “Fantasyland”. Rest assured, any teacher who has stood in front of a classroom filled to overflowing with students fresh from more than two months of summer vacation is well aware that there are “real kids” sitting in those chairs. And, unfortunately, learning how to derive the quadratic formula does not always equate into “happiness”.
Outside advice is not all bad
Utilizing the thoughts of non-educators can be beneficial. In previous posts, I have quoted Vince Lombardi, Bill Gates and Mark Twain among others. What is troubling about the MCPS adventure in the Magic Kingdom is the actual advice being rendered. While any business as successful as Disney has important lessons to share, the goals of education and those of an amusement park do not significantly overlap. In the Disney orientation, which is called “Transitions” there is a review of the company history and a screening of clips of old Disney movies, which have reportedly brought many new employees to tears. Now MCPS has its own orientation for new personnel which is also being titled “Transitions” and includes a history of the county, films about outstanding employees and concludes as a virtual revival meeting. According to the Post:
“During one session in Rockville on a muggy August afternoon, three dozen recently hired teachers and bus drivers were introduced to their new employer’s vision statement in evangelical call-and-response fashion.
“A high-quality education is a fundamental right for who?” asked a high-energy facilitator. “Every child,” came the muffled response. “For WHO?” the call came again. “Every child,” the group said, a little louder.
“That’s right,” the facilitator said. “Every child.”
While there were no reports of widespread weeping among the participants, based upon my own experiences with such activities it would appear to be a possibility – and not in a good way.
The minority achievement gap is not a fairy tale
All of these machinations are the result of persistently lower academic performances by the district’s Hispanics and African-Americans when compared to Caucasians and Asians. It is a problem that has existed for decades. The county’s educational leaders have decided that the root cause of the disparity is low expectations on the part of teachers when dealing with these under performing groups. It would appear that this latest approach by MCPS is just another attempt at finding an overly simplified answer to a very complex question. If the significant differences in student performances between certain groups were a statistical blip on the educational radar screen much like an excessively hot summer, it could be explained away by employee incompetence or ignorance. But these are entrenched problems that have been consistently in place for years. Instead of soliciting the advice of a successful movie studio, schools need to look for fundamental structural changes that could actually directly address the achievement gap.
Not as entertaining as the seven dwarfs but…
From the point of view of an educator here are seven ways to attack the minority achievement gap:
Improve hiring practices. Create a process for acquiring new personnel that would determine the quality of their work before they stand in front of a classroom. Invest the time and resources necessary to make the interviewing of candidates a multi-tiered procedure that would accurately determine the best applicants.
Improve the evaluation process. Hire professional evaluators who would not only establish the strengths and weaknesses of each staff member, they would have the tools necessary to improve the individuals being observed.
Create an effective termination policy. Most poor teachers are failures with all of their students not just the ones at-risk. However, those weaker students are often the most affected by poor teaching. Schools must institute policies that would allow them to remove under-performing personnel in a timely manner.
Hire statisticians to determine root causes of low academic performances. Instead of pulling out charts that demonstrate the obvious—certain groups are continually under-performing—do the research necessary to find out the fundamental reasons for these problems. On numerous occasions it has been clearly demonstrated that low scores are far more about poverty than they are race based.
Encourage underrepresented minorities to take more challenging courses. Sometimes students need a little encouragement; other times they require a bit of a push. Establish a school environment where counselors and teachers are continually setting high standards for all students.
Offer incentives to work in low-income schools. In the accountability-based schools of 2011 it is increasingly difficult to entice quality educators to work in the most difficult schools. Offer higher pay, more creativity and leadership roles to outstanding personnel to perform in buildings with the greatest need.
Better prepare new teachers. Instead of revival meetings give meaningful training.
Establish “teaching” high schools much like physicians have “teaching” hospitals and allow new educators to learn their craft appropriately.