Lincoln (Neb.) - Nov. 19, 1998 - Our nation's future is highly contingent upon our ability to educate our young people well. The standards movement which has been endorsed in most states is viewed as a promising approach to ensure that our children and youth receive high quality education. If we can identify and accomplish the right standards it would seem we will have the schools we need.
An important step forward has been taken by the Nebraska State Board of Education through the approval of standards for student learning in social science, science, reading and writing, and mathematics. These standards will provide helpful direction to teachers while leaving the professional judgments about how to reach them to teachers. These standards will provide greater clarity of expectations to students and their parents and a basis for assessing the performance of our students, teachers, and schools.
The discussion involved in developing these goals has provided a valuable forum for consideration of the purposes of our schools. If, however, this discussion does not continue the standards movement will turn out to be just another fad that fails. It is important that we continue to refine and upgrade these standards as experience is gained with them. Only in this way can they become expressions of the best we want to provide for our children and youth. This fall the State Board is engaged in a comprehensive study of teacher education in Nebraska as a first step toward a statement of standards for teachers and teacher education. The national "P-16 Initiative," headed in Nebraska by University of Nebraska President Dennis Smith, is encouraging the development of standards for teachers and teacher education as well. UNL's Teachers College has issued a "Compact with Nebraska" in which the college commits to document the student learning produced by those teachers who graduate from the college. These current efforts will soon produce state standards for teaching to complement the existing standards for student learning.
What then will be needed to complete the circle to guarantee quality education for our children and youth? Standards for the public's support of schooling. I suggest the following such public standards as fundamental to reaching our educational goals.
- "Every child has the opportunity to attend a school that is staffed by quality teachers and is adequately financed to provide the learning materials and curriculum needed to support learning." Recent studies demonstrate that students taught by well-prepared teachers make significantly greater academic progress than those taught by poorly prepared teachers. Schools that are well supported financially are most able to attract teachers who produce greater student learning and to provide appropriate class sizes, facilities and resources. These are the characteristics that make for greater student learning. Data released by the independent Nebraska Tax Research Council reveal that our state ranks in the middle of the 50 states in terms of total state and local taxes. This would suggest that we can afford quality schools and well-prepared teachers for every student in this state. We should settle for nothing less.
- A second standard for the public's support of education should be this: "Every child has the support needed to benefit from the educational opportunities provided to her or him." Children who suffer from inadequate nutrition, health care, access to libraries and other sources of educational materials, or parental guidance are unlikely to be effective learners in schools. Our public policies should reduce the chances of this happening, but unfortunately children have little political power. It thus behooves all of us to make certain that political power is exercized on behalf of children.
- A third proposed standard: "The community honors schooling as essential to its future well being." Teachers need to know that the communities in which they work believe their work is important. Strong public and parental support for the work of teachers is essential to ensure they will be effective educators.
A community gets the schools it wants and deserves. If the community respects the enterprise of the school, the school is likely to accomplish high quality outcomes with its students. The same is true if the school respects the aspirations of the community. When the school and the community are partners the best results achieved.
While we often think of schools as existing to benefit
individual students, in this country schools were established for
public purposes - to prepare citizens to work together to
maintain our democracy and economic system. Schools are a public
function which requires public responsibility. Standards for
students, schools, teachers, and teacher educators are all
important but will only succeed if the public also embraces
standards for its support of children and youth and their
education.
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