The simple answer to ‘what is wrong with our schools’ is to be found not in studies about brain research, analyses of how to configure schools, or debates about curriculum – the simple answer is to be found in the serious dysfunction with which many schools and school districts are run.
A few examples?
- Teachers who are given continuing contracts despite overwhelming negative feedback from parents, students, and other teachers.
- School boards that vote to change educational programming for the sole purpose of reducing taxes and without evaluating impact on student outcomes.
- Hierarchical decision-making that excludes input from specialists on the teaching staff.
- Failure to collect feedback from teachers on administrative performance.
If we are to improve student educational outcomes we need to start with addressing what is most obviously ‘wrong with our schools.’