When Is the School Ready?

A Clear Vision of What a Good School Is
This vision has emerged over the years in time and space and is well-known. Those who have not isolated these components in their own minds should not be setting school policy or teaching in the classroom. It is absolutely essential to understand child development so thoroughly that you do not participate in advocating practices that are simply not good for children and thus not helpful to teachers. How can experienced, well-trained teachers accept the guidance of higher-ups once these leaders indicate by thought and deed that they do not know what a good school is? The concept of a good school has to be backed up by the experience veteran practitioners in the field. It is heartbreaking to find out that well-heeled donors to the cause of educational reform can seek and follow the advice of random superintendents and/or that of very vocal self-appointed experts such as Wendy Kopp and Michelle Rhee. Thus, the misguided are at the helm. The donors soon learn that what these persons have suggested does bring about the desired effects. However, they keep on trying because they think that they have asked the right people. Thus, the search for the policy levers which will raise academic performance in our schools continues with a lot of stabs in the dark even though the light is visible. A series of chats with respected veteran classroom teachers could reveal everything that school reformers need to know to the receptive ear and the open mind.
What Children need from the school is no mystery.
What the best and wisest parent wants for his own child, that must the community want for all its children. Any other ideal for our schools is narrow and unlovely; acted upon, it destroys our democracy.” All that society has accomplished for itself is put, through the agency of the school, at the disposal of its future members. All its better thoughts of itself it hopes to realize through the new possibilities are thus opened to its future self.
John Dewey, 1907
A good school is a place wherein students are able to master basic skills in reading and mathematics. But the curriculum most go beyond basic skills and include the study of the arts, science, history, geography, civics, foreign languages and physical education. In a democracy, a school must work on the task of teaching responsible citizenship. Of course, this is a job that is shared by the home and the community. It cannot be overlooked by anyone of these three entities. The school should be set up with practices that teach the critical thinking aspects of self-governance. There is a purpose to learning. There is a purpose for knowing. The well-taught student will learn how to apply his knowledge to life. He will know about the common good and will develop a relationship with it. In school, many non-academic skills essential to the smooth productive functioning of society are taught: being kind to others, cleaning up after oneself, taking turns, social interaction and how to develop their individual talents. A good education cannot be reduced to standardized arithmetic and reading tests. This is far too narrow a practice. It is a particularly misguided policy when it comes to very young children. No Child Left Behind and Race to the Top exacerbated the problem they purported to solve. Teaching the test became the chief piece of the curriculum for many pupils already deemed at-risk. They got cheated out of music, art and recess for weeks and were forced to labor over practice tests. This misuse of test taking become a national obsession. Test scores were published in the newspaper showing how each grade in each school had scored. The more affluent districts had higher test scores and were given the grade of A. Schools located in poverty-stricken areas had the lowest test scores in the county. So students could look in the paper and be embarrassed by their own scores and those of their school’s. It seemed as the the state was trying to shame the disadvantaged segments of the community into earning better test scores through public humiliation. The teachers at the lower scoring schools maybe be very competent with a well-honed set of skills, but they are forced to see their own professional efforts as shameful. One reads these reports and questions the statewide educational leadership. One wonders how well-informed these architects of school reform are about child development, the role of school in society, the effects of poverty on school achievement, and human nature itself.
When I was a freshman at Central State College, many years ago, we were required to take Sociology 101. I do not remember the course itself, but I do remember its assigned textbook. In fact, it is my most treasured memory of a textbook. It was a big thick gray tome that weighed in at least two pounds. The cover bore the title in big black letters Responsible Citizenship. This title resonated with me and convinced me that becoming as responsible as possible became my purpose for getting an education. The contents of that book taught me to examine my life for signs of responsible behavior. I came to realize that a self-governing nation can only exist and prosper under the auspices of a responsible citizenry.
Just as John Dewey has said, “All that society has accomplished for itself is put through the agency of the school at the disposal of its future members.” So that question is a matter of readiness. Does the curriculum indicate that the school is ready for the students? Is its curriculum broad and rich enough to present learning that represents the whole panoply of world history and human achievement? The school is ready for the students when it has prepared a curriculum for academic excellence and the teaching of responsible citizenship. Good schools recognize the role of parents in education. In fact, parental education is a powerful tool. Bloom has an isolated list of home habits and practices that create school success. Properly instructed parents can supplement the effectiveness of the school. Parental education must be based on sound principles, backed up by real evidence and produce results that can be verified by both parents and teachers. The good school is not only ready for all its students, but it is also ready to help parents collaborate with school personnel to solve problems and advance causes. Through these efforts, both gain insights that serve them well when it comes to assisting the leaner. Parents should feel welcome at school. They should have a room that makes them feel like valued guests because they are. They are part of the school culture and will be consulted many times. Research shows that parental involvement is a very effective means of closing the learning gap. When I worked as a parental involvement specialist for my district, I encouraged each family to write a family mission statement. They then brought their statements to school and shared them. These statements not only guided the family, but they also taught me a lot about the family and what they valued. Our families enjoyed working together to craft these statements. Below are the directions that we followed in case your family would like to write one.
How to Write Your Family Mission Statement
Influenced by Author Stephen Covey
Step I
The family meets and discusses these questions.
1. What should we be like as a family?
2. Are there principles that we should live by?
3. How can we become better parents?
4. What kind of family do we really want to be?
5. What kind of home would you like to invite your friends to?
6. What embarrasses you about our family?
7. What makes you feel comfortable?
8. What makes you want to come home?
9. What makes you feel drawn to us as your parents so that you are open to our influence?
10. What things about our family life are important to you?
11. What is the purpose of our family?
12. What kinds of things do want to do?
13. What kind of feeling do we want to have in our home?
14. How do we want to relate to each other?
15. What is our family’s first priority? Second?
16. What are our responsibilities as family members?
17. Who are our heroes, and how can we emulate them?
18. How can we make our community a better place in which to live?
Everyone listens with respect. No one’s ideas are discarded. Each family member who is old enough writes a mission statement for the family. All of these statements will be brought to the next session.

Step II
All family members bring their statements. The whole family reaches consensus. A rough draft is written and revised. It must reflect everyone’s thinking.
Step III
Make the final copy. Frame it. Display it. Refer to it often for family guidance.
It is not possible for a school to be ready for the students unless there is sound educational leadership. The administrators must be steeped in the salient points of child development, so that they can play their role in the helping to match learning tasks to the maturation levels of children. They should have the evidence that keeps them from supporting an academic kindergarten, merit pay for teachers, the restructuring of schools, teacher evaluation based on standardized tests scores, or eliminating music class and devoting the time to test preparation. They should have the courage to stand up and present the evidence that shows that these practices are not sound pedagogy on any level. They will not be embraced by our school. We know what is good for our faculty and our student body and we cannot be persuaded to do otherwise. We do not live in the days before Galileo, before man learned to test out hypotheses to see if they work. Good school leaders provide an example by applying the method of intelligence to school practices, so that they can see what will be the best way in which to exercise the agency of the school in the service of society.
When is the teacher ready for her students? The classroom is the heart of the school. It is the home of for the mind. It is here the lessons are taught. It is here that both teachers and pupils become more able learners. Herein, the human spirit is being nourished and pushed to higher accomplishments.

Herein, the astute teacher learns facts that are not in the textbook. Teachers and students get to try things out, refine their thinking hone their skills, discover new evidence, and test it all out. It is a room full of engaged learners, working together, working separately and finding out for themselves or with help something worth knowing. The successful teacher works hard to keep growing and learning along with the rest of the classroom inhabitants. Day-to-day classroom experience creates real expertise. If one of these self-appointed-guess-at it experts wanted to gain some real knowledge about the teaching-learning process, he/she would observe and work with some veteran classroom teacher who is only renown in his/her own district. Successful classroom practitioners of elementary school teachers are the most untapped sources of invaluable knowledge in America. One day with one such teacher would be worth a thousand with Wendy Kopp, Michelle Rhee and Arne Duncan together. One must be in possession of the right answer before one can give it to others.
The teacher who is ready for her students must know a few things, and here are some of them. She must possess:
Mastery of knowledge about childhood development so that she prepares developmentally appropriate tasks for the student.
A thorough knowledge of the curriculum so that she knows what must be taught and why.
The ability to recognize sound educational practices and not waste time on fly-by-night schemes and fads.
The ability to stand up for students at school in the community and in the whole nation.
Teachers value and believe in all of their students. No child has to prove over and over again that he is a quick learner even though his face is black. No child has to establish his humanity little by little because he is obviously poor. The ravishes of racism and or poverty do not deter her efforts. To these teachers, all students are worthy, capable of excelling in the classroom and placed in front of them by divine providence or the great universal force. Prepared teachers exude this type of school readiness in the classrooms of America.
The teacher who is ready for students has become a walking compendium of do’s and don’ts for children at various stages of their lives. They are two very important aspects of the job that the able practitioner never neglects. They are modeling the behavior that shows that all persons are being regarded with the utmost respect, not just when they are compliant, but also when they are acting up. Misbehavior should be corrected with kindness. Good pedagogy insists upon devising compassionate routines for mending the errant ways of young children. Always embedded in the classroom rituals is a deep regard for each child’s humanity.
Along with showing their deep respect for their charges, good teachers practice and perfect the art of encouragement. Encouraging the learner is one of the most powerful tools that can be developed for shaping the learner. Pupils do best when they are recognized as competent and capable of mastering cognitive tasks. When the students see themselves through the eyes of their teacher, they feel valued and capable. They know that the teacher is counting on them to do their best as learners. Synergy builds as it responds to the magic of encouragement.