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September 14, 2011
Parent's Making Good Teachers, Principals
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The National
A ssessm ent of
E d u c a tio n a l
P ro g re s s
(NAEP), called
the “Nation’s Re
port Card,” mea
sures the academic preparedness of
American students state by state.
Its 2009 report shared the following
about Oregon’s children:
Fourth grade students able to
rea d at “ p r o f ic ie n t lev el or
h ig h e r:” Black students 10 p er
cent: L atino students 1 1 p er
cent. S ham efully, the N A EP re
port for reading pro ficien cies
had the exact sam e paltry scores
in 2009: Black students, 10 p e r
cent; L atino S tudents, 1 1 p e r
cent. N early a decade later and
th e re ’s been no im provem ent in
O re g o n ’s academ ic p repared-
ness, not a sm idgen.
M illions of dollars are spent on
com pensatory program s that are
purportedly designed to get chil
dren to grade level. These efforts
include, for exam ple, T itle 1, En
glish as a Second Language, Bi
lingual Education, Special Educa
tion, in addition to a school
district’s general fund dollars. It
appears money may not be the
primary problem.
One of the glaring failures in
O regon’s educational system is
its inadequate training and prepa
ration of teachers. Principa1 train
ing is worst than inadequate. The
public would not knowingly board
a commercial airline if pilots were
trained as carelessly as teachers
and principals.
The overw helm ing m ajority of
teachers and principals enter the
field of education because they
care deeply about children. They
want to help children acquire the
skills and knowledge needed to
live independent and fulfilling
lives. But the training provided to
prospective teachers and princi
pals is a disservice.
T here is no requirem ent that
the p ro fesso rs in O re g o n ’s c o l
leges o f education have been
exem plary teach ers or p rin c i
pals. E xem plary is defined as 90
p e rc e n t o f th e ir ow n p u b lic
sch o o l stu d e n ts c o n s is te n tly
having p erform ed at or above
grade level.
T his is not a c o m p lic a te d
p roposition. If a p ro fesso r never
had 90 p ercent o f th eir public
school stu d en ts p erfo rm in g at
grade level, how can they in
struct novice teach ers on how
to help 90 p ercent o f th eir stu
dents p erform reading or m ath
at grade lev el? It d o e sn ’t m ake
sen se to have a p ro fe s so ria l
strateg y that says, “Do as I say,
not as I do, or ev er d id !”
Com m ercial pilots receive the
m ajority o f their training from p i
lots that have flown successfully
fo r m any years. E le c tric ia n s,
plum bers, carpenters and doctors
are trained for many years by indi
viduals that are experts in their
field, successful practitioners.
D on’t Oregon taxpayers deserve
to know why this logical approach
to professional teaching prepara
tion is conveniently suspended
for those who work in public edu
cation with our children?
Lest we overlook the prepara
tion for becom ing a principal o f a
school, it should com e as no sur
prise that there is no requirem ent
that a principal has a record of
being a successful teacher with
90 percent or more o f his or her
stu d e n ts p erfo rm in g at grade
level. There also is no require
ment that principal training is con
ducted by individuals who were
successful principals with 90 per
cent or more o f their students
perform ing at grade level.
Here are some actions that can
be taken now to help teachers,
principals and m ost o f all ch il
dren. And it shouldn’t cost an
NEW R
ME GROWN
E A S Y & F U N TO S H O P • S E N S IB L Y
P R IC E D
LO CALLY O W N E D & O P E R A TE D
ài /moti
n e w s e a s o n s m a r k e t .c o m
additional dollar.
*A11 students who are learning
to become teachers in schools of
education m ust be taught by pro
fessors who were successful read
ing teachers, with 90 percent or
more of their public school stu
dents attaining grade level (the 90
percent rule). To graduate from a
college of education, a prospec
tive teacher must be observed
successfully teaching children to
read. Same with math. (Rem em
ber, you c a n ’t become a licensed
electrician unless you have been
observed successfully wiring a
house.)
*Eighty percent of the instruc
tion in an Oregon school of edu
cation must be provided by cur
rent or former teachers and princi
pals who were successful in the
past, again the 90 percent rule.
Faculty must include individuals
who have successfully educated
low -incom e and m inority stu
dents. If you can ’t find these folks
in Oregon, then use Skype or video
conferencing to access the best
national and international aca
demic talent.
*School d istric ts’ in-service
training should be managed only
by successful teachers and prin
cipals, the 90 percent rule. Current
teachers and principals deserve
to be coached by the most accom
plished practitioners.
*Local cadres of Oregon’s most
successful teachers and princi
pals (the 90 percent rule) should
d eterm in e tex tb o o k s, in stru c
tional m ethods, lesson plans, and
the m inutest part of the school
d a y , fo r all c la s s ro o m s and
schools that have 20 percent or
more children below grade level in
any subject area.
Final thoughts. If you think the
90 percent success rate for teach
ing kids to read at grade level is an
unrealistically high expectation
for teacher and principal perfor
mance, what rate of academic fail
ure, and its attendant life-long
collateral damage, would you find
acceptable with our children?
Yes, many o f these ideas for
im proving the perform ance o f
teachers and principals were part
o f an extensive article 11 years
ago in the Oregonian. But nothing
changed. Why?
The educational system oper
ates first and forem ost to meet the
needs o f adults: Adults who train
te a c h e rs and a d m in is tra to rs ;
adults who teach or adm inister
schools; adults on school boards;
and sadly, you and me, the tax
payers who allow this recurring
travesty to continue.
Ron Herndon is a long-time
advocate for educational oppor
tunities for African-American
children. He has served as direc
tor of Head Start in Portland
since 1975.