by ALISTAIR BOMPHRAY
We’re going to begin today with a visualization exercise. Now close your eyes. Wait—that won’t work. Read along instead and just pretend your eyes are closed. Sort of like a visualization within a visualization. A dream within a dream. An acid flashback… you know what I’m talking about.
You wake up. You rub your eyes as the familiar shapes of your bedroom come into focus. Everything is as you left it. Your teacher clothes, so dutifully laid out the night before, are practically beckoning for you to begin the day. The alarm clock reads 6:15, the same time you wake up every school day. The birds sing outside your window as always. But something feels… different.
You go to the sink, splash some water on your face, load your toothbrush with a wedge of Crest (enough to disguise last night’s whiskey binge), and look into the mirror. Gasp. You drop the toothbrush and let out another gasp as it lands in a pile of your roommate’s beard trimmings. Back to the mirror. Your initial shock dampened somewhat by the thought of your roommates’s beard hairs stuck between your teeth, you refrain from gasping a third time. Instead of your own familiar reflection, you see a 6’5’’ lanky white dude’s with skeletal cheeks and a formidable hook shot… who also happens to look a lot like President Obama’s recently appointed Secretary of Education.
Oh yeah—and in the pocket of your bathrobe is a check for $100 billion that reads ‘Pay to the Order of… Fixin’ Dem Schools!’
What do you do?
This is precisely the scenario Washington Post education columnist Jay Mathews presented to his readers two days ago, albeit in less colorful and more direct language. First, he offers a brief and generally favorable analysis of this list of suggestions (sponsored by the Gates Foundation) for the education portion of the federal stimulus package:
1. develop common American standards
2. provide data and information that educators, policymakers, and parents can use
3. conduct meaningful teacher evaluations
4. turn around low-performing schools
5. help struggling students
Not one to merely sit back and criticize, Mathews boldly concludes with five of his own suggestions, one of which is the deeply frightening, “More training and power for principals.”
Yikes! I think we can do better. I beg of you, dear reader, grace us with the goodness of your own suggestion(s). If you had $100 billion to Fix Dem Schools, what would you do?
Okay, I’ll go first. I want bookrooms updated with a diverse selection of culturally responsive and youth friendly texts—for all disciplines.
The comment box awaits. Who’s next?
[P.S. The first 16 comments are from my students—that all-important stakeholder that is too often left out of conversations like this.]
I use that money to fix the schools in America by spending it on either well educated and liked teachers or activites for students to attend to.
If I had $100 billion dollars i would help the schools by adding more courses for students, raising teachers salaries and by putting more money into the athletic programs.
The money that the schools is recieving should go to music programs.
Use this bigass check to literally “fix” the campuses in the world. A good learning enviornment will make students feel more comfortable to go to school, and do better everyday.
I want more money spent on programs and sports . Programs that will help students from the start for college. Also fix up the damn schools and make the look like a good place for god damn education.
I think the money should be used to get better supplies at school and get better lesson plans so that the students’ learning will advance more efficiently.
Well, your idea of the diverse selection of books it a great idea. Some things that I would like to see are renovations to make the classrooms more comfortable to spend an hour and 30 minutes in. A lot of new supplies and desks, and better lockers that aren’t all beat up. Basically anything that will make our school a better school to be in.
They should spend on the cafeteria. There should be a of variety of food, so we could eat different food each day, and not eat the same boring food each day. We need better tables and chairs because our tables and chairs are not in the best condition.
If I were given the money to change the schools I would use the money to buy better supplies for the school like new books, desks and computers. Also like actually use the showers. Better equipment for activities at school. I would like to hire more teachers,Have a nice environment that actually looks clean and fresh. Also i would like to better subjects. And thats pretty much it.
I would use this money to hire more teachers and hella more after school activities. Students need stuff to do after school, if they have nothing to do, so if they have something to do maybe.. just maybe.. they wont get in to gangs and bad stuff… think about it!!!!!!!!!
i think that money should NEVER be a factor for schools because students deserve the best of everything..so therefore with all this money i believe we should have our school torn down a re built and have more art classes and drama!
I would use the money to help pay for more after school programs in “poor” neighborhoods. The money needs to go to extra curricular activities. These kids need to stop being involved in drugs, sex, and gangs, and get involved into something that will benefit them. Being safe is very important, therefore these programs are esssential for students. The money should also go to ensuring that these kids get a great education. There are a lot of schools that offer an education, but it is of poor quality. Why do something when you will only do it half-way? That is my opinion on it….
If I were given the money to fix the schools in the USA the first thing I would do would be to make all the schools the same. I would have every school have equal supplies and the same types of resources. I would focus on fixing schools that are basically considered bad schools or poor schools and try to get them on the same level as every one else. By suppling them with new books and school supplies.
I would want to provide the school with more books, equipment, school supplies, i would want 2 add more elective classes, better teachers that actually want to teach their students, a more helpful principal that care for her school and is more involved. i would want to make Tennyson high school our temple because this is our home.
The world is changing and we are looking at the money for our future. The money is the concern? I say we should look at the ones holding the money and ask ourselves how an incompetent person got in the position as the education office leader. The real question was what would I do with the money and I will say that I would ask for the rest of it in cash! That is the only way any of us is going to see it. The world is changing and we are here arguing a point of which we have no control. Even if somehow my school got a margin of the money, a greedy principal or county would take it to make the school more of a prison and that is why I say give the money to the students not the corruptable teachers, administrations, councils, presidents,and rest of this world who is taking our future. The money should be given to those kids who can’t afford 40 cents for luch and those students who are restricted due to stupid rules and decisions that hurt us and our pride and justice. The thing I want to say Is F U for taking the money for war and giving us a slice of our rights in this country. The money is for the children of this country not the parents, give it to the students and the next generation.
The money should be spent on new books in the schools, because we have a lot of textbooks in poor condition. They should also spend some of the money on more electives, like more foreign language, writing, P.E., and music classes.
I agree. They should spend the money on widening the focus of schools to include art, music, sports, tech, shop, language, debate, creative writing, dance, theater, journalism, etc…. Narrowing the focus of education to only math and English is killing our schools and society.
Pingback: With my mind on my money and my money on poster board and permanent markers « Teacher, Revised