Alright, I did so much note taking as I read this article. I know I can just print it off and read it as I go, but I really wanted to remember and take in what I was reading. Let me just say, Davis Guggenheim has quite the interesting view on education and why it fails. I don't know if I've read an article that blames everything on teachers and schools because of a students performance. I think it's absurd, but I'm sure there are some people who share the same view.
Guggenheim's documentaries sent the message that America is a failed enterprise when it comes to education. His logic is that student's test scores are low because of bad teachers, and that kids drop out of school because they school they are in has failed them, and that they could accomplish anything if they were saved from the bad teachers who are causing them to fail.
His point was that these charter schools offered a better education because they were able to provide more money for better teachers. It sounds really ignorant to me. He thinks that if there are better teachers then students will take their studies more seriously, because if students aren't serious about their studies as peers in other countries, then the school must be to blame.
The best part about this article was using actual facts to disprove what he thinks is right. The CREDO study shows that student progress on math tests in half the nations 5,000 charter schools is only 17% superior to public schools, 37% worse than than public schools, and 46% had no academic gains compared to public schools. The point is that there are excellent schools for both charter schools and public schools. Guggenheim seems to believe that teachers can overcome all of students educational problems if they're good enough. In fact, the study in the article showed that teachers aren't even the most important factor in determining a students achievement. Hanushek's study showed that teacher quality accounts for about 7.5%-10% of student test score gains.
I also had to post this part of the article that shows what kind of hypocrite Guggenheim seems to be:
Guggenheim ignored other clues that might have gotten in the way of a good story. While blasting the teachers’ unions, he points to Finland as a nation whose educational system the US should emulate, not bothering to explain that it has a completely unionized teaching force. His documentary showers praise on testing and accountability, yet he does not acknowledge that Finland seldom tests its students. Any Finnish educator will say that Finland improved its public education system not by privatizing its schools or constantly testing its students, but by investing in the preparation, support, and retention of excellent teachers.
Awesome, right?
I agree with your thoughts on the article completely. Something that I mentioned in my response was the fact that often times people making such absurd comment are not teachers. These people are not experiencing what teachers are experiencing. Teachers are the ones who are on the frontline dealing with all the issues and challenges that are present in a public school. When things go wrong people often look for someone/something to blame. In the case of the public education system, Guggenheim chose to blame teacher. Unfortunately, his evidence did not make any sense and held no logic.
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