Send a Letter to Your Legislator

Those of us who teach know that children are many things:  curious, exhilarating, inspiring, profound, puzzling, exasperating, generous, selfish, wise, foolish; but one thing that children are not is easily quantifiable. In our country’s quest to put a number on children’s achievement to make policy goals easier for economists, politicians, and statisticians to measure, we reduce the wonder of learning and the art of teaching to mere numbers. This serves the needs not of children, not of schools, not of parents and teachers who understand the complexity of their children, but of those adults who want to simplify the messy world of kids in schools. It has not been effective, and it is time to put the needs of children in schools ahead of the needs of adults.

Since the 1990s the main prescription for improving K-12 education has been “accountability,” which in practice has meant adding more and more layers of tests to our children’s school lives, especially in schools serving poor children. In my own second grade classroom, my students are (thankfully) deemed too young to be forced to take the Massachusetts state tests, but they do take a battery of 7 standardized reading tests and 8 district-designed math tests, and my English Language Learners take still other tests.  The reading tests are individually administered, given three times per year, and I am required to devote approximately 20 hours of instructional time to each of these tests in September, January, and June. While some of the results are useful and help me decide on instructional strategies, the amount of time devoted to these assessments is excessive and would be better devoted to actual instruction. 

The prescribed deluge of testing hasn’t worked. The consequences have been stagnant student achievement, a narrowing of the curriculum (especially for poor and urban children), and a marked increase in cheating. According to the one test that is viewed as the gold standard for student achievement in the United States, the National Assessment of Educational Progress (NAEP), achievement growth has actually slowed since the federal No Child Left Behind law mandated more testing in 2003. Recent revelations of scandalous levels of apparent cheating by administrators and teachers desperate to avoid punishment for poor scores in Atlanta, New York, Pennsylvania and elsewhere, fulfill the expectations of the bestselling book Freakonomics, which in 2005 suggested that attaching high stakes to test results ends in fraud.

There has been much debate recently about the role of student test scores in teacher evaluations, and influential people, including Bill Gates, other business leaders, and politicians from both parties have asserted that we should judge teachers by the scores of their students. At first blush, this policy seems sensible, as it purports to establish an objective measure by which to evaluate teachers. However, a report issued in 2010 by the Economic Policy Institute provides a devastating critique of this idea, highlighting the inherent inaccuracy and unfairness of so-called “value-added” approaches to teacher evaluation. The report also warns of the likely unintended consequences of such a policy, which include tracking of students, a further narrowing of the curriculum to conform to tests, and incentives for experienced teachers to avoid at-risk students.  Furthermore, only about 17% of teachers teach a subject or grade for which state tests are applicable, so what do we do with the other 83% of our teachers?  The answer seems to be more tests.  This is surely a case of the tail wagging the dog. The test-first mania has been a boon to private companies who design tests, but not to children.

Children deserve schools and teachers who are meeting their needs, and helping them to learn and achieve at high levels.  To that end, accountability is necessary. Teachers should be accountable for doing a good job, and evaluation systems based on observations of a teacher’s practice by skilled administrators, or better yet peers, have proven effective.  Such Peer Assistance and Review programs are in place across the country and have a long record of success.  They strengthen the profession and ensure quality educators without falling prey to the easy but flawed solution of using static numbers to measure the complex human interaction that is teaching.

After decades of reforms based on more and more testing, it’s time to rethink our notion of how to improve schools. Budgets for field trips, athletics, the arts, and professional development have been cut as more resources are devoted to mandated testing and evaluation.  In Boston alone, 11 schools have been closed and two others converted to charter schools even as $7.3 million of federal money from the Race To The Top program was awarded to implement a new teacher evaluation system that is based in part on student test scores. Imagine how our children and teachers could soar if the energy, time and money invested in developing, scoring, and analyzing the myriad tests were invested in a strong and coherent curriculum that includes the arts, physical education, social studies, and foreign languages. Imagine how our schools could be improved if teachers had ready access to high-quality professional development that went beyond raising test scores.  Imagine how much stronger our nation could be if we had the common sense and courage to invest in our children, not tests.

Erik Berg is a second grade teacher at the John D. Philbrick Elementary School in Boston. 

After teaching for three decades, in Billerica, I decided it was time for a change. I submitted my retirement papers and in June of 2005 my teaching career ended- or so I thought.

As the school year wound down, colleagues would ask me about my future plans. During my career as a secondary teacher, I had taught part-time at MiddlesexCommunity College and enjoyed teaching young adults, so that was a possibility. In the end, however, I sold my house and moved to Austin, Texas- the live music capital of the world!

Teaching was a wonderful profession.  It was hard to believe that I was paid to read, write and share my ideas with students! Every day, I learned something new. Although I made numerous adjustments and refinements to my teaching craft, I never quite found the secret to perfect teaching. 

When I arrived in the great state of Texas, I applied to teach part-time at the University of Texas (UT).  However, I soon realized that my credentials were not quite up to UT standards.  Next, I applied at the local community college only to be told that I needed a Master’s degree in a discipline in order to be hired.  My three decades of teaching and my terminal degree in education did not count.  My self-esteem took a hit.

After taking some time to think about my next move, I decided to do some subbing. When I went to the local school district to fill out the necessary paperwork, I was asked if I had attended “SubUniversity.” As I had not, and as it was a requirement,  I attended the next session and, upon graduation, started substituting at the elementary level in the town of Lakeway. I soon realized why elementary teachers were upbeat and happy.  The students were energetic, smiling and thoroughly enjoyed the schooling activities!

At the end of the year, I was ready for a new challenge.  I decided to go back to college.  AustinCommunity College had a unique program in Construction Technology. For the next two years, I became a student again. 

One day, the director of the program asked if I would be interested in a teaching position when I completed the degree requirements.  Before I could think about it, I said yes.  For the past few years, I’ve been teaching Management, Codes and Inspection, Project Scheduling, Blueprint Reading and Construction Business.  My return to the classroom has been a rewarding and an enjoyable experience.

While learning and mastering a new discipline, I enrolled in a Master’s program at Texas A&M. If I pass the comprehensive exam, I will complete the program this spring.

As Thomas Jefferson said, “Education should be a lifelong process.”   Being a sexagenarian, I have started to slow down, but I still have a passion for lifelong learning.

John Lancaster is a former AFT MA member from Billerica who now teaches in Austin, TX.

Among the many things that students need these days are increased arts education and, on occasion, legal advice. Despite the fact that Massachusetts is known internationally as a center for both fields, fewer and fewer students are getting the support they need in either.

Fortunately, there are people like Lance Houston.

A 1992 graduate of the B.M.C.DurfeeHigh School in Fall River, Houston went on to Harvard before earning a degree from SuffolkUniversityLawSchool in 2005.  With his credentials firmly established, Houston took his talents to the realm of human resources in an effort to help others benefit from his efforts.

An expert on human capital management, Houston has helped many schools and other institutions find innovative ways to enhance and support their personnel teams. He has served as Director of Human Resources and Affirmative Action at Roxbury Community College, Assistant Vice-President for Legal Affairs and a Human Resources/EEO officer at Delaware State University and as a compliance officer for the Massachusetts Commission Against Discrimination. In 2007, Houston was selected to the State of Massachusetts Community College Leadership Academy for his work in advancing human resource and affirmative action efforts. He has also earned a certificate  in Advanced Mediation and Negotiations Skills from HarvardLawSchool .

When the noise of the boardroom, the courtroom or the classroom gets to be too much, Houston has a second avocation that also serves him and others quite well. As an internationally-acclaimed flugelhorn player, Houston has been able to calm his own nerves and those of others with his music. As a professional musician, Houston knows full well the benefits that can come of music lessons and arts instruction in general.

“I was not a music student in high school,” Houston admits. “I had a deep interest in music…but I could not afford to rent a musical instrument and I also did not have the training to play.” These early obstacles made Houston sensitive to the challenges that today’s students face as arts programs continue to be cut.  “Think of all the musical talent out there that is not harnessed due to these administrative fees,” he muses.

Despite the financial obstacles, Houston’s love of music “remained intact” and he found the fortitude to teach himself trumpet after graduating from Durfee. His talent proved so profound that Houston was eventually accepted to study at the prestigious Berklee College of Music.

“Music education is important because it teaches so much more than just notes,” Houston suggests. “It teaches perseverance, learning how to keep going if you miss a beat and, most importantly, that your voice is unique but it can only effective when it’s used.”

By speaking out and sounding your own horn, Houston says, students and teachers can get what they want out of both school and life. “Let your voice be heard,” he encourages. “That’s a powerful message whether you are a musician, a citizen, a voter, a volunteer, a teacher, a business professional or in public service.”

Despite the fact that he was unable to study music at Durfee, Houston still thanks his teachers for inspiring him to keep with it. “The lessons I learned from music are with me for a lifetime,” he recalls, “but they are made more powerful by the great teachers in had in high school who inspired me to follow my dreams despite the obstacles in front of me.”

With his music education and his law degree, Houston is a passionate and prepared advocate for arts education. “Whether it’s supporting programs that help to waive instrument rental fees…or volunteering my time to teach jazz at local high schools,” he says, “my passion for the arts is rooted in the desire to help those who believe in the performing arts and want to help promote it.”

Houston recently took an opportunity to show his appreciation and support for those who helped him get started by participating in the Fall River school department’s annual Educator Conference. “Going back to Durfee is my way to give back to the community,” he explains. “I now want to be the spark that inspires a student’s flame!”

In his comments at the Conference, Houston reflected on the work ethic he developed while a student at The Durfee.

 “This is a city where you have to go out and get it,” Houston remarked. “You have to be willing to roll up your sleeves and create opportunities for yourself.”

While much of Houston’s success is due to his work ethic and his devotion to his causes, he also credited his teachers with sparking his intellectual and artistic fires. “They encouraged me to follow my dream,” Houston said, noting how important such a message can be to students who are just starting their own journeys.  He also suggests that more people should volunteer their time and talents to support those who follow them. “Teachers are in a unique position to inspire, volunteer and mentor students,” he says. “With volunteering and mentorship, the sky would be the limit to revealing each student’s potential whether musical, academic, scientific, or anything!”

Massachusetts is fortunate to be the home of many of the world’s foremost minds on education. Even so, it is difficult to go too far down that list without coming to the name Linda Nathan.

Known locally as the founding headmaster of Boston Arts Academy, Boston’s first public high school for the visual and performing arts (one of the district’s most acclaimed and awarded schools, with a 94 percent graduation rate), Dr. Nathan is known and admired internationally for her bold and progressive ideas about and perspectives on education.

In addition to her work as a school administrator, Nathan is also an acclaimed lecturer and author who strongly supports arts education, equity, and teacher support.

Her 2009 book, The Hardest Questions Aren’t on the Test: Lessons from an Innovative Urban School, is still used a guide for many school administrators in urban and suburban schools alike. Nathan is also a lecturer at the Harvard Graduate School of Education, where she teaches a course on building democratic schools.

When asked what inspired her to enter her field and to excel in it, Nathan recalls growing up in Cambridge amidst a family of educators and the impact that had on both her childhood and her entire life.

“My mother was…a reading teacher [who] worked with students with learning disabilities,” Nathan explains. “I thought she was God-like in her ability to teach very troubled young people to decode and read.”
In addition to her family, Nathan was privileged to work closely with many other educational heroes while still in grade school.  “I met Jonathan Kozol at a young age,” Nathan recalls. “I worked in his classroom when I was in fifth or sixth grade and later read his first book, Death at an Early Age. It made a huge impression on me!”

Learning from her mother while teaching her younger brother to read and working with such educational giants as Kozol, Nathan’s passion for learning was evident. “My first grade teacher even said I’d be a teacher,” Nathan recalls.
Even though she admired her mother and her other female teachers, as a young woman growing up in the 1960s, when women’s rights and civil rights were so prevalent and important to her, Nathan came to feel that she had to be “more than a teacher.” Even so, she continued to teach and tutor throughout high school, waiting for her life plan to come into focus.

“It was when I went to college,” the University of California, Berkeley graduate explains, “and got very involved in teaching adult [ESL] that I was truly bitten by the teaching bug!”

When she went on to the University of Wisconsin, Nathan thought she was headed into education policy. She soon realized, however, that her passions remained in the classroom. She left Wisconsin, was certified as a bilingual teacher and worked as a middle school aide.

“My mentor teacher was extraordinary and let me be as inventive as I wanted/needed to be,” Nathan recalls, citing another mentor. “We built an entire medieval village in that classroom and put on a medieval fair!”
This creativity and flair for the dramatic and engaging would serve Nathan well as she continued to develop her own academic visions and plans. “Theatre was part of my teaching from the get go,” she says. Her artistic streak also helped her support her fellow teachers as a union representative in the Boston Public Schools.

“I stayed very involved in the Union throughout my teaching days,” Nathan explains, recalling a trip she helped organize that brought union activists from Central America to visit BPS schools. “BTU helped sponsor that,” she recalls, “as did [AFT].”

As she has taught everywhere from Berkeley to Boston to Puerto Rico, Nathan has met many inspired educators and helped inspire many others as well. “I’ve had so many wonderful teachers/mentors,” she says, singling out such favorites as EdisonSchool colleague Carmen Torres (with whom she later co-headed BAA), Vito Perrone (to whom her book is dedicated and Steve Seidel, who now heads Project Zero at Harvard. “[Vito] taught me to keep asking better and better questions,” Nathan explains.

She also mentions Wisconsin professor Michael Apple. “He helped frame for me that a teacher’s day doesn’t end in the classroom but also involves families and the union,” Nathan explains.

Nathan’s latest venture builds upon the success she and her staff and students have enjoyed at BAA. Known as the Center for Arts in Education, this new institute fosters what Nathan terms “transformative education” by empowering students, schools and communities through artistic and academic innovation. Though it is but a few years old, the Center is already an internationally-recognized provider of professional development and other innovative programs.

“[The] Center is our dissemination and outreach arm,” Nathan explains. “It’s our way of sharing and giving back what we have learned to a broader educational community.”
Another new way Nathan has been reaching out has been through TED talks, the brief but powerful seminars that are available online at www.ted.com. On March 4, Nathan will present a talk called “Why Arts Matter in Schools.” On April 24, she will speak from NortheasternUniversity’s FenwayCenter on arts education and creativity. “My…talk will focus on the importance of creativity and risk taking for urban youth,” she explains. “Testing has become so much the norm now in our society that we have lost sight of the important role that arts play in youth development. We are reverting to didactic teaching and suspensions and resegregation of our schools. The arts show us a way out.”

While many imagine schools where students take time after school to practice musical scales instead of MCAS exams or fill canvasses instead of bubbles, Nathan and her talented team at BAA actually make it happen. And as she continues to take inspiration from others, many now take from her and go out into the world to share knowledge in an artistic way.

“I’m proud to say that I have many alums out there who have benefited from BAA’s education and are now working in their communities in unprecedented ways,” Nathan says. “We need to find ways to engage kids more fully in their lives, in their communities and their schools. The arts can do that and more!”

Once on the path to the clergy, the Boston-born Quigley eventually found his true calling as a teacher and has since gone on to win awards for his talents in the classroom and his abilities to support students outside of it as well.

“At 14, I went to Sacred Heart Juniorate in Ipswich,” recalls Quigley. “I stayed with them through novitiate and two years of college when I left and finished my Bachelor’s degree at Stonehill College in North Easton.”

After garnering a first teaching assignment in New York, Quigley returned to teach in Massachusetts. While at Stoughton High School, Quigley became active in union affairs, eventually becoming president of the Stoughton Teacher Association. “The highlight of that experience was fighting for and finally getting permission to start a sheltered workshop for my special education students as part of their academic school day,” says the champion of students with special needs.

After making his mark in many positive and profound ways in Stoughton, Quigley returned to his native Boston, first as a permanent substitute at Boston Latin School and then as a full-time special education teacher at the James P Timilty middle school.

Taking a break from the east coast, Quigley headed to Los Angeles to serve as a building representative. It was in the cartoon capital of the world that Quigley began to use drawings as a new means of expression and support. “I drew cartoons for the United Teacher,” he recalls, mentioning the West Coast version of the AFT MA’s Advocate. Quigley also designed and drew large-format posters and signs to bring to rallies. “My cartoons were instrumental in convincing the teachers of the need to strike in 1989 and educating the public about the reasons for that strike,” he says proudly, noting that one of his cartoons ended up festooned on city buses as part of a workers’ action. A fan and student of multiple media, Quigley’s self-produced videos resulted in the Los Angeles district establishing an annual Video in the Classroom competition which, he adds, “my students won the first year!”  In addition to helping them learn the lingua franca of Hollywood, the competition also helped Quigley’s students with other important skills. ”They learned to better their reading and writing skills as they came up with the plots and scripts,” he explains, “and also learned to follow directions as production depended on that.”

In addition to supporting SPED students, Quigley was also an ardent champion of gay rights. “I was the chair of the Gay and Lesbian Caucus when it was granted full standing committee status by the union,” he recalls, “and was one of the first group of teachers to walk in the L.A. Gay pride Parade as official representatives of the United Teachers of Los Angeles.”

As he knew how to use a camera, Quigley also quickly came to know others in the area who did as well and used these connections to get his colleagues on local television news programs. Among the many public displays he helped produce was what Quigley calls an “informational picket” intended to spread the word about the alleged poor treatment of a colleague by the administration. “We demanded that the meeting requested…be held at the school, not the central office, as the offense was done on our campus and the faculty should be present,” Quigley explains, noting proudly that, television cameras were present when the assistant superintendent arrived for the meeting. “This whole thing got on local and national news,” he recalls, “and allowed the principal to return to work.”

Having been bi-coastal for some time, Quigley decided to split the difference and went to work in Oklahoma City. There, he again initiated media programs, including the video morning announcements at TaftMiddle School. He was also involved in the local AFT chapter, serving as both a building representative and a board member. In 1997, Quigley was at the forefront of anti-bullying efforts intended to protect all students but especially members of the GLBT community. After leaving the Taft, Quigley went further with his student support efforts, eventually creating a GLBT History Month display in his classroom. “I refused to take it down,” he recalls, “even when the principal passed on a parental objection.”

Such ardent support of undersupported students eventually led to an effort to have Quigley dismissed. And while a district court ruling nullified the attempted dismissal, Quigley himself began to face more and more harassment and discrimination. Still, he fought on, and even today, after returning to Massachusetts for retirement, Quigley remains a champion for SPED and GLBT students.

“I side with the underdog usually,” he admits.

In what may be an example of delayed justice, Quigley was recently awarded the prestigious Angie Debo Award by the Oklahoma American Civil Liberties Union in recognition of his fight to protect the rights of GLBT students in the Oklahoma schools. “When I did what I did,” Quigley explains, “I just did it because it needed to be done. And it finally was. The award made me aware how important it was to other people.”

As for why he supports these “other people,” Quigley says that, “I support these students because I know from experience that life is better if who you are is not something to be ashamed of,” Quigley explains.

As for why he has chosen illustration as his main medium, Quigley suggests that “information should be available” so that people can be informed and “make fewer mistakes.”

“I have no regrets in my life,” he says, “but I know things could have been different if I could have gotten good information early.”