David CookTuesday, I published a first-person account of what it's like inside one local teacher's public school classroom. In short: profoundly difficult.
"This hits home," one teacher emailed.
"Exactly, exactly right," said another.
The author of that first-person account? He's an award-winning educator who's no milquetoast: a college ballplayer, he left one career years ago to become a teacher.
Today, here are his solutions, culled from his 3,000-word emails to me.
' Smaller class sizes. No more than 20 students in a class.
"Thirty students is ridiculously large for regular education classes in a high school setting," he said.
' More single-sex academies and schools.
' Instead of suspensions, students would be sent to alternative schools.
"These students sometimes act up because they are dying for more structure in their lives," the teacher said. "Some of these students are not there for education. They are there only for social purposes or recruiting drug customers or gang members. These types of students put all of the other students trying to do it the right way on edge."
' More investment in alternative schools, vocational training and technical high schools.
"Today's education system tries to fit square pegs into round holes. Why does every student have to learn the same things all the way through school?" the teacher said. "Bored students cause too many problems. Challenged students love pursuing what matters to them. Too many kids flunk out of school because they are terrible in book-learning before they realize that many great careers are out there - carpentry, automotive, HVAC, plumbing, welding - that can make good money and make them productive citizens."
' Allow parents the freedom to sit in on classes. For students that act up, require that one of their parents sit next to them in class.
' Reward students by incentivizing good grades and behavior.
"Adults today have incentives attached to their jobs. It is called a paycheck. The better we do, the better opportunities we have to get compensated. "Why not with students?" the teacher said.
' Hire full-time mentors and behavioral interventionists in every school.
"These kids need mentors that are like them, people who share the same backgrounds and stories," the teacher said. "Many kids don't have an adult in their life that actually cares. Behavioral interventionists can have the sole responsibility of reaching out to, confronting and holding accountable at-risk kids while working with parents on a plan for behavior, choices and academic success."
' Hire assistant teachers for every classroom with more than 20 students.
"In many schools, the students outnumber the adults 20-to-1," he said.
' Stop over-emphasizing math skills.
"The education system today overvalues mastering math and science and devalues other disciplines," he said.
' Praise and support good parenting as a key factor in good education.
"The most important key, by far, to a students' academic success, in my opinion, is the parents," he said.
' Everything rises and falls on school leadership.
"There should be extremely stringent guidelines for anyone who wants to become a school administrator," he said. "Not everyone is cut out to be a leader. The administrator sets the tone for the individual school. A great administrator needs to be someone you would follow into a fire."
' Change the teacher evaluation system. Put an end to random pop-in evaluations that weigh too much in year-end evaluations.
"For instance, I have had an administrator come in numerous times when we are giving a quick 10- to 20-question homework quiz and that is all they saw. Those quick quizzes are not the focal point of my curriculum," he said. "However, I have never had an administrator come in during my problem-based learning project I have designed or any of my higher order thinking-related projects."
' Gloriously fund and value a wide variety of after-school sports and activities.
"Participating on a team or being part of a group is sometimes the only thing that keeps certain kids in school. It also teaches teamwork, a work ethic, develops friendships, a sense of belonging, a higher purpose. It also can be a motivating factor in behavior and grades. It only takes, for some kids, one thing, like a team or group, to make them want to finish instead of quitting and slipping through the cracks," he said.
Amen.
This is a brilliant, holistic list. How much would it cost?
I don't know.
The better question: How much will it cost if we don't act?
Next week, the county mayor presents a business-as-usual school budget to the commission for its approval.
Few, if any, of the ideas listed above are a part of it.
Contact David Cook at dcook@timesfreepress.com or 423-757-6329. Follow him on Facebook at DavidCookTFP.