Tom Duggan Once again real life clashes with the myths of public education "standards." We have all bought into the myth that spending more money on education produces a better-educated student. Yet, Lawrence has become the living, breathing example of how flawed that sacred ideal is. They receive more money than any other school system in the state and yet consistently have the lowest test scores and highest drop out rates. Now another valley school is debunking an education myth; that of minimum classroom hours affecting the quality of education a student receives. The Massachusetts Department of Education requires every community to provide 900 hours per year of instructional time for students in lower grades, 990 hours of instructional time to those in high school. But, the Town of Andover has not met that requirement and officials from the State Department of Education have ordered the town to bring the system into compliance. The question not being asked here is, why? The Town of Andover should be seen as a model school system throughout the state. Compared with two thirds of Massachusetts public schools, Andover test scores are higher, drop out rates are lower, teen pregnancy rates are lower and more students graduating from Andover are attending college. Given those facts, common sense would dictate that the state requirement is the problem not the Andover Public Schools. How is it that reasonably intelligent people can buy into such urban myths about education and despite what they see happening in real life, continue to treat these ideals as gospel? The most glaring reason is the power of teacher unions which benefit from the myth that "smaller class sizes result in increased educational opportunity." You see, smaller class sizes mean hiring more teachers. When a school system increases the number of teachers on the payroll, the unions increase their membership and political clout. The idea of minimum instructional time works the same way. If a school has to provide a minimum number of classroom hours, teachers need to be hired to cover those classrooms. Again, unions benefit financially (through mandatory dues) as well as politically. Those who truly care about the quality of education our children receive must speak out and shine a bright light on these glaring examples of politically motivated education myths. True educators who care about children must reconsider the way education is measured and concentrate on standards that truly show results. They must also be strong and bold enough to stand up to teacher unions and show the public how real life has debunked their self serving ideals. Instead of bowing to the Department of Education, (and therefor the unions) Andover officials should be holding a press conference on the steps of Andover High School. The Andover School Committe should be calling for an end of pandering to teacher unions and the irrelevant laws they purchase at The State House with our tax dollars. Superintendent Bach should open the press conference by reading the many success stories of Andover students, starting with high test scores and the number of students going to prestigious universities after graduation. She should then follow up with the hours of classroom instruction these students received. If students in Andover can receive such a great education without the minimum required classroom instruction, (and with less money than Lawrence, which cannot match Andover in any catagorty) it is the requirement that should come into compliance with the reality of Andover's success, not the other way around. If Andover officials are not willing to
fight for what they know works best for their kids, well,
maybe they shouldn't be Andover officials much longer. BACK |