The Politics of School Reform

Governor Terry Branstad and his Education director, Jason Glass, deserve credit for initiating a statewide discussion about education.  Although they illustrated there are no quick fixes for Iowa’s schools, some good will come of these sessions.  Most every idea discussed carries a heavy price tag at a time when the state has precious few dollars to spare.

Iowa is better off than many states, but it continues to walk a thin line.  Many Iowa students are achieving, but far too many are not.  Gathering people around the table to discuss our problems is a good start.  Solving them will require an overhaul of public education the likes of which Iowa has never before contemplated.

The Branstad proposals released in October mainly focus on student testing, teaching quality and things like the length of the school day.  The answer does not lie in more testing or simply adding class time.  We have to rethink how and what is taught.  And, dare I say it; we need to give educators a larger role in determining policy.

The Testing Myth
It is important to test students, but the questionable Bush Leave no Child Behind policies, the Obama Race to the Top competition, or Branstad’s recent proposals all offer testing as some mysterious panacea for American schools.  Testing doesn’t improve learning, just as monitoring your blood pressure won’t improve your health.

A high blood pressure reading helps pinpoint a problem.  Improving your health will take effort and that starts by changing diet and increasing exercise.  Testing in the classroom is the same.  Testing provides an indicator of how students are performing.  Improving learning starts by changing how and what subjects are taught, and increasing rigor in the classroom.  Your blood pressure won’t go down faster if you monitor it more often, and kids won’t learn better if we test them more.

In 2011, testing has become so important in the classroom it overshadows the most important aspect of learning.  Teaching students to think and apply subject matter often takes a backseat to helping students successfully parrot information by filling in bubbles on a standardized test.

The School Calendar is a Small Part of the Problem
Just as Iowans can count on a congressional election every couple of years and one for president and governor every four, they can count on at least one candidate talking about our antiquated school calendar during every campaign.  Every election cycle we hear about how the school year is based on an outmoded agrarian calendar.  We are reminded kids are not needed in farm fields anymore and how we lag behind other countries in the amount of time students spend in the classroom.  But, the passion for doing anything about this dwindles as the election fades in the rearview mirror.

Oddly, the amount of instructional time has decreased recently.  If one adds up the minutes lost to school days shortened to balance tight budgets, being released early every Wednesday so teachers can plan, the switch to block scheduling in high school (block schedules gives more minutes per period, but fewer total minutes per subject) and the amount of additional time designated for taking standardized tests; my kids have lost weeks of instructional time compared to their counterparts a few years ago.

It is one thing to talk about keeping school open longer during an information session with constituents, doing something about it takes political capital few elected officials have and tax resources few are willing to commit.

Thomas
The sad truth is adding time in the classroom and developing the perfect evaluation tools would have minimal impact.  What and how we are teaching needs to change even more than time spent doing so and how students’ knowledge is tested.

Visit my daughter’s middle school and you will understand the depth of the problem.  Wander the halls long enough and you will encounter one child who embodies the issue.  I’ll call him Thomas.  He is a hulking man-child large enough to play linebacker for the Bears.  He is generally kind, always talkative and a handful for any teacher tasked with trying to reach a class full of adolescent hormone-pumping near-teens.  Thomas has difficulty sitting still, will never go to college and is unlikely to develop the tools he needs to make it through the most basic classes required to graduate from high school.  Most class periods, Thomas’ teachers give in to his restlessness and allow him to “go to the bathroom.”  Thomas routinely roams the halls unquestioned for countless minutes every day.  While he is out there, his teachers have the ability to better focus on teaching the rest of his class.

Thomas is sacrificed, so others can learn.

Middle school is the dirty underbelly of our school systems.  Even though the problem began long before many students reached the middle years, it is there students like Thomas begin to be squeezed from the system.  In a perfect world, there would be a learning environment better suited for students like Thomas.  While it is an oversimplification to say we operate a one-size-fits-all public school system, even the greatest defender of our current schools will admit we do not have the alternatives required to help every child reach his potential.

Political Will
As does Governor Branstad, the Des Moines Register deserves some credit for adding to the conversation by publishing an ongoing series about education reform.  It is important for students, parents, teachers, political leaders, business people and the public to have honest discussions about fixing our schools.  Far too many children are failing to learn in Iowa schools and we need to put our heads together to find the solutions and, most important, build consensus for funding a fundamental change in public education.  The payback will be worth it, but the cost to do this correctly will be immense.

Until we commit dollars and political capital in equal measures to creating alternative learning environments aimed at reaching students at every part of the learning spectrum; we will continue to see schools fall short of what we expect from them.  If the school calendar is considered antiquated, the curriculum model we continue to follow for our schools must be called ancient.

Students like Thomas, students headed to college and students destined to become skilled laborers require different things from school.  It won’t matter how many minutes or days are added to the school calendar, or how many tests we administer; as long as we allow students like Thomas to fall through the cracks and do not provide teachers the resources they need to reach every student, we will never have a school system capable of performing as it should.

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Graham Gillette can be reached at grahamgillette@gmail.com

This entry was first published as a Des Moines Register blog entry.

Gov. Branstad’s Blankey Isn’t Big Enough for All of Us

As a student of and participant in politics and government I have learned many things.  For instance, some in elected office allow power to imitate the cozy confidence that can only be born from preparation.  Reading Dar Danielson’s Radio Iowa blog, I sensed Governor Terry Branstad and his staff might have snuggled up to this false comfort.

The Governor’s comments earlier this week bother me.  He started with, “What people need to know is, this governor has dealt with a lot of emergencies and I don’t like to deal with emergencies, but if you have one, I’ve never been afraid to act and do what’s necessary to protect the safety and the well being of the citizens of this state.”

I harbor a pet peeve about people referring to themselves in the third person, but that is not what bugs me the most here.  Yes, Governor Branstad served sixteen years as governor in a previous stint and he is no stranger to crises and difficult issues.  However, his record as a survivor and even a leader does not mean Iowans should sleep easily simply because he tells us he is in charge.  Branstad needs to do the job and, as important, he needs to communicate with the people of Iowa about what he is doing to prepare our state for the challenges yet to come.

I am happy to hear the Governor is convinced “there’s not gonna be a shut down” of Iowa government should the Legislature fail to pass a budget by July 1.  But, I am fairly certain Iowans did not elect Terry Branstad because of his ability to predict the future.  They elected him because they believed he would place a steadier and more reasoned hand on the tiller of government than did the previous occupant of the office.  In a democracy it takes more than gut instinct to be a leader – one must build consensus and that takes communication.

Many have been harping on the Governor to release his written plan for how his administration would continue operating government if the Legislature fails to enact a budget.  Come to find out, Branstad hasn’t prepared one.  He dismissed criticism about this with, “There is no written plan.  I do in my own mind understand that in times of emergency the governor can and will act, and I always have, and I will if that happens, and you’ll see that on the 30th.”

Besides trusting his clairvoyance, Branstad wants Iowans to blindly accept his mental power as plan enough.  I think Branstad is a smart guy, but we should not be willing to cuddle up to that comfy blanket of his no matter how soft he tells us it is.

It is good politics for an elected official to communicate with the people he serves.  Doing so creates a bond and a confidence among voters that the official is in touch and prepared to handle the job.  More important, people deserve to know about an elected official’s plans.  While they cannot be intimately involved with the making of every decision, they should be informed of the process.

If the people take the word of a leader and trust without question, they shirk their responsibility as participants in a democratic society and will be left to criticize only themselves if and when those they elect make bad decisions.  Over the years Governor Branstad has waxed on repeatedly about Iowans’ unique capacity to band together to make a difference, yet on the eve of a potential crisis he is telling us he alone will take care of us.  With seven days left to pass a budget, I am not sure we should accept his optimism about the capabilities of the Legislature or his assertions about what he has in mind without verification and examination.  I doubt that blankey of his will be big enough for all of us if he is mistaken.

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(A Personal Note: I have sat on this piece for two days, unwilling to press the submit button.  I think this is due to the fact I genuinely respect Governor Branstad.  He is honest, passionate about public service and committed to doing what he believes is right.  By posting this piece, some will say I think otherwise.  While I do not, I am baffled by his approach to this situation.  It seems counter to the guy I know and to the guy who ran for office touting a belief in open government.  Perhaps, I don’t see the whole picture here, but something doesn’t seem right here.  My apologies if I am proven to be yet another blogger who spouted off without all of the facts.  I just called this one as I saw it.)

Graham Gillette can be reached at grahamgillette@gmail.com

This entry was first published as a Des Moines Register blog entry.

A Prayer for Teachers

In light of the debate raging in Wisconsin and across the nation about collective bargaining and the pay and benefits of public workers, I took a moment today to remember one group of workers for whom I feel pretty strongly.  After some consideration I have decided to post here the personal piece I drafted for my Rotary Club – not to inflame the debate, but to reflect about the people who serve.

Once in a while the Rotary Club of Des Moines takes a questionable risk and asks me to give the invocation before our meeting.  Our speaker today was Sarah Brown Wessling, the 2010 National Teacher of the Year winner.  My prayer for teachers follows:

Today, let us pray for a group of people who make a difference every day, teachers.

As a teacher stands in the quiet hall unlocking her classroom door, may she find reassurance that her efforts this day will make a difference.  As she turns on the lights and straightens the desks, may she find the strength needed to face the exuberant and willful young people who look to her for guidance.

As their school buildings come to life with the rambunctious grace of children, may teachers find the courage needed to continue the daily struggle of unlocking the minds of those who are our greatest hope.

When a teacher stands feeling lost and alone in his overcrowded classroom, may he be reminded that learning brings people together and he has a talent, the noble gift to teach.  As a teacher does one of what seem to be a thousand tasks outside of his duties as an educator – nurturing, feeding, social work – may he know he is capable, trusted and vital.

After the teachers have left the schoolhouses, graded papers, planned the next day’s lessons and rested before they repeat all of these activities tomorrow, may we remember to pause and give thanks for the teachers.  Without them, the door to the future can never be unlocked.

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Graham Gillette can be reached at grahamgillette@gmail.com

This entry was first published as a Des Moines Register blog entry.

Navigating the Political Minefield Using a Holy Compass

(WRITING A POLITICAL BLOG FOR THE DES MOINES REGISTER IS ENJOYABLE, BUT NOW AND AGAIN I COME UP BLANK IN THE TOPIC DEPARTMENT.  LAST WEEK I TURNED TO MY FACEBOOK FRIENDS AND ASKED FOR THEIR ADVICE.  I PROMISED THOSE WHO CAME UP WITH CHALLENGING IDEAS YET TO BE REHASHED IN CYBERLAND TOO MUCH A POCKET COPY OF THE DECLARATION OF INDEPENDENCE AND U.S. CONSTITUTION AS A THANK YOU GIFT.  MY FRIENDS DID NOT DISAPPOINT.  I AM STARTING WITH ONE THAT IS A TAD SELF-ABSORBED, BUT I AM TOLD BLOGS ARE NOTHING IF NOT VEHICLES FOR THE EGOTIST.)

An old high school friend asked me a series of religious questions that were hardly new.  Religion’s role in government has been debated since the founding of our nation.  But, as many Iowans debate same sex marriage from a religious viewpoint and many in the Republican Party link religious values with fiscal conservatism, the topic seemed relevant.

His questions:  Is it acceptable for government to sanction that which the Bible says is wrong?  As a nation under God, do we place ourselves under His authority or is He simply in the sky above us?  If we choose to sanction that which He specifically condemns, then just who is the final authority?

Benjamin Franklin

I may be unqualified to answer these questions and it might be best to leave them to somebody “above my pay grade.”  However, avoiding the subject entirely is kind of a cop out.  The Bible speaks to my friend. Like some Iowa legislators, he appears confident about what is right and what is wrong.  I have never been so sure I could rely on my own reading of that holy text.  So, I thought I would pose these questions to someone who is spending a lifetime in such work.

I called Matt Mardis-LeCroy, Minister for Spiritual Growth at Plymouth Church in Des Moines.  He is articulate and well-learned in the field of Christianity having attended Messiah College, Chicago Theological Seminary and Princeton Theological Seminary.  On hearing the questions, he warned me against selective literalism.  I chuckled.  The term reminded me of my grandfather.  In later years, Grandpa adopted what the rest of us defined as selective hearing.  He would choose what he heard by removing his hearing aid when topics became troublesome.  Reverend Mardis-LeCroy said some do the same with the Bible and that one has to consider the entire message, not a few chosen verses.

OK, I see that, but it makes me again feel ill-equipped to ponder my friend’s questions.  I imagine few amongst us are experts on God’s word, but I know for sure I am not.  In talking about marriage, Reverend Mardis-LeCroy himself has said that “religious people in Iowa are not of one mind on the subject of marriage.”  Great, men and women who spend all of their time spreading the word of God cannot agree.  I was back to square one – faith is a guide, but where do the answers lie?

I picked up that pocket Constitution sitting on my desk and thumbed through it to distract myself for a minute.  My Facebook friend had agreed the Founders dictated a separation of Church and State, but he was asking about that which guides us, me in particular.  This made me think of my friend Amir Busnov.

Amir grew up Muslim in communist Yugoslavia.  While President Josip Broz Tito ruled, Amir played with Christians as a child and was baffled as a teenager when family members disapproved of a Christian girlfriend.  Years later, Amir watched neighbor turn against neighbor – Christian against Muslim – in the bloodbath of war.  Yet, Amir speaks self-assuredly about his religion and how it guides him as an American.  His conviction is as unwavering as my high school friend’s or those who attended the Family Leader event yesterday with former Minnesota Governor Tim Pawlenty.  Except, there is a difference in Amir’s approach and I think it comes from what he witnessed in Bosnia before he and his family fled, when he returned to Bosnia with the U.S. Army in the years that followed and in his service to the U.S. government in Iraq today.  Amir tells me Islam provides him a moral path.  Goodness lies in how we treat our fellow man, not in how we judge them based on our interpretation of religion.

Amir makes me think of Benjamin Franklin who signed those documents in my pocket guide.  I do a quick Google search and find what Franklin wrote to his father in 1738, “I think vital religion has always suffered when orthodoxy is more regarded than virtue. The scriptures assure me that at the last day we shall not be examined on what we thought but what we did.”  That makes sense to me and leads me to this:

The Bible tells us divorce is wrong, but Americans crafted laws to allow people to make their own choice there, because we respect liberty.  In a fair society, if marriage is to be a legal partnership between two adults, it has to be allowed between any two adults without bias, religious or other.  However, in a just society, if one’s actions harm another or infringe on another’s rights, we must not let those actions stand.  A religious conviction may guide us, but we cannot let one’s selective literalism trump another’s.  We must seek a kind of legal compromise as mortals.

I will answer my friend’s questions this way.  The strength of our country lies in the American accord.  While faith is an individual journey, we share a commitment to fairness and equality.  My faith guides and comforts me as Amir’s faith does for him and my high school friend’s faith does for him.  But, as a nation established and inhabited by people who recognize religious freedom, we leave it to each to seek that final authority.  As an American, I accept my neighbor as my equal.  My moral compass is set by my faith and I acknowledge that faith likely determines my neighbor’s “true North” as well.  Our faiths may lead us to different conclusions from time to time, so we must rely on the most American of principles, to treat all people with equality, kindness and respect.

Faith sets our compass, but that does not mean we should insist all Americans must follow our spiritual path.  Our country is based on fairness, liberty and freedom.  No person or group gets to select what part of a holy text is more important than the next.  Let’s leave that to the “final authority.”

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Graham Gillette can be reached at grahamgillette@gmail.com

This entry was first published as a Des Moines Register blog entry.

Changing the Rules of the Lobbying Game

Decrying the power lobbyists wield here and in Washington has become a national pastime for the political elite and occasional voter both.  When not playing golf, dining or hobnobbing at high-dollar fundraisers with lobbyists, many a powerful Republican and Democrat lawmaker have been known to give lofty speeches about limiting the lobbyist.

Financial disclosure laws, restrictions on gifts and many other acts have been passed to convince the public the lobbyist/policymaker relationship is being kept on the up and up.  However, if one has an important item pending before a lawmaking body, a good lobbyist remains essential.  Tongue in cheek, more than a few have suggested what the American public needs is our own lobbyist. They may be on to something.

Even though he is a lobbyist, I have always liked Marty Ryan.  When we have lunch, he generally eats dessert first because he feels the best part of the meal shouldn’t be ruined by the main course.  While he is a lobbyist and his eating habits are unconventional, don’t assume he is the self-indulgent, head-in-the clouds type.  Marty may be the only lobbyist in Des Moines who has longer-than-shoulder length grey hair and his interest appears to have little to do with accumulating power.  More important, he is doing something interesting .

Marty used to lobby for the Iowa wing of the American Civil Liberties Union.  He is passionate about civil liberties, protecting individual privacy, keeping the doors and records of government open, and a myriad of other issues.  After many years, he left the structure of the ACLU and started hunting a new way to make a difference.  This year he is going to be back at the Capitol, but his client list is going to be a bit different than most who prowl those halls.  Marty has launched an experiment which he hopes will allow him to lobby directly for people.  He will not work for an organization, a front-group for corporate interests or a coalition of entities.  For a modest fee, a few dollars actually, Marty tells me he will represent individuals by keeping them informed of activities on the Hill and giving them a voice during the Legislative Session.

I have no idea how this experiment will turn out and I am undecided whether I will be one of his subscribers, but I have to hand to him.  It took a guy who turns the table on lunch, to think of way to turn the table on the lobbying game.

The voters just suffered through a rough and tumble election season and most of us would like nothing better than to take a break from politics.  However, in just a few weeks, Congress and the General Assembly will be back at it again.  The difference is the real work begins now.  Voters decide who gets to sit in the seats of power, but the people need to make sure their voices are heard long after the voting booths are packed away.  It is nice to think that individuals could go about their busy lives knowing somebody was paying attention to the details without the wasted expense and meddling influence of a huge bureaucracy.  You may not support Marty’s issues and I am not trying to convince you to do so.  I just can’t help hoping his experiment is a success.  It is time somebody changed lobbying for the better.

Tonight, I am having dessert first.

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(Graham Gillette can be reached at grahamgillette@gmail.com)

This entry was first published as a Des Moines Register blog entry.