RECENT COMMENTS
on the Mayor’s 7th District Roundtable Meeting
The first of the Mayor’s 7th District Roundtable Meetings after the summer break attracted a light turn-out for an interesting conversation on perceptions and problems of the Richmond City Public Schools, featuring 7th District Schoolboard Representative Keith West and former representative Reggie Malone.
The meeting informally began early; I walked in to a free-form discussion on bus issues, hours of attendance for high school students, and a general criticism of the schoolboard & administration.
West got the discussion focussed with a critique of the schoolboard, saying that the “schoolboard needs to be fixed before you can fix the administration”. He went on to say that “the board has failed by not giving direction” to the system as whole. He pointed out that there are successes among individual schools, but that there is no over-all guiding structure in the system. Speaking of progress made on SOLs results and school accreditation, West declared that “we have made some great progress in the past 4 or 5 years”. He went on to say that “the board is coming together” (at least partially in response to the recent outside pressures), and that he is “more hopeful than anytime in years”.
Keith West then put forth a call for a schoolboard that provides direction for the system, stating that the board needs to say “here is what we’re going to build and this is what it will look like”. He proposed ideas based on the classical notion of education that experiences at school can offer guidance for the students ethically, mentally, and physically. He spoke on offering school choice, some type of personal education plan for every student, and utilizing the central position of the schools to build community connections and offer services.
West then asked “what are the issues that face the system?”, and pointed out that as a system 70% of the students receive free or reduced lunch (an indicator of poverty). An older black woman responded that poverty is not the issue, that “you need to deal with the parents”. A discussion ensued on what parental involvement means and looks like in the East End. One man responded that no school system “can deal with everyones’ social ills”.
The same woman proposed that we need technical training for students whose strength is not book learning. There were complaints on the rigidity of the curriculum. One attendee spoke about her experiences with students and parents being stereotyped because of their address and name. Some folks felt that the schools and students need more structure, going so far as to propose specific rules of engagement between students and teachers. At one point a scathing critique erupted of the inefficiency and poor service of the administration downtown, some of the school board, and the superintendent.
“There were complaints on the rigidity of the curriculum.”
Absofrickinglutely. When the RPS Pacing Chart for Civics forces you to cover elections in March, rather than Sept/Oct/Nov, when you can include real-time, real-world examples, you have to wonder WTF they were thinking.
To BGW, or the former correspondant/writer:
I agree whole heartedly with your comments. Still, I think anger shouldn’t be a component when discussing schools. The kids already express themselves without objectivity, which is important.
Why don’t we help students get attention with better English (or whatever other languages are being taught in Richmond schools) to speak appropriately? Or, am I too redundant for today’s standards?
Is it possible correct English has gone out of style?
Lu Motley
And, is it asking too much to recognize the schools for the progress and success they have had?
Lu,
It’s not anger, but frustration. So much of the curriculum fails to recognize that an Special Ed student doesn’t work at nearly the same pace as an Academic Core student. Yet a teacher is supposed to cover the same amount of material in the same time period for all class levels, because there’s an end-of-marking-period test that’s standardized across the city. From where I sit, that seems absolutely ridiculous.
The schools and teachers that have made progress have done so despite, not because of, the central administration and its curriculum choices.
It makes me think of a sign I used to have on my cube wall that said “The beatings will continue until morale improves.”
The schools have become the whipping boy of all that is “bad” in the city. And this designation is not deserved.
To BGW:
You are absolutely right in your analysis about the School administration and their choices. Sadly it is the students who pay the price and act it out.
Do you have a plan about how to overcome the waste of resources which continues each year?
Lu Motley
I do have to say the rigidity of the curriculum is ridiculous as it caters to the tests given at the end of the year and nothing else. There isn’t room for kids to actually learn something instead of simply regurgitating what they are supposed to in order to pass the test. Every year they learn about Christopher Columbus and the same Presidents and not enough attention is paid to English, grammar or writing (which is appalling as this only hinders their ability to do well later in life) and of course basic math. When kids can get to high school without knowing how to add, subtract, multiply and divide, it’s a shame and negative reflection on the local school board/administration.
As a parent who is highly involved in her son’s education and school life, I wish many more were, too. But a school board can’t make parents get more involved so that is something they can’t properly address.
Learning how to write in cursive is a 3rd grade English SOL that isn’t tested, which leads to it being de-emphasized in may cases in classrooms with struggling students as teachers focus on the objectives that will be tested that year. The students then go the next grade and the next grade and the next grade not knowing how to write in cursive, and with those teachers having their grade’s objectives to teach. This is the SOL & No Child Left Behind Environment, not something specific to city schools.
I am sorry about your experience, mom. Where do you kids go to school? I have not had that experience. I LOVE the SOLs because they give me a way to measure progress.
My kids have gone through school here, with my oldest entering middle school. I feel your comments represent fears; our kids do know math and english. Maybe there is a problem with your children’s teacher.
BTW We attend Bellevue, where do your children go?
My son goes to John B. Cary and thus far even Chimborazo has been rote learning all the way. Teaches have to get the kids to pass the SOL’s so the schools can get money thanks to the current regulations set forth by the No Child Left Behind Act.
I’m not saying my son and his classmates in general aren’t learning anything, I’m saying rote learning isn’t the way they should be taught. Just being able to repeat something for the sake of a test doesn’t necessarily mean it stays in a kid’s brain and on to the next grade level. In many cases the kids learn what they need to and move on, learning the new stuff to pass the new test.
Is this more clear? My best classes when I was going through school were those I not only took an interest in, but ones where the teachers had a little more freedom to be creative. I don’t think they have that sort of freedom now because teachers have to get the kids to have to pass the SOL’s (intense pressure is on teachers/admin staff to get them that far, too) and the No Child Left Behind Act says unless they do they don’t get funds (which is another issue I’m not happy with).
I guess this comes from the fact that my son tends to be on the very smart side of things so he often gets left behind quite a lot as the teachers have to spend more time helping the kids who need it most (which is understandable, don’t get me wrong), yet the smart kids are getting left behind in public schools because they aren’t being challenged enough.
Going into 3rd grade my son already knows how to do basic multiplication tables, some division and definitely knows how to write individual letters in cursive since he showed interest in learning mid-way last year so I taught him.
Anyway, back to my original thought: rote learning doesn’t prove anything other than a kid’s ability to regurgitate; it doesn’t prove a kid is actually learning/retaining anything for long term usage. (And for heaven’s sake, President’s Day isn’t for the same 4 Presidents and Christopher Columbus did not discover America yet the kids continuously get tested on those same subjects.)
It’s frustrating because SOL’s do not instill a love of learning in children in my opinion. And the School Board/Administration is getting blamed for something they have orders to follow regardless or they risk losing their federal funding.
the sol’s are a minimum base line of skills/knowledge necessary for learning. based on rps performance in the past getting to 70% success rate in the sol’s is a tremendous task. passing the sol’s does not guarantee learning only that you have got some tools in the tool box.
if you have a gifted student, be happy. dont whine when the teachers spend their time on the weakest links in the classrooms. just be happy that there is a small amount of effort with the weakest links.
there is a myth about federal money for nclb. most of the federal money goes for silk stockings in central administration. it might be reasonable to not take the fed money. lunch prices and head start have nothing to do with the sols.
For Bill – you might want to explain some of that for those who are not familiar with your shorthand. I understand that nclb means No Child Left Behind – but, if I didn’t know what you were talking about, I might wonder what you meant by ‘silk stockings in central administration.’ Just a suggestion, but I think some people who read/post here don’t understand the five floors taken up at city hall by the school administration….
For others – I’ve stayed out of the discussion about schools because I don’t have any kids in school. I do happen to know Bill, and know that he has had kids in the city schools, as well as other experiences with the school board.
I just opened my Richmond Times-DIspatch to read “Chaos erupts at City Hall!”How will this play out? Why and how will the students and teachers be impacted? Basically, what the “H” is going on down there???
Why does this have to happen in Richmond?
Lu Motley