There’s something I need to get off my chest, and that’s what a blog is for, correct?
In recent months, a particular student has been thrust into the spotlight as a passionate advocate for progressive values in education. This young person, who is of high school age, wrote a book about it. Upon completing high school early, this individual is now touring the country, giving speeches, and writing articles on education for mainstream sources.
Being acquainted with this individual via social media, I am updated on his or her progress and ideas. I’ve spoken to this person and will meet them in April. But I’m starting to get a little leery of the newfound fame this person is experiencing as I learn more about what they’re saying and to whom they are saying it.
This young activist’s enthusiasm is palpable and well-deserved. In fact, they likely do a whole lot better than the thousands upon thousands of teachers and education faculty members and graduate students in getting a good and decent progressive message into the mainstream. Sure, this person can lead a horse to water, and I’m sure they’ve lead some pretty big horses so far, but ultimately we can’t be sure they’re drinking. Because, after all, it’s nice that a student is featured on a panel, yet “we” don’t have to really listen to them, right?
In any event, recently, this individual expressed some ideas about teacher preparation and is writing what seems like an extensive new piece on the New American Academy as a new model for teacher education. This is an organization with which I was not previously familiar, so I’m going to have to take a look. Although, I will say that I hardly think of Harvard as a bastion of progressive values, so let’s just admit for now that my enthusiasm is muted.
In support of this Academy, I found this student activist’s comments to be rather, how should I say it, naive and unsophisticated. Look, I’m not trying to sound like a killjoy here. But this person is making broad and ill-conceived pronouncements about teacher preparation and they are being asked to write thousands of words on the topic for a mainstream publication. I’m sorry, but I’m just going to have to pull rank here: I didn’t spend over a decade in this business to sit idly by.
I know what the devil’s advocate positions might be on this. You’re just jealous. Or, who do you think you are, an expert or something? Maybe, this person’s just a kid, leave them be and let them have their progressive dreams. On progressive values in education reform, I’m all for that. But I’m having the same problem here as I do with any faith-based reformer out there. They have not taught and until such time, you’re just going to have to leave commentary on teaching to those who know what they’re talking about, especially teacher preparation.
I’m sorry.
We desperately need in this debate the voice of students. Students need to affirm their rights in this. And they have innumerable ideas on which to comment, like the effects of testing at their level, how it’s affecting their futures, how they feel prepared for life or for higher education? What do they feel are the costs and benefits of a college education? We should even go all the way down to elementary students and ask their feelings. The student perspective is diverse and important.
But I cannot sit here and have that same student telling me how I should do my job, especially when they have absolutely no idea what they’re talking about. I get it. As a student, it is possible that they know a thing or two about good teaching. They can contrast the better teachers they’ve had to the ones that are not as, well, interesting, or something like that. This would then apply to the K-12 level. It is a bridge too far, however, to sit on my hands when they presume to comment on the preparation of teachers.
Teacher education has a long history with, to say the least, complications. Colleges of education need to be understood within the context of the wider university because many land granted, public colleges started out as Normal Schools. They then expanded beyond those original missions of training teachers. It is also an important observation that Ivy League institutions do NOT typically have an undergraduate college of education. This has both to do with their history and also the status of teacher preparation in general. If Ivies like Harvard have ventured into the world of education, they do so mainly from a graduate standpoint. Teacher preparation is not a huge chunk of that mission.
The fault is partly our own, as educators and perhaps faculty members. I’ve said this many times before, we isolate ourselves and only talk to and write for each other. In the meantime, we leave it to authors and journalists to tell our tales only to distort them in the process. We must do better, even if for our own survival.
In our enthusiasm for the student voice, in wanting to give a future leader a leg up, we must not allow the message to be compromised by misconception. This student activist’s enthusiasm and precocity is admirable and inspiring. We could all learn a valuable lesson. But in certain instances, I have to call out BS when I see it and especially when I smell it. In particular, I will not sit idly by while someone who has no idea tells me how I should be doing my job. I can take it from someone who’s in it with me, but not from a person who has never taught.
I won’t stand for it.
As a professor and teacher trainer, I’ll just sum up my feelings with this quote.
“Teachers can not be leaders until they understand that students are no longer obligated to follow them.”
Absolutely. Great quote. I guess the converse is also true. We are also not always obligated to listen to students. We are our own persons with preferences, dreams, hopes, and visions. Not all of our visions are created equal, but teachers are human as well with their own autonomy. They must also be able to express themselves in their own work.
I have to agree with you Tim after having read only excerpts from the book, admittedly. With all due respect to the intelligence and tenacity of youth exhibited by Nikhail, his blanket indictment of public education and teachers expose his naïveté and provides fodder to reformers and their marketing gurus who will take every advantage of Nikhail and his pronouncements. It appears they already have with The New American Academy.
And I suppose when a fourteen-year-old who, over the course of his lifetime, has had numerous visits to the doctor and emergency rooms wants to critique the training that medical professionals receive, you’re going to object to that also. You have no shame, sir. No shame what so ever.
I will certainly object to anyone visiting a hospital having the credibility to critique medical eduction. Yes. Sorry.
Come on now Shaun. This is the most passive agressive blog post I ever read. Anyone with a mind knows who you are talking about, so why not just say it. Even then, your comments are weak because you are talking on the surface level. Why not just take your critique to Nikhil instead of broadcasting it out via your blog. This is immature and disrespectful, those showing your true beliefs of student voice. It also comes off as jealousy. I challenge Nikhil all the time to think more holistically and long term about his work as a change maker. He should not be immune to critique, just because he is young. Yet critique is different than passive aggressive dismissal public ally. Also #stuvoice is not Nikhil, #stuvoice is an ever-growing number of students working to reclaim their voice in education, and I ask you take that hashtag out of your title. It is misleading and again disrespectful.
David Loitz
Stuvoice advocate, teacher, blogger!
No one owns hash tags.
The #stuvoice hashtag was started by the students behind the Student Voice website and movement. Nikhil is just one of those voices. It is disrespectful to all the other voices. You are not talking about all of them you are talking about Nikhil, stop trying to be coy. Again I think if you really wanted a discussion you would of started it with Nikhil and ended it with Nikhil, since you claim to know him and his work well.
I am a teacher and I just went through teacher training, do I get to have a opinion on teacher preparation? Your statements are elitest at best and profoundly tune deaf at worst. Teacher training is outdated and lacks depth and while I disagree with the major narrative of Ed reformers, I think we weaken our cause by not critiquing it ourself. Most needs to change and attacking an article that has not be written is not the way to move the discussion forward.
David Loitz
Teacher and Supporter of Public Education and a new more useful version of Teacher Training.
Didn’t say teacher training was perfect. And I’m not “tune” deaf.
Additionally, I am opening up a conversation in a public forum. Student voices in the debate on education reform are becoming more common and we must therefore engage them. This student activist is making his or her views available to many people, more to come. If this individual, and any of us, wish to remain free from critique, then we should not make our perspectives available for public consumption. That is all. I am refraining from further comment on this matter because I have nothing to defend. As a teacher educator, I am well within my purview to make comments on the matter of teacher education.
Your critique of Nikhil is not for his position as an activist, but as a child.
Not correct in the slightest. You’re trying to make hay of something that doesn’t exist. Life experience, especially teaching experience, grants one significant wisdom. If anything, I would recommend all young education activists to try their hands at teaching to grasp a fuller perspective on the matter. I say the same thing in reference to policy makers. You should not be granted authority to make significant eduction policy recommendations unless you understand the classroom from an educators perspective. I am trying to preserve the teacher voice here and not allow it to diminish relative to the parent or the student.
How are you engaging him. I agree you should engage him, He is on facebook, twitter, and many other interactive social media forums. Engage away, this is not engaging this is attacking.
Use of “attack” is hyperbolic. Just spent some time on Twitter with him. All is right with the universe. But don’t encourage others to go in attack mode or drag people out to defend. Let them do their own advocacy work. I do my own.
And by the way, I’ve spent more time engaging people here and elsewhere than a lot of them deserve. I’ve given much more feedback and conversation than I’ve ever received from the corporate, faith-based reform movement. And despite that, I’ve been “attacked” on a few occasions. But I absolutely expect that, I welcome it, and consider it a normal part of this entire enterprise. Welcome to the new world.
“…we must not allow the message to be compromised by misconception.” I find this an interesting position to take. Is it not correct that you were (maybe still are) a member of an “Opt-out” group on Facebook that basically banned home educators? That told them they have no business home-educating because you need a degree to be able to teach kids?
A misconception, to be sure.
As to the subject of this blog post, I would say that teachers are an integral part of a broken system. To say that they cannot be criticized by anyone but fellow teachers is kind of like saying banks should be their own oversight committee. In the end it won’t work very well.
Students of all skill levels and ‘success’ absolutely should have a voice here (although I am completely opposed to the idea of teachers being judged based on their students standardized test scores). Children and teens, after all, are the people being affected, for good and very often for bad, by classroom procedures and policies. By teachers who enforce those policies. Teachers should not be allowed the permanent “out” of saying that they are simply doing what the administration insists they do, no matter how much they dislike it.
Maybe some of the problems are related to teacher preparation. My opinion is that it goes far beyond that and that compulsory schooling should be done away with altogether. When students are not required to listen to you, you’d better be REALLY innovative and interesting to get them to show up and once they are there, to stay.
Misconceptions about what it “takes” to teach? Before you judge this young man for what you perceive as his, I would respectfully suggest you examine your own – those that may have to do with home education. Some of the best educated kids I know never set foot in school and have an education that is almost entirely self-directed. In their world, teachers are friends, facilitators and helpers. In their world, they seek out teachers when they need them and work on their own when they don’t.
Changing things for the better needs to be a joint collaboration; one with traditionalists, progressives and yes, home educators and advocate teens as well, working side by side to blow up the current model and create a better one that works for all.
I am in agreement on the need for collaboration of all stakeholders. But first let me point out that you have your facts wrong and this is an important distinction. The Group in question did not BAN home educators. After a conversation among the administrators of the group, we decided to exclude certain individuals. And I can count the number of overall exclusions on ONE hand, meaning that this has been done on very few occasions in the last two years. I do not believe that excluding a few individuals means that an entire movement was excluded, unless you believe that those individuals speak for an entire movement. In that case, you might like to rethink your monolithic view of home educators, who are as diverse as any other movement and cannot typically be identified by a few bloggers hither and thither.
Another important distinction I must make here. This blog, and the other group in question, supports the preservation and mission of a free and equitable system of public education. This does not come at the expense of home education, unschooling, or any other alternative methods. It would be hypocritical to advocate for the oppression of one system for another when we feel that our current system is subject to the forces of privatization. I want to be very, very, very clear. We support a system of public education and we believe this system should be preserved, not destroyed. A vibrant system of public education can work alongside other systems, but we support the public system’s resuscitation, not its demise. We DO NOT support home education at the expense of public education. Furthermore, we DO NOT state anywhere here or elsewhere that public schooling is BETTER than home education. I cannot say the same thing for all members, I won’t presume to speak for all. I am confident, however, that the administrators are very careful not to make this contention.
On the other hand, I do see the opposite argument being made in other forums, that home education IS better than public education. And this was the only reason certain individuals were excluded from the conversation. Although their passion is admirable, and they have a right to tell it on the mountain anywhere they choose, it became clear after a very active period of posting that these individuals supported home education as BETTER than public education. They have a right to that opinion, but that was not where we wanted the discussion in our group to go. I also can’t believe that I still have to address this matter from two years ago.
As a matter of fact, home education rarely if ever enters the conversation here because that is not our authors’ expertise, but I cannot speak for them with full confidence on that point. They would have to support me or contradict me on that. But I can assure you that we all have experience within public education, that is our metier, and therefore our focus. We do not presume to judge home education here nor purposely exclude it from the conversation. If it is your believe that home education must replace public education altogether, then I suggest you read elsewhere. But we’ve never suggested here or elsewhere that public schooling must replace home education. We do, however, state very clearly here and elsewhere that a public system of education must not become privatized. If privatization is part of your view, then I also suggest you read elsewhere.
I hope that clarifies. Now, on the issue of the student voice, this individual was not discussing home education. Home education never came up. It was about teacher education, which I have direct and personal knowledge, and therefore am making plain my critique. In fact, I have no idea why home education is even part of the conversation right now.
Ok, let me clarify. Home education was brought up because you said the message must not be allowed to be compromised by misconceptions. My point is that when it comes to education, misconceptions abound in many areas, particularly in that of home education. Telling me that if I believe home education is better than compulsory schooling then I should go elsewhere? That’s part of the problem. Respectful debate and discussion MUST be able to happen between parties with opposing views in order for real change to occur. Otherwise everyone is simply retreating to their corners and ignoring everyone else.
You are close to writing off someone whose voice is getting a lot of airplay simply because he dares to question how teachers prepare (even though the document you are criticizing hasn’t been published yet….). Why not instead engage him in a respectful debate? Why not present your side and see what he says? Simply writing that he can’t possibly have a valid opinion because he himself is not a teacher is the kind of thinking that gets us nowhere.
As a parent of two kids who’ve never been in school, I take a lot of criticism, as you might suspect. People often tell why what I’m doing isn’t correct. And even though it’s uncomfortable, I look at what they say and, unless they are calling me names, I weigh it against my own opinions and experience. Sadly, when I attempt to engage them in reverse, questioning their methods or viewpoints, I am often written off and told to “go elsewhere”.
I urge you not to do that. Don’t disconnect from anyone who is not an educator; who might not think what you are doing or how you are doing it is the best. Rather, listen, engage and be open. From there, change might happen.
It is no simple coincidence then that you are seeing this discussion through a home education lens because you are a staunch advocate. But again, that has little to do with this conversation, so I will not bring it up again. I’ve made my views clear.
Disagreement is not immediately disrespectful. I was at no time disrespectful. Nevertheless, I am consistent with my view that teachers should be at the head of the line when it comes to commentary on their craft. I make the same distinction when were talking about students and Bill Gates. Unless you have experienced that side of the desk, then I take your comments with a grain of salt.
You don’t actually mention what he said that you are marking as BS. You just make a blanket statement that he isn’t to presume to tell you how to do your job. How is one to argue, or even agree, when there is no content?
Given that there is nothing substantive given, I have to conclude that all those of you who are in support of this blog post are doing so out of a free-floating outrage, a “be seen and not heard” attitude toward student opinion — worse, a sense that you will listen and learn only when the student’s opinion doesn’t infringe upon your territory.
But it IS their territory.
I wanted to be deliberately vague, that was intentional. I am waiting until the piece on teacher preparation is written by this individual so I can more thoroughly comment. Nevertheless, in the comment strand on teacher preparation, I saw this individual refer to a report that has been roundly criticized. I saw assertions that simply visiting a school, as an invited guest mind you, confers some kind of expertise on the matter. As Barbara points out below, the mainstream media plucks their messengers to ensure they fit a broader narrative. I won’t go so far to say that this person’s attentions are undeserved. But I can say that there is a consistent pattern with those who are chosen to speak about education: those that have not taught. That is an essential perspective in the discussion that is often left out. Student or parent, we cannot allow our enthusiasm for fresh voices to blind us to the simple fact that those with classroom experience are often shut out of the conversation. That is what we are doing here. I’ve taught. I’ve been a teacher educator. Therefore, I should have a voice. Done.
Couldn’t agree more. Which is why programs such as Teach for America or the one I did, Americans Teaching, are so important. In just 5 short-weeks, anyone can say they have “classroom experience.” These types of programs have been invaluable to those of us seeking to reform education as they lend credibility to our agendas.
Sounds convenient for any policy maker then, might fit right into their schedule.
There are some nonprogressive teacher education programs out there, I totally get that. You pointed to Harvard, and I can list a few more. Many teachers will actually project the opposite, as I’m sure you know. Professors who want to help teachers learn to teach know what’s ahead and warn their students every day. I’ve heard countless teachers tell me that their professors told them to be aware of the corporate agenda, standards, testing, and other politics that will blindside them as soon as they step into their classrooms.
I don’t think our shortcomings are teacher-education related. I think the real damage happens when the governments and corporations pulling the strings force teachers to disregard their formal and university training at the expense of the reform agendas that seem to change every other year. If you sit through a professional development session today, you can almost hear the powers that be squeezing the professional training and personal innovation out of teachers. And when teachers resist–and attempt to hold on to their proven best practices–they risk burnout as they fight against a rigid and narrow system, or getting fired for not teaching to the test.
And, higher education is certainly not silent on these issues. Look at the reports and protests coming out of education researchers and professors. Unfortunately, they are muted in the press and overrun by touchy-feely soundbytes and false promises from the “reformers.”
I’d love to hear from these professors. All I am willing to say is that I have experience with non-progressive institutions. And I am also aware of institutions that go on witch hunts against faculty members that do decide to speak out. There is a pall over all critique of faith-based reforms. Overall, though, if you consider all of the faculty members out there, we are in the very small minority. Look at the largest organization, AERA. It’s clearly within the neoliberal camp. So many members, so little activism.
I see this young man as an example of two connected issues. One is that the mainstream media picks up their darlings, selects those who will be allowed to have access. This means that certain voices can come to dominate as representing our struggle. It also means that those individuals need to be very cognizant of the seduction of being a spokesperson. The other is that we participate in this when we bring celebrity culture to the struggle. That is what is beautiful about Occupy the DOE: we all speak and listen.
In the ideal, I want to hear from students, parents and teachers about teacher education. But that is in the context of real community, of shared knowledge and respect, of true dialogue.
Someone had to say it. You are in the center of the cyclone of college teacher education, while I have retired to the fringes still working with teachers after a long career as a teacher, as you, both in the primary and secondary levels. Also, like you, I have been involved in higher education as a researcher and in the practice of teacher preparation.
This very subject of which you bring to light so well has been sitting in my craw for some time. While I encourage our young students’ voices (and, believe me, I have met many who possess much more talent and ability than do I), there remain those unskilled, inexperienced who purport to some mastery and readiness to impose upon the design, complexity, and learned interrelation of a highly cumulate and experiential reality of how learning and conveyance of connection and perception conjoin.
That there is occurrence of what is presumed to be some percipience of thought and mind, the essential piece to understanding and moving forward, articulating that which one considers as empirically well founded, perceptive, and innovative is to know the song well before you start speaking it.
Thank you for pegging this one like a perfect meeting of hammer and nail.
Thank you for speaking on this. I stand with you on every word, 100%. I have dropped this person off my list of those I follow (although I probably shouldn’t just ignore it) because I was frustrated by what I interpreted as their turn towards a form of attack mode. I look forward to seeing a future perspective on what you find on New American Academy and will put it on my list to check out as well. Keep up the good work, you are appreciated!