October 17, 2008
Teachers to Candidates: Educational Equity Most Important

RESTON, VA -- What would America’s K-12 teachers tell Barack Obama and John McCain about how to improve American education?

Perhaps surprisingly, for one sizable group their number-one wish isn’t higher salaries, it’s equity: ensuring that all schools have equal access to adequate facilities, equipment, and materials.

Second choice is developing meaningful alternatives to standardized testing, and third is encouraging parents to work with schools so their children will succeed.

These are among the results of a survey conducted by TeachersFirst (www.teachersfirst.com), a nonprofit service offering an extensive collection of online resources. TeachersFirst asked its thousands of members, representing all 50 states, what they would tell the presidential candidates if they could. Hundreds of teachers responded—almost half of them with 20 or more years of experience.

The survey asked the teachers to choose their top three priorities from a list of twelve. 57% selected equity as one of their top three; 55% chose alternatives to standardized testing; and 44% picked encouraging greater parent involvement. Other alternatives presented were: strengthening teacher preparation (30%); improving physical safety (29%); emphasizing math, science, and information literacy (29%); strengthening early learning and pre-K programs (26%); improving access to technology (25%); finding ways to reward good teaching (15%); funding universal after-school programs (13%); involving the business community (10%); and extending the school day and year (9%). The full results of the survey are available at http://www.teachersfirst.com/SpecialQofWk-results.cfm.

In addition to the choices provided, the teachers were given an opportunity to make comments and to suggest other priorities the candidates should know about. Many responded with thoughtful—often impassioned—suggestions. A few highlights:

“We need to put the magic back in education and give our young people a reason to be in school. By magic, I mean the arts: visual art, music, drama, dance, etc.”

 “Support the best students more by acceleration and enrichment so their time in classes is not wasted waiting for those who are not yet ready to advance.”

“SMALLER CLASSES!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!”

“Students need to be held accountable for their actions. We build up their self-esteem by giving them false praise and requiring the schools to bend over backwards to make sure they are successful no matter what.  What ever happened to EARNING praise and rewards?  Students know false praise when they hear it.”  

“We need to provide ways to support parents and early learning for all of our students. A child cannot come to school ready to learn if home and lifestyle issues are a primary concern.”

“Materials: Schools should not be penalized financially when they are having a difficult time achieving high test scores. These schools need even more financial support because they are usually from poverty-stricken areas. The current system is totally unfair. I have to buy about $1000 worth of art supplies yearly.”

“There has become too much emphasis put on how fast and how much information can be 'crammed' into the children, and not enough time spent on making sure the children can actually learn and comprehend the material. The children are stressed out, cannot function appropriately and are not actually learning true concepts that are needed in society.”

And one comment that may be especially compelling in a election year: “I am really tired of politicians telling educators how to do their job when they can't do their own.”

Candace Hackett Shively is Director of K-12 Initiatives for Source for Learning, Inc., the parent company of TeachersFirst. She said, “It’s not surprising to see so many thoughtful responses—and so many fervent comments. Most teachers are committed to their profession and passionate about doing a good job. They’re in the trenches, and we hope the next president and his administration will listen to their advice.”

The Source for Learning (www.sourceforlearning.org) is a not-for-profit corporation providing enhanced learning through technology. In addition to TeachersFirst, Source For Learning is the creator of PreschoolFirst.com and TeachersAndFamilies.com.