Photo by Jonathan
Barkey
At
Teachers College: President Arthur Levine, Eva Moskowitz &
Ted Sizer Discuss Education at the Crossroads
By
Sybil Maimin
A
recent Columbia University Teachers College alumni reunion talk
on “Education at the Crossroads” elicited some very telling comments
from panelists. Eva Moskowitz, chair of the New York City Council’s
education committee, noted that resolution of the current debate
about school governance and mayoral control “will not necessarily
be related to education.” Theodore R. Sizer, founder of the Coalition
of Essential Schools, an influential national network devoted
to redesigning schools to promote improved learning, lamented
that the rerun every decade of the same problems—under-funding,
racial and economic segregation, and popular distress with the
public school system,—demonstrates that the political sector is
afraid of bold moves. Arthur Levine, president of Teachers College,
speaking about enormous changes in this country, said the school
system was created for a different economy and time.
All spoke of the need for dramatic transformations, coupled with
lack of will. Councilwoman Moskowitz explained that her elected
colleagues in government do support education but need an active
citizenry, which insists on follow-through. “It is a two-way street,”
she said. She cited as an example the lukewarm reaction to the
proposal for a modest tax increase to help education, saying,
“Citizens must communicate their support at budget time.” Sizer
opined, “The silence of the folk is the problem.” Critical of
a population that “doesn’t vote and doesn’t act,” Levine questioned
how to “get action when there isn’t a constituency for action.”
The dramatic changes expected by President Levine in the next
decade, especially in higher education, are fueled by demographics
and economics. The traditional college student—ages 18 to 22,
graduating in four years, and living on campus—now comprises only
16 percent of the total and is shrinking. More students are older,
working, women, and from groups that formerly eschewed formal
learning. They want courses available 24 hours a day, at home,
and in the office. They value low cost and do not want to pay
for services not used. Because better jobs require more training,
colleges must reinvent themselves to provide continuous support
and “just in time education.” Privatization, a “growth industry,”
is another important change. Publishers and TV stations want a
piece of the action and companies vie to put their brand name
on teachers and educational tools. The public and private sectors
compete for the same professionals and students. More providers
mean more types of education. We are headed for “lots of brick
and click” learning in the coming new world, said Levine.
Dr. Sizer echoed concern over “paralysis” and “lack of political
courage which sees everything as the same as before.” His Coalition
for Essential Schools (emphasis on “essential”) tries to determine
what is most important in education (the basics). It is easier
to start a new school than restructure an old one. Better education
comes with smaller schools where every child is known and is judged
by performance and examples of work (the portfolio model) and
where money follows the child, erasing today’s profound economic
segregation. He advocates school choice and praises as successes
the almost 200 small schools that New York City has established.
With much to think about, the alums relaxed at a reception featuring
lively Latin jazz played by a band from The Heritage School, a
small public high school devoted to the arts that demonstrates
some of the criteria espoused by Dr. Sizer. #
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