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Dayton Daily News education reporter Scott Elliott writes about schools, kids, teaching and learning.
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Wednesday, April 12, 2006
Oprah’s ideas for better schools
Part two of Oprah Winfrey’s expose of the crisis of American schools was supposed to be the one that gave some ideas for what we can be done to solve the problem.
But it was near the end of the program when former NBA star Kevin Johnson summed up both the show and the difficult scope of the problem: “Not everybody can be educated the same.”
Our national education problems are big and extremely complex. There are no simple answers. And that’s why today’s Oprah show felt a little unsatisfying. Here’s a recap:
We start with Johnson, who according to Oprah somehow took over six schools in his old Sacramento neighborhood and is making great strides (I thought Johnson ran charter schools?). There was frustratingly little detail of how Johnson’s schools are affecting change. He touted parental involvement as the key element and the need for high expectations for kids. He said he counsels parents to look elsewhere if they don’t want their kids to go to college. In an interview with Oprah, both seem to be touting individual volunteerism as the key to improving schools.
Next, we get to visit with two of the rockstars of school reform — Michael Feinberg and David Levin, the founders of the Knowledge is Power Program. KIPP started in Houston and now has 46 schools nationwide. The schools have long school days plus mandatory school on Saturdays and in the summer. There is not doubt KIPP’s approach works for many kids, especially those who are motivated to succeed and go to college. But it’s not for every child or family, which is why this approach by itself is not a feasible large-scale reform.
In a weird segment, Oprah sends a reporter to a high school housed within a San Francisco jail. I’m not sure how this segment was supposed to help us solve our national education problems, however useful and successful the program may be for inmates. It was followed by another out-of-place segment in which we saw how terribly overcrowded one Los Angeles high school is.
As the program’s end approached, we return to Bill and Melinda Gates and their favorite reform — small schools. They argue that relationships between students and teachers is the key to student achievement, along with high expectations and curriculum that is relevant to kids’ lives. Small schools, they say, will keep kids from getting lost. OK. This is a big debate. Small schools have many advantages, for sure. But imagine if we were to mandate a 500 student limit for U. S. high schools. Where would we get the money for all the new schools we’d need? Plus, more small schools limit the ability to take advantage of economies of scale. Most small schools, for instance, have far fewer advanced courses.
Finally, Oprah takes us to an experimental high school in San Diego that makes use of lots of technology and hands on projects in place of books, lectures and traditional activities, like band and sports. Again, experimental programs are exciting and many good ones may incubate useful ideas for teaching and learning. Dayton even has an interesting example in the Dayton Early College Academy. As with KIPP, this is an example of an interesting idea that may not be for everyone.
Overall, Oprah seemed to be making a case for more options, so kids who might want an intensive program like KiPP or the technology high school can find better fits with their interests. And she argued for raised expectations, community and parental involvement and small schools. But she was a little light on policy ideas — wide-reaching initiatives that can bring better educational opportunities for kids.
What do you think of Oprah’s reform ideas?
NOTE: Here and here are my prior posts on Oprah’s two-day education special. Also, check out Patti Ghezzi’s education blog at the Atlanta Journal Constitution, where a more detailed summary of Oprah’s program appeared yesterday.
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Awaiting Oprah’s solutions
Some more impressions after viewing yesterday’s Oprah show on education for a second time on TiVo last night:
- I’m glad Oprah is using her her bully pulpit to highlight the problems of education. This nation needs to have a real serious conversation about how kids are taught.
- Are we at the beginning of a trend toward more urgency about education? First there was John Stossel’s Stupid in America report sounding alarms in January. Now Oprah. Is education about to return to top billing in the national conversation? You might remember education was a top issue in many states through the late 1990s and a big campaign issues in the 2000 presidential race. Then came Sept. 11, 2001. One of the things I remember thinking that day was, “how long before education can get back on the front page again?” It’s been a long four years.
- Tuesday’s show pointed out some serious problems that need attention, but did not offer solutions. I’m expecting the solutions will come today and I am interested to see what Oprah thinks will work. I fear she will just highlight a few successful programs and proclaim generically that “it can be done!” I also believe the kids can do it and that the nation can do a better job teaching them. But widespread fixes that make a difference for everyone are hard to come by. We’re in the middle of one idea for improving schools called No Child Left Behind. Is it working? Is it the best way to make things better? Does it focus on the right things? These are tough questions and there is no consensus on the answers.
Oprah’s second education show is today at 4 p.m. on WDTN in Dayton. I’ll post some more thoughts after the show.
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