Cracks in the Ceiling, Cracks in the System

Fixing the Foundation of K-12 Education

The ceilings in our house keep cracking.

We patch and paint, but within a few years, the cracks inevitably appear again. Everyone in our household knows the cracks in the ceiling aren’t the problem. We might not say it out loud because we all know they are just the manifestation of a larger issue none of us wants to confront—it’s the foundation that needs fixing.

A foundation is harder to repair, takes longer, and costs more money to make it right. But it’s what needs to happen to truly fix the problem. As Michael Caine’s character, Robert Spritzel, observes in the much-underappreciated film The Weather Man, “Do you know that the harder thing to do and the right thing to do are usually the same thing?”

There are now so many cracks in K-12 education that it is a waste of time to repair them as if they are minor cracks.

Moreover, these cracks are quickly becoming fissures, canyons even, separating the schools we should have from the schools we do have. What am I talking about? Out-of-control student behavior, increased teacher burnout, and declining academic achievement, are simply manifestations of more significant foundational issues.

Fixing the foundation–the philosophy, teacher preparation, and curriculum–will be more difficult, take longer, and possibly cost more money. But it’s what needs to happen to truly fix the system.

The Philosophy Must Change

The modern education philosophy of “student-centered learning” dates back to the early 20th century and John Dewey. Its popularity and prevalence have accelerated rapidly in the past few decades as our society has shifted from adult-centered to child-centered. Adults, both inside and outside education, go to great lengths to affirm and appease children's nature and desires rather than teaching them to conquer their nature and carefully curate their desires.

This philosophy takes the focus away from the content students should be learning, depriving them of the knowledge they’ll need later. Students most negatively impacted by this philosophy are those who arrive at school with a knowledge deficit compared to their peers. This issue became apparent in the latest math and science scores released by Trends in Mathematics and Science Study (TIMSS) and the 2019 National Assessment of Educational Progress (NAEP) scores, which showed a widening achievement gap between the lowest and highest percentiles.

The student-centered philosophy also removes teachers as authority figures in the classroom and reduces their ability to impose consequences with fidelity, leading to increased behavior problems. Education is the formation of a whole person. Part of that formation is ensuring they gain the knowledge to understand and connect with the world around them. The other part is teaching them to be virtuous, self-governing adults through consistent discipline and correction.

Public school employees are government agents hired to perform a particular task. Imagine if firefighters adopted the personal philosophy of letting a fire burn for a while before attempting to extinguish it. Or if police officers adopted the philosophy that they were merely “guides on the side” of the law rather than direct enforcers of the law. There is a time and place for lofty philosophical theories and ideas, but not when lives are on the line, as in firefighting, law enforcement, and even teaching.

Restoring the underlying philosophy is necessary to fix the “cracks” in our education system.

Teachers Should Know the Subject They Teach

The foundation's other flaw is how teachers are trained and certified. Aspiring teachers spend most of their time focused on child psychology and classroom management strategies influenced by the progressive education model. Many find they lack the content knowledge they need to be confident in their classrooms, and they quickly discover that those lofty-sounding classroom management strategies are ineffective in reality. Teachers can’t teach what they don’t know and can’t teach what they do know without practical classroom management strategies they’ve seen and practiced in an actual classroom setting. There is a solution for both of these problems.

States should stop paying college professors who haven’t been in the classroom for years six-figure salaries to float lofty ideas of utopian classrooms to bright-eyed students. Instead, they should abolish the requirement that prospective teachers get state certification through ineffective colleges of education and promote teacher apprenticeships. This policy would enable aspiring teachers to earn degrees in content areas they are passionate about, gaining confidence that will carry over into the classroom and fortify education just a bit more.

The C Word No One is Talking About

Schools must be selective about their curriculum if they genuinely want to firm up the foundation and fix the system's cracks. Robert Pondiscio has written extensively about the need for curriculum reform to improve the quality of education in America. He argues that schools must adopt high-quality instructional materials and ensure teachers are well-trained initially and supported over time. Then, school leaders should expect teachers to use those materials with fidelity.

Creativity should be encouraged and celebrated in teaching, but not necessarily through curriculum development. Teachers are busy and have limited time. Their students will benefit from their teachers spending that time reviewing assignments and providing helpful feedback rather than from creating unique and “engaging” lessons designed by them or found on the Internet.

Even a house constructed on the most solid foundation will continuously need updates and minor repairs to maintain its integrity and serve its purpose. America's K-12 public education system will need adjustments to continue fulfilling its role. However, those adjustments will be in vain until the structure's weak foundation is repaired, strengthened, and fortified.