The NY Times Asked 30 Researchers (Two-Thirds Who Had Never Taught In A K-12 Classroom) How To Improve Schools. Here Are My 12 Different Low-Cost Suggestions
I’ve got nothing against most university professors, and count several as friends. I have learned much from some of them, and continue to do so.
However, my mind was a big boggled when I read yesterday’s New York Times article, 30 Ideas for Fixing U.S. Schools, Ranked by Experts.
Not one – not a single one – of these experts were practicing K-12 teachers. When I asked ChatGPT to examine the biographies of the many professors consulted for the article, it found that less than a third had ever taught in a K-12 classroom.
Again, that does not mean that many of them cannot offer important insights.
But, clearly, The New York Times reporters do not understand the concept of subsidiarity, which suggests that the people closest to problems – most affected by them – often have excellent ideas on how to solve them.
I do know that at least one of the professors contacted for the article did bring this up to them. I’ve got to wonder if anyone else did.
The article is worth reading. However, as a recently retired high school teacher, here are my relatively low-cost (and evidence-based) ideas on how to improve schools (it’s important to note that there is not ONE WAY to fix schools – it requires lots of little ones):
* Dramatically expand the use of peer tutors. I’ve been on this soapbox for years, but the idea of hiring boatloads of adult tutors is just not a realistic strategy (see The “High-Dosage Tutoring” Bubble Appears To Be Popping, & That’s Why I’ve Been Pushing “Peer Tutoring” For Years, Instead).
* Create ninth-grade support classes for students that provide them with the prior knowledge they need to be successful in their content classes. I’ve written about how we did this at our school at This Is the Most Effective Teaching Strategy I’ve Seen in 23 Years.
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If the Top Four Experts (NY Times article) Ran the Rankings: How to Fix U.S. Schools, Reordered
