Rural Issues speaker decries 'culture of failure'
Volume 12, Issue 7 - April 2008
By Sherry Posnick-Goodwin
 |
| Guest speaker Alan J. Daly answers the question of Sharon Barrett, a member of the Red Bluff Elementary Educators Association. |
Teachers have been told for so long that they and public schools are failing that a “culture of failure” has been created. This perception has often caused teachers and school employees to become demoralized and dejected.
“As long as people keep focusing on what’s not working, more things won’t be working,” keynote speaker Alan J. Daly of UC San Diego told attendees at CTA’s Rural Issues Conference held in Las Vegas in January.
To illustrate the point, Daly handed out copies of a study, “The Essentials of Appreciative Inquiry: A Roadmap for Creating Positive Futures,” by Bernard J. Mohr and Jane Magruder Watkins.
The study describes a 1982 experiment at the University of Wisconsin where researchers videotaped two bowling teams during several games. Afterward, one team watched a video showing only when team members made mistakes; another watched a video that showed only participants performing well. Both teams improved their games after watching the video. But the team that studied its successes improved its score twice as much as the one that studied its mistakes. The conclusion that can be drawn, said Daly, is that when people study problems and conflicts, the number and severity of the problems they identify actually increase.
Daly believes that the same occurs when it comes to public education. Schools that are declared “failures” because No Child Left Behind (NCLB) sets them up for failure become forced into Program Improvement. When so-called experts are brought in to study the school, they look for problems and soon find a laundry list of what’s wrong with instruction or curriculum.
“They see where kids are ‘failing’ and they develop an action plan to address failure,” said Daly. “But why don’t they focus on what schools are doing well?”
Daly noted that when schools are told they are “failures,” the perception becomes magnified in the media. It may not matter that the children being tested don’t speak English or have learning disabilities; just one failing subgroup can result in schoolwide failure.
 |
| Theresa Lizarde and Maryann Vasquez of the Brawley Elementary Teachers Association. |
Failure then becomes a “growth industry,” said Daly, spawning books on the subject such as Angry Parents, Failing Schools, as well as so-called experts and consultants, scripted teacher-proof curriculum, and tests to prepare children for taking more tests. Most of those individuals profiting from the culture of failure are unneeded, said Daly. “The expertise is already in the room — with you teachers.”
Schools declared “failing” face harsh sanctions under NCLB and are threatened with closure, state takeover, takeover by private companies or charter conversion.
Daly described one district where the superintendent was concerned about teachers suffering from stress and decided to bring in a health care worker to take their blood pressure each month. “That’s well-intentioned, but it isn’t the same thing as supporting people,” he said. “NCLB, accountability demands, prescriptive curriculums, increasing state mandates, and a seemingly endless negative barrage of media coverage take their toll on dedicated educators. The constant refrain that public education has ‘failed’ contributes to lowered morale, increased turnover, a decrease in professional efficacy and limited innovation.” If people are told over and over again that they are failures, they will eventually start to believe it, said Daly. “And who will ultimately pay the price?” he asked the crowd. “The answer is the kids.”
Instead of perpetuating the “culture of failure,” it’s time for a new approach, Daly told the applauding crowd. It’s time, he said, to focus on the positive things happening in public schools.
“As we move forward, let’s bring the best of who we are as educators into the future.
“It’s time we start working from our strengths, because when you start working from there, it turns out to be powerful stuff. It’s definitely time for legislators to stop telling us how to do our jobs and instead remind us of our talents and skills — so that we can reach and teach children during these difficult times.”
