Inching Toward Equity
by Forum Convener Gloria Ladson-Billings
A few years ago, I was asked to be a plenary speaker at a conference of legal and educational scholars. In my typical fashion, I decided to give a speech that was designed to provoke. I had heard enough discussions about the differences in life chances between White and Black children, and between White children and the ever more visible Latina/o youth. I was especially tired of the “achievement gap” talk that far too often resulted in conversations about more tests, more short cuts to teacher preparation, and more charter schools (often via private corporation takeovers). I needed an audience that would get mad enough to look at the ugly reality of what is happening to too many children in this country.
I approached the podium and calmly announced the title of my address: “Can We at Least Have Plessy? The Struggle for Quality Education.” There were audible gasps when I announced that title and that is exactly where I wanted to begin with that audience.
One can imagine some of the substance of that speech, but it’s important to reiterate some keys points as we move into a new era of governing and new (and often frightening) economic challenges. In its 1896 decision, Plessy v Ferguson, the United States Supreme Court said that as long as Blacks had access to equal public facilities, there was no need for them to have access to the same facilities that Whites did. This remained the law of the land until 1954, when the Court reversed itself in the landmark unanimous decision, Brown v Board of Education of Topeka. "In the field of public education,” the Court wrote, “the doctrine of 'separate but equal' has no place."
However, the real life, on-the-ground enactment of desegregated, equal access to public education remains more of a promise than a reality. My thesis was that it would be better to have a “real Plessy” than to continue with a “fake Brown.” Now, to be sure, no one is suggesting that Brown was not a significant step forward in race relations in the country. My point is merely that Brown, left unimplemented, does not move us anywhere near the equitable education we need and claim to endorse.
A real Plessy would mean that across this country, Black, Latina/o, American Indian, poor and immigrant students would have the same facilities as their White, middle-income peers. They would have a profession of teachers with the wisdom, qualifications and skills needed to provide high-quality instruction – not a “force” of novice teachers who, although eager, are unprepared and under-prepared to teach. They would have access to the same curricula and courses. They would have the same educational materials—textbooks, technology, science laboratory supplies, and fine arts supplies. And they would have the same funding to provide for their schooling.
Brown was a great moral victory. We needed it to remind us of who we strive to be as a democratic nation. Until we fulfill its promise, however, the Brown decision is nothing more than a symbol—a testament to missed opportunities and broken promises. Similarly, the recent election of President Barack Obama represents a powerful symbol of hope and possibility in our nation. But the reality of difficult problems means we cannot afford the luxury of a symbolic presidency. We need this moment of hope to mean something to the educational futures of millions of students throughout the nation.
The combination of an iconic Supreme Court ruling like Brown and a forward-looking President like Barack Obama should mean that our children are no longer captive to provincial thinking that renders them merely residents of a particular community, rather than citizens of a great nation. That great nation has certain obligations to every citizen and in the realm of education this means we must ensure equitable funding, we must provide an equal opportunity to learn, and we must adopt a fairer two-way system of accountability.
Attorney Michael Rebell’s testimony before the Senate Committee on Health, Education, Labor, and Pensions in May 2002 still rings true. “Through inequitable and inadequate funding,” he said, “our states and the federal government have, for decades, consistently left behind millions of low-income, rural and urban schoolchildren as their wealthier peers take full advantage of the educational resources and opportunities that are made available only to them.” We must find ways to create more equitable school funding.
In their recent report, Lost Opportunity: A 50 State Report on the Opportunity to Learn in America, the Schott Foundation outlines four core elements that must be in place for all children to have an equal opportunity to learn:
1. A high-quality early childhood education;
2. highly qualified K-12 teachers;
3. a college preparatory curricula; and
4. equitable instructional resources.
Based on this formula, Schott reports, students from historically disadvantaged groups have just a 51% opportunity to learn when compared to White, non-Latino students. 42% of Black students are attending poorly resourced, low-performing schools while only 15% of White students are attending such schools.
We must guarantee all students and their families an equal opportunity to learn.
Rethinking Pre-K and Kindergarten Education, May 28, 2009
On Thursday, May 28, The Forum partnered with the Alliance for Childhood to convene a panel of experts defining developmentally appropriate early learning. Forum Convener Deborah Meier facilitated the discussion with Joan Almon of the Alliance.
Panelists used the Alliance’s recent report, Crisis in the Kindergarten, as a springboard for the discussion. One of the most striking findings was that kindergartners in the study spent between four and seven times the minutes in direct math and literacy instruction daily than in play time.
Based on the study of kindergartens in two cities and responses from teachers around the country, Almon said, “We know that this is the new pattern: That play and playful learning have been more or less pushed out the window and long hours of direct instruction, including scripted teaching, have come in the place of that.”
Roberta Michnick Golinkoff of the University of Delaware said her research showed playful learning fostered the skills children need to succeed in the rapidly changing world of school, work and globalization. “Playful learning fosters collaboration, communication content mastery, critical thinking and creative innovation,” she said. “And the skills learned from play correlate better than IQ to later learning.”
Noting that one in four Los Angeles teachers reported no time for play, Ed Miller of the Alliance said that many teachers misunderstood the link between play and learning. He added that standards for early education tended to be very academically oriented and failed to mention play, and that more research and teacher training were needed to begin changing attitudes.
Miller also highlighted the emphasis on standardized testing and test prep for young children that was filtering into preschools from the early grades and kindergartens.
So when Deborah Meier turned to thoughts on federal policy, eliminating standardized tests from early childhood education was first on her list of recommendations.
“There’s this false idea that it isn’t rigorous if there’s no testing,” she said. “But those tests really are not valid for very young children.”
Meier also stressed the need for research that looks at learning outcomes beyond third grade and the importance of building parental involvement into schools.
To illustrate the benefits of playful learning and how it plays out in classrooms, Yvonne Smith of Central Park East elementary described a classroom where she built her teaching on the students’ interests and taught them how to discover answers for themselves.
The basis of working with young children and all people is an absolute trust and respect for their ability as thinkers and learners, and in their ability to make knowledge through their own activity,” Smith said. “And much of that activity is in their play.”
Since the Obama administration and Congress have placed a high priority on improving access and quality in early learning, it’s important that we replicate the right things” said Forum Policy and Outreach Director Beth Glenn. “A focus on supporting inquiry-based learning that is developmentally appropriate – which for young children means play – can improve learning in early childhood as well as in the elementary grades.”
The briefing was part of a series of discussions the Forum sponsors throughout the year on strengthening teaching and learning.
To see a Windows Media video of this event, click here. For MP3, click here.
The Forum is Hiring!
The school year may be ending, but the Forum is just getting started in its efforts to help guarantee a high quality public education for all children.
Currently, the Forum is seeking an Advocacy Director to help design and implement a comprehensive advocacy & outreach strategy that ensures we do three things well in the coming months and years:
Advise thought leaders and policy makers about what characterizes engaging, equitable, and high-functioning schools.
Advocate for school practices and organizational structures that help schools refocus on the whole child, prepare young people for democratic citizenship, and restore a balanced approach to whole-school assessment and accountability.
Amplify the voices of The Forum's conveners - and of K-12 educators and young people - so the stories of principals, teachers and students become the central data points that shape how policies are made, and clarify what purpose they should serve.