Teachers, like almost all human beings,
are driven not only by egoistic impulses, but also by genuinely
altruistic motives. Indeed, most teachers are highly caring individuals,
as one would expect from people in their profession. Nonetheless, one
should never underestimate the power of self-interest as a determinant
of behavior. Many specific examples of
recent school reform efforts can be cited which support the prediction,
derived from rational choice theory, that "continuous
improvement" in K-12 education will serve primarily the interests
of teachers and administrators, or at least must be compatible with the
latter interests in order to gain acceptance by the K-12 establishment:
Constructivism is a popular
educational theory, now being implemented nationwide, that devalues
instruction and puts the onus on students, even toddlers, to take
far more responsibility for their own education, either through
independent or cooperative, peer learning. It is patently
self-serving for teachers to want to be paid more for teaching less,
for "getting out of the way,' as educators now put it. Although
students certainly should be encouraged to take initiatives and
engage in "discovery," critics rightly have called
constructivism the equivalent of "the Socratic method minus
Socrates" and have questioned how realistic it is to expect
children to teach themselves.
Related to constructivism, many school
districts have adopted "block scheduling," which is
premised on teachers doing less lecturing and instead, engaging
students in discussion, role-playing, and active learning pursuits,
but which in practice, often amounts to teachers taking time off
while their charges use the school day to do homework, watch films,
or surf the Internet. Most teachers, after initial resistance, have
come to love this innovation, since there is less class preparation
time needed.
Progressive educators say they want to
individualize instruction. The only way this stands any chance of
working is if the teacher has very few students, which might then
enable one-on-one "facilitating." Hence, the latest magic
bullet solution for what ails education - smaller class size. Never
mind that Korean classrooms, which employ traditional pedagogy,
average 30-40 students and outperform ours. Never mind, also that
smaller class size just happens to exacerbate teacher shortages and
puts upward pressure on teacher wages
and other educational costs borne by taxpayers.
There has been a movement to adopt
gradeless report cards and do away with ability grouping, thereby
relieving teachers of one of their most onerous, agonizing duties -
making evaluative judgments of which students are achieving
academically and which are not. In the name of egalitarianism,
schools conveniently can now avoid the
tough job of "sorting"
students. In effect, all pupils are now A students, and their
parents the proud progenitors of honors kids. Indeed, with
"multiple intelligences" theory now dominating the
classroom, every child is a genius. No more children with damaged
self-esteem or angry moms and dads storming the building, or so the
K-12 leadership hopes.
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