The Silicon Valley in the article refers to an educational
program called Summit Learning, now used in some 380 schools nationwide. Summit
is funded by Facebook’s billionaire founder Mark Zuckerberg and his wife
Priscilla Chan through their philanthropic organization the Zuckerberg Chan
Initiative, which has committed $99.1 million to Summit since 2016.
School districts in the mostly rural areas outside Wichita,
where schools are primarily small and underserved, adopted the free Summit system
in 2018 in an effort to boost student performance. Using laptops, students individually
access lesson plans and tests online, completing them at their own pace. Teacher roles in the Summit system are to supervise
and guide special projects.
But there are drawbacks to replacing the human touch of
teachers with the flat screens of technology, as the Times reporter discovered.
Within a few months of the program launch, a rebellion grew
among some user students and parents. The community concerns regarding Summit
centered on the reduction of personal interactions in the classrooms: teachers
with students and students with students. There were also complaints from
students of headaches, hand cramps and increased anxiety from immersive use of
the computers. There were some classroom walkouts, parents pulling children out
of schools, and protests at school board meetings. Home-made yard signs popped up such as “Don’t
Plummet with Summit.”
This is not the first time the generous Mark Zuckerberg has funded
attempts to improve the public education system. In 2010, Zuckerberg announced with
great fanfare on national TV, along with then Newark New Jersey Mayor Cory
Booker and New Jersey Governor Chris Christie, a $100 million gift to create The
Foundation for Newark’s Future to repair the Newark public school system, so broken
it had been taken over by the state in 1995.The gift was subsequently matched
by another $100 million from various philanthropies.
After five years, as planned, the foundation closed down. Analyses
of the completed project by various studies concluded the results of the
massive investments were minimal. The 2015 book The Prize by Dale Russakoff, explores the project in depth. She writes
that what was left behind afterwards was “as much rancor as reform.” In 2018, Newark Mayor Ras Baraka analyzed the
experience: “You just can’t cobble up a bunch of money and drop it in the middle
of the street and say “this is going to fix everything.” You have to engage
with communities that already exist – to parachute folks in, it becomes
problematic.”
It would seem the adoption of the Summit program in Kansas
is an example of “parachuting in.” And the
subsequent reaction shows that engaging “existing communities” such as teachers
and parents apparently was not a priority for the planners. The human factor is
critical to successful children’s education and where that is diminished or
even replaced by screens and technology it should not come as a surprise when
there is some resistance from students, teachers and parents.
Most people would
name a teacher or two when asked who was important to their development into
adulthood. I certainly would. A teacher who recognizes some spark in you, who
can help unlock a hitherto hidden storeroom of interest and curiosity, can
makes a huge difference.
But the “top down” approach, such as seen in Newark and
Kansas, to remedying the public education system, especially in underserved
schools, has its drawbacks. Compare that
to a “bottom up” approach such as the “School Turnaround” program that supports
and mentors the principals and teachers who are on the front line.
I know that difference as I serve on the board of a nonprofit
The Rensselaerville Institute, or TRI , whose School Turnaround program helps
schools improve performance from the “bottom up.”
Under contract with school districts, TRI specialists - all are former teachers and/or principals- work
closely with principals and teachers in low income population elementary schools to finds ways to improve performance mainly in math and reading. Concurrently
with, and in support of, School Turnaround, an auxiliary TRI activity called Community
Sparkplugs encourages and funds adults near the schools to develop programs to
engage students in nonacademic enterprises.
TRI is result-oriented and is judged accordingly by the
contracting school districts. The ultimate beneficiary of TRI’s work with the
teachers and principals is the child.
The TRI school and community engagements are focused and intense,
and not easily replicated wholesale. But
the concept of helping public education succeed
by first supporting the teacher should be spread abroad widely. The tech emphasis of Summit Learning in
Kansas and the mega “top-down” approach in Newark downplayed teachers important
role –except, ironically, in Newark where the Foundation spent millions buying
out contracts of teachers judged to be underperforming.
Like any other enterprise, public education has its share of
people who do their jobs poorly in classrooms or administrative offices. Performance
can be improved with encouragement and support of those on the front line. Concentrate
remedial efforts for public education on the people upon whom we depend to make
the difference for our children- the teacher. Parachutes and checkbooks can follow.
We want our fourth graders arriving home through the front
door smiling because a teacher had encouraged them or praised them or they had
learned something new and cool. We don’t want them coming home looking like
zombies.
Comments on this post
or any of the others found in the archive to the left are welcome at: gplatt63@gmail.com
Thanks to those who
comment on my posts in advance of publication especially to a very good copy
editor my daughter Lucy Platt Weeks. She can found at lucyfplatt@gmail.com for those with editing needs.
