Accountability for What?

Abstract

Our emphasis on fails to take into consideration the single clear fact of life: children are different. Why, then, the authors ask, do federal and state mandates for result in what teachers know will never work: a foolish emphasis on sameness? AMERICA instituted public education and compulsory attendance partly to save its children from exploitation. We wanted all children to be freed from the demands of sweatshops and farm labor that filled the days of 10-year-olds. What started as a noble attempt to save children from forced labor has ended up as a daily sentence to a six- to seven-hour prison from which they have no escape. We refuse to let them leave if they feel bad; we regiment their hearing, speaking, seeing, walking, eating, arrival, departure, and bowel movements. We even tell them when they have to wear a coat. Child abuse is a very strong term, and it rightly makes us angry. That much is clear. But our schools practice child abuse every day. That is also clear. Every day we ask children to do what they can't do, at least at the moment we ask them. And then we grade them, as if they were eggs. grade grade B. rotten. We shame them, and we embarrass them. We could tell many stories. One lovely, considerate, and gentle 11- year-old girl studied for four hours for a spelling test. next day she took the test and failed. According to the girl, when her teacher handed back the papers, she said to her, within earshot of the rest of the class, lazy. If you'd put in any time at all on your work, you would get an A. You're just lazy! We're not going to let you hold this class back. That young girl spells quite well orally. She is helpful and responsible around the home. She is well liked by her peers and adored by her younger brother and sister. She is bright beyond her years. And she is absolutely terrorized by school. She has a perceptual-motor problem. Writing is just not her thing. internal details regarding the figures she draws and the words she writes get mixed up. While these facts were carefully explained to the teacher, she continued - either from ignorance or cruelty - to insult the girl. That's child abuse. And it's not an isolated incident. A bright young man with attention deficit disorder and a severe organizational deficit consistently posted failing grades on major assignments because he couldn't seem to keep all the materials together that he needed to hand in. When it was suggested that the teacher help the student set up a system for keeping track of materials, the response was, He's going to have to figure out how to get by in the real world sometime. Might as well do it young man continued to fail until his severe depression resulted in his being taken out of school and put in a homebound tutoring program. We think it's time to start yelling. We have been treating our children badly for a long time now. With the new emphasis on the abuse will only multiply. The word in education is accountability, according to one state commissioner of education - a view no doubt shared by many of his peers. That is a worrisome sentiment. easy acceptance of the statement by parents and teachers is even more worrisome. If the word meant that teachers are to be accountable for the respect they show to children, we would rejoice. If it meant that teachers are to be accountable for helping students to find joy in learning and to become lifelong contributors to their society, we would rejoice. If it meant that teachers are to be accountable for ensuring that all children are successful and that those teachers will be required to find the means to guide students and to assess students in multiple ways, we would rejoice. But accountability in today's discussions of education means that teachers will be held accountable for how well their students read and for what they score on achievement tests. …