Once Upon a Pen

Since this blog is brand-new, I thought I’d start off by revisiting some of my old blogs from my original website of the late ’00s. I wrote the following post in 2010. Since then, I’ve drawn even farther from modern American educational methods, believing them to lean too far to the left; however, this post still reflects my current thinking in general. I did change the original ending, since it had become obsolete:

“Teachers Are Not the Enemy” (2010)

Without meaning any disrespect to teachers of other subjects, I have come to the conclusion that the group of disciplines collectively known as “English” or “language arts” in American schools is arguably one of the most difficult to teach.  Because it is both multi-faceted and largely subjective and because the English language itself is continually evolving, developing a well-rounded program of study is enough to make a teacher’s head spin.  Somehow, in the course of 12 years, they are expected to produce students who can write legibly (both printing and cursive), produce properly formatted computer-generated documents, spell adequately, use grammar and mechanics properly, master a high level of vocabulary (and use it), write polished and well-crafted compositions, read at the college level, be able to discuss and analyze all kinds of literature, deliver well-prepared speeches, learn how to complete group projects, and even be able to write creatively upon command.   Although these skills do not have to be practiced in every grade, few of them can be completely absent in any given year’s curriculum.  Added to all of that, teachers are continually pressured to ensure that students perform well on standardized tests. 

To make matters worse, modern educators must also field constant, scathing criticism from all sides—not only from their fellow Americans, either.  No more is competition amongst schools contained within our borders; now countries are comparing notes about educational systems on the other side of the world.  In the past year (2010), I have heard or read discussions about education in Singapore, China, and France.  And we, the superpower nation of the world, are squirming uncomfortably as we realize that our educational system is not getting any kudos.  In fact, in a recent study our country was listed at number 25 in the world for quality of education.  That’s #25, even though we are one of the richest nations in the world.

With such a formidable task on their hands, is it any wonder that modern educators continually experiment with new methods and materials?  One can hardly blame them, considering the many students who are graduating with poor language skills.  They have to keep looking for solutions.  

While I share the cynical view of our nation’s typical English program, the criticism leveled against teachers themselves is only partly justified.  From my many years in the field of education, which has taken me to all kinds of schools, I have noticed that most teachers pour themselves into their work, and most of their critics have no idea how difficult their work really is…or what a losing battle many of them face each day.  

The truth is that there is no way for language arts teachers to please everyone.  There is no perfect answer, no perfect curriculum.  As dismal as some of the results are, I believe that most teachers are doing the best they can within imposed boundaries that are more like straitjackets.  I often wonder what would happen if teachers were let alone to do their jobs the way they see fit.  My suspicion is that new problems would emerge but that American education as a whole would improve.  With a federal government that is increasingly bent on controlling education, I’m afraid that we’ll never know.      

Despite my respect for English teachers, there is one vital weapon that modern educators have let slip from their arsenal:  traditional methods. They have become the wallflowers of English studies—old-fashioned, stodgy, unpolitically-correct, dull, irrelevant.  Indeed, as I can attest to myself as a graduate in English education, most educators likely have never given traditional methods much serious attention—or if they do, it is with an eye to improving them.  This is because teacher programs have tended in recent decades to place newer methods out front and center.  For example, the Western canon of literature, long considered indispensable to a proper education, has fallen off its pedestal in many schools in favor of contemporary or multi-cultural literature.  Similarly, systematic grammar instruction is now often replaced with grammar mini-lessons integrated into the writing process or else given some other lesser place in the curriculum.  Some teachers don’t believe in teaching it formally at all, and some cannot because they must teach to standardized tests that do not require grammar knowledge.  Even penmanship is no longer important in some schools, because they practice the philosophy that computers have replaced the need for good handwriting.     

I strongly suspect that much of the problem with today’s typical English program is that the traditional methods that modern educators ignore today are exactly what worked so well in the past to bring students to a high level of literacy and communication skills.  Copywork, penmanship, drill, recitation, imitation, systematic study, classic literature, Latin—few of these old-fashioned activities are embraced today, except in classical schools; yet, those who used them in the past, such as our founding fathers, display an exceptional mastery of the English language.  It wouldn’t be so bad if the replacements for these methods produced similar results, but I have not yet seen any evidence that they do.  Instead, I have seen much to the contrary.  The critics of newer methods, therefore, are not complaining simply because they are crabby or picky.  English education in America is in dire need of a drastic overhaul.

That said, it is important not to vilify those who eschew traditional approaches in favor of newer methods and philosophy.  Building barriers of distrust and scorn between ourselves and those who appear to be causing the harm to our children is unhelpful.  These educators have not thrown out the old ways because they are evil idiots bent on destruction.  Many of them have given large pieces of themselves in the pursuit of helping young people grow into well-educated adults.  I am thinking of my own mother, an elementary teacher for her entire 30-year career who feels that a good education is of the utmost importance.  How can I forget the untold hours I watched her spend late after school, pouring herself into beautiful plans and projects for her students, suffering silently the unkind words of parents, dealing year after year with student misbehavior, attending meeting after meeting, and facing one crushing bureaucratic requirement after another.  I couldn’t fail to notice how hard she worked to do her job and to do it well, and she is certainly not an unusual example.  There are thousands of teachers like her.  They should be applauded and assisted, not demonized and attacked.

It is easy to criticize teachers like my mother when we are safe outside school walls and see from a distance the issues they face daily, battling a myriad of problems that require impossible solutions.  Some of these problems are difficult for non-teachers to imagine with any real sympathy.  Often they stem from the students’ lives outside of school, lives that often include abuse and neglect.  Teachers can hardly touch these, though, so they are confined to addressing them in whatever way they can within their classrooms.  If that means teaching a contemporary young adult novel, instead of The Scarlet Letter, then so be it.  Anything to get the students reading and thinking!  No less worthy of respect are those teachers who notice certain patterns of performance among their students.  They see the results of certain lessons and realize changes need to be made to make their teaching more effective.  Thus, they naturally experiment with new methods, new materials, gradually altering their teaching philosophies in the process and then spreading the ideas that worked well to other teachers.  Who can blame them?  What professional in any field would keep hammering away at old methods and ideas when new ones indicate a promise of better results?  

Of course there are teachers who are bad apples.  Of course there are those who don’t care about their students, who do the minimum work required to keep their jobs, who have low expectations.  We will always have those kinds of teachers.  But by and large, teachers are a sacrificial bunch, and my hat is off to them.     

Having high regard for modern educators, however, doesn’t require having equal regard for their methods and philosophies.  In the spirit of camaraderie, rather than combat, those of us who disagree with them can still fall into line with them to improve American education.  We can respectfully support their hard work while still pushing for the changes we feel are necessary.  We can also look for the good in the turns that modern education has taken, remembering that the old ways are not perfect either.  Some educators, especially homeschooling advocates, have moved so far away from modern methods that they cannot see anything good about them; instead, they regard traditional and classical methods as something approaching the status of religious dogma.  Perhaps taking the best of the new methods and combining them with the cherished—though sometimes overly gilded–old methods would result in an American education that is better and stronger than ever.  

Happily, I have noticed that these older, traditional methods are entering a renaissance.  Some charter schools and private schools, as well as many homeschool educators, are breathing new life into traditional and classical methods.  It’s hard to see when public schools are still front and center, but American education is improving behind the scenes!