In the Eyes of God: American Public Education in the Twenty-First Century

By William S. Ponder

In the Eyes of God takes a hard look at what is being done to improve public education in America. The twenty-first century finds the United States in a very demanding situation regarding the economy, world affairs, and the general demise of humanity. The education of children in America seems to be the one topic that is getting some attention. With documentaries like The Lottery and Waiting for Superman, the general public is finally beginning to understand the current state of education in the countrya state of which most educators have long been aware.

There is a real lack of leadership in education today and a real fear of doing anything outside the norm in terms of how students learn. The poor selection and retention of talent in the classroom has taken a toll on the ability of schools to educate their students effectively. In the Eyes of God challenges the fact that only a small percentage of the school day to used to educate children. It also examines cultural profi ciency and the need for educators to go beyond just cultural awareness and become more competent and profi cient teachers. Most importantly, we must strive to see that no children fall through the cracks of the system and that every child receives the best education possible.

• Language: English
• Publisher: iUniverse
• Release date: Dec 20, 2010
• ISBN: 9781450270816

William S. Ponder

As a retired university vice president and gubernatorial appointee, William S. Ponder has worked in education for more than thirty years. As a national leader in college admissions, outreach, and recruitment, he helped lead the change for access and equity in American public education.

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Contents

Acknowledgments

Introduction

Chapter 1

We Are Having a Crisis

Chapter 2

Why Reform Is Important to America

Chapter 3

People Make the World

Chapter 4

Educational Reform and Technology

Chapter 5

Racing to the Top

Chapter 6

Enforcement of Civil Rights Laws

Chapter 7

Testing, Testing, and More Testing

Chapter 8

ACT, SAT, PSAT, and Subject Exams

Chapter 9

Let’s Stop Feeding the Chickens

(The Farm Schedule)

Chapter 10

Reform Happens One Child at a Time

Bibliography

Acknowledgments

Over the past thirty years, I’ve had the pleasure and the honor to work with a number of dedicated educators, so many that this page would not be enough to name all of them. However, a number of folks have shaped my thinking about public education in the United States, and I would like to take this opportunity to name a few of them.

First, I’d like to thank my mom, who, as a parent coordinator back in the day, showed me that reform does happen one child at a time. My dad showed me that you can make a difference each day by going to work and providing for your family.

I acknowledge my university and college colleagues, Dr. Cedric Page of the University of New Mexico; Dr. Stephen Jordan, Metro State College; Dr. Brian Levin-Stankevich, University of Wisconsin Eau Claire; AnnaMarie Martinez and Agnes Steward, Pierce College; Dr. Eric Gravenberg, Dr. Penny Edgert, Renee Collins, and Ted Pratt, Western Washington University; Michelle Whittingham, University of California Santa Cruz; Dr. Thelma White, Dr. Ronald Bell (deceased), Dr. Chuck Fields, and Jackie Reese-McDougal, University of California-Riverside; Dr. David Rand and Alice Dionne, University of Washington; Dr. Terrence Roberts, Antioch University; Don Mitchell, of the College Board; and Dr. Marie Rossenwaser, Shoreline Community College.

And then there are those who came into the light and showed me a new way of thinking—bell hooks, author and social activist; Chuck D of Public Enemy, actor Ben Vereen, and Dr. Ronald Takaki from the University of California, Berkeley.

I appreciate Amanda Fairbanks, education editor at Good, for her willingness to let me comment on the current issues in American education. The continued dialogue has helped me focus my thoughts and ideas and sharpen the saw.

Lastly, I am grateful to the many students who I’ve taught and mentored and provided both guidance and support for over the years. They have taught me patience, compassion, and empathy.

A special thanks to my editorial assistant for keeping me on the path …

Holly

Introduction

As we enter the first half of the twenty-first century, we find ourselves with a major crisis in public education. Since the enactment of No Child Left Behind (NCLB)—the latest standards-based education reform legislation—state educators across the country have rushed to identify those schools and school districts that have not made significant progress toward improving the quality of education for poorly achieving students many of whom are from low-income, non-white families, according to adequate yearly progress (AYP) reports. NCLB, a Bush administration legislation, propones to let the US Department of Education (DOE) measure schools nationwide according to measurable goals based on high standards; AYP, which the DEO relies on to diagnose whether schools are meeting those standards, looks at standardized test scores in areas like mathematics and language arts or at graduation and attendance rates.

This testing and putting numbers on the quality of education that is provided to students in our public schools has created a serious assessment of what public education is in this country.

In writing this book, I’ve taken a critical view of what is happening in our schools and proposed some new paradigms for dealing with curriculum, leadership, funding, cultural proficiency, technology, and other fundamental reform hot buttons, which urgently need addressing so that this country can reinvent one of its most basic rights—the right to a good education.

Jonathan Kozol and the Book’s Title

Sometimes words can paint a clear picture of what we need to both see and understand about ourselves.

During a visit to Western Washington University a number of years ago, as part of a group of educators, I heard a masterpiece by an individual who understood what was at stake in terms of public education in this country.

I remember walking with colleagues that late March evening after a long day of discussions on the trials and tribulations of working at institutions where equality and equity and access remained unattained goals.

As we made our way to the lecture hall, we laughed about the fact that our group—the faculty and staff of color (we were African American, Latino, Asian, and Native American) for the state of Washington—was visiting the most northern university in the mainland of America. Western Washington University is just twenty miles from the Canadian border. The university sits in a college town that overlooks the Puget Sound and the Strait of Juan de Fuca. I had this feeling that something special was about to happen. At that moment, I couldn’t say what that feeling was, but it was present among all of us. A buzz filled the great lecture hall as students, faculty, and staff found seats, their talk and laughter creating that energy that you get on a university campus.

The audience fell into a quiet hush when the university president made her way to the podium. As she started her introduction, a sobering feeling moved through the audience. I remember feeling that, tonight, we would be fully engaged in the process of finding ourselves and asking some serious questions about education in America.

As she finished her introduction, I looked around my seat and found myself seated between my African American colleagues and a Native American educator that I had just met. While this seemed to be a normal conference, no different from the many I’d attended, something felt different—like something important had just happened.

As Jonathan Kozol made his way to the podium, I recalled having read his Savage Inequalities: Children in America’s Schools, a treatise on the dire situation of students in many of our public schools. Savage Inequalities addressed the disparities in the education children receive at schools depending on the class or race that represents the school’s majority. Mr. Kozol stood in front of me, and I started to have this heavy, sinking feeling. I couldn’t remember having this kind of heaviness, and I tried to focus on his message. His angelic, soft voice implored us to think beyond our normal views of American education. He dug deep into our psyches, his words taking us on an emotional ride and showing us the urgency of change and the final outcome of this crusade.

I still remember sitting there, my hand resting on my knees; I found myself moving back and forth, trying to get comfortable with his words and not knowing what to do next. As the lecture went on, I would glance at my colleagues and see that they too were uncomfortable with what was happening to them, and we would give each other these knowing glances—you know, the kind of glance where two people are thinking the same thing. It was those glances that started to build in my mind the knowledge that I was meant to be here listening to Jonathan and that somehow his words would be ingrained into my future thinking and writing.

Jonathan’s words came rolling down like the rush of a river after a mighty storm. He said that if we didn’t find the moral high ground to reform our public education system, the final results will be in the eyes of God. Those words stuck in my mind and in my heart. I felt a rush inside me, and the words kept rolling around in my mind. I couldn’t get them out of my thoughts. Even after the lecture, as I sat with my colleagues on campus that evening talking about Jonathan’s speech, that phrase kept ringing in my ears—in the eyes of God.

So all these years later, after trial and error and a number of efforts to fix the public schools and to bring equity and equality to those less fortunate in terms of their access to quality education, I find myself putting into writing the issues, conflicts, and challenges that an angelic voice made clear on that night. Jonathan’s was the voice in the wilderness extorting us to be, as Abraham Lincoln once wrote, the better angels.

In reading this book, you might get the feeling that each chapter asks the question, Are God’s eyes watching? I guess time will tell, and we shall see if the better angels are listening.

Chapter 1

 We Are Having a Crisis

Public education in twenty-first century America is in crisis. For the past twenty years, I worked in public education in varying capacities.