Wisdom of a 5th-Grade Solomon

by Nicole Baker Fulgham 09-30-2009

“Ms. Baker, why are you teaching here?” one student, whom I’ll call Solomon, inquired during one of our after school tutoring sessions. “You went to college,” he continued unabashedly. “Um…couldn’t you find a job anywhere else?”

I remember these words from one of my don’t-beat-around-the bush, inquisitive fifth grade students like it was yesterday. And to be honest, my presence at Caldwell Elementary School wasn’t the chosen career path for most of my peers. I graduated from a highly ranked university with a degree in English. I considered law school or a PhD program in English before ultimately choosing to join the national teaching corps, Teach For America. I’d committed to teach for two years in a low-performing public school in an economically depressed neighborhood that was notorious for crime, high school drop-outs, and the birthplace of gangster rap — Compton, California.

I struggled with the words to respond to Solomon’s very pointed question. “Well,” I mused, “I heard a rumor that the smartest kids in the world were at this school, so I wanted to be here with the geniuses,” I stated, hoping to further reinforce the high academic expectations I had for my students — despite how far behind many of them were. Solomon looked at me for a moment and then he burst out laughing. He was not convinced of my words in the slightest. “Aw c’mon Ms. Baker, nobody thinks we’re smart! If they did, they wouldn’t give us this broken down school and these ratty old books. You don’t even have enough paper and pencils for us!”

As a first-year teacher, I was shocked that a ten-year-old was fully aware of the implicit disparity in our country’s two-tiered public education system. He wondered why someone like me — an African American who had graduated from college and “made it” — would ever choose to teach in his low-income public school. He implied that I had a myriad of more lucrative, and more worthy, options. Solomon scoffed at the idea that other people thought he and his classmates were intelligent. And he completely understood that his school lacked the basic resources and facilities. Most disturbingly, Solomon connected society’s low expectations for him as the reason why his school didn’t have the necessary supplies. After all, he seemed to suggest, why would our nation bother wasting resources on students who weren’t smart enough to succeed in the first place?

Having spent the last 15 years working on the movement to eliminate educational inequity, I now realize that my insightful fifth grader’s assumptions weren’t surprising. What other conclusion could he make in a country where nine-year-olds in poor communities are already three grade levels behind their peers in wealthier communities? What else should he think about a nation where only half of the 14 million students from low-income communities ever graduate from high school and only one in ten ever graduate from college?

It was quite logical for Solomon to conclude that society didn’t expect much from him and his classmates in Compton. As a result, he didn’t expect much from himself either. As his teacher, it was my job to shift those expectations so Solomon and all my other students could reach their full potential. We worked incredibly hard that year and it was thrilling to see Solomon, and the majority of my fifth-graders, excel at high levels that others might have thought impossible. Because of the tremendous growth I saw in my students, I am forever convinced that the problem of academic disparity is completely solvable.

The academic achievement gap, in a well-resourced country like ours, is a tragic moral injustice that should move people of faith to action. As Christians, let’s take stock of how we’re working to eliminate this problem. Are we encouraging our most talented college graduates and young professionals to teach in schools like Solomon’s? Are we mobilizing our church communities to volunteer, tutor, and provide much-needed supplies to under-resourced schools? Are we mobilizing on behalf of students like Solomon to demand that lawmakers create policies that will improve the quality of their education?

The Bible is pretty clear about our responsibility. God says that all children were created in his image, so we should believe every child has unlimited potential. God says that children are incredibly precious to him. And God tells us to eliminate injustice. It’s time for Christians to take a stand on behalf of the ‘least of these’ in our nation’s low-income public schools. Solomon and his classmates are waiting for us.

portrait-nicole-baker-fulgham Dr. Nicole Baker Fulgham is the Vice President of Faith Community Outreach for Teach for America.

Categories: Poverty

Ashleigh101

Actually I think NCLB fails (Well, aspects of it fail. The premise of it and the way it has brought more accountability and standards-based education has not failed) because of the over-emphasis on the standardized testing. Due to this emphasis, schools are cutting out extracurricular programs and teachers are not teaching as much social studies and math (since these subjects are not on the test). Many teachers, mostly those at "failing" schools, feel demoralized, tired, and frustrated. Stress levels at those "failing" schools are very, very high. This is one reason why these schools have a more difficult time getting good, qualified teachers, and administrators.

There are alot of other problems that I don't think anyone can really understand unless they are actually in the classroom and have administered and seen the tests and experienced how the whole NCLB works.

Ashleigh101

A standardized test also is merely a paper-based test scored by unidentified persons, none of whom are familiar with the students, and then, ultimately, the score of the student determines whether they are "failing" or "succeeding," even though those determining this have no knowledge of that student and any actual progress made in the classroom.

For instance, a 6th grade English language learner (someone who's primary language is Spanish and who is not yet proficient in English) reads at a 2nd grade level. The teacher works hard with the student and the student makes 3 years of growth in reading! Thus, at the end of the year, the student is reading at a 5th grade level.

According to the test, however, he is still failing. And there is no account given for the growth he's made because it only measures his 5th grade ability. This score can also then be used to determine that the teacher is doing a poor job. And these scores can be very demoralizing to teachers... ones like this who work hard and watch their students make growth, yet the growth is "not enough" based on the student's test scores.

Ashleigh101

This is quite likely. I know of schools who have reputations of letting go of teachers after their 2nd year because after the 2nd year, they are tenured. Rather than giving tenure, in which the teacher will then go up the pay scale year by year, they hire new teachers, and continue this cycle. One school district where I live was suued for doing this.

Ashleigh101

Much easier said then done.

Tracking a student is almost an impossible task due to lack of time and manpower. When you consider how many students there are and all the subjects they take and the fact that all this info. is kept in files, you'd have to go through each child's file (which is FULL of papers, report cards, etc. going all the way back to kindergarten!), get out the report cards, compare the grades in each subject, read the comments, etc. And this does not take into account students who move or change schools.

It will always be an inaccurate measurement when the measurement is done by a govt. entity because they are not actually IN the classroom. The best assessment includes ongoing assessment that is both formal and informal , those done by tests as well as those done by observations. Until the govt. gives more power to the schools, their principals, and teachers, accurately measuring students' growth will be a problem.

Ashleigh101

Standardized testing in and of itself is not necessarily a problem. But when the govt. determines how a school, its teachers, and its students are doing based on one score on one standardized test, that is a problem. The test does not take into account many variables that can affect outcome, things like learning disabilities, English language learners, poor test takers, and those kids who just don't give a darn and don't try hard to do well on the test.

Yes, the tests did introduce a measure of accountability, but unfortunately, they also created a monster as more and more emphasis has been placed on these tests. The tests also cannot accurately measure all that a child has learned because the depth and breadth of a child's learning, as well as their growth, cannot be fully measured by multiple-choice questions with fill-in-the-bubble answers.

Ashleigh101

Even experienced veteran teachers are "teaching to the test" nowadays. There is so much emphasis by our govt. to reward and/or punish schools based on test scores that many teachers feel tremendous pressure to get those kids to pass the tests. If the kids don't, they literally could lose their job. Doesn't justify it, but it does help explain it, and it's a reality.

And it's the principals who are allocating hours and funds and also cutting programs and urging their teachers to teach math and English over social studies, science, art, music, p.e., etc. Their jobs are on the lines, too. And the schools' funds are on the line.

It's not a good situation, and I would like to see a day where there is less emphasis on test scores as a measure of how well or poor a school, its teachers, and its students are doing.

Ashleigh101

There are many, many factors that affect the learning and academic growth of students,, and they work together. Often, it is not just one thing. It is a combination of many things. But, the problems with children's learning cannot be blamed solely on the "system." There are umpteen factors, outside of the "system" and the classsroom, that most definitely affect learning.

It's very easy for those on the "outside" to just point at the system (the teachers, the schools, etc) as the problem, when in reality, the problems are far more complex and large than that. Yes, the "system" has problems, and I believe, it always will, but it alone is not "the" problem.

squeaky

Exactly. Thank you!

Ashleigh101

I can actually agree with you on this, having been a teacher at both private and public schools. Many of the kids at the private school where I taught were there because they were having (or causing) trouble in the public schools and the parents took them out and sent them to us so that we could "fix" them.

The area where I taught was a large metropolitan area where the public schools were very big and riddled with problems. There was an abundance of private schools in the area, many of them Christian, and many kids attended these schools simply because they provided a safer, less problematic environment than the public schools in that area (many of which had pretty bad reputations).

Ashleigh101

Sadly, they probably got bumped because they cost more money and/or were older while the Teach for America teachers were young and inexpensive.

Ashleigh101

All yoru comments are exactly right. Standardized tests are a "one-size-fits-all" approach to assessment. But children do not come as "one size."

There are many factors in play as well. The outcome can be affected by many things... whether the child is tired, sick, or unmotivated to do his best. As a former teacher, I can recall upper grade students who would unabashadly admit that they simply did not even bother to try. They just bubbled in whatever. There was no repurcussions for them because the test did not determine their class grades or whether they moved on to the next grade.

There is a place for standardized tests. They are ONE type of assessment, and they can give insight. However, to get a truly accurate picture of a student's academic growth, one fill-in-the-bubble test won't be a good assessment of that. The test does not reflect, or take into account, the diversity and variables within the classroom that can affect outcome.

AliPBall

are you implying that qualifications are the most important thing in determining teacher effectiveness? because studies have shown that TFA teachers are some of the most effective teachers in their placement schools, even without all your credit hours of education, psychology, and counseling. TFA teachers do go through intensive training that has been likened to boot camp for teachers, but the most important characteristic of TFA teachers is their enthusiasm and their dirve to eliminate educational inequalities in schools that are usually lacking in such teachers. with the state that american public education happens to be in, enthusiastic, effective teachers like those that work for TFA are (in my opinion) needed more than those who can simply tout "qualifications" but can't deliver results. I am not implying that you yourself did not deliver such results, but maybe those that your district laid off weren't able to produce marked academic improvements in their struggling schools.

BlueDeacon

That's exactly what we should be afraid of -- I always aced standardized math tests but later was exposed as very bad in math. And the tests cannot measure the effects of a child's domestic environment, the major factor in his success.

letjusticerolldown

One surprise for me, in my brief stint as a headmaster of a private Christian academy in a middle-class suburb (that should not have been a surprise): The public system is required to serve all children. It does not. There are many children in it that function poorly or wash out altogether. SOME, simply need a different option. Schools are big institutions. Institutions are structured around the needs of the institution--not of the child. Yes, a slice of the very activist parents will land their children in private schools--but there are a surprising number of desperate parents who land their children there because they have completely failed in the public system.

srejax

Dr. Baker-Fulgham,
Thank you for your work and for your perspective. I too am hopeful that we as Christians will believe that children can learn--and that it is not broken families or broken children that are the problem, rather a broken system (and we are all part of it). When we start caring as much about the education of our students as we do about things like teacher tenure and teacher employment, we will start to fulfil the promise our country makes to ALL of its students. Thanks again!

BlueDeacon

Well, my parents were teachers and saw first-hand the games that people
played. The reality is that private and charter schools will scoop up the
better students because they have more involved parents and, more likely, more
stable domestic situations, which contribute mightily to a child's performance
in the classroom -- an issue that "choice" supporters ignore. In fact, the
voucher system in Milwaukee was pretty much a failure and Polly Williams, who
spearheaded it, admitted that she felt she had been used; when one study that
touted it as a success (trumpeted on the Wall Street Journal's editorial
page), the teachers' union pointed out so many holes in it that the results
had to be withdrawn. Besides, have you noticed that folks who have their kids
in the "better" schools oppose vouchers? The reason is simple: "We put our
kids in this school so we wouldn't have to deal with that."

Lord_Voldemort

It depends what you mean by "better". If you mean "more prestigious" then you probably have a point. But I mean "better than the current crapulance offered up by a lot of public school systems", and I have a lot of experience -- Milwaukee, Washington DC, even the Cornerstone schools in Detroit -- to back it up. School choice might not get urban kids into Snootytoot Prep but I'm quite confident it will get them better schools than they have now.

LV

BlueDeacon

The next education reforms will challenge the top-down power structures that have built up around education through charter schools, vouchers, and other methods that introduce flexibility and choice.

Which won't work, because those "better" schools in practice will exclude the kind of kids we're talking about. That's why they're "better" -- the reputation of a school is inversely proportionate to its accessibility; "if anyone can go there it can't be all that."

Lord_Voldemort

There are ways to address this problem: in particular schools and teachers should be evaluated on both their raw scores and on academic progress -- comparing students' knowledge prior to and after the school year.

The fact that measuring is difficult is not a reason to give up on measurement, it is a reason to develop more complete and fair measurements.

LV

squeaky

Huh--I tried to edit my comment, but it doesn't seem to be working. I reread your comment, and see you said the teachers laid off are tenured. That's not supposed to happen that easily, and confusing as to how tenured teachers can be let go so easily.