Should the scarcity of teaching resources (school supplies, computers, etc.) be resolved before or after addressing teacher training needs?

Before

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by T. M. Beeker

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"This is an M-60 Echo 3 machine gun, during this course you will learn its nomenclature, uses, troubleshooting when a stoppage occurs, and finally a little bit of the theory behind the design of the weapon." That is the essence of how the United States Marine Corps teaches. Not theory or what makes a better learner. Nope, simple and straight forward teaching. The key of course is having the subject matter available for students to see and interact with to facilitate learning.

That is the problem with how most School Districts and Universities prepare people to become classroom teachers. Tons of time spent on theory and esoteric subject matter instead of the nuts and bolts of what helps teachers teach. I spent 4 years at one of the finest teacher colleges in the nation only to find that theory and rhetoric about teaching was the subject matter. Not practical things like how to keep a grade book, what kind of paperwork you must keep track off for special needs students, how to build a good web page, and other practical simple things that first year teachers really need.

Education is often the ugly step-child of government. Roads and public utilities are fundamental so politicians pay attention to that, prisons get money because the inmates have time to study law and then apply it to improve their stay in an institution, yet, education is usually dead last. Funding is often limited the higher up you go. At the local level property taxes are used to fund schools. People often throw a hissy fit about that as if someone else should pay to educate the young in their communities. States kick in money but often that money is only adequate to maintain the status quo and certainly not enough to provide supplies or technology. Finally, our federal government which has jammed 'No Child Left Behind' down our collective throats while paying about 2% of a district's budget. In some cases more wealthy districts have told the feds to keep their money and their ideas about education. Bottom line: schools barely have enough money to keep the lights on.

Another problem is the messed up way that schools are funded. Superintendents and administrators make very large salaries which means lots of money is spent on people who don't actually teach. They monitor teachers and 'run' schools in terms of curriculum, scheduling, daily administration. Is the money well spent? Well it depends, even if the administrator is a good one that is still lots of money that does not directly benefit those in the trenches of education; teachers and students.

There are often efforts by districts to provide teachers training that makes them more effective educators. They provide technology training but balk at providing adequate technology. For instance one district provides 4 computer stations per classroom and then crams 30 or more kids in that classroom. Or districts pay for online grade and attendance systems but fails to provide teachers computer access during off periods to make use of the system. These are examples of the training coming before the resources. Sort of like teaching a Marine how to use a new high tech weapon and then never providing the new weapon for use or continued training. Again, the training is cheaper and easier to undertake but meaningless if the resources are not there for teachers to actually use it to benefit students on a daily basis.

In every district I have worked in money was spent to hire consultants who came in to teach us new methods. Very often the consultant was trying to sell us a book, program, or system that would help us be more effective in the classroom. The consultant's fee was paid, the training occurred, and then we were told by administration to apply what was learned in the classroom. Now even the consultant admitted it required some resources but districts would never provide them. The end result? Money wasted on what could have been a good idea but was dropped for lack of resources to support it.

I have often fielded the complaints of parents and students who seem to think teachers have the power to change how and where money gets spent. Guess again, "Look I am the hired help, you or your parent can call a school board member and raise hell if you don't like how things are." Or another favorite of mine, "Why do states spend more money per prisoner than they do per pupil? Simple, they sue the state when they perceive they are being cheated. If you want things to change exercise your right as a citizen of this nation." Often in response the complainer would stare back angry that the solution will require them to actually do something instead of just whining about it.

Back to the issue, before we can train teachers to be effective in a modern classroom we must provide them the tools to do the job. Its always frustrating to hear industry and business leaders bitch that schools are sending them employees who can't use computers, think critically, and have poor work ethics. Yet, these same leaders will wail when asked to pony up for technology, smaller classroom ratios of students to teachers that allows for critical thinking over rote memorization, and finally a system that rewards success with diplomas and tells lazy kids to try again or get a GED.

As it stands schools are places of learning that are given 20th century technology and a 19th century curriculum while being expected to prepare kids for the 21st century. Sorry, you get what you pay for. If you do not provide the technology or resources for education to occur then schools are going to do the best they can on a very tight budget. The solution is very simple, spend more money on schools than prisons or other pork barrel projects. In addition to spending more recognize no one can effectively teach or supervise a crowd of children so reduce the teacher to student ratio to something that is more practical. Finally, if we are truly serious about education then as adults we must value it otherwise kids see the hypocrisy.

The solution is practical and certainly possible. It will require communities and government to recognize and value education and put their money where their mouth is. Otherwise, schools will continue to be places to warehouse students until they enter the workforce and have to either catch up or fall to the margins. What do we value? The money will either be spent on schools or prisons. The choice made will dictate our future as a nation.

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