Book Review:

Public Education in America (Fertilizers, Pills and Magnetic Strips) - Gene V Glass.

by
Lester Cavestany

Power, Ethics and Accountability

Ateneo MPM Batch 2010

Professor Corazon Alma de Leon

November 2010
Introduction

We all have our own ideas of how we can improve the quality of life in the Philippines.
Our Congress pass more laws, the military want stronger arms, politicians facilitate more
projects, health workers push for better health care, businessmen work for increased profits,
employees march for higher wages, consumers favor lower prices, and the list goes on. And
although some of our ideas may be in conflict with others, I am certain that there is one thing we
can all agree on – that one of the best ways we can have a peaceful and prosperous nation is by
raising the standards of education in our schools.

As an educator, I was excited to find that one of the books listed in the book review
selections for our module on Power, Ethics and Accountability in the Master in Public
Management at the Ateneo School of Government was about education. Its title is “The Fate of
Public Education in America (Fertilizers, Pills and Magnetic Strips)” written by Gene V Glass.
And I believe that this book is perfect for this module because it does not deal with debates about
educational achievement or preparing our children for work and for life. Instead, it talks heavily
about the author’s realization that debates in education are about “gaining the political power to
control money and secure special privileges.”

As stated in the title, the book is about public education in the United States. In this review, I
hope to relate the American education issues raised by the author to our own issues in the
Philippines.

Facing the Facts

Many of us have the notion that the United States of America, the most powerful nation
in the world, has a good public education system. But the reality is far more complicated. As
pointed out by the newly-released documentary film, “Waiting for Superman,” the US is falling
behind among advanced countries in math, science and reading assessments of teenaged-
students. With regard to graduation rates, advanced nations such Finland, Germany and Japan
have about 90 percent success rate, while the US has about 70 percent.

These two major issues are also forefront concerns of public education in the Philippines.
In the same international testing of students’ abilities in math and science, our country is last in
Asia and we’re only better than Morocco and South Africa in the world. For graduation rates,
we are only averaging at 60 percent. With this kind of data rocking our public schools, how do
we expect to produce competitive citizens of the globalized international community?

The importance of basic education is highlighted by the fact that it ranks second, only to
eradicating poverty and hunger, in the list of United Nations’ Millennium Development Goals,
hoping to achieve universal primary education by 2015. However, with a third of our population
living in poverty and with 95 percent of all elementary students attending public schools, our
education system is under tremendous pressure to provide the basic education that our children
are entitled to.
Don’t Cry over the “Crisis”

Having said these facts, the author is not convinced that the American educational system
is in crisis. He is not convinced that the proof of the alleged breakdown of the education system
could be found in declining test scores and international score cards that showed US students
falling behind the competition from around the world. He even quoted Singapore’s Minister of
Education in saying that the US is a talent meritocracy, a nation rich in abilities, such as
creativity, curiosity, a sense of adventure, ambition, that are not assessed in formal tests. He
further warns against “teaching to the test”, a situation where classroom lessons are focused on
training students to excel in formal assessments.

As a former classroom teacher in international schools, I am aware of the trend in

education that emphasizes the importance of finding a balance between standardized tests and
non-formal assessments which include the use of anecdotal observations and running records.
They are both important in fine-tuning the learning that is happening in each student. And so I
would have to disagree with the author’s belief that we shouldn’t be alarmed when students are
not performing well in international assessments and standardized tests. I believe we should be
concerned with our children’s failure to excel academically and their inability to do well in
formal tests. We must also keep in mind that most, if not all, universities use formal
examinations to screen their applicants. And to put it simply, a good college degree is definitely
a ticket to a higher paying job and a better quality of life.

Every Juan’s Problem

Economist Antonio de los Reyes described the social divide in the Philippines as a
disgrace. According to him, we have something like 400 families owning 50% of the total wealth
in our country. Furthermore, 17% of the population owns 78% of the resources and 83% owning
22%. And the gap continues to widen and worsen as those on top of the social strata are able to
send their children to private schools that offer first-class education, while those in the bottom
can barely send their kids to public schools that are very much lacking in materials and
resources. This social divide is also prevalent in the United States, but the author goes beyond
the rhetoric of educational inequality by saying that the disparities in education “mirror the
inequalities in American life more generally.” And in Chapter 10, the author comments that the
“further widening of the income distribution will continue to eat away at a sense of civic
responsibility, already seriously weakened. The more people there are who live in gated
communities, the fewer there are who care about supporting a police force. The more families
there are who drive two and three cars, the fewer families there are who care about public
transportation. The more people there are who drink Evian, the fewer people there are who care
about what comes out of other people’s faucets. The more parents there are who send their
children to private or quasi-private schools, the fewer persons there are who care what goes on in
poor schools.”

The author’s warnings about the widening social inequality and the apathetic tendencies
of the rich should be heeded by those who are in positions of wealth and power, starting with
those in government. However, a review of the programs and promises of the candidates in this
year’s national elections clearly shows their concern for public education. There was also a call
from the business community and the civil society for an “education president.” They formed a
movement called Education Nation and their advocies include the following:
 Our next president must be one who shall lead a sustained reform effort with learning and the
learner at the center, one who shall appoint education managers who truly understand the
education system and are committed to genuine reform, and one who can create the
conditions for our educators to perform better, aspire higher and deliver continuous
improvements.
 Our government must become an education government that makes education the national
priority and key strategy to combat poverty, that provides the needed resources for the right
inputs, and that ensures transparency and accountability in education governance and
financing.

As observed by the author, “education occupies a high position in every political party
platform, though it is typically quickly forgotten after the ballots are counted.” And although his
cynicism can sicken an idealist, his observation hits home upon the mind. The politico’s rhetoric
is high on hopes for the children, the so-called future of our nation, but sometimes the classroom,
the place where our children nurture hopes and dreams, is quickly traded in for the boardroom by
the politician who’s eager to get a return on his investments.

But fixing the public school system here and abroad is not all up to the government. Or as
the saying goes, it takes a village to raise a child. And outside of their homes, children spend
more time at school, in the company of their teachers.

Dreamers or Foot Soldiers

In the first chapter, the author shares his observation that “as a group, educators tend to
be dreamers. They dream of better days and healthier, more competent children. Under the
pressure of serving dozens of children with increasing urgent needs, teachers too often fall for
the promises of experts with simple answers who paint rosy pictures of a world where all
children learn, where the race and social class achievement gap disappears, where every child is
a winner, and where no child is left behind.”

I do completely agree with the author’s views in the abovementioned statement. All too
often, policies are handed down to teachers who are forced to follow the chain of command and
implement them in the classroom. I refuse to accept that teachers “too often fall” for the
promises of experts with simple answers. Professional teachers often know what works and what
doesn’t, in terms of making children learn. But because there is a chain of command, we don’t
have any choice but to adhere to the changes proposed by the policy makers with rose-tinted
glasses. It is precisely these “experts” who fall for their own rosy pictures. Teachers have no
choice but to “hang” these rosy pictures in the classroom.
 In reality, the real dreamers are those who plan the policies, programs and curricula that
they pass down to the teachers who serve as the foot soldiers of the war against illiteracy and
ignorance. In this more realistic picture, we see the importance of having dreamers who have a
strong foundation in education and preferably some real teaching experience in the classroom.
Also, it is necessary for the foot soldiers to build good working relationships with the students,
staff and parents. Obviously, a key factor to achieve this is through effective communication.
Teachers must make sure that their colleagues, students and parents are aware of their duties and
responsibilities and they must feel that they can approach their teachers if they have any problems.
In addition, the parents must be regularly informed about how their children are doing in class,
especially if their children are not performing well so that something can be done to help them,
either at home or at school, or both. The parents must feel that their children are in good hands and
to achieve this, the teacher must run the class well and the teacher must have a solid academic
program. Another relationship that should be smooth is between the teacher and the school
leaders. The teachers must be responsible and professional at all times and the school leaders must
support the teachers. The teachers and school leaders must always be consistent in their policies
and actions in promoting the students’ learning and the school’s progress.

Teacher Training

In the book’s conclusion, the author shows a shade of optimism in education reforms,
particularly in the area of teacher training. According to the author, “The only reform that stands
any chance of making our public schools better is the investment in teachers – to aide them in
their quest to understand, to learn, to become more compassionate, caring and competent
persons”

I cannot agree more to this realization reached by the author. One of the things that
surprised me most when I was working for international schools was the amount of professional
development courses offered to us, usually paid for by the school. The reason why I was
surprised was because I knew that teachers who get into these good private schools already have
good credentials and experience and they have no need for further training. Years later, I realized
that teachers must practice what they preach to their students – to be lifelong learners. And the
evolution of pedagogy is an ongoing process, not just for elementary teachers, but especially for
secondary and tertiary professors who need updated technical knowledge in the teaching of their
specialist subjects and courses.

Also, in a recently published book about skill-building called “The Talent Code” by
Daniel Coyle, the success of Finnish education was discussed. It can be recalled that Finland
currently ranks first in the international comparison of Math, Reading, and Science skills among
15-year-olds. The reason cited for the success of Finnish education was teachers. “In Finland, a
teacher is regarded as the social equal of a doctor or a lawyer, and is compensated accordingly.
All elementary teachers have master’s degrees in pedagogy… The high quality of Finnish
education depends on the high quality of Finnish teachers.”

So, I, too, believe in teacher training. So much so that I am presently awaiting results of
an application to be the Education Sector Manager of the US Peace Corps in the Philippines. My
responsibilities, should I get accepted, would include the training of American education
volunteers for deployment in public schools in rural and/or marginalized communities. I hope
that the presence of these trained teachers would make a difference in the lives of the students
and teachers in their work-sites. I sincerely hope I would get the job. I am sure that if and when I
go for an interview, I would be able to use the learnings and insights I have gained, not just in
this book I have just reviewed, but also in our course on Power, Ethics and Accountability with
my classmates in MPM and of course, Professor Corazon Alma de Leon.