Charlie Rose

Mary Zigman  01/07/2008 05:55 PM Report

Mr. Canada raised several important issues relative to the state of education in our nation. Attracting good candidates into the field should be of utmost importance. He is right -- $40,000 a year and $100,000. in schools is a joke to a talented, hardworking candidate to live off of. It's almost comical. The step scale used in most districts is antiquated -- the more years you put in, the better you are? Most often you will find that the best teachers either move up into leadership positions or leave the field. Quite often at the top of the pay scale are those who "stuck it out."

I appreciate how Geoffrey Canada identified the way poor children and children of color have been ostricized in our education system. They have been abandoned and it is most interesting that this issue is not at the top of the presidential candidates agenda.

I disagree that the current testing climate is beneficial in identifying a baseline for reading/writing/math. The testing industry and testing climate in schools is damaging to the overall educational experience of a child. It is a BILLION dollar industry. Teachers teach tests. Kids learn to fill in bubbles. These tests are not consistent nationally and are often lobbied for by the companies that design the tests. A national test, designed and administered by the Department of Education, might be a better and less expensive endeavor.

The federal government needs to start footing the bill here. Like Mr. Canada mentioned, it is a hardship for less financially solvent districts to attract good teachers and provide the same educational programs as wealthier districts. The current local tax base model cannot sustain the federal educational needs of our country.

In the case of NCLB, many students at failing schools do not have choices to go to more successful schools becuase they simply do not exist or they are surrounded by only more failing schools. NCLB has cleary NOT helped raise access to wealth and a place in society for poor/marginalized students. The gap still exists. How come noone is talking about this?

NCLB is a numbers game. It is politicized. Ask any neuroscientist how a child learns and then compare that to what we are doing in schools. Look at extremely successful private schools -- those students are given liberal intellectual freedoms. Poor public school students are often warehoused and controlled. The success of the control is measured through standardized tests. Clearly there is going to be paucity of talented thinkers in the United States if we continue in this manner. And Mr. Canada is correct, the poor children won't have any chance at all.

Where are the solutions? When will these massive issues become more centralized in the political debate.

Gary Heyen  01/03/2008 02:39 PM Report

First let me say that I was awed by Mr. Canada and his general recommendations for solving our education problems. I think he is advocating for an education system that would be run much more like a business in a competitive environment. I believe this is a reasonable approach and one which would improve our educational system tremendously over the long run. We must bring our best minds into the educational system and I think we can do this by using some competitive/incentive method. Somehow we must incorporate a business model into our schools which will allow us to hire and keep the best minds. The other important problem this interview pointed out is that the political candidates are not discussing this issue. This is one of the most important issues we have and one that will certainly have a huge impact on our future. Based on this interview, I intend to closely monitor the candidates statements on education and start advocating for the solutions Mr. Canada is recommending. I think he is moving in the right direction.

Paul Plamondon  01/03/2008 02:38 PM Report

Dear Mr. Rose:

First of all, let me wish you and yours (even if I am a little late)the best for 2008.

Your interview with Mr. Canada was very interesting. Mr. Canada really hit the nail on the head when he said that teachers' salaries should be increased. As a matter of fact, they should be dramatically increased.

The teaching profession in America and in the western world has long been seen as a laggard one.

Here is an idea of what the teachers' remuneration scale in the USA should look like:

Minimum annual salary package of $80 000,

$90 000 for Math and Science teachers (plus all benefits). Yearly incentives of up to $20 000. Incentives would be based on number of failed students.

With such an important salary readjustment, people in the profession, and the profession itself, would gain more respect (among the public in general) and attract people who really value teaching. For that matter, people should watch the very interesting movie, Fever Pitch with Jimmy Fallon and Drew Barrymore.

It is high time people understand that teachers and education form the backbone of our society.

Sincerely,

Paul Plamondon

Sally Augden  01/03/2008 02:38 PM Report

I wish that Mr. Rose had steered Mr.Canada back to explaining what his organization is doing with children from birth on to improve their lives. Instead, he allowed him to pontificate ideas that have been proposed by non-educators that those of us who have spent our lives in education see of having little value. The assumption is always that educators are looking out for their own interests. Now, really, why would anyone stay in a job that is the hardest if they cared only about themselves? I would hope that Mr. Rose would balance his arguments by inviting real teachers and teacher union leaders into a discussion. Yes, it would be wonderful to lure back the best and the brightest into education. Everyone wants the best teachers for their children, but no one wants their child to be one. I have maintained for years that if schools had the resources (Mr. Canada did not mention the tax increases that would be needed to make our educational system the best in the world) to do the job properly, people would break down the door to do the job. Teaching is one of, if not the most, rewarding and creative jobs on the planet. Merit pay is of questionable value in this occupation. There are too many variables, and documenting subjective data for every teacher becomes an all consuming task. NYC public schools are using a school merit plan that really appeals to me. The work of every teacher and staff person in a school has impact on what happens to students. By singling out one teacher in a school for extra pay, the concept of team work is shattered. It isn't like the pool of funds can increase because of that person. By rewarding a school, the efforts of parents, staff and students are rewarded.

Tamona Renee  01/03/2008 02:08 PM Report

Charlie Rose did such a great job of taking the bull by the horn. Mr. Canada gave a lot of passionate illustrations of the problem. Mr. Rose was focused and respectly searching for solutions!

Trish Cunningham  01/03/2008 02:03 PM Report

As I watched this show it was refreshing to hear the truth. My daughter is on probation because she gave kids "n"s on there report cards and the parents were upset. She has been told she is not allowed to give anyone N's or she will be fired. She will teach to the test and nothing else. Mr. Canada is right it needs to change. Thanks for your show, I watch every day.

Jill Schager  01/03/2008 11:14 AM Report

I enjoyed listening to the interview with Mr. Canada. I was waiting for him to discuss practical directions and he kept making the same old generalizations and oblique references that always keep the policy discussions about education going around in circles. There IS research out there that can direct policy makers and citizens in making better decisions. There are also good sources that interpret and show how to apply this research in education. Important breakthroughs have been made in how to teach reading effectively. We now know that we need to be teaching the 42 sounds of the English language, not just the names of the 26 alphabet letters. Brain research has taught us how the brain learns and there is a wealth of information about how to apply this in the classroom. We can now understand how neural networks are developed in a child's brain and how the all important language and background knowledge required for learning is learned through experiences and stored in neural networks. It explains in a much more robust way, why children growing up in wealth or the middle class have such an academic advantage over children who grow up in poverty and in turn, how schools actually CAN increase learning for children in poverty. These discoveries and interventions are not dependent on whether the child is taught in a public, private, charter school or is home schooled. It is unfortunate that actual information about "what works" is not made more available to the general public while political opinions about education are recycled ad infinitum.

George Stuart  01/03/2008 05:00 AM Report

Articulate, entertaining, Mr. Canada used old and tired examples of â??new ideasâ?? to improve public schools such as privatization, charter schools, testing of teachers /students, merit pay and social promotion. Never once did he give examples of any success in any school using any of these ideas except Houston schools under Superintendent Page. Obviously he hasnâ??t read the data on that debacle. He fails to mention any other â??new ideasâ??, which have been successful because research and practice shows they are not the answer to the problems he cites. Mr. Canada is very articulate, very entertaining, but please, letâ??s get serious. Mr. Rose, if you want the public to learn about public education, invite someone as knowledgeable as your guests in other disciplines.

Ivan Prueitt  01/03/2008 03:57 AM Report

Is it possible that technology in public education could be the way to advance change in accountability? If information technology can capture empirical data on classroom and school performances of children become completely visible to the public. Therefore, the data shows outstanding teachers and under performing teachers. I am a technologist working to create digital solutions for public schools. Not just in the classroom but in the back office operations. Much more to speak about on this. I enjoyed very much this interview.

Ivan

Ivan Prueitt  01/03/2008 03:41 AM Report

Is it possible that technology in public education could be the way to advance change in accountability? If information technology can capture empirical data on classroom and school performances of children become completely visible to the public. Therefore, the data shows outstanding teachers and under performing teachers. I am a technologist working to create digital solutions for public schools. Not just in the classroom but in the back office operations. Much more to speak about on this. I enjoyed very much this interview.

Ivan

Virginia Akins  01/03/2008 12:21 AM Report

I agreed with most of what Geoffrey Canada had to say about education. I was an educator for 17 years in a time when education was much different. Geoffrey didn't mention, nor did you ask what I consider to be a pertinent issue in education. How can merit pay be awarded with any equality when some teachers teach in upper to middle class economic areas while others attempt to teach children who come to school tired, hungry and having endured unimaginable conditions at home. In order to reach to goals that Mr. Canada offers as possibilities, the home environment and involvement must be somehow improved. Also some children are below grade level because they do not have the innate intelligence of some others, and they don't have the parental expectations and encouragement that others do. Such a complex issue to be solved with Mr. Canada's approach. So multi-faceted and I've only mentioned such a few of the things I thought of while watching tonight.Finally, everyone doesn't need a college education but everyone does need training or a skill to fill the millions of other jobs in America that lack sufficiently trained workers. Louisville, Kentucky