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Why is our school system communist?
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by Olivia Robinson
When I first learned about communism, as a little fifth grader, my class learned that, under communism, everyone is (or at least should be) paid the same. Then came the crucial flaw; there is no motivation. If a postal worker is paid the same as a hardworking lawyer, there is no motivation for the postal worker to put in extra hours or do an exceptional job. It is the same problem that plagued the Israeli kibbutzim. A kibbutz is a commune where everyone works together and is paid the same, with the same possessions and privileges. This worked when everyone was dedicated and committed to the kibbutz, but after a few generations, people began to slack. Now almost every kibbutz has become a moshav, a similar community, but one where pay is at least partially based on performance. Just as the Kibbutzim needed to evolve, our school system needs to evolve if America is to keep its place in the world.
Today, our system for paying teachers is slightly communist. As of now, teacher pay is based on experience and level of education, not performance. But these factors don’t guarantee that the teacher is, in fact, good at teaching!
I have had some fantastic teachers. I have also had teachers who, although educated, could not convey the material to the class. How is it fair, how is it American, to say that these educated teachers who couldn’t teach should earn more than a fantastic teacher who can teach? This system is illogical and is failing. It pushes teachers to private schools and rewards quantity over quality. Teachers and, most importantly, we students, deserve better.
Of course more experienced teachers are hesitant to give up their higher pay and job security and be evaluated, and possibly fired, based on performance. Well, in middle school, I had teachers with advanced degrees and teachers without them. A fantastic English teacher, who truly influenced me and taught me how to write, didn’t have a PhD or years of experience, but she was a good teacher. That should be what matters. Not number of years teaching or in graduate school or a score on some teacher exam. In fact, one of my favorite math teachers was fresh out of college. She not only taught me the geometry material, she re-taught the Algebra material that my previous “experienced” teacher had failed to teach.
Our system is an anchor, weighing down our students and our country. According to the National Center for Education Statistics, America is ranked 24th out of 30 countries for the average mathematics skills of 15 year olds. We have a 30 % high school dropout rate. Three out of every 10 people drops out of high school. Americans wonder why China spits out engineers and doctors by the thousands. Here’s a hint: they have good schools. If we are to keep up, we must change.
There is a movement now, backed by the White House, to evaluate teachers based on student learning. This evaluation should be done school by school, and must account for classes with disabled students and tougher coursework. Some teachers will object, but there is no excuse to stick with an outdated and ineffective system. School leaders should work with teachers to create a compromise, just as the kibbutzim compromised between communism and capitalism.
Students deserve good teachers. Period.
–Olivia Robinson
Amalia Halikias
November 14, 2009 at 7:01 pm
If you really want to question what causes the differences between American teachers and Chinese teachers, stop looking at money and start looking at culture. To the Chinese, being a teacher is one of the most respected professions. The teachers in China therefore represent the elite intellectual. To question the legitimacy or pay of a Chinese teacher is unheard of.
The reason American students do worse than those from China is culture-related as well. Families here don’t put the same pressure on their kids that families in China do, and we don’t have the same academic-centered lifestyle. I’m not saying that one system is better or worse than the other; I’m just saying that the culture is clearly what causes the drastic differences between Chinese and American education.
Don’t look at our money, look at our culture.
Clara
November 11, 2009 at 8:27 pm
in france, they do their schools the same way as in china. they take a huge test at the end of ninth grade, then if they pass go on to 4 more years of intensive school. also, the teachers are really very cruel there. they called us idiots and mentally disabled all the time. it was common. the american school system, on the other hand, is very low-key and calming compared to the french school system.
(i lived in france for two years)
John Benson
November 8, 2009 at 10:38 pm
“Americans wonder why China spits out engineers and doctors by the thousands. Here’s a hint: they have good schools. If we are to keep up, we must change.”
Yeah, but how many freethinkers do they “spit out”?
- Half of their curriculum is devoted to Math and Science.
- Corporal punishment is commonplace.
- When they finish 9th grade, they take a test to see if they are smart enough for Senior School. Otherwise, their only option is Vocational School. This is a good way to raise test scores, by eliminating the lower 48.8% of students from the system.
In contrast, the United States has the greatest number of students in Higher Education of any country in the world.
Amalia Halikias
November 14, 2009 at 7:07 pm
Also, it might just be possible that the amount of Chinese doctors and engineers is closely linked to China’s population of 1.3 billion
Statistically speaking, doctors represent .29% of the American population, while they represent .15% of the Chinese population. (Data taken from a 2004 census) The percent of American doctors is almost double the percent of doctors in China
Olivia Robinson
December 9, 2009 at 4:28 pm
I’m not doubting that America has more free thinkers, but from a purely economical standpoint, China’s math and science professionals are giving them a huge advantage in the world marketplace. And I don’t believe that we should completely follow the Chinese system. However, we can take the elements that we do believe in and adapt them to our system to make use better. My point in this article is not that we need to copy China, but that we do need to adapt in some way. My proposal is to link teacher pay to performance, as opposed to amount of time teaching.
Aaron W.
November 7, 2009 at 10:01 pm
I agree very much with your article, but it’s not entirely true that so kibbutzim have turned to the moshav system. There are still quite a few true kibbutzim left in Israel, although it is true that there are not as many as there once were. And you were right that the reason communism doesn’t work is that people don’t want equal pay when the work isn’t equal. Great article, though.
Olivia Robinson
December 9, 2009 at 4:31 pm
I’m sure that there are quite a few true kibbutzim, but from my research and personal experience in Israel, most have switched over. And, they have become very wealthy. Their adaptation when the original system began to fail was what I wanted to point out in my article.