America spends more money than any other nation in the world to graduate a student from high school. However, according to Robert Compton, producer of the documentary, Two Million Minutes, American high school students are not prepared to compete for the future jobs in the international market for intellectual talent. The students of China and India, the primary focus of his attention in the film, are clearly better prepared for the jobs in science, math, and engineering (the prime jobs of the future). The conclusion: the problem is not solved by simply throwing money at it.One would think that American students would, simply because of our high standard of living, outperform those students in countries less fortunate than ours. However, according to results published in the 2007 Trends of International Mathematics and Science Study, American eighth-graders rank tenth in Mathematics, and eleventh in science. Now, some of the countries beating us have a standard of living comparable to ours. However, some do not. Among those beating us are: Singapore, Taipei, Japan, South Korea, England, Hungary, Czech Republic, and Slovenia (China and India did not participate in TIMSS). The conclusion: a full belly, a cellphone and an Ipod don't automatically translate into a fuller education.
One would think that American students could compete if only our class sizes were smaller, but the issue is more complex than that. And, contrary to what American educators and teacher's union advocates would have us believe, as cited in the TIMSS report itself, "TIMSS data repeatedly show, contrary to what might be anticipated, that the high-achieving Asian countries have some of the largest class sizes." [my italics] The conclusion is in the form of a question: if smaller class size does not translate at-large, into higher achievement, why not?
One would think that American students would do better if our teachers were paid more, so that the best talent would be drawn into the field. In fact, that is the core goal of the NEA and its affiliates in each state. But that would belie the facts. American teachers, in dollar-to-dollar comparisons, according to the 2005 International Average Salary Comparison study, are the highest paid teachers in the world, at $4055 per month. Among the nations beating us in international academic studies, though, teachers who earn less than we are still getting better returns: England ($3568), Japan ($2961), Finland ($2311), Korea ($2096), Czech Republic ($631), Hungary ($583). I ask, if more money doesn't draw the higher talent into the teaching (presuming, perhaps wrongly, that the talent is not there) then what does?
Indeed, there are many factors to weigh, when one contemplates this question. But a few things seem certain. You don't suddenly make a better school by building a new one. You don't miraculously increase achievement by reducing the numbers of kids in a room. You don't magically recruit better teachers by paying them more. It's more complex--and simpler--than we think.
What then is the path we must take to improve student achievement? As I believe in the principle of Ockham's Razor, that the simplest solution to a complex problem is the best, I am convinced that the problem of student achievement is solved inside the classroom between two people--student and teacher. Inside that classroom (when it is working), two things exist: the love of learning and the love of teaching. Without this core philosophic spirit, there is no education, and the life of the mind is rendered null. With this spirit, though, there is no limit to what a student can learn, and no limit to what a teacher can teach. If we can inspire our students and teachers with this spirit, I believe the results will be clear.
But how, you say, do we get this spirit? It is not tangible, like money, bricks, mortar, and classroom desks. I answer, we look to the exemplars, the models of this spirit. They are everywhere, wherever there is a great teacher and a great student. Let us highlight that relationship. Let us revel in it. Let us publicize it. Let us reward it. Let us fund it for research, if we want to spend money in places that will yield the truest results.
The models for this spirit abound. In the present, the exemplars of this spirit are without number, as I believe that the American Teacher is potentially the greatest teacher in the world, were it but for barriers put up to the fullest achievement of his potential. But the classic teaching exemplars are legion: found in in the lives Socrates and Jesus, Gotama and Confucius. Let us begin by pondering this, that the large number of people who have ever walked the earth owe a debt to these Four Great Teachers, and the world of education--education--has been better for it.
And what makes these four men (and countless men and women who have followed them) so special? I see one common thread throughout, when I think on what it means to be both student and the teacher--the thread of honor. Here is what happens when both teacher and student enter into an honor contract for the sake of learning and teaching:
First, the student honors his teacher by doing all he can to fulfill his teacher's expectations, through sincere and diligent study. The student's role, therefore, is to honor his teacher's scholarship and experience, and do all he can to live up to the expectation of excellence. If the student lives up to the standard, he is content with his teacher's approval--but not proud. If he does not live up to that standard, he feels responsible, and works harder--but is disappointed in himself.
Secondly, the teacher honors his student by modeling the academic and personal traits of the scholar-teacher. He personifies the philosophic spirit as he, through his instruction, demonstrates deep learning and broad patience. He expects much from his student, but guides him with a manner that implies both great expectation and great compassion. He never gives up on his student. He expects his student to strive to surpass him. If such a thing should happen, he is willing to trade roles.
Thus, in the end, when we come full circle on this question of how the American scholar regains his status in the world, it seems that I have proposed something so nebulous and abstract as to be dismissed as impractical. But we must consider the facts. What we are doing is not working well enough. Agreed, it may do no harm to have schools with marble floors and swimming pools; it may do no harm to have class sizes small; it may do no harm for teachers to be paid more; but all harm indeed is done if there is no honor-code between student and teacher. Unarguably, a subtle, silent, but pernicious harm is done if there is no love for learning and teaching. Undeniably, if we focus all of our attention, as both students and teachers, upon each other, and the great and honorable task at hand--to increase the body of human wisdom--we can be the model for the world again.
