Asking the wrong question (education)

The Broken Windows theory of policing is still controversial in many quarters, in large part, because it is seen as focusing on "minor" problems to the exclusion of more serious issues.

In reality, the significance of the theory is its focus on those factors that matter most in terms of impact on crime and crime reduction rather than just having officers drive around in police cars, responding to calls.

When sociologists and criminologists studying policing in the 1970s found "no impact" on the number of police officers and reductions in crime, the real issue was that they were asking the wrong question.

The right questions would have been something like "How are police officers spending the majority of their time?" and "Is this the best use of their time, if crime reduction is the goal of their efforts while working?" Of course adding more police officers doing things that weren't focused on crime reduction would have no effect.

Today there is a letter to the editor in the New York Times, "The Difference Good Schools Make," by the Chancellor of the New York City School System, in response to this piece from last week, "It Takes More Than Schools to Close Achievement Gap," (note that free access to this article will end at midnight). It strikes me that this is about the same kind of problem, one of "question formation."

While the original article referenced by Chancellor Klein is accurate in stating that because "the main cause of the achievement gap was in the backgrounds and resources of families," therefore it takes more than schools, the question really should be how to address this issue, how to improve the student and parent "inputs" side of the equation, along with simultaneous school improvement efforts.

"Reforms" focusing strictly on the schools will fail, because it is not only the schools that are the "problem."

That's why I keep writing about programs that engage the entire family, the entire community, in communicating the value of education, and in working to build the strength of families of children in school, especially children from families of lesser means.

One example is the family learning contract, another is First Day Initiatives, yet another is the so-called "Year Round School," which shows particular promise especially with children from low-income families, taking students on trips to the local library, etc.

The Parent Leadership Training Institute in Connecticut is a program that works to combine these various initiatives and diffuse the innovations throughout troubled school districts in the state.

Also see this excellent article from yesterday's Austin American-Statesman (registration required), "Central Texas teachers meeting students, parents where they live: Efforts to get parents involved should pay off in student performance, experts say." From the article:

"Hi, I'm Mr. Cantú from Copperfield Elementary. Is Marisa here?" asks Ronnie Cantú, a third-grade teacher in the Pflugerville school district. Eyes beaming, Marisa, 8, smiles. Cantú, who taught fifth grade last year and is expecting someone a bit taller, looks first to her father, then to her siblings, trying to find his student. "It's me. I'm right here," she says, sticking out her chest and raising her hand.

The scene is one of hundreds played out over the past several days on front steps in school districts in and around Austin as teachers walked through their students' communities. The walks allow students to find out — often for the first time — who their teachers will be. Teachers, in turn, get to meet parents and lay out their expectations for the school year, which starts today for some students. Students in the Austin school district start school Tuesday.

"This, I feel, is the most important day of the year," Cantú said one day last week as he climbed from his black sports car to meet his next student. He brought along bags of information about the school and a composition notebook. The notebook, he tells parents, is required. It will be their way of keeping track of what their children are working on throughout the school year.

"When parents know you're involved, it gets them involved," he said. "You can't do this alone. If you're going to make a difference, you really do need their help."
Brian K. Diggs Austin American-Statesman. Area districts, including Pflugerville, urge teachers to introduce themselves to students' families and discuss expectations. Copperfield Elementary's Ronnie Cantú, left, visited the homes of his third-graders, including 8-year-old Marisa Cantu and her father, David.

Index Keywords: education