{"id":115543,"date":"2016-08-12T10:36:28","date_gmt":"2016-08-12T14:36:28","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/today.uconn.edu\/?p=115543"},"modified":"2023-08-07T20:44:07","modified_gmt":"2023-08-08T00:44:07","slug":"country-prepped-conversation-education","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/today.uconn.edu\/2016\/08\/country-prepped-conversation-education\/","title":{"rendered":"\u2018Country Prepped for Conversation on Education\u2019"},"content":{"rendered":"<p><em>On Wednesday, the National Commission on Teaching &amp; America\u2019s Future (NCTAF) released a <a href=\"http:\/\/nctaf.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2016\/08\/NCTAF_What-Matters-Now_Call-to-Action.pdf\">report<\/a> aimed at helping educators reorganize the nation\u2019s education system in ways that support teaching, drive learning, and provide all students with the foundation needed to build a successful future. Building on a <a href=\"http:\/\/nctaf.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/WhatMattersMost.pdf\">report<\/a> the Commission issued 20 years ago, it addresses current challenges facing the nation\u2019s educators and makes recommendations focused on improving teaching and learning in the U.S.<\/em><\/p>\n<p><em>Professor Richard Schwab, former dean of the Neag School of Education and now <\/em><em>Raymond Neag Endowed Professor of Educational Leadership, helped shape the new report, &#8220;What Matters Now: A New Compact for Teaching and Learning.&#8221; He describes it as a call to collective action ultimately intended to ensure that all students have access to great teaching. <\/em><\/p>\n<p><em>Schwab is a longtime commissioner with NCTAF, a\u00a0Washington, D.C.-area-based non-profit, and a current member of its board of directors. He spoke with UConn Today following a presentation Wednesday in Washington, D.C., where he and other practitioners and policymakers discussed the details of their latest report and the current education climate.<br \/>\n<\/em><\/p>\n<aside class=\"grey-sidebar floating-sidebar col-xs-12 col-sm-4\">\n  <\/p>\n<h3>About the Expert<\/h3>\n<p><figure id=\"attachment_115579\" aria-describedby=\"caption-attachment-115579\" style=\"width: 265px\" class=\"wp-caption alignleft\"><a href=\"https:\/\/today.uconn.edu\/wp-content\/uploads\/2016\/08\/Schwab_headshot.jpg\"><img decoding=\"async\" class=\"size-full wp-image-115579 img-responsive lazyload\" data-src=\"https:\/\/today.uconn.edu\/wp-content\/uploads\/2016\/08\/Schwab_headshot.jpg\" alt=\"Richard Schwab, former dean of the Neag School of Education.\" width=\"265\" height=\"300\" src=\"data:image\/svg+xml;base64,PHN2ZyB3aWR0aD0iMSIgaGVpZ2h0PSIxIiB4bWxucz0iaHR0cDovL3d3dy53My5vcmcvMjAwMC9zdmciPjwvc3ZnPg==\" style=\"--smush-placeholder-width: 265px; --smush-placeholder-aspect-ratio: 265\/300;\" \/><\/a><figcaption id=\"caption-attachment-115579\" class=\"wp-caption-text\">Richard Schwab, former dean of the Neag School of Education.<\/figcaption><\/figure><\/p>\n<p>Richard Schwab<br \/>\n860-486-0214<br \/>\n<a href=\"mailto:richard.schwab@uconn.edu\">richard.schwab@uconn.edu<br \/>\n<\/a><br \/>\nFormer dean and current Raymond Neag Endowed Professor of Educational Leadership, Schwab specializes in educational leadership, policy and reform, and teacher education.<\/p>\n<h3>Noteworthy<\/h3>\n<p>Over the years, Schwab has researched, presented, and published on issues related to teacher preparation, teacher and administrator education reform, and educational technology.<br \/>\nMost recently, he collaborated with other Neag faculty on the book, <em>Portrait of a Profession: Teaching and Teachers in the 21st Century<\/em>, of which he was co-editor. In recognition of his outstanding research on teacher education, he was presented with the American Association of Colleges of Teacher Education Margaret Lindsey Award for Distinguished Research in Teacher Education.<\/p>\n<h3>Education<\/h3>\n<p>Ph.D. Educational Administration, University of Connecticut<br \/>\nMA Educational Administration, University of Connecticut<br \/>\nBS Social Studies Education, Boston University<br \/>\n<\/aside>\n<p><strong>Q.\u00a0What are the current challenges this report is intended to address?<\/strong><\/p>\n<p><strong>A.\u00a0<\/strong>Today, between a quarter and half of new teachers in the U.S. leave the field of teaching within their first four or five years on the job. This turnover incurs costs of more than $2 billion each year. At the same time, a mere five percent of high school students say they intend to pursue careers as educators, according to recent findings, and this is happening at a time when the achievement gap between high- and low-income students has been expanding over the past 25 years.<\/p>\n<p>We have spent billions, passing endless pieces of reform legislation at the state and national level, yet still we have not succeeded in supporting or enhancing the teaching profession to the degree we must if we are to achieve the lofty goals all of us have for our nation\u2019s schools.<\/p>\n<p><strong>Q.\u00a0To what do you attribute this turnover?<\/strong><\/p>\n<p><strong>A.<\/strong> My fellow commissioner, Jal Mehta, an associate professor at Harvard\u2019s Graduate School of Education, summed it up well: For so long, we have asked teachers to do too much. The system is radically over-invested in student test scores as the only indicator of success and teacher evaluations as the primary lever of improvement. Those things are important, but it\u2019s a matter of emphasis, and the result of this overemphasis has been a narrowing of curriculum and a lowering of teacher morale.<\/p>\n<p>The bad press on education is giving teachers mixed messages and, in many cases, teachers are the victims. People don\u2019t understand the challenges teachers face every day, and the lack of resources. And not every education program prepares teachers adequately. The report points out that most of the 66 million public school children in the U.S. are students of color. A quarter of those students live in poverty and more than half qualify for free and reduced lunch. More than four million of today\u2019s students are not native English speakers, and more than six million have identified disabilities or special needs. Many more are undiagnosed. This diversity of students and their needs presents new opportunities and challenges for educators.<\/p>\n<p><strong>Q.\u00a0The focus of your remarks was on teacher preparation, your area of expertise. The report calls for action around a new vision of teaching and learning. What part does teacher preparation play in achieving that vision?<\/strong><\/p>\n<p><strong>A.\u00a0<\/strong>I was there to talk about what it takes to do quality teacher education. I believe we\u2019ve made great strides. At UConn, w have a five-year integrated bachelor\u2019s and master\u2019s degree program that provides a variety of professional experiences and puts our students in diverse settings, from Hartford and East Hartford to Mansfield. We have higher than average placement, and retention rates that are among the highest in the nation.<\/p>\n<p>But here\u2019s the rub for me: Teacher preparation has to be built in partnership with schools. If we are really going to do deeper learning and we are setting up these teachers and preparing them, we can\u2019t then put them in schools that are not going to help them become the teachers we have worked so hard to prepare. You can mentor all you want, but if you are teaching well over 100 students in a day, and half of those kids are English language learners, how are you going to do deeper learning from 8 to 2 and still get in a 20-minute lunch? We have to somehow take a look at schools in this country. We have to look at both ends of the continuum.<\/p>\n<p><strong>Q.\u00a0To help teachers stay in the profession and thrive, the report outlines a new compact that puts teachers at the heart of systemic change. Can you elaborate?<\/strong><\/p>\n<p><strong>A.\u00a0<\/strong>In this environment, we need to ensure that teachers have the time and opportunity to shift their methods from encouraging students to find the \u201cright\u201d answers to helping students \u201cown\u201d what they learn and apply it in their everyday lives. This new way of thinking about teaching and learning will drive a new system that asks much of teachers but gives them the supports they need to be successful throughout their careers. Essentially, the new system will establish a new compact between teachers, states, and districts; between teachers, students, parents; and the education system as a whole.<\/p>\n<p><strong>Q.\u00a0How does this report build on the one 20 years ago?<\/strong><\/p>\n<p><strong>A.\u00a0<\/strong>The first one, \u201c<a href=\"http:\/\/nctaf.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/WhatMattersMost.pdf\">What Matters Most: Teaching for America\u2019s Future<\/a>,\u201d changed the national discussion about what must be done to improve America\u2019s schools so that all students experience success. The Commission drew attention to the overlooked fact that the most important variable affecting student achievement is the teacher. It made recommendations affecting every aspect of the teaching career, from recruitment and induction, to retention and recognition.<\/p>\n<p>Since then, the traction created by that report has eroded. We have made great strides meeting the challenges, but then the political winds changed and the emphasis shifted. That\u2019s why we felt the time was right, with all the talk of reform and when policy is shifting toward more engaging and relevant teaching and learning, to take a deep breath and look systemically at what we have to do.<\/p>\n<p>I think our country is ready for a new conversation. If we could get 50 states to take a look, to breathe deeply for a year or two, and say let\u2019s look comprehensively at what works and what doesn\u2019t. To listen to all the voices and say okay, what do we know from research-based practice and what do we know teachers are doing every day.<\/p>\n<p>We must move the focus from doing things to teachers that have no effect, or worse, make their jobs more difficult, to providing support that is research-based, consistent, and focused, and that fully engages teachers in designing the support they need and deserve.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>The former dean of the Neag School discusses a new national report calling for greater support for teachers in order to improve learning for all students.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":109,"featured_media":112042,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"_crdt_document":"","wds_primary_category":0,"wds_primary_series":0,"wds_primary_attribution":0,"footnotes":""},"categories":[1715,2424,1855,2225],"tags":[],"magazine-issues":[],"coauthors":[2021],"class_list":["post-115543","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-community-impact","category-neag-community-engagement","category-neag","category-uconn-storrs"],"pp_statuses_selecting_workflow":false,"pp_workflow_action":"current","pp_status_selection":"publish","acf":[],"publishpress_future_action":{"enabled":false,"date":"2026-06-03 13:33:58","action":"change-status","newStatus":"draft","terms":[],"taxonomy":"category","extraData":[]},"publishpress_future_workflow_manual_trigger":{"enabledWorkflows":[]},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/today.uconn.edu\/wp-rest\/wp\/v2\/posts\/115543","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/today.uconn.edu\/wp-rest\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/today.uconn.edu\/wp-rest\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/today.uconn.edu\/wp-rest\/wp\/v2\/users\/109"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/today.uconn.edu\/wp-rest\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=115543"}],"version-history":[{"count":10,"href":"https:\/\/today.uconn.edu\/wp-rest\/wp\/v2\/posts\/115543\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":115582,"href":"https:\/\/today.uconn.edu\/wp-rest\/wp\/v2\/posts\/115543\/revisions\/115582"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/today.uconn.edu\/wp-rest\/wp\/v2\/media\/112042"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/today.uconn.edu\/wp-rest\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=115543"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/today.uconn.edu\/wp-rest\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=115543"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/today.uconn.edu\/wp-rest\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=115543"},{"taxonomy":"magazine-issue","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/today.uconn.edu\/wp-rest\/wp\/v2\/magazine-issues?post=115543"},{"taxonomy":"author","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/today.uconn.edu\/wp-rest\/wp\/v2\/coauthors?post=115543"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}