Teach Effectively!

Education is important in the current campaign for mayor of the District of Columbia (DC; US), according to a story in the Washington Post by Lori Montgomery. Citing poll data and interviews with citizens, Ms. Montgomery reports that peopl apparently are focusing on improving schools. The focus is not necessarily on the right point, though. The report notes that public outcry over expenditure on a baseball stadium led DC to spend $100 million per year on buildings for schools.

But repairing schoolhouses doesn’t guarantee improvement in the classroom. Cherita Whiting, PTA president at the newly renovated McKinley Technology High School in Eckington, off New York Avenue NE, complains that some teachers don’t enlist families to help their children excel.
“There are kids in McKinley with five F’s on their report cards,” Whiting said. “These kids want to do good. The problem is some teachers do not communicate with the parents.”

There are hints that people are actually concerned about what really matters—students’ actual outcomes—and I hope that someone starts writing about this matter.

Link to Ms. Montgomery’s article.