Education Leaders Speak on Schools

To a standing-room only audience in Altschul Atrium, the founder of Teach for America, the head of the New York City Department of Education, and the head of the Barnard education program spoke about the state of New York City schools and ways to improve them.

The panel was co-sponsored by Columbia/Barnard Tzedek Hillel, a social justice organization, and Teach for America.

Citing what he called "the bigotry of low expectations," Chancellor Joel Klein, CC '67, set the tone of the panel to focus on the culture of New York City public schools as a primary determining factor for success.

"There is a pervasive belief by too many people outside the school system, but also too many people inside the school system, that kids grow up in poverty, kids grow up in dysfunctional families," Klein said. He also argued that schools that demand more get better results, even if the demographics of students remain the same.

But it is not sufficient to change expectations in the classrooms, the panelists said. Wendy Kopp, founder and director of Teach for America, pointed to larger societal problems.

"The reality still-in this country that aspires so admirably to be a land of opportunity-is that where you are born determines your educational opportunity," Kopp said. "We do ask our schools to compensate for a lot."

It was the question of how to put those kids on a level playing field that divided the panelists.

"The devil's in the detail for what we see as a solution," Lee Bell, the Barbra Silver Horowitz Director of Education at Barnard, said.

She cited statistics on racial makeup that show that while many urban schools' student bodies are primarily minority students, the majority of teachers are white.

"Kids need to see themselves and their families reflected in the school," she said.

Klein focused on charter schools that have been successful in bringing students who were behind up to grade level, describing as politically driven the state-wide charter school cap that prevents New York City from opening any more charter schools. "I'm a big fan of charter schools," he said. "They are built on accountability."

He also stressed the importance of good teachers over small class size, citing his own experience at Columbia as an example. "There were people here at Columbia who were wasting my time," he said. "One of the reasons those classes were so small is because everyone else had realized that those teachers were a waste of time."

All of the panelists urged the audience-composed in part of students, Teach for America corps members, and local educators-to be active in working to alleviate inequity in urban schools.

"Everyone here today has had a privileged education," Klein said. "And it seems to me that you have to fight like hell for other kids in this country."