More Money, More Problems?

               While reading Stephen Brill’s Class Warfare, one theme that consistently comes into play is the idea of whether or not more funding might be the solution for a school that is underperforming. At first thought, it seems very intuitive that if you are trying to deal with a school that is consistently producing students who are scoring well below national standards on standardized tests, a potential solution might be to scrounge up more funding for that school. Now, while the ways in which this can be done are not at all easy, one might think that they would be beneficial and produce positive results. Interestingly enough, however, Brill gives us some evidence and insight to combat this thought.

I find it very interesting that, typically speaking, the issue within underperforming schools is often not one of money. From my own personal experiences growing up and going through a public school system that I saw to be very flawed, I constantly saw administrators lamenting about money and financial issues. Everything the superintendent did seemed to revolve around the hope of receiving more funding and more money. After learning a little bit more about Race to the Top, this makes much more sense to me looking back on the way things were. But at the same time, Brill sheds some light onto the ways in which more funding does not instantly equate to more learning, and I find this to be very interesting. Brill cites some alarming facts, such as how “We are now spending 50 percent more per student than what other developed nations spend…while our children continue to stagnate or fall behind” (Brill, 27).

Something worth mentioning that Brill also discusses shortly after this quote is the fact that Brill also endorses the necessity for teachers to put in much more time outside the hours and requirements of their union contracts, in order for improvement to be seen among a student body. Throughout the book he endorses a sense of change coming from within the classrooms, starting with the teachers. Bringing in more money for more resources can help in some scenarios, but Brill seems to support the notion that you will need to accompany it with better, harder working teachers in order to see real results.

Personally, while reading the section of the book where Brill introduces some of the major character who he will discuss throughout his book such as Jessica Reid, Michelle Rhee, and Michael Johnston, I found myself wondering at what point exemplary teachers such as them can draw the line and limit the focus, time, and energy that they devote to their teaching. For example, is there a happy medium that teachers can find where they are not overworking themselves, while ensuring they are still teaching as effectively as they possibly can? If so, can that medium be found through the cooperative work of the state government and unions?

One potential solution Brill examines throughout the book that many policy-informers seem to advocate for is the idea of reducing class sizes. Much like increasing funding, this seems to make a lot of sense. If a teacher has fewer students, they would have more time to focus on their individual students in and outside of the classroom. Theoretically, this should lead to better learning. However, in the case of an unmotivated, tenured teacher protected by union contracts, this may not lead to the desired change; rather it will lead to the teacher getting away with doing even less work than they had done in the past.

All of these potential solutions that Brill picks apart in his book seem to point to the same common theme- in order to produce more learning, superintendents and principles need to first and foremost locate, hire, and promote good teachers who are passionate about teaching and fully committed to their job. An example of this can be seen in Michael Johnston’s case, when he was asked to lead a section of a school for juvenile delinquents. After getting to essentially recreate the teaching staff at his school, he effectively hand-picked every single teacher in order to ensure that the employees working for him were fully dedicated to their jobs. The results of this were definitely impressive. Generally speaking, then, it seems that before more funding can be looked towards as a fix for underperforming schools, teacher replacement (or possibly even insightful teacher workshops aimed at inspiring current jaded teachers) might be the first place to look, instead.