What's Next for America's Public Schools?

Michael Maloney

Private schools, charter schools, dysfunctional public schools taken-over and run by behaviorists, private learning centres, consulting services, software producers, and curriculum authors have all prospered using the very technologies rejected by public education. As behavioral educators, we have been nibbling successfully at the edges. But we are not making lasting inroads in getting public educators to adopt effective behavioral educational practices. The grant runs out, the champion moves on, and the project dies.

So what is next? Do we continue trying to build critical mass, offering options privately or from outside the system? Do we try something new? Fortunately it appears that something new already has been set in motion. And it appears to be gaining ground. It also appears to be a solution that is evolving from efforts of behaviorists inside the realm of national education policy makers.

As usual, at least one of the Direct Instruction leaders is in the forefront. Latest sketchy reports indicate that Doug Carnine and Louise Moat are among the educational advisors getting the ear of the Secretary of Education and using their influence to drive the adoption of effective methods in basic reading for public schools. The Read First federal initiative is a well funded, carefully considered approach to breaking the cycle of illiteracy using proven educational methods. Given its sterling history of successes over many years, its pre-eminent position in the Follow-Through study for decades, and its transferability to any classroom, Direct Instruction may finally get its chance to change the face of basic literacy across America.

The concept of fluency as a standard for measuring performance has also persevered and gained ground. It too is likely to be part of the new academic mix. So the life work of pioneers like Engelmann, Lindsley, Becker, Haughton, Carnine, and legions of other foot soldiers, may finally register on the radar screens of national public education. There is light at the end of one very long uphill tunnel.

There are also a few things that we have to remember. First and foremost, this initiative is part of a political agenda. It lives in a dog-eat-dog political world of slashed budgets, broken promises, watered-down policies, internecine turf wars and shelved initiatives. Look, for example, at what happened to the original Follow-Through project. To survive, Read First will be required to maintain its momentum in a hostile environment divided by more needs, more pressures, more agendas and more egos than reasonably can be satisfied. The task is made significantly more difficult in the wake of the September 11th crisis.

As behaviorists, we have a key supporting role to play. First, we can get up to speed with the program and what it might make possible. Those not familiar with Direct Instruction and Precision Teaching should familiarize themselves with the literature. Then we can help raise awareness and acceptance by working at local, state and regional levels. Each one teach one. We can learn and explain the policies, learn and defend the practices, and be the calm voice of reason backed by the mountains of data gathered over the past 30 years. You just know that our old child-centred data-free foes are not going to take this lying down. They will be out on the roof-tops shouting about drill and kill, robotic teaching, linear learning and the death of creativity. They have a lot to lose and they will not surrender quietly.

This is a call to political action. Politicians who believe their words and deeds are being watched closely, and especially publicized, respond more in the vein the watcher wants. This is a theatre we have not often played, with performances we have not much practiced. We have a learning curve to pay for and there is likely only one installment. We will get only one opportunity to make this first impression a good one.

Let's assume for the moment that we win the day, that behavioral methods get their innings. The challenges then grow larger and more immediate. We could win the war and lose the peace. What is our plan if, suddenly, thousands or hundreds of thousands of parents see the light and demand the programs that will make their children more competent students? Even if only 10% of the parents of poor readers in the primary grades demanded immediate assistance, the numbers boggle the mind. At the moment, we do not possess a sufficiently large occupation army to win such a peace. The behavioral education brigade is much too small, much too thin on the ground, with more scouts than troopers. Given our current training programs, we couldn't possibly supply the required number of teachers and monitor their classrooms so as to ensure that the tools were being used properly, the children adequately taught, fluencies reached and recorded accurately.

The capacity for failure due to inadequate implementation is very real. The cost would be exceedingly high – a loss of confidence and credibility in things behavioral, much to the delight of the nay-sayers. There are probably few things more easily discarded than a badly run Direct Instruction or Precision Teaching program in an elementary school classroom of 25+ kids. There are probably few things more difficult to rebuild than a second chance to implement technically demanding methods, that, in the eyes of teachers, don't appear to work.

We need to think about, plan for and prepare to execute a cohesive strategy that will result in making available competently trained teachers and aides to fill the demand we hope Carnine and company can create. We'll need the equivalent of the officer-training model from The Big One – WWII – our own cadres of '30-day Wonders' to lead the charge.

Once we have secured the beachhead by teaching reading effectively, it will be an easier fight to capture other curricula. Reading comprehension, spelling, math and language could quickly wind up in our area of operations. So stay alert. Sign up, keep your powder dry, the revolution may soon be coming to a classroom near you.

Michael Maloney is a teacher, principal, best selling author, and award winning software producer. In the last 25 years, he has created behaviorally-based private schools and learning centres. He was recently awarded the 2001 Canada Post National Literacy Award (Educator). Teach Your Children Well Inc.,

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