Published: September 30, 2008
7 Ways Teachers Can Help Solve America's Education Crisis
Tough Love & Tenacity: How Teachers Can Help Solve America's Education Crisis
If you're a teacher, you have a daunting job. But Tom Bloch, the former CEO of H&R Block who left his corporate career to become an inner city teacher, says you can help even the most challenged kids thrive and improve the American school system one child at a time.
San Francisco, CA (September 2008) - The U.S. public education system is under attack. And reaching a consensus on how to fix it seems almost impossible. (The controversy surrounding No Child Left Behind is just one glaring example.) But here's what most teachers want to know: All theorizing aside, what concrete actions can I take to make all of my students pay attention, show respect, want to learn, and achieve at high levels? Tom Bloch has some answers - and they're answers he has personally "road tested" in some very tough classrooms.
"I have worked with kids who displayed tremendous behavioral and academic problems," says Bloch, author of Stand for the Best: What I Learned after Leaving My Job as CEO of H&R Block to Become a Teacher and Founder of an Inner City Charter School (Jossey-Bass/A Wiley Imprint, August 2008, ISBN-10: 0470188960, ISBN-13: 978-0-4701889-6-5, $24.95). "They are the products of low-income, broken families, growing up in the spirit-crushing environment of the inner city. They lag far behind children in the suburbs. And yet, when these children are placed in the right kind of classroom environment, with caring, competent, and dedicated teachers, they thrive."
You may have heard of Tom Bloch before. Thirteen years ago he was the CEO of tax-preparation giant H&R Block, co-founded by his father. (The family changed the spelling of the company name to "Block" to avoid mispronunciation.) Then, in 1995 he stepped down from his post to teach math to some of the most underprivileged kids in the country. He later went on to co-found Kansas City-based University Academy, a successful college preparatory charter public school serving over 1,000 students from kindergarten through twelfth grade. Over the last five years, all but two students who have graduated from UA have gone on to attend college, an extraordinary feat for an urban school.
Bloch's new book documents his remarkable journey from high-profile CEO to co-founder of University Academy and the long road in between. His hope is that urban schools all over the country can learn from his prototype of academic excellence. But he says his larger message is aimed at teachers in all types of classrooms, not just those steeped in cultures where drug abuse, violence, and poverty reign.
"Kids are kids," he reflects. "They all need and want the same things, including a sense of hope for their future and relationships with adults who truly care about them."
Here are a few of Bloch's insights on what teachers can do to push their kids toward academic success:
Order and structure are key. Many children have very little structure in their home lives, which explains their often chaotic behavior during school hours. Bloch says that setting up order and structure in the classroom is a way to counter-balance an otherwise unregulated, unfettered environment. A regimen helps children understand expectations and get used to following procedures as well. "Perhaps your students know that the first five minutes after the bell rings is journal time followed by a homework review," explains Bloch. "No matter what structure you design and follow, students will be more likely to learn and succeed when they know exactly what to expect each day."
It's not only okay to teach core values, it's vital. Some people question whether, in a diverse, multicultural society, schools should be in the values business. Of course they should, says Bloch. "Schools must teach kindness, compassion, respect, and responsibility to help offset the corrosive aspects of our larger culture," he asserts. "After all, who, other than parents and religious institutions, is better positioned to teach these things?" Bloch has discovered that there are fewer disruptions in the classroom when there is a strong emphasis on moral development. "Academics and character education go hand in hand," he says.
Set high standards and maintain them. "School, like life, should be a real-world experience," emphasizes Bloch. "Low expectations promote low performance. Social promotion does kids no favors; it doesn't prepare them for the real world." Unfortunately, too many parents believe that their children should be rewarded whether they do the work or not. Not surprisingly, this entitlement mindset rubs off on the children. Bloch says teachers must be relentless with students and refuse to give Cs or even Ds when Fs are actually earned.
Practice tough love. "Teachers must stick to their guns," asserts Bloch. "On the first day of school, spell out the rules and expectations for each class and be clear about the non-negotiable consequences of inappropriate conduct. Once the students know the price of unacceptable behavior and see you enforce the rules, they will value and respect authority."
Insist on parent involvement. There is simply no substitute for parental involvement in a child's education. "Some parents either expect schools to do all the work or else find themselves too busy to take an active role in their children's schooling," says Bloch. "At University Academy, we require parents to sign a contract that spells out specific responsibilities-such as attending parent-teacher conferences and volunteering at school-to ensure that they are directly involved."
Content knowledge is absolutely essential, but it's not the only quality that defines a good teacher. Truly effective teachers know their subject matter and are also effective managers as well as motivators. One of Tom Bloch's favorite quotes comes from Gail Godwin: "Good teaching is one-fourth preparation and three-fourths theatre." As Bloch explains, "It's one thing for an algebra teacher to know algebra, but it's a whole other thing to motivate young people to learn algebra."
Teach respect by respecting yourself and others. "Too many kids don't show enough respect towards others and themselves," says Bloch. The apathetic, defiant, and disrespectful student can be a teacher's greatest challenge. "How does a teacher teach respect?" asks Bloch. "I know of only one way: It is to show respect."
Finally, says Bloch, if you ever doubt the impact you can have on your students, just look at the miracles your colleagues work every day.
"The challenges of teaching require a rare breed of teachers," he says. "They must be multitalented and multitasking. They must be professional managers and law enforcers. They must be surrogate parents, therapists, mediators, cheerleaders, caregivers, judges, and more. And yes, they must be educators, too.
"Teaching is not just a job - it's a calling," Bloch concludes. "And I have a word for those who manage not only to endure but actually to thrive in this environment. That word is hero."
Tom Bloch, former CEO of H&R Block, is a middle school math teacher and president of the board at University Academy. He co-founded the highly acclaimed Academy, which is a K-12 public charter school of more than 1,000 inner city students. Bloch is also a founding board member of the Kansas City Foundation for Higher Education, vice chairman of the University of Missouri-Kansas City, president of the Endowment Fund for the Henry W. Bloch School of Business, and chairman of the Greater Kansas City Community Foundation.
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