A retired teacher and principal with thirty-eight years of experience in public education, Renato C. Nicolai, Ed.D., taught 6th through 12th grade and was both an elementary and middle school principal. He was known as Dr. Nicolai in education circles, which eventually was shortened to Dr. Nick, and has stuck ever since.
Tyler: Thank you for joining me today, Dr. Nick. Obviously, the state of public education in the United States is of great concern to many people. To begin, will you tell us what you think is wrong with the public education system?
Dr. Nick: Wow! What an opportunity! Yes, I would be pleased to tell you what I think is wrong with the public education system. My thoughts aren’t in any order of priority; I’m telling you about them as they come to mind.
What I think of first is what I wrote about as the main emphasis in my book. Teachers desperately need to improve the quality of their teaching, so, specifically, what’s wrong is that too many teachers are either incompetent or mediocre instructors at best. Yes, if you had the opportunity to stand by my side in the hundreds of classrooms I’ve visited in my career, you would be both amazed and horrified at how much poor quality teaching there is in our public schools. If parents only knew how much more their children could be learning with instruction from superb teachers than what they are most likely learning now from incompetent teachers, they would be flabbergasted. That’s how bad it really is. However, this indictment of teachers is not a major problem at the elementary school. Still, it is a serious and rampant problem at the middle school, junior high school, and especially the high school level of education. Parents, you’ll want to read about the eight essential qualities most teachers don’t possess. I’ve listed and described them in the first chapter of my book.
Tenure is another critical problem. Once a school district grants tenure, an incompetent teacher is a teacher for life. It’s tough to dismiss a teacher who has tenure. What’s wrong with tenure is that it’s achievable so soon in a teacher’s career (after only three years in most cases), so final (once it’s granted, it’s irrevocable), and so long-lasting (the teacher keeps it for as long as they teach). What happens is that some teachers work very hard during their first few years on the job, receive tenure, and then slack off in their performance because they know they can rarely lose their job. Instead of tenure, public education should promote a system of performance reviews that teachers are required to pass periodically to keep their teaching position for the next two or three years.
The way a teacher is evaluated is all wrong within the education system. It’s basically a sham and a joke. Collective bargaining contracts and union involvement in teacher evaluations have watered down the process of teacher evaluations to the degree that practically nothing worthwhile results from the process. In my book, I have a chapter titled “What You Don’t Know Won’t Hurt You,” and the concept of teacher evaluation is discussed in that chapter. If parents and the public knew how ineffective and unproductive teacher evaluations are, they would demand a more efficient system. The system as it exists in most school districts today is a tactful process of saying the right words, doing what’s anticipated, and not ruffling anyone’s feelings. It should help teachers improve the quality of their teaching to the degree that they help students learn better, but it doesn’t do that at all.
The public education system is rooted in the false notion that all teachers are qualified educators who can be trusted to make good decisions, follow school district rules and regulations, work together in a spirit of collegiality, promote the welfare of students as a priority, and, generally, do what is just, moral, and professional. What’s wrong is that this description is not true; yet, school districts throughout the United States allow teachers the freedom to work unsupervised because they are assumed to be well-intentioned, professional persons who have the best interests of students at heart. Understand me, please. Of course, many conscientious teachers work well with each other and have the best interests of students at heart. Still, I believe that many more take advantage of academic freedom, collegiality, and lack of supervision to do whatever they want within the four walls of their classrooms. This is actually a severe problem that is covered up by the educational hierarchy.
Another grave wrong is how school districts manage the use of substitute teachers. Substitute teachers are rarely observed to determine their competence, frequently assigned to subject areas they have no qualifications to teach, and regularly subjected to unbelievable disrespect and insolence from students. When a substitute teacher is present in a middle school, junior high school, or high school classroom, little or no learning occurs. That class is a waste of instructional time, the student’s time, and the substitute’s time as well. The three most common activities when a substitute takes over a regular teacher’s class are the showing of videos or DVDs, the administration of tests, and the supervision of long, boring written or reading assignments left by the regular teacher. The lesson plans left by most regular teachers for substitute teachers to follow are generally a set of instructions on how to occupy the time students have in class. The entire substitute teacher system needs to be completely overhauled. Students must be taught to respect substitute teachers, assist them with the lesson, and be responsible for their own learning. Expectations that students will cooperate with substitute teachers, that regular teachers will conscientiously prepare quality lesson plans, that substitutes will teach, and that administrators will monitor substitutes are so miserably low currently that the education system accepts the status quo of chaos, lack of learning, and disgraceful substitute teacher academic and professional performance.
Tyler, the public education system in the United States is really in trouble. It’s inundated with problems; there are many things wrong with it. I could have written about lack of student discipline, emphasis on sports over academics, permissiveness throughout the culture of public schools, reticence about the problems that exist, and much more. I believe that it has deteriorated so much over the last fifty years that mediocrity and incompetence are the status quo. Parents don’t even realize that the system is so bad. What they see and experience is what they think is how the system should be. They don’t understand how much better it could be and how their children could be receiving a more superior educational experience.
Tyler: Dr. Nick, will you tell us a little bit about your background in education-where you taught and the subjects you taught, as well as your experience as a middle school principal. What personal experiences have led to your current viewpoints?
Dr. Nick: My first full-time position in public schools was as a 9th and 11th-grade teacher of English at El Camino High School in South San Francisco, California (a city separate from San Francisco). After two years, my assignment changed to teaching English half the school day and counseling the other half. In my third year as a teacher at this school, I was elected president of the local teachers’ union and chairman of the School District Negotiating Council. I was appointed Assistant Principal of Parkway Junior High School (7-9) in the same school district in my fifth year.
During the seven years I held this position as assistant principal; I enrolled in a doctoral program at the University of Southern California. From 1969-1972 I achieved a Doctor of Education degree in Educational Administration and Secondary Curriculum. My dissertation, which researched the administrative behavior of superintendents of schools, was the first dissertation sponsored by the newly formed Association of California School Administrators (ACSA).
In 1974, I was selected Principal of Isaac Newton Graham Middle School (7-8) in Mountain View, California. You asked me to share my experience as a middle school principal, and I’m pleased to do so, but I want you to know that I could easily write another book about those experiences alone. So, I’ll try to give you an encapsulated answer. I think I could best describe my experiences as a middle school principal as a continuing five-year roller coaster ride because I never knew when my feelings, emotions, and experiences would be up or down. On the upside, I was thrilled to see many students learn to their potential due to the excellent teaching of some superb teachers. After all, helping young people learn is what education is all about. I also observed some outstanding teachers whose skills and methods motivated students to excel beyond their own personal expectations. That was extremely exciting. As the leader of a neighborhood school, I grew personally as an educator because I had the opportunity to influence curriculum, work for the educational benefits of students, and associate often with community leaders in various agencies (fire department, police department, recreation department, mayor’s office, and so on). These experiences made me a better principal. On the downside, I learned quickly that many teachers should never have been allowed to enter a classroom to teach. They were not suited to interact with adolescents and teenagers; they didn’t have the skills needed to help young minds understand concepts and ideas; they failed to devote themselves to teaching expertly; they didn’t know how to control and manage a class of thirty students. I also realized some of the problems that I had to deal with (incompetent teachers, low-quality curriculum, collective bargaining contracts to name a few) but that I didn’t have the power to bring about effective change. That was frustrating to no end. Finally, the lowest possible experience for me was to meet so-called teachers who had literally given up; that is, they had decided to go through the motions of teaching only. They were no longer eager to teach, didn’t look forward to meeting their classes, and did as little as possible to meet their professional responsibilities. I left out so much that I feel my answer is inadequate. I can see the joy on the faces of students who won academic and sports awards, the enthusiasm of both staff and student body at our annual softball game, the annual parent club barbecue, and so much more.
I remained at Graham for five years and then moved on to an opportunity in southern California as the Administrative Director (Superintendent/Principal) of Chatsworth Hills Academy, a private school in Chatsworth, California. I preferred serving in public education, so I returned to Graham as a 7th-grade core teacher, teaching English and social studies (world history). In October of my second year back from southern California, I was asked by three Santa Clara County superintendents to head up a “joint powers” school named The Institute of Computer Technology as an on-loan school administrator. Along with an on-loan administrator from IBM (Ken Butler), I helped this new educational enterprise get its feet off the ground. It was exciting to work, and I enjoyed hiring teachers, meeting technology experts at Apple and IBM, developing curriculum, outfitting a school with security systems, working with school superintendents, learning how to protect valuable hardware and software, and a lot more. After doing what I was hired to do, I returned to Graham, teaching English, social studies, and geography to 7th and 8th graders, including the 8th Grade Honors English program. I remained at Graham for the next twenty years and retired in 2001.
During my career, I’ve been a presenter at various conferences, in-service sessions, and conventions. My presentation topics were usually teaching methods, literature-based instruction, discipline, and classroom management. I’ve also been a master teacher, chairman or member of numerous curriculum committees, and an adjunct professor in the teacher training program at National University.
My current viewpoints and attitudes toward public education developed throughout my career based upon my personal experiences as a teacher and principal, what I saw other educators did and heard them say, what I read, what I learned best helped young people reach their learning potential, what political reforms failed, and what I learned about how young minds gain knowledge. For instance, there was a time when I opposed vouchers; I’m adamantly in favor of them now. The more choices parents have in the education of their children, the better. I was a staunch supporter of tenure at the beginning of my career until I witnessed how many deficient teachers hide their incompetence under the protection of this law. Tenure should be abolished. I’m sure you get the idea. I hold the views, attitudes, and feelings that I do about education due to a life-long career in schools. You know, children aren’t the only ones who learn while at school.
Tyler: You mention that many teachers are not competent? What is the reason for this, and why does the school system allow them to remain in the classroom?
Dr. Nick: Why are many teachers incompetent? Here are some reasons to contemplate:
Because they don’t possess the personality needed to interact well with young people, if a person doesn’t like kids, doesn’t enjoy being with them all day long, doesn’t look forward to teaching them, doesn’t accept their immaturity, and want to help them become more mature, can’t stand constantly answering questions, can’t accept individual differences (race, ethnicity, gender, religion, etc.), can’t cope with special needs (hyperactivity, behavior problems, and so on). That person will never be a competent teacher.
Because they don’t possess, exhibit, use, and treasure enthusiasm, and, so, they are truly boring to most of their students. Ask any kid at a middle school, junior high school, or high school in your community what they dislike the most about their teachers, and I guarantee you the answer will overwhelmingly be that they are boring. And you know something, Tyler; the kids are right. Most teachers are insufferably boring in how they teach. Enthusiasm is a sine qua non for all competent teachers.
Because they don’t know how to get concepts and ideas across clearly to their students, they don’t possess the knowledge and skills needed to help students learn. They don’t know what to do and end up quite often being frustrated and saying something like, “Oh, those kids just can’t learn this stuff.” That’s an expression equivalent to defeatism and incompetence. If the learning material is age-appropriate and part of the accepted curriculum, of course, a normal, healthy student can learn it. It isn’t the student who is at fault; it’s the teacher who doesn’t have the competence to design lessons, activities, and programs to help students learn. The reason for this is that many teachers tell students but don’t show and teach.
Because they can’t manage and control student behavior, teachers daily face challenging disciplinary and behavior problems. If a teacher can’t effectively handle these problems, that teacher will never be a competent instructor-never! In this case, the incompetence is in not knowing what to do when a disciplinary or behavior problem arises because the teacher hasn’t thought out a personal Educational Philosophy for Control of Student Behavior. Every teacher needs to do this to harmonize their personality with methods of discipline. I explain this in detail in my book.
Because many teachers don’t manage classroom time efficiently, I devote an entire chapter to this topic: “Wasted Time – Inept Instruction (Euphemism: Teaching Mistakes). How can anyone consider a teacher competent when that teacher tries to teach over the noise of unruly students, doesn’t know how to quell effectively unnecessary noise at the change of a classroom activity, and allows students to talk whenever they want. This inability to control noise leads to as much as 25% of each class period being wasted. Many teachers can’t even control the time at the end of class when students get ready to leave and waste the ten or fifteen minutes left.
Because many teachers can’t effectively control group learning, one of the most effective ways for students to learn is to interact with each other, allowing students to help each other learn in groups. Sometimes, students have just the right words and explanations to help a fellow student understand a lesson. However, most teachers don’t control student groups effectively and so waste tremendous amounts of instructional time.
Because many teachers don’t have high enough academic and behavioral expectations and standards, in other words, many teachers don’t challenge their students enough academically. They don’t expect them to learn to the level of their potential. Teachers must project an attitude of high expectations to motivate their charges adequately. Most teachers don’t even understand this concept and need to learn it themselves. Not putting it into effect in classrooms is indicative of ignorance and incompetence. In Chapter Three, I wrote a seven-page description of the most important strategies used by teachers who truly understand how to teach high academic and behavioral standards. Teachers, you’ve never seen anything come close to this practical list of how to teach standards.
Because some teachers don’t have sufficient knowledge of the subjects, they teach. They don’t! They are assigned to teach a subject they don’t know adequately or they don’t even like. Many teachers are teaching subjects, and they don’t have either a major in that field or a valid certificate to teach it.
There are other reasons, but the few I mentioned are really significant ones, aren’t they? What are the reasons for these incompetencies, and why do school systems allow these incompetent teachers to remain in the classroom? Well, the first part of the question can be answered easily. Schools of education are not adequately preparing students to learn how to teach. Do you know who should teach prospective teachers how to teach? Not education professors! No! Excellent, experienced, current, and retired teachers who know what a classroom is all about and who love kids and teach in their hearts should teach candidates for teaching. Give me proven experts at teaching young people, a group of twenty teacher candidates for a year, and I know we could do a much better job of teaching them how to be good teachers than any school of education in the country.
Answering the second part of the question leaves me with a heavy heart. The reason is that most school districts don’t effectively monitor and evaluate new teachers’ progress, competence, and teaching skills. The procedures to do this are woefully inadequate and rarely result in new teachers being dismissed if they are incompetent. Teachers new to the profession learn more about teaching from their own personal experiences the first three years on the job and from other experienced teachers than they do from any program presented by the school district they work for. School districts don’t really know if a new teacher is mediocre or, worse yet, incompetent, so they grant tenure because they need a body in the classroom. There is a tremendous shortage of teachers throughout our country today. Once tenure is granted, it is virtually impossible to dismiss a teacher based on incompetence.
(Due to space constraints, a portion of this review was omitted — please see Reader Views website for the entire interview.)
Dr. Nick: Parents must be involved in their children’s interview education from preschool right through high school and, perhaps, even into college. The tendency is for parents to step back from involvement when their teenagers start high school. This is a serious mistake. Parental involvement is critical during high school because the high schooler is under tremendous pressure from peers to experiment in many different areas: drugs, alcohol, sex, ideology, cults, etc. That involvement should take the form of proactive participation, diligent observation, and ardent questioning. I recommend that parents do the following to ensure that their children receive a quality education:
Parents must communicate regularly in person, over the phone, and via e-mail with the teacher throughout the school year about every aspect of their child’s learning by asking questions and seeking information about these and other important aspects of schooling.
