Why The Response To The APS Cheating Scandal Was ALL Wrong

That's right.   I believe the response to the nation's worst cheating scandal was 100% wrong.

First and foremost, this scandal is the direct result of a failed policy called No Child Left Behind.   It has created "ends justifies the means" management and systems, and has forced too much emphasis on standardized test scores, which are inherently flawed by design.  We know that for the most part, they are not covering 21st century skills and are more about memorizing facts without context.   This author would have NEVER received an Ivy League education if the school he applied to used SAT scores as the "be all, end all" measure of a student's degree of fit for college.

Second, it was a failure of leadership.   It may be overly harsh to assume that Dr. Beverly Hall, former APS Superintendent, forced teachers to cheat.  I don't believe she did.  However, Dr. Hall did allow this culture to manifest itself, and as the leader, she needs to take full responsibility for the actions of those under her watch.  Yet, she continues to deny any responsibility for the transgressions.   This recent interview reinforces this conclusion.  As former President Harry S Truman once said, "The buck stops here."  Dr. Hall's intransigence reinforces the notion that our school administrators need better management training, because they are not in the classroom teaching.  They are CEOs of their districts.  And good CEOs have good people under them, and these people need to be the pedagogical experts.  So I believe it is politically correct to challenge her leadership skills.

Third, it was an over reaction to fire the teachers who cheated, especially if their superiors compelled them to cheat.  Firing these teachers will not change the culture of APS.  This was a teachable moment, and instead of teaching kids about mistakes and second chances, we instead showed them, that if you make a mistake, you're done.   And that is NOT how the world works.

A few weeks ago, I was attending a Friday night service at my local synagogue, and the teens who led the service recited this poem by Heather Brown which immediately led me to think of the APS Scandal: 

SECOND CHANCE

Everyone deserves a second chance

No matter what they've done

For people learn from their mistakes

And make up for them in the long-run.

So if anyone ever hurts you

Or even does you wrong,

Just please give them a second chance

Or forever they'll be gone.

Maybe if there wasn't such a rush to judgment, APS Interim Superintendent Errol Davis would have reconsidered his response to the scandal.   At the end of the day, it's the APS students who deserve our utmost attention and sensitivity.  My thoughts are with them and my hope is that they will find a way to overcome the barriers that have been placed in front of them.