Education History

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Filed Under: Education History

Turning Around an Underperforming School

Secretary Spellings speaks at the first of sev...

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Many parents don’t realize that they can have an impact on their children’s school simply by being involved. It does turn into a bit of a political game play, but ultimately the parents have a vested interest in their child’s education. Throwing a hat into the local school council ring can start a poorly performing school on its way back to good scores.

There are any number of reasons as to why a school is doing poorly. It could be that the teachers are having to parent instead of teach, budget cuts has eliminated certain programs, or the administration is just plain incompetent. Parents can do much to ensure that changes are made by exposing the problems.

Employees of any school district are paid by tax dollars. Therefore, they are employed by the public to do a job. And it is a parents right to demand that the job is performed to par, if not better. Start by attending the open school council meetings and obtain any literature that shows the breakdown of where dollars go to. If a school district has a top heavy budget, IE the administrative staff gets paid the most, and the schools test scores are poor, it’s time to demand a change.

The unfortunate part of trying to get a school out of the doldrums is that political games have to be played. Getting anything accomplished may require the assistance of the local government. However, the effort is well worth it when the schools and your children benefit from the work of parents.

What do Standardized Tests Really Demonstrate?

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It seems like every year there are more and more tests to determine a child’s intelligence, performance level and understanding of study materials. These tests are used by schools as a form of advertising and as a way to bar entry by all but the most “gifted” of students. Parents eat these scores up as if they are the end all, be all for getting their child into the top schools of the land.

But do they? In reality, not so much. Tests only acknowledge the fact that a student has learned a pattern and how to answer the question correctly. No standardized test can probe the intelligence and reasoning capabilities of an individual. And there are those who understand the material forwards and backwards, but do not test well because of restrictive answers.

Ultimately the problem with standardized testing is that it is inherently unfair. Those who succeed are those whose parents can afford to send them to better schools. Children who live in poverty, have disabilities, or are simply female test much more poorly, usually failing altogether. Unfortunately, the system is set up to punish these children as opposed to uncovering weaknesses and strengthening them.

Parents should start thinking outside the box and start demanding that the educational system stop relying on test scores. Get rid of No Child Left Behind as it has made the schooling system worse than it ever has been. Expectations of performance need to be based on how the individual is progressing according to their age and educational expectations, not a standardized test.

Filed Under: Education History Tagged With: Education, Homeschooling, Standardized test

Education Funding Crisis

Currently in the United States, 40 out of the total 50 states are dealing with a huge budget deficit when it comes to public education. While the country and the media are focused on the protests and strikes going on in Wisconsin, this is only one of the states where there is an issue. Currently, 14,000 school districts in the United States are going to be under similar conditions within the next five years.

Several unions have been meeting and working together to try to find a middle ground where the schools themselves can be funded and teachers can be paid what they deserve to be paid. Unfortunately, there are so many different ideas about this subject that it is hard to come to any sort of conclusion.

Many Wisconsin schools have even had to close down schools due to the number of teachers who are participating in the protests.

In previous years states were able to find different programs to help cover the budget shortfalls in education. However, all of those sources have dried up and they are in a situation where they can no longer “rob Peter to pay Paul” because “Peter” is broke as well.

Those who are against the budget cuts say that it is not a budget issue that they are mainly concerned about, but the power of collective bargaining using unions. They believe that changing these laws will hurt the power of the unions.

Some states have had to cut their school years short in order to help make budgets come together. Schools in Hawaii and Los Angeles both have had to make these types of changes. Most Hawaiian schools only have children in attendance for four days per week.

Filed Under: Education History Tagged With: Hawaii, United States, Wisconsin

Choices Save Schools

There is no question that our public education system needs help. There is no question that the United States is quickly falling behind other countries when it comes to test scores. Unfortunately, there is a major division within the halls of the US government buildings when anyone brings up the topic of education. This is especially true if the person who is approaching the subject, is also talking about freedom of choice when it comes to schools.

Many people who are against choice start with the problem of religious schools. They believe that government funded education should not have any sort of religious ties due to the separation of church and state. They also believe that school choice could give certain parts of the population advantages by allowing them to choose whichever school they wanted, therefor possibly segregating themselves.

Those who are for having the ability to choose their child’s school make the case that schools who are competing against each other for higher enrollment numbers and more tax dollars will likely be more careful in choosing their curriculum and their teachers. Teachers who have under-preforming classrooms year after year will be dismissed so that more successful teachers can be hired to take their places.

Another reason that school choice can be a popular option, is that it gives the schools a chance to diversify interests. One school could focus on art and music as another focuses on math and science. As the schools promote these areas of interest, more students will be attracted with similar interests. This gives the school a large of pool of students from with to draw out a certain number for an interesting program. One example of this would be the math team. At the same time, while the art themed school has math and science, they work on holding art shows and developing more creatively.

Nobody knows if school choice will actually be an option in the United States, but the results look promising for those who wish it was.

Filed Under: Education History Tagged With: Education, School choice, State school

Look for Commitment Level When Examining Schools

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If you’ve ever had a child held back a grade or been told that they read at a level that is behind their class average, then you understand how hard the process can be on both your, and your child’s, emotions. It’s even clearer when you’ve been there yourself – you know firsthand how difficult catching up to your peers’ educational level can be. It was with this knowledge in mind that the No Child Left Behind Act was created. Catching kids before they fall through the cracks and are shuffled along without care is important. In fact, it’s one of the primary things to consider when looking at an elementary school for your child to attend. Just as one might look at statistics to see what percentage of a high school’s graduating class goes on to college, one should also take a close look at a few things to make sure that the elementary school of choice is up to par.

Whether you’re focused on finding a school based on religious convictions and practices, or considerations such as private versus public, Canada 411 is a handy resource for locating schools in your proximity. You and your child can check them out together online, with compatibility issues in mind. With direct links to each school’s website, it’s easy to pull up details that interest you, whether that’s average classroom size, or the availability of lockers to keep your child’s possessions safe.

You can even learn more about the teachers online – their backgrounds and methodologies, as well as their community involvement, to help you in your decision making. After all, it’s the teachers that make the biggest impact at any school. The size of the desks isn’t really important. What is important is having a caring adult that is interested in their students’ success and show up every day. By searching, you’ll find those who are going to be as committed to your child’s future as you are.

Filed Under: Education History

The Pulse of Education in America

As a parent or educator, you may be concerned about the state of the education system. Thinking your concerns relate only to your child or your particular district may be easy until you look at the state of home schooling in America. You may say that the number of students participating in home schooling programs is a good way to measure the health or “pulse” of the public education system.

Alternative forms of education, primarily home schooling, have grown in popularity and visibility over the past decade. While critics of the home schooling program claim that home schooled students are the children of religious fanatics, this isn’t the case. Recognize that a portion of the families who rely on home schooling or other alternative education forms do so because of religious views but that many have chosen alternative education to address the lack of adequate education in our public school system.

Whatever the reason for enrolling a student in an alternative education program, many parents and students are finding that the programs offer them the chance to challenge themselves, provide them with a strong basis for further education and allow for greater flexibility.

Unfortunately, some parents are turning to alternative education instead of working within their local community to hold schools and educators responsible for the education of their children.

When parents feel their best chance at educating their children is through a system other than the public system, there is a problem. Failing to address the underlying problem of our education system and to reform them may eventually lead to a country where only the wealthy have access to a “real” education.

Whether you are a parent, educator or administrator, the time has come to take an honest look at the health of our education system and to make the needed changes.

Filed Under: Education History Tagged With: Education, Homeschooling, Student, United States

Education That Is HOTS

Think for minute about how we learn. The easiest way to learn is studying facts – rote memorization. Unfortunately, this form of learning does nothing to help our students develop critical thinking skills, problem solving skills or creative thinking skills. Instead this simplified method of learning, called simple thinking skills, teaches our students only about the subject matter at hand.

Higher order thinking skills, or HOTS, is a teaching methodology that educates students to not simply memorize facts, but to develop plans, think creatively, solve problems and more. Still, many of our K -12 learning institutions do not focus on HOTS, focusing instead on teaching the information only.

In order for HOTS to be taught and for our children to reap the benefits of this advanced thinking methodology, educators must learn to focus on the following critical areas of education:

Remembering: The simple act of memory and recall is vitally importing. Students should understand how to recognize, list, describe, retrieve, name and find information, data and facts.
Creating: In order for our students to be successful, the must understand the process of generating new products, ideas, viewpoints, designs and more. Including in this skill is planning, production and inventing.
Understanding: The ability to clearly explain ideas to others is vital.
Analyzing: Students should be taught to analyze problems and objects and break them into component parts in order to more fully understand the underlying structure or issue.

Other critical thinking skills should be taught as well with the end result being students who can look at problems objectively and use their skills to solve them, create new and exciting ideas and better function in the world.

HOTS should be at the forefront of the K – 12-reform movement. This method of thinking, when compared to simple thinking skill, is simply better for students hoping for success.

Filed Under: Education History Tagged With: Critical thinking, Education, Student

The Ongoing History of Reform

You may be surprised to learn that education reform isn’t as far reaching as we assume. In fact, there have been very few pieces of large legislation aimed at directly reforming our education system. Sure bills like NCLB have been passed and they do impact things like funding and accountability, but the day-to-day business of running an elementary or secondary school is left largely in the hands of the state government and the local school administration.

That being said, there is a history of ongoing issues with our education system and today government officials, school administrators, teachers, parents and students are faced with a long laundry list of reform options to choose from.

One of the largest areas where reform seems needed is that of teacher quality. Many organizations and parent groups are actively seeking methods to improve the overall quality of our teachers. Some of the reform ideas include creating improved training programs that include a more rigorous credential standard. Other ideas such as merit pay, bonus pay and holding teachers directly accountable for their student’s performance are also popular.

Historically, in addition to teacher quality initiatives, other areas have been concerning as well. A battle over the length of both the school day and the school year has been ongoing. Other groups argue that we must find real life measures to combat raising dropout rates, absenteeism and poor performance.

Technology has, of course, brought a whole new set of reforms to the forefront. Many parents and educators are concerned about blending technology and the schoolroom. Creating virtual classes and increasing access to tutors and resources are just few of the reforms that are being suggested.

The history of school reform is long and it is likely to only continue to grow. Watching the debate as the government tries to decide what the future of No Child Left Behind holds.

Filed Under: Education History Tagged With: EducationReform, No Child Left Behind Act, Teacher

How Grades Are Defined

Did you ever stop to wonder about the American grade system? It has been in place for so long that we never even question it. The school year in America typically starts in September or late August, following several off months, summer recess. All American children are sorted into year -groups, which are typically referred to as “grades.” These year groups begin with preschool and are followed first by kindergarten, then primary school, middle school and high school. Once a child successfully completes the 12th grade, they are eligible for college level classes.

In its simplest terms, the American grade system is made up of 12 separate years of study. Each group of students generally continues together as a singl e”class” until they graduate at the end of their senior, or 12th, year. This is only interrupted if a student falls behind academically and is held back to be re-take a level. These 12 years are divided into three separate schools. The first is primary school, sometimes referred to as elementary school. This compromises grades one through five. Next is middle school that covers grade six, seven and eight. Finally students attend a high school for the final four years.

In the United States, unlike Australia, Canada and many European countries, we rely on ordinal numbers to name grades. Many other countries rely on cardinal numbers. While there are some slight variations throughout the country on this system, for the most part, all schools in America, both public and private, rely on this system.

The grade system is quite simple, but took many years to develop. It allows students of similar ages to attend the same school that helps with the process of socialization in addition to the traditional education. This system will most likely remain in place for years to come.

Filed Under: Education History Tagged With: Canada, Twelfth grade, United States