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Could Vouchers Be the Answer?

It’s been shown through history that one reason this country is great is the market system economy. It’s also caused some problems, but it’s what has made our economy strong and our products desired throughout the world. We see it in education as well. Universities and colleges thrive on the market system economy. It forces professors to improve themselves in order to keep jobs and it forces these colleges to spend the money they have well so that they can offer their product for the cheapest price possible.

And yet, for some reason, we think that public education is the best route. Some of the Founding Fathers even promoted the idea of free education for all, even though it wasn’t mentioned in the Constitution. The idea of giving everyone the opportunity of learning is a good one, but public education has shown to not be the best solution. Too many teachers are able to gain tenure (often after only a few years of teaching) and then become lax on teaching. They stop showing they care for their students and even state comments to difficult students such as, “You’re mother should be paying me to babysit you.”

But what is the right solution? If we are purely on the market system, then parents will have to find money to pay for schools and children of lax parents won’t be educated. The solution is school vouchers. With vouchers, parents choose the school (making it a market system) and yet the government provides the funds for the student.

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No Child Left Behind: Title Change

The Obama administration has authorized a title change in the No Child Left Behind Act. Instead of having a dull title, one of the sections will specifically be named “Improving the Academic Achievement of the Disadvantaged.” The Obama administration hopes that the new title change will ensure that all children are given an equal opportunity to receive high quality education. According to the administration, such education may be achieved in a number of ways; one being the closing of the achievement gap.

The achievement gap is a concept that haunts all educators and parents alike. While educators are working hard to beat the statistic that says wealthy children reach higher heights in academia than impoverished children, parents with lower incomes are constantly encouraging their children to not take part in such statistic. Many problems with the education system would be solved of the achievement gap were closed or at least minimized. The Obama administration is showing parents and educators their concern for children by changing the title of a section in the No Child Left Behind Act.

Although the change is optimistic, it is hardly believable that such action will close an entire achievement gap. For decades disparities in education have stemmed from the attitude that some children are privileged over others. While low income students living in the ghetto may be more intellectually inclined than the child living in a mansion, the child of luxury is given more opportunity because his or her parents can afford to pay more in taxes for better schools. Americans must come away from the mind frame of self-gratification and into the concept of sharing the wealth in order to substantially minimize the achievement gap. Impoverished children should be given the same opportunities as wealthy children and should not be punished with poor education practices just because they live on the other side of the train tracks.

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You Can Make A Difference

Every day, all across our nation, there are children struggling with many issues. They may be living in deplorable, poverty-stricken conditions or they may be facing a serious, life-threatening illness. They may be struggling in school trying hard to get a better education.

There are many ways that we can help these children. You can help through donations to reputable charities to volunteer efforts. Realize that no matter what you do, no matter how insignificant you may think it is, it will make a difference.

For instance, donating your old car to Kars 4 Kids will help children attain some of their educational goals. Kars for Kids provides children who may be struggling with education mentorship opportunities.

Other ways you can help include volunteer your time and services to youth organizations. While these organizations may differ in areas such as activities and programs, they all share the desire to help children succeed. You can do a little research and find an organization in your community that you can help. You may be able to help with an after-school literacy program, or coach a youth athletic team.

Start a literacy program or book club for children. You can approach your local school, library or even a bookstore for a facility where you can hold these meetings. Because these types of locations are child friendly you’ll have no problem convincing parents to let their children participate.

You can also help by simply writing letters. Write letters to the editor of your local newspaper. Become an advocate for the causes you believe in and bring them to other people’s attentions, getting them involved. Make sure your letters are factual, yet emotional. This way you can help educate people about the issues as well as getting them to help by volunteering or donating time and money.

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Framing Our Children’s Future

It seems like everyone has a solution to one of the biggest problems our nation faces: our decaying education system. From changing class content to lengthening the school day, one thing that nearly all parents, educators and administrators agree on is that our education system is in serious need of reform. One of the most encouraging concepts is that of curriculum framework.

At its core, curriculum framework is simply a set of standards or guidelines that are used to define the curriculum and content for a group of students. The goal of this framework is a pre-defined outcome. In other words, curriculum framework is designed to be outcome specific.

Educators, administrators and parents could work together to create a list of clearly defined outcomes for their students. The standard should be set high and the ensuing curriculum and content should be developed to allow students to meet these goals. This system is drastically different from our current educational system that focuses primarily on the content as opposed to the outcome.

Under this system, all students would be held to the same standards. This means no group of students will have an advantage. All students will need to perform equally well. While opponents of this system believe it does not take disabilities into consideration, proponents drive home the fact that students that met these high goals are better prepared to compete on a global scale.

It is equally important to note that a framework concept has been adapted by some states, but not in the truest sense. States have used the framework concept to meet academic standards instead of other, more constructive, objectives.

Developing a curriculum framework that sets high, but achievable, objectives for our students may be the most effective way to prepare our children for competition on the global scale and change the face of our education system.

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Learning At Home

While the reasons behind home schooling vary, there is no denying that it is on the rise. In 2007, more than 1.5 million students were taught at home. This represents nearly a 75% increase since 1999. Many attribute this rise to the implementation of the No Child Left Behind Act in 2002 while others site moral or religious reasons. No matter why there has been an increase, it is important to note that the rules governing home schooling have changed as well.

Students that are home schooled are expected to cover the same material as students in traditional schools. This is sometimes handled through the use of a teacher or administrator who explains guidelines, follows progress and arranges for standardized tests. In many cases the students are effectively taught by a family member, although older students often use virtual classrooms, effectively self-teaching. There are many home-schooling organizations throughout the country that help parents and students successfully complete home schooling and graduation.

There are opponents to the idea of home schooling. Some teachers and administrators believe that there is no effective way to home school. They often cite the lack of interaction with social peers and believe that an important part of the education process is socialization. There is, of course, concern about academic quality as well. It is interesting to note, however, that home-schooled students typically score high on standardized tests. It may be that the most vocal critics are more concerned with the lost of potential funding for a school as more and more students turn to home schooling.

Home schooling is a personal choice, but it can also be a valid one. With the proper oversight, students who are home schooled can walk away from their high school experience with as good, if not better, an education that students who attend public schools.

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Criticism of the No Child Left Behind Act

The No Child Left Behind Act is a landmark education act passed in 2001 under President George W. Bush. The act introduced sweeping reforms to the American educational system. while the act has been praised by some people, others have voiced criticism of the act for several reasons.
One of the points of contention for critics of the No Child Left Behind Act is that it sets up unrealistic goals. The act says that every student must test to grade level in reading and math by 2014. Critics say that’s simply not possible. That there’s no way 100 percent of students will test to grade level in those subjects because some students have mental disabilities and others just might have a poor test day.
Another problem with the No Child Left Behind Act according to critics is that it sets up school systems, administrators and teachers to “game” or cheat the system in order to make sure their class or school is within guidelines of the act. For example, some schools classify dropouts differently in order to stay within the guidelines. Also, teachers have been accused of helping students during testing so that they pass the standardized tests.
The standardized tests themselves are another worry for the critics of the No Child Left Behind Act. Some people feel like the standardized tests harm the American educational system because teachers teach for the test and focus solely on problems students are likely to see on the tests rather than trying to make sure their students are understanding concepts. This type of teaching is known as “teaching to the test.”
Critics of the No Child Left Behind Act look to many effects of the standardized testing and standards put in place by the act and say that it is harming the American educational system.

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When Educating Our Young Fails

We are very fortunate to have been born in the modern world. For a long time, the lifespan of the average person was nowhere near long enough to afford such “irresponsible” things as changing careers or going back to school. Of course, until not so long ago, a person would begin the path toward their chosen career before they were ten years old in many cases. So the notion that a person might be in their 40s or 50s and decide that a new career is in order would come as quite a shock to people of a previous time period. Nonetheless, we can do that these days.

If you have been cruising around on EducationforAdults.com and have been seriously considering taking on the training necessary for a new career, more power to you. This is not a time when you have to just pick a course at 18 and stick with it. And unfortunately for many of today’s youth, school itself does not prepare them very well for the life they are able to lead afterward. When a school comes down to little more than a state sanctioned daycare service designed to pay for itself and keep kids off the street, something is not right in the state it’s in.

It really is a good thing that the school system as it is works as just the beginning of the road a person travels down. If it were all there was to becoming an “educated citizen,” our society would become a farce in no time. It is truly sad that a young person does not graduate high school with a more complete set of tools for carving out their place in the world. Perhaps, if more of these students go on to become more educated in relevant careers, they can do their parts to change the system so that if will work better.

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