Guest Blogger for the Day - Michael
Michael here. Ever notice how every election, every year; from mayoral races to presidential campaigns, one of the main platforms is Education Reform or some derivative of Educational Change, Support, or Enhancement? Every candidate wants to increase student achievement, decrease the achievement gap and improve the effectiveness of teachers, right?
If this is such an important issue and so many people clamor about finding the best teachers and holding teachers accountable and testing the students, why does nothing seem to change? Why is the dropout rate still so high? Why are there still 25% of kids failing a simple, 70 question SOL test on basic History questions like "What factors helped create the Atlantic slave trade?" Why are there students in high school with a 4th grade reading level?
There are two big areas that create large problems for the educational system as a whole: Elementary Education and High School Education. Part of the problem with all of the "solutions" like standardized tests and federal accountability is that the problems run deeper than those efforts can reach. We need localized action that will begin rebuilding the educational system from the ground up and we need the patience to wait 5 to 10 years to see if elementary efforts work and persistence to fight for the high schoolers who need so much help. I have ideas for both areas and will come up with something much more in depth this summer, but here is a summary of what I think will jump start educational reform and improvement:
Elementary Ed. - 5-year olds who can't write should not be pushed through to 1st grade! This seems like common sense, but school districts are almost forced due to teacher shortages and student surpluses to keep the students moving. This creates a weak foundation and lays the groundwork for a terrible educational career of low achievement and decreasing effort in the face of growing obstacles. If we make sure that kids start their educational careers with the strongest basics, then we can insure that no one gets to high school without being able to read.
High Schools - I call this the Chuck Wood Reform Package because I stole a lot of these ideas from a long conversation with the head wrestling coach. The basic premise is that the students need to have a lot more accountability and responsibility for their academic careers. There is no reason why a 17 year old junior should arrive at school with no paper, no pencil, no homework and no clue what's going on in class. They either take up space or become behavioral problems. What's a solution?
Based on college's "academic probation", create a system that essentially puts low-performers on academic probation. Also, lower the mandatory school age to 16. These 2 efforts would allow schools to deal with non-performing students in a stronger way. Give them some safety nets like a strong alternative school, a technical school to learn a trade or a work program to move into the work-force before kicking them out, but there must be an alternative to writing 50 referrals for an 18-year old who's been screwing up for 4 years and has no chance at graduating.
Now these are very short and not nuanced thoughts on education. I plan on expanding on these and creating some real, solid ideas that could be implemented at a local level in order to improve the educational system that is graduating seniors who think that Columbus discovered Africa and answer IDK on essay questions they think are too hard.
We must begin coming up with better options and solutions in order to make sure that our children grow up in a stronger country.
Ok, that's all I've got for now. If you've read all the way to here, thank you and let me know your thoughts. Megan said "Oh no, this is going to be really boring" so let her know how un-boring this was to read. Adios!
