Blackboard Discussion Forum: What's Wrong With American High Schools?
When children learn to talk it is at this time that we as a nation (not just the partents) should have structured programs that begin the education process for our students. As they say these are the most impressionable years. The students that are already behind need to be in alternative settings that are specifically designed to assist these students. There are too many privacy laws that are actually hurting these children in the long run. So what if the child is in special education as long as there is measurable improvement in their educational progress. How can we say that we want "No Child Left Behind" when so so many of them are already left way behind.
This is where business and politicians should offer incentives that encourage the low achieving students to become accountable for their shortcomings and began taking steps to improve. We must also stress the fact that education is worth the time and effort that is put into it.
Yes, all students can and should do rigorous work, but not all parents believe in this. Many of our parents think their kids shouldn't have to or don't have the ability to. It's kind of hard for us to change the students' beliefs when this is what they hear at home.
Re: the statement, "declare that all students must graduate from high school ready for college, work and citizenship:" Yes, they should all graduate from high school ready for citizenship, and either work, college, or technical school training. We don't need for all our citizens to be doctors, lawyers, teachers, or engineers. We are facing a shortage of well-trained workers in the technical fields. There's nothing wrong with becoming a lab technician, pharmacist assistant, or many other careers that don't require a college degree, just specialized training. Many of my former students have gone to vo-tech and are making way more than my paltry salary, doing jobs that are much needed. I'm glad they're there when I need them!
Finally, after our state said they were committed to turning around failing schools and tried to take over a few to "fix them," did they? We never hear any more about that. Was this just lip service? If they were truly successful, shouldn't we have heard all about it in the news? All we ever seem to hear about is unfunded mandates and no money for teacher pay raises, but plenty for the Saints.
There is apathy among parents, students, and teachers. Who are we to decide who is college material and who is not? I have heard teaachers say that they felt a particular student (s) was not going to college after graduation. Why not challenge them. Although this may be true, they can be successful in a technical school or vocational field.
I have taught at least 10 foreign exchange students in social studies during the past 4 years. I find that they are more prepared academically than many of our students. These students are trained at a very early age, and they also are required to attend school an average of 200 days a year.
You make a valid point re the importance of remembering that citizens can contribute to our society in a variety of ways. When teachers, counselors, and administrators utilize the information and materials that EPAS provides, middle and secondary students stand a greater chance of making better choices about their futures. No student should be "railroaded" into a entering a four-year postsecondary institution. They should, however, be given every opportunity to choose that route, if they so desire. That means ensuring that they are academically prepared -- which are also goals of EPAS and the comprehensive curriculum. By the same token, there is value in all types of professions and work (which is your point) that help contribute to a fair and equitable society. Consequently other types of post secondary institutions have equal value and place in such a society.
Thanks for your posting.
With our state's Comprehensive Curriculum/standards for transition/ technology efforts/communication among state agencies , I feel we are not a future of "obsolete high schools."
On entirely different soap box, I think America is behind China because the Chinese has longer school days. They also spend more time after school preparing for school and a lot of time on math and science. Now the first question that comes to mind is does America want to have the same or comparable success rate? If so we must look at what China is doing and try to implement some of the same strategies.
Mr. Gates addresses many issues in this piece. Many points made are more than adequate-flawed and underfunded. He suggests that we redesign our schools( probably curriculum).Acknowledging the disparity along ethnic and economic lines is forever before us . Our school report cards give us the statistics for dropout rates, attendance, and suspensions and expullsions. Our assessments from Plan, Act, GEE 21 tests tell us how prepared our students are for post-secondary training. In Louisisna we are attempting to resolve some of the issues mentioned in this article. A new comprehensive curriculum will enable teachers to meet benchmarks that will raise ACT scores and increase GEE 21 levels of mastery. Providing monetary support (TOPS) for students who wish to attend vocational schools as well as four year universities has had an impact on the number of students who seek additional training. However, I believe that we cannot begin in high school to incorporate his three principles(pg 3). Elementary students (4th graders) must be encouraged to continue to strive for success. Somewhere between upper elementary and middle school we loose those students. Why?
I feel that as a teacher I can and I do make a difference. But........... I also feel that if parents would be parents and children would be children, our educational system would improve. Too many children want to grow up too fast. They are inspired, not by the teacher or the preacher, but they want to be "rappers, video stars, etc." They are influenced by what they see on TV, and they feel that they can get rich quick without suffering through 12 to 16 years of school.
Think about it. That drop-out:
They never finish high school. They never finish college. Yet, their incomes for one month is usually more than a teacher's yearly salary!
We need to advertise and promote school - community relationship. We need to use our churches to help us to keep our students on task. When we as a whole get together and take our children back from the evils of today's society, then we can look forward to "graduation day."
