Here is a chance to share thoughts and ideas about education. I'd lke to develop this over time so anyone can (hopefully) gain new insights or ideas that are useful for those in education or with interest in education.
The first topic I want to encourage discussion, commentary and contributions on deals with education in general. Questions to think about include: What is good and bad about American public schools (can be elementary, middle or high school level)? What can government, industry, business, and universities do, if anything, to help improve primary and secondary education? Should there be a national standard and law (such as No Child Left Behind) to drive public schools? I have already begun to add my own thoughts at
http://vonscience.blogspot.com/2005/06/suggested-modification-to-no-child.html and http://vonscience.blogspot.com/2005/05/american-model-of-public-schools-needs.html.
Thanks for anything you have to offer on these or any other topics I've touched on below.
2 comments:
epi -
So correct about location. In Illinois, for example, school funding is based largely on property taxes. A North Shore school like I presently teach at, which is wealthy, can spend twice as much per child as a Chicago Public School, where I used to teach. It is almost night and day what can be offered, and the opportunities that the schools can offer to children. It is unfair and inexcusable, as well, especially when everyone is asked to be judged by the same criteria.
Public schools will not be 'fixed' until there is real political will and backbone at all levels of government. NCLB is supposed to be the fix in many minds, but then it falls shy on funding by an estimated 20$ to 30$ BILLION nationally, which is why most districts are in the red. This will not be easy, of course.
Upper level kids may be vulnerable as you mention, as well as the lowest performing group of kids, because schools are forced to focus on kids just making the test scores and those who are just below the test scores. NCLB is a numbers game, let's face it, and school administrators are going to put resources where they need to to meet the scoring levels required by the law. I know the main drive at my school is to get a block of kids who are just below meeting state standards additional attention. This is reality in schools right now, and it won't change unless a more reasonable set of criteria is passed. MANY students are being left behind in reality.
Check this out:
http://eideneurolearningblog.blogspot.com/2005/05/training-tweakers.html
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