In Class - Turn in articles (homework) concerning education. Short tour of campus. When we get back to the classroom, write your first reaction as to what it is you see in terms of how this effects funding for education. Group work: Political Cartoon Analysis (Education). Talk in your groups about the overall message behind the cartoon and any symbols that are significant to that meaning. Discuss as a class. Library Research: Find two more articles concerning how the economy and the recession effects education either K-12 or higher education. One needs to be about economics of education and the other can just be about education in general. Watch "Stupid in America." This is a look at public education in the United States. While you watch, write down any scenarios, facts, or anything that you find interesting. This video may shock you. Hang onto this for tomorrow.
Question of the Day: This response is due on Thursday, June 24 by 11:59 pm. Concerning education in the United States, how is our current economic situation hurting public education? Be sure to write at least two solid paragraphs with specific details to support your arguments. You will also need to cite your information and include a works cited in your post. Questions to consider answering in your response: Will more money improve education? What factors contribute to low graduation rates and poor test scores? Is No Child Left Behind working? What is the "Race to the Top" and how will this improve state standards of education? Should teachers be more accountable for student performance? What impact do teachers' unions have on politics and education? How are other countries performing in the classroom? What does this say about our society and our views on education?
Homework - Question of the Day. Also, plan to have a class discussion concerning education tomorrow afternoon in class concerning education.
Articles to check out:
http://www.2mminutes.com/news/pdfs/The%20Forgotten%20Man%20Blog%2012_10_09.pdf
http://www.projo.com/news/content/central_falls_teachers_02-10-10_INHDDCD_v28.3b40f6e.html
http://ac360.blogs.cnn.com/2010/02/22/evening-buzz-fire-teachers-for-failing-school/ - Be sure to read the blog postings from this article.
http://www.times-standard.com/othervoices/ci_14424958 - Race to the Top
http://www.eschoolnews.com/2010/02/17/are-unions-blocking-school-reform/
http://www.whitehouse.gov/issues/education - White House views on education
http://www.ed.gov/ - Department of Education homepage
http://abcnews.go.com/Politics/State_of_the_Union/obama-overhaul-no-child-left-behind/story?id=9725517
http://www.time.com/time/magazine/article/0,9171,1993877,00.html - KC school closings
http://www.time.com/time/politics/article/0,8599,1972820,00.html
http://www.time.com/time/world/article/0,8599,1976724,00.html - Europe's education crisis
http://www.time.com/time/nation/article/0,8599,1978589,00.html - Should kids be bribed to do well in school?
http://www.time.com/time/nation/article/0,8599,1967580,00.html - The case against a college education
http://www.nytimes.com/2010/03/05/education/05protests.html - California students protest increased tuition
25 comments:
Concerning education in the United States, how is our current economic situation hurting public education?
Well in the U.S. the one major problem is that our education rates are low and that we need to be better in our school scores .Like many of the teacher say that we need money as in a video called "Stupid School" and for a lot of people say that more money for school is bullshit! And that the more time that we spend in school is actually not really helping us at all.What we actually need is that not only the money goes to the school but also the money will mainly go to the students and that will help us a lot because what the parents would want is for there child to actually pass high school and graduate. As for the "No Child Left Behind Program" the U.S. is known to have that program but what they actually do is that most of the time they do leave some children behind. And also the academic levels/standards for passing high school are so low that basically they would pass everyone! For example an A+ student and a student just with a pulse what is so sad is that they both pass even though there ias such a huge and major difference!
And that the financial befits or budget or the collage degree also that to go into better schools many of the student or adults have tuition hike money that he need's to go to collage and also the collage fund that has let him/her borrow money and later pay off the debt that the own. one way that they can pay off this is by getting a job,and a way to get a good job and good pay is EDUCATION! And that is why teachers are trying to help us get a good education for our future. So that is why we should also ways study and for a good education for the better future.
I think that the bad education in the public school in America dose not have anything to do with money. I think it the student known that they don’t have a chance to go to a better school where the can learn better at so they choose to do poorly in school. So no I do not think that money have something to do the bad education it have its parts but its not even close to the main reason. I highly doubt that money can change the whole problem about students not doing well in school so. I think that the reasons for the low graduation rate and low test scores is because they know that they have many more chances to take to do good Another reason for the low graduate rate and test scores are cause most student think they cant be anything in life so they mess up in school and not pay attention in class and ditch or drop out because people put them down.
I do not think that “No Child Left Behind” is working because student is taking it to the head and they re messing up in class on purpose because they know that teachers are going to past or give them another chance. I have no idea what “Race to the Top” is at all. No I do not think teachers should be accountable for the students not learning because me myself don’t like to listen but you have to do what you have to do in the classroom. Teacher unions have big impacts on the politics and the education they can over turn the state opinion. Other country are performing great in their classes they even make fun of our classes in the U.S. This says that we have a bad society and it’s effecting our education by other student’s performance in class because of the society we live in.
Education in the U.S
Ever since I can remember, the economic situation had caused nothing but trouble for the educational system. Now especially, the economic recession we are in has caused our schools to cut back, thus we, the students carry the heavy burden because we are not the receiving the best education possible. Schools all over the nation are seeing tremendous budget cuts which result in the firing of teachers as well as the elimination of programs such as music and sports. Many people believe the problem is about money, but it really isn’t. As we saw in the movie, “Stupid in America”, the amount of money doesn’t matter; for example, the teacher from South Carolina spent about a third of what other public schools spend and yet her students were far brighter than those that attend any old public school. This is part of the reason why graduation rates are down; as Mr. Palo said, after middle school our reading and writing skills begin to deteriorate. Another contributing factor is the indifference shown by a great majority of high school students who don’t try or simply don’t care. Teachers can also sometimes be at fault because there are some who only take the job in order to obtain a paycheck every week or even health benefits (Stupid in America: How We Cheat Our Kids. ABC News, John Stossel).
There are programs that have been initiated to help with our inefficient educational system such as “No Child Left Behind” or “Race to the Top”. “No Child Left Behind” was initiated by George W. Bush and its goal was to give every child an equal opportunity to gain an education, ironically though, it is actually leaving more children behind (U.S Department of Education, 2002). “Race to the Top”, on the other hand, is a program that offers additional funds to schools (Riggs, 2010. Times-Standard). Schools get about $350 dollars to ration out among themselves, but allow me to reiterate, the problem is NOT money. Teachers Unions also contribute to the problem because they make it impossible to fire a teacher even if they are ridiculously incompetent. That is why teachers should be paid according to how well their students do. In addition, when we look at schools from other parts of the world, we see that we are far inferior to them and a perfect example was the international test which we saw in the movie. When the Belgians saw how easy the test was one student said, “If the Americans don’t think the test was easy then they really are stupid.” (Stupid in America, 2010) This gives us a really bad image because it makes us seem like an overall stupid nation. Something must be done to improve our country’s educational system before it is too late, for our generation that is. –Miguel De La Torre
Riggs, Patrick. “Race to Where?” Times-Standard. Posted: 02/18/2010 02:42:50 AM PST
http://www.times-standard.com/othervoices/ci_14424958
U.S Department of Education. “No Child Left Behind”
http://www2.ed.gov/nclb/landing.jhtml
"Stupid in America" ABC News. John Stossel.
The level of education that kids recieve and the condition of the economy directly correlate to each other. With a good economy we are able to put as much money into the education system as we need to do in order to try to improve the learning conditions for students. With the extra cash we can also use President Obama's paying system for teachers, the better they preform the better they will be paid. Also in seeing the way the Belgium government was handling the way the schooling system was choosen for students made much more sense than what we have today. It would cause constant competition between the schools in order to raise test scores.
When we compare our academic test scores with that of other schools it was extremely embarassing to see how much better they preformed on the same test. Academic success is being looked at as a bad thing in this country when kids are smart and have the ability to do well in school and don't because they are worried abot being called a nerd where as in other countries the complete opposite is happening. We need to drop the "No Child behind" policy because is helping the below average stay caught up by is holding back many brilant minds that could be bred into the next generation of genius's.
(Kotchman, 2010)
Well, this current economic situation is hurting the public education, in the U.S., by the nonstop budget cuts, getting rid of programs such as the art and music programs, and as well, giving some teachers pink slips. One of the main arguments talked about is that, Schools, believe that the more money, they receive will help motivate and improve the test scores of Students, which after watching the ABC special, “Stupid in America: how we cheat our kids with John Stossel”, it’s clearly not the answer. The example the video used, was with Kansas City, and one of their High Schools, which they had spend millions, in adding a Gym, indoor track, and more, to motivate the students, but in the end, the students still have very poor test scores. In my opinion, the factors that contribute to low graduation rates and test scores, are the teachers and Students, because the teacher is in charge of teaching the students. Though, some might be boring, have personality problems with students, or have no control over their class. And also, the other contributors, are the students themselves, because its their job to be in class, do their work, pass the tests, and get an education, and some rather just cut class, and not care of their education what so ever. This relates to what President Barrack Obama, had addressed in his Back-to-School speech, in which he tells, the students, not to give up/drop out of School, because then it would be like you’ve given up on your Country, which gives a sense of some needed motivation that the students need.
The “No Child Left Behind” Act, seems to not be working, because it clearly, its just leaving the children behind. For example, with “Stupid in America”, a 18-year old boy, is reading at a 4th grade level, and the school council isn’t trying to help him out. And also as we compare the U.S. to Belgium, it’s clearly analyzed that Belgium, makes sure that all their students are caught up, and make sure not are left behind. Even, when interviewed, one of the head administrators from Belgium, she said, that even thought the U.S. has the No Child Left Behind act, that we are still leaving the children in our country behind!!! What this says about our Society and our Education, is that we don’t really want to have a good education, and as Mr. Palo, once said, that it seems like we’re afraid to be smart. “Race to the Top”, is a Stimulus bill-funded program, “which reward states for aggressively reforming their education systems” (Anonymous, 2010), and there’s a chance this will not work, because if our “No Child Left Behind” Act isn’t working then chances are that this also will not work either.
- Katherine Alvarado
Bibliography:
“Stupid in America: how we cheat our kids” 13 January 2006. ABC News: 20/20. John Stossel.
“Back-to-School Speech.” September 2009. White House. Barrack Obama.
Anonymous,. “Top Issues: Education.” June 2010. CNN.
http://www.cnn.com/2010/POLITICS/05/31/issues.education/?iref=obnetwork
The current position of our governments economy is hurting public education very strongly. One of the ways that it is hurting public schools is the arts programs at schools. "When times are tight, school divisions look to cut art and music programs to preserve jobs or fund core-subject areas that are tied to state tests" (Prestidge). This is affecting many students strongly. Band, choir, dance, and drama are all areas that many students turn to for confidence and support during the hell that we call high school. Teachers are trying to make music after school programs to provide for those who still want to participate, the only problem is they are going to have to charge. What about the parents that can't afford to pay for their children's classes? What are they going to do? By taking away these programs because of the budget cuts, many teachers lose their jobs and students lose their comfort place. That is one way that our economy makes our public schools suffer.
Another way that our bad economy is affecting public schools is everything is suddenly more expensive. Schools lunch prices, for one, are getting higher and higher. "In Jacksonville, Fla., school lunch prices will rise 70 cents, due to rising fuel and food prices." (momlogic). Although 70 cents might not seem like a lot, in 100 days of enrollment 70 cents can turn to $70 more than you had to pay when the economy was in decent shape. Another way is students are beginning to get charged for things that in the past were free. "In Choctawhatchee High School and several other schools in Florida, schools will begin charging students $5 to use a locker next year. And they've doubled the price for student parking from $10 to $20 for this school year" (momlogic) All these expenses add up drastically and if parents are already having a hard time with the bad economy this is only worsening the entire situation.
Works Cited
Prestidge, Holly. "When money is tight, schools look to cut arts programs | Richmond Times-Dispatch." Home | Richmond Times-Dispatch. N.p., n.d. Web. 24 June 2010. .
"When money is tight, schools look to cut arts programs | Richmond Times-Dispatch." Home | Richmond Times-Dispatch. N.p., n.d. Web. 24 June 2010. .
adriana verdusco(:
Education in the United States is based upon several important factors. Money is one of the main factors concerning public education and i believe that it is the reason why a variety of schools persevere or fail. It takes money to pay teachers, to buy supplies, to keep modern technology, update textbooks, and to even run a school in general and that is why many schools are currently suffering from the budget cuts. State education budgets are facing cuts of about $11.3 billion (Robelen, 2001) and that itself contributes a lot to consistent failure of public education. In order to improve the quality of educational systems money is needed and the less they have of it the less they can improve.
I personally believe that schools need money in order to function more properly and fulfill the modern necessities to help students in their learning but money is not all a student needs to succeed in their studies, they also need motivation and good teachers. It is understandable that because of the states budget they need to make some cuts in schools, but to lay off a variety of good teachers in the district harms part of the necessity to have good teachers in our schools. Several of the teachers being laid of are extremely good teachers and do an excellent job at teaching but because of money they are being taken away from schools where they could be very helpful to some students. Also, motivation is a major factor in education because without it students are not motivated to move forward and do good in their studies.
Erik W Robelen. "Democrats in Congress cite states' fiscal gloom." Education Week
28 Nove. 2001: Platinum Full Text Periodicals, ProQuest. Web. 23 Jun.2010
"We Expect More Productive Schools. "Wall Street Journal 19 Jun 2010, Eastern edition: Wall Street
Journal, ProQuest. Web. 23. 2010
On June 19th, California faced yet another fee increase of 5% in undergraduate fees. This means that there will be a $204 increase to full-time students, which also means an overall annual cost to $5,097 (not including housing or books) While doing my research on education and how it is affected by our economic crisis, a question was brought up…Will the escalating fees frighten students from not pursuing a higher education? It surprised me to find information that said otherwise from the College of the Desert from Palm Desert. It claims, “ ..the enrollment at the school has increased. Like many community colleges…saw a 15 percent increase in summer enrollment compared to last year, and is expected to see a 17 percent increase.” (Martinez, June 5, 2009)
Now the question of “ Will money improve education.?” applies to the many students that rely on bus transportation. “ ..$300 million cut to bus transportation would leave many children stranded without the means to get to school from home.” In this case, money does improve these certain students education because without a safe way to school, how can they? Students in the Los Angeles Unified School District (LAUSD) “ ..threatened to boycott the state testing that determines a school’s ability to earn allocated money for high-performing schools.”
The sad part is that some who graduate from their higher education, leave out with a huge debt already in their backs. More than 200,000 incoming students will lose most or all tuition assistance under the Cal Grant program. This can also mean that students might have to stay longer in school. “Then about 118,000 college-bund students who were awarded grants to attend school in the fall will have their grants terminated.” (Kevin Martinez, 2009)
-Jocelyn Campos
Rivera,Carla " Cal State Ok's 5% hike in undergraduate fees." (June 19, 2009 ) latimes.com
Martinez,Kevin " Public education devasted by california budget cuts" 5 June 2009, International Newspapers, Proquest. Web 23 June. 2010
Our Economic situation is jeopardizing the education of ‘our future.’ It seems as if the teachers who told us that we will do great things in the future, however as the time and economy has changed so has the attitude of most of the teachers. Education is the main focus of budget cuts. Teachers now fight for their position as they are pink slipped, giving seniority to the eldest taking away opportunity for college graduates. However by keeping those teachers that are stuck in their old fashion ways, many children are just not excelling. The union is too powerful to ever allow change which adds to the bitterness of the ferlo days; only making school a dread to those who truly want an inspiring education.
Personally I feel that it is important for teachers to understand and relate to their students personality. It will not only make the student feel cared about but it will engage them in conversation and curiosity, everyone also learns different and if teachers can help others understand by using different techniques then they are clearly remarkable at their job. Part of succeeding is wanting to learn, and if the adult teaching does not want to teach and help the student learn, there is no common ground. As the economy and teachers pay decreases I see less of this caring attitude. Watching a documentary I was able to see that money does not make a school better academic wise. It is genuinely up to the student and teacher to advance the school. Money now a days is going to the wrong places such as administrator’s buildings, the State Supt. of Public Instruction said, “If we are going to do right by our kids and take advantage of this wave of change, then everything must be on the table.” ( Jack O’Connel) He believes money should be rewarded to those who truly do their job and help students learn and not just leave them to fend for themselves because they feel a union will protect them; there needs to be change.
-Sabrina Prieto
O'Connell, Jack. "Califonias Education Chief Calls for Major Changes." 17 Apr. 2009. Web. 23 June 2010.
The United States current economic situation is down the toilet to be quit frank, and that’s exactly where our education systems (I say the plural form because it is different in each state, which I think is ridiculous. We should be united, that’s why it’s the UNTIED states of America.) are heading. In my opinion, more money does not help the situation. All the deficits and budget cuts and reductions of payments that are being cut are unfortunate yes, however because our current system is so used to getting everything it wants it can’t handle the withdrawals ( Kind of like kid being on restrictions from video games or his cell phone if you ask me). Because our economy is in a sudden downward spiral: the quality, the worth, the influence, and the meaning of education in this nation is also spiraling toward a future I hope I never see along with the economy.
Something I’ve always prided myself on is that I value what I learn and I try my best to utilize the instruction I am given. However when Mr. Palo asked us to evaluate the education we have received, I gave it a 7 which I am sad to report was giving it credit. My education is what is because I not only value what I learn and utilize the instruction I am given but I educate myself on other matters (I’m not trying to fluff my own feathers here I promise), which is something I think is necessary for everyone in this world to. People cannot just remain ignorant to the world around them, that’s unhealthy! Not to mention a disservice to the global community. If you don’t pay attention to the world around you, it’ll move on without you. Everything I’ve heard in class merely infuriates me more, what is this business about an almost 18 year old (almost a voter for this great nation!) cannot read. That is a failure of the system, the educational system. My belief is that learning is both a right AND a privilege. Learning is a choice; you can either make do with what you’re given, take matters into your own hands, or just sit there and go through the motions like a bump on a log. I have disappointed myself by only choosing the first option, I believe people should do the first and second. Your education is what you make of it, regardless of how the economy is, regardless of how much money is being cut from your local education system and regardless of who or what is in your way. Learn what YOU want, not what some lady in Texas on the school board thinks is important or not. Heck, let’s become like Belgium. Let’s introduce competition into our education system, maybe that’ll save us some of that green stuff everyone is so preoccupied with.
-Samantha Fernandez
With this current recession our biggest defect is the major cuts on education. This effects all of the schools in the US, even our very own. We hear teachers getting pick slipped and having sports programs getting cuts. This effect us seniors and recent graduates who are planning to proceed on to college. Many colleges are raising the cost of tuition and many community colleges are being overwhelmed. It’s sad because you need an education to get a good job, but with all these cuts and many colleges turning down new applications because of all the cuts, how are we supposed to receive an education? Also, with the high rate of unemployment rate these new graduates out of college are going to have a hard time finding a job. This generation is getting the worst of it, and it sucks to know it includes all of us!
Even though we have a bad time with our education system now, we still had a bad structure education system to begin with. Looking back I remember teachers explaining how lucky we were to live in the USA because we are the richest country in the world and not everybody gets the same benefits we do. That’s true we are the one of the richest countries but were not one of smartest countries in the world. Watching the news program “Stupid in American” was a shock to me. I always believed our country was the smartest country, though I was sadly wrong. Learning how other countries parents are allowed to choose where there child goes to school is awesome. It created competition between schools causing high test scores and better well taught students. Though it makes me question if we’re not being taught the best and as an average student here in the US how would I be ranked with the students in the countries who are being better taught?
Clark, Kim. "Budget Cuts Take Toll on Education." US News & World Report - Breaking News, World News, Business News, and America's Best Colleges - USNews.com. 09 Aug. 2009. Web. 25 June 2010. .
Sam Dillon. New York Times. (Late Edition (East Coast)). New York, N.Y.: Feb 8, 2010. Pg. A. 11
Christi Parsons, Janet Hook. Los Angeles times. Los Angeles, Calif.: Mar 31, 2010. Pg. A.8
The U.S. public education system is a disaster as it is. Many blame the multi billion budget cuts towards education. Others blame the way the government executes the education system. Yet very few people take in mind what students actually have to say. After all it is our education that is at risk. All that is talked about these days is how much money schools are losing. While it is unfortunate that schools all over the country are losin a lot of fund money, we shouldn’t use that as an excuse to blame low graduation rates and test scores. It is ridiculus the amount of amount of money the U.S. spends on students but is yet to compare to the likes of South Korea and Japan on a score level.( Cosgrove-Mather, 2002) “ In all levels of education, the United States spends $11,152 per student. That's the second highest amount, behind …Switzerland.”(Lagorio, 2005) I personally disagree with the fact that money is the issue. Like we saw in the documentary “Stupid in America” there are some schools that managed to get good scores with money that dwarfed by the money given to public schools.
I believe that teachers shoul be held more accountable fot student scores because it is their job to, or at least try to, make an impact on each and every student. They should to some exctent receive a minor pay cut if their performances does not increase. In worst cases they should be let go if there are multiple complaints by students on the teachers teaching abilities. “Kids don’t know anything. Why should we care about what they say?” Contrary to what many educators believe, a sufficient amount of students are aware of the situations that revolve us and should have a great say on how the material is being taught. Teacher unions prevent “not so great” teachers from being dismissed. I'm not saying unions are bad but in some instances it does get in the way of proper education. Although Americans do have a reputation for being “not so great” students, there are those, like me, who cherish their education and are given no voice in their education.-Daniel Quiroz
Cosgrove-Mather, Bootie. "Poor Marks For U.S. Education System - CBS News." Breaking News Headlines: Business, Entertainment & World News - CBS News. 26 Nov. 2002. Web. 25 June 2010. .
Lagorio, Christine. "U.S. Education Slips In Rankings - CBS News." Breaking News Headlines: Business, Entertainment & World News - CBS News. 13 Sept. 2005. Web. 25 June 2010. .
The last few years have been difficult for the United States due to the economic downfall we’ve had the misfortune of experiencing. As several may have noticed, states have been cutting back on anything they believe is unnecessary in order to try and save money. Sadly, one of the things that have been hit the hardest by these extreme budget cuts is education. Statistics show that “Public schools are suffering from the dip in state funding, which declined 5.7% per student this year” (Yousuf, CNN). As the money spent on each student decreases, so does the amount of money the school is willing to spend in order to help better educate their students. In other words, the low economy is causing schools to feel the need to fire certain teachers and eliminate certain programs, such as music and sports, from their curriculum in order to try and save enough money. The confusion and shock brought about by all these drastic changes is also hurting the students, who may sometimes feel that the school board is not thinking about what is best for the students and is only thinking about what is best for themselves. So you may ask yourself, how do we fix these problems? Several teacher unions may argue that more money is the answer. While I agree that more money will save a few teachers from losing their job, “there actually isn't a link between spending and student achievement” (Stossel, ABC News). While money can buy more textbooks and learning resources, it depends on both the students and the teachers if this money is put to good use. Teachers must feel dedicated to teaching and students must dedicate time to listening and learning. Dedication and hard work is the key to higher graduation rate and better test scores, the key which several schools fail to provide for their students. As the program “Stupid in America” showed, various teachers seem to treat education as a unimportant by allowing their students to misbehave in class and, this encourages students to become less involved in their schoolwork. It is this behavior, not lack of money, which is bringing down our graduation rates and our test scores.
Programs such as “No Child Left Behind” and “Race to the Top” have been introduced in order to help the failing education systems. While the motives behind “No Child Left Behind” were good, it allows states to things such as set their own (different) standards. However, a program can easily crumble if all it’s members are on different disagree with each other or are on different terms. However, “Race to the Top”, which, “provides competitive grants to encourage and reward States that are creating the conditions for education innovation and reform” (ed.gov). seems to be a good incentive program that provides schools with the motivation to be better for their students. However, while incentives provide schools and teachers with the push they need to do their best, teachers must realize that the role they play in a child’s life is extremely important. It is up to them whether or not the child feels passionate about finishing school. Likewise, students must also realize that it is up to them whether they take what their teacher’s give them and put it to good use. This is why other countries are doing better than us academically. Because both students and teachers understand that they both play a major role in their country’s future.
Bibliography:
CNN: Yousuf, Hibah. "College is more expensive than ever - Oct. 20, 2009 ." Business, financial, personal finance news - CNNMoney.com. N.p., n.d. Web. 25 June 2010. .
Ed.gov: subject. "Race to the Top Fund." U.S. Department of Education. N.p., n.d. Web. 25 June 2010. <http://www2.ed.gov/programs/
There are many ways in which our current economic situation is hurting our public education. One instance of this is when, “Alhambra High School’s employee of the year, a popular library worker, finds himself unemployed” (Lopez, 2010). The said reference is about Alhambra High’s employee of the year, Terry Cannon, who was fired just two days after receiving his award because of budget cuts in the school’s funding. Cannon was a library technician that, “…taught kids research skills, introduced them to great literature, catalogued books – anything that was needed” (Lopez, 2010). Cannon was a dedicated worker that enjoyed helping any student that would use the library as a resource. A faculty member such as him is certainly not expandable and budget cuts such as this have definitely hurt public education.
It’s not that money improves education; it’s that less money hinders education. Money can improve education, but only if it is a factor of how strong the teacher-student (or staff-student) relationship is. When school faculty is on more-than-good terms with the students, there is better development and dedication to the learning process (Lopez, 2010). Through personal experience, I know that low graduation rates and poor test scores are catalyzed because most of the students have no motivation for school or no emotional ties or covenants to there education; their classes, teachers, and/or teaching methods they receive are dry. This adds onto another point that teachers should be more accountable for student performance, but only to a certain extent. Teachers aren’t mandated the power to control every aspect of a student’s life. At most, they can guide them during class, at tutoring, and encourage studying and study skills.
Resources:
Lopez, Steve. “A golden apple and a pink slip,” The Los Angeles Times 23 June 2010: n. pag.
Education is not always a priority in the United States obviously if the school system is the one of the most who are suffering BIG cuts in their funds. But yes it is true te economy is hurting the public schools and the students attending those schools.For example, taking a look at California's public schools it is said by UCLA that they are "ill-equipped" to be able to teach the children. Then taking a closer look at Orange County one of Californias countys, " 28 school districts have already announced they plan to cut $280 million or more the upcoming school year". This is all from the result of the economic situation, as stated "Budget cuts have led to teacher lay offs and larger classes...access to learning materials..." (Leal,Fermin).
Also, public schools have suffered greatly since not even since before te economic situation education was still taking a back seat to many other things funded by the government. Only 5% of the budget was going to the schools which is sad since they need a good enough education. But not only is President Obama adress issues but he even tries to help our students motivated he said we must not be defined by our failures but learn from them instead. Now it is up to us and the adults to create major change in education and not let this crisis affect public schools. Then we will only succeed if the teachers and staff and students truly want it becuase at times its not always about the money.
Leal, Fermin. "Report: economy hurting state's public schools."www.ocregister.com.Jan. 21, 2010
The education of American students is being hurt by the tough economic times of our country. The trimming of school budgets by state legislatures has led to school districts receiving less state funding. What this means is that, since school districts have less money, they have to cut back on some novelty education materials, such as computers and other technological items (Rieman 2008). I believe that this is very dreadful because the majority of the students in high school use computers and technology. I mean if you don’t agree with me, then go as a kid if they have a Myspace, Facebook, or Twitter. I am sure that you will find out that the majority of the kids do have one of these three social networks. Therefore, the generation of students of the present has the access to these technologies outside of school, but when they are in school, they are stuck reading out of a tedious textbook.
Bad grades can both be the fault of the student, or the teacher. There are two parts to this story. Some teachers are friendly, kind, and passionate about teaching and building relationships with their students. To me, these are considered to be good teachers. I believe that because personally, when a teacher likes what he/she does and takes the effort to construct a relationship with his/her pupils for the year to follow, it just makes a student feel more wanted and urges the student to learn. The persona of a bad teacher is one of those teachers’s that just puts you to work right away, without explaining anything. These teachers just make me angry. They aren’t teaching you anything by making you read a book. They are just passing time so they can get a pay check. Just because you have been teaching for thirty years, it does not mean that you are a good teacher. It just means that it was nearly impossible for someone to fire you, so they were left with no choice, but to let you remain as a member of the faculty. Teachers are somewhat accountable for the way that their students perform. If the teacher is a good teacher and has taught the class properly, then the student should have no excuse to perform poorly. That is unless the student doesn’t care about their future or their present. Those students are just a waste of time and a desk. They shouldn’t even bother waking up early in the morning and coming to a place of education to just take up oxygen that can be used by someone else who is motivated to do something in their life.
The “Race to the Top” is a program created by the Obama Administration that focuses on giving states grants upon the progress they make in their schools. It is a 4.3 billion dollar race that will help the economy and the schools get better. The most important thing that this program is set out to do, is to motivate students, teachers, and schools to competitively perform at an elite level of education and to raise their standards (Hamilton 2009). I believe that this is a very good program. It sounds like it can help out many schools. Maybe the schools will finally realize that the tenure teachers that are teaching their classes with obsolete methods are hurting the students rather than helping them. Hopefully this reform causes change in many schools throughout the country, and the respect for an American education is rejuvenated.
Hamilton, Justin. "President Obama, U.S. Secretary of Education Duncan Announce National Competition to Advance School Reform." U.S. Department of Education. 24 July 2009. Web. 25 June 2010.
.
Rieman, Heather. "The Economy and Education- Will the Budget Crunch Facing States Affect Education Spending | New America Blogs." NewAmerica.net. 31 July 2008. Web. 25 June 2010. .
- Ali Raza
The U.S. is enduring an economical recession that has affected everyone regardless of their social, economical, or political status. It's managed to get to an extreme that its forced states such as California to choose among putting in funds for education, healthcare, prisons, state parks, or social services. Despite the role education plays on America, ironically, public schools are the upmost affected out of the bunch. Income that school's were given per student has drastically decreased. Not only does this interfere with the quality of education a student can receive, but with such little money going to the public schools, the teachers are affected as well. Due to the budget cuts, teachers around the nation is slowly being laid off and left without a job. During a crisis like this, it makes it nearly impossible for teachers to get back a job in education. So what happens to the unemployed educators in the mean time? Not the schools problem any longer, so who cares right? Wrong. What many fail to see is that teacher's, whom may have been at the same school for many years, are not taken in close consideration. Student's are affected, once again, when educators who are really good with peers are removed from their schools and may be replaced with "new professors, who which academics may not see the same support and cannot relate to.
By personal experience, considering Norte Vista is facing such circumstances this year, many of these scenarios are proven to be factual. In example, I've noticed that great teachers who have been instructors at Novi for 10+ years are simply being removed with no sympathy or regard on the service they've provided for a long time. Another example is, the exploiting of low performance test scores that Norte Vista is being generalized by. Sadly only negative points on schools are talked about, and the positives push aside. This can be the case for many other school facilities and are truly not being given some type of credit for the achievements the school has made, despite the budget cuts and low income support they are receiving. Yet, I do not belive the issue will be fixed by only providing money. Measures have gotten out of proportion, that giving a couple thousands or millions to schools nation-wide, will not insure that the monetary resource is used for the benefit of students and faculty. This issue is putting America's educational standards into ridicule because more money has gone into prisons over schools & other learning centers.
citations:
June 8, 2009, 6:00 am The Value of Education in a Recession
By DAVID LEONHARDT
Huge L.A. School Budget Cuts Announced; Students Will Suffer
Updated 2:44 PM PDT, Thu, Jan 7, 2010-NBCLA News
Chicago schools face budget cuts. Will teachers’ union budge?
By Amanda Paulson, Staff writer / June 16, 2010
Just by going to a public school one is already seeing the affects that the economey has on it with the pink slips given to teachers,teachers retiering, and the visits that we had the last school year. Reasreaching about it i saw it is affecting not just in california but in United States and places like Britain, Ireland, Germany, all of Eastern Europe. For Example in the article in the one of the links (ball,2010), in Kansas 57 public schools has been closed. what happen to the 300 employers, the 300 teachers? Where are they now and does that raise the unemplyment in that area?, in the end Kansas was left with a total 17,000 punlic school. Once again also in they cut 5% of thier funds, at the same time dealing with students who becaome homeless tring to pay loans that in some cases it is the reasion for quiting on thier education. Passed bills that President Bush passed For education haven't worked, but President Obama has diffrent ideas that are very helpful in allowing sudents be able to pay off loans and get credit for thier education.
The teachers Union has a huge affect on us the students because they are the people who determine what we learn, how we learn it ,and where we learn it from. You could say that thanks to them we have everything we need or that they are to blame for the mess up system of Education we have. Watching "stupid America" made me realize how much the union cares for us our money or people who tries to get money by any way posiable not thinking on the students neeeds. Issues with tearchers being unqualified to be teaching thier class or by breaking a rule regulation of alny kind, it is mostly impossiable to fire them even if you have a reason to fire the teacher. why does the union protect teachers who should be fired so much? Is it because they dont want the issues in education to come out in public? or is it a way to keep follwers happy and pleased with thier way of handeling things? I dont know the union has stopped so many bill or proposals President Obama has pointed out. sadly this is seen all around the place, now refering to teachers where some are doing the best to help the student be inspired to want to sucsied in life and to know the subject. at the same time thier are those teachers who just give students the answers, others who just assigned homework with out an explaination, some who just cant teach, ect.. So many problems with the students who give up becasue they dont see the poin of counting to do thier best if they are going to easily pass or fail because they dont see the point to listen to the teacher eaither by boring or if they dont make sense. No one has been able to fix nor will it ever stop, thats why i do think that tachers should get paid basied o the students preformance because it show determination of learing and teaching in both parts, keep in mine many dont want this becasue many are affraid of change in how things are use to be running. who knows maybe other countries wont think we are the dum one and it coould be possiable to have the same education standard as other countries. i guess we are to worried about what is the big news on TV that we dont pay attention to the importance on education is and how every desicion affects everyone.
"stupid in America"
"Europe's Education Crisis: colleges money sour"
Education Reform: Obama's Bipartisan Issue? (altman,2010)
"Final Bell :Kansas city's Effort" (Ball, 2010)
CNN.com
ABC News-(Dwyer,2010)
Post a Comment