Failure of U. S. Education System

[WhoWee]

Vouchers in theory sound like a good idea because they add a free-market competition aspect to the publicly-funded school system, but the teachers unions are vehemently against them and almost any affluent area I'd think would be against them. People who have worked hard to move into and live in a decent neighborhood with good schools are not going to want vouchers which will allow all of the inner-city kids to then have the ability to be sent to their schools as well. Vouchers are also controversial because in the past, they were used for segregation purposes I believe, so many people think of that when they hear vouchers (although using vouchers for that purpose was outlawed decades ago). People such as Milton and Rose Friedman, however, never supported vouchers for such purposes. Most consevatives and libertarians who support vouchers support them for the free market competition they would theoretically bring to the schools. Vouchers are also just one component of creating school choice. I also believe there are areas in the country where vouchers have been successfully applied.

Label this opinion - just some observations:

My wife is an educator and has worked in most of the public schools in our area before moving on to the university. We've observed the building boom for public schools over the past decade. They seem to have unlimited funding to build and equip the facilities - but no money to operate. Btw - the vandalism to the new buildings and theft of equipment is unbelievable.

We don't have vouchers per se, but we have a program called "open enrollment" that allows a student to cross school districts (reciprocal agreements) whereby the receiving school system is provided funds from the district that lost the student. Needless to say sports recruitment is a problem that was not anticipated.

We've observed the older schools in the affluent areas have not been replaced and all of the inner city schools have been replaced. However, the older schools (that were built to handle twice their current enrollments) are receiving inner city kids seeking safety and discipline that is not present in the new inner city schools.

 

[Physics-Learner]

one will never be able to stop wealthy people from spending more money on things, including their children's education. nor do i think they should be. it might surprise you, but i am not against someone being wealthy.

when i refer to the "wealthy", i am referring to the upper echelon, who uses their money to gain control of others.

back to vouchers. most people would spend their money to go to the school that is close by, as long as the school is good. schools that were deemed not worthy would be replaced by people who made it worthy - capitalism at its best.

each school could determine if one 100,000 administrator was more important than 1000 computers to the school. in other words, which makes it more attractive to the parent who now has the choice of where he spends his voucher.

schools in affluent societies would no doubt spend more on their facilities, and charge more for them. the less affluent areas though, would have much better schools than they had before - which is the whole point of our school system - to better educate our children.

 

[WhoWee]

schools in affluent societies would no doubt spend more on their facilities, and charge more for them. the less affluent areas though, would have much better schools than they had before - which is the whole point of our school system - to better educate our children.

Again, this is the exact opposite of what we are experiencing in our area. The very poor inner-city schools are being torn down and replaced with multi-million dollar complexes with the very best computers and equipment. The older schools in the more affluent areas have upgraded equipment and athletic facilities - but are not replacing the buildings.

 

[Physics-Learner]

what is there to complain about, then ? if the schools were so bad that the best thing is to completely rebuild them, then so be it.

i also do not know exactly how your voucher system runs ? does each kid get the same voucher amount ?

 

[WhoWee]

what is there to complain about, then ? if the schools were so bad that the best thing is to completely rebuild them, then so be it.

i also do not know exactly how your voucher system runs ? does each kid get the same voucher amount ?

The state has invested heavily in the region for new inner city school facilities - but the behavior of students has not been addressed whatsoever. Educators are basically afraid of their students and parents rarely support teachers. The latest trend involves some of the most disruptive students being sent to the older affluent schools (by the disruptive parents).

If the schools have a reciprocal agreement - the receiving school receives funds that would have gone to the school that lost the student.

 

[Physics-Learner]

in the voucher system, the state is not involved - which is part of why your area may be experiencing something different from what i have stated.

things would evolve as i stated, given the true voucher system as i have described.

all schools would be better, but the best schools would still be in the most affluent areas.

 

[Bobbywhy]

Here is the final section of a document from the National Academy Press entitled “Promising Practices in Undergraduate Science, Technology, Engineering, and Mathematics Education” found at:

http://www.nap.edu/catalog.php?record_id=13099

“Final Thoughts

Kenneth Heller observed that many of the teaching strategies discussed during the workshop (e.g., case-based learning, problem-based learning, using closed-ended problems or context-rich problems) involved a common set of elements. For example, they all include cooperative group learning, connection to a real problem, and coaching—and these methods seem to be effective.

David Mogk focused on next steps. He cited a need for resources and networks that will engage more faculty in the scholarship of learning and help them become agents of change in their classes, departments, and institutions. Drawing parallels between the scientific method and education research and assessment, he encouraged workshop participants to help their colleagues engage in assessment for the betterment of STEM education and for the health of science and society.

Melvin George remarked on the dearth of discussion about the purpose of improving STEM education, stressing the need to identify a compelling sense of purpose that will generate support for reforms. He also agreed with the need to create a design manual for “hungry adopters.” He concluded by underscoring the points made by Fairweather, Dancy, and Henderson about directing more resources to understanding the factors that influence change versus continuing to study which practices are effective.

Building on George’s points, William Wood added that it is important to understand the role students play—positive and negative—in the change process. He noted that students’ facility with technology and access to information have required instructors to shift away from teaching facts (Prensky, 2001). However, in his experience, students pose barriers to reform because they often resist new pedagogies and are unfamiliar with how to learn. For this reason, in addition to educating instructors about better instruction, Wood stressed a need to educate students about how to learn.

Susan Singer commented on the fact that several people view further research on effective practices and further research on implementing change as mutually exclusive. She observed that, similar to scientific research, the process of change is iterative and requires both types of research. She also cited a need to develop a broader theoretical framework to guide STEM education research within and across disciplines, expressing the hope that this workshop series is the beginning of a conversation along those lines, rather than the end.”

Furthermore, at the same site there is for K-12 “State Assessment Systems: Exploring Best Practices and Innovations: Summary of Two Workshops”

http://www.nap.edu/catalog.php?record_id=13013

And lastly, here is “A Framework for K-12 Science Education: Practices, Crosscutting Concepts, and Core Ideas”

http://www.nap.edu/catalog.php?record_id=13165

 

[DoggerDan]

With all this talk of voucher systems, I'm curious as to what you think of this: http://www.goalac.org/

Learn at home (online), graduate early with some college credits - is this a bad thing? Since it's a charter school, it's free for the students. Well, as free as any public school in Colorado.

 

[Physics-Learner]

i don't think there is any relation to the voucher system and internet schooling.

but most college students that i have talked to, that have taken on-line courses, don't find them as effective as being in the classroom with a teacher.

 

[WhoWee]

This is a bit off topic, but I personally know quite a few adult education instructors. They have repeatedly complained that students receive federal assistance and the schools typically pressure instructors not to fail ANYONE - some have indicated their adjunct status has been threatened accordingly.

 

[Bobbywhy]

Here are two articles that may assist those who try to improve the science, technology, engineering, and mathematics education here in America from the Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD):

Are students well prepared for future challenges? Can they analyse, reason and communicate effectively? Do they have the capacity to continue learning throughout life? The OECD Programme for International Student Assessment (PISA) answers these questions and more, through its surveys of 15-year-olds in the principal industrialised countries. Every three years, it assesses how far students near the end of compulsory education have acquired some of the knowledge and skills essential for full participation in society.
At: http://www.pisa.oecd.org/pages/0,2987,en_32252351_32235731_1_1_1_1_1,00.html

Strong Performers and Successful Reformers in Education: Lessons from PISA for the United States

US President Obama has launched one of the world’s most ambitious education reform agendas. Under the heading “Race to the Top”, this agenda encourages US states to adopt internationally benchmarked standards and assessments that prepare students for success in college and the workplace: recruit, develop, reward, and retain effective teachers and principals; build data systems that measure student success; and inform teachers and principals how they can improve their practices and turn around their lowest-performing schools.

But what does the “top” look like internationally? How have the countries at the top managed to achieve sustained high performance or to significantly improve their performance? The OECD Programme for International Student Assessment (PISA) provides the world’s most extensive and rigorous set of international surveys assessing the knowledge and skills of secondary school students. This volume combines an analysis of PISA with a description of the policies and practices of those education systems that are close to the top or advancing rapidly, in order to offer insights for policy from their reform trajectories.
At: http://www.oecd.org/document/13/0,3746,en_2649_35845621_46538637_1_1_1_1,00.html
The boldface above is mine to emphasize the importance of how we can use proven methods of education policy innovation here in the USA.

 

[Physics-Learner]

This is a bit off topic, but I personally know quite a few adult education instructors. They have repeatedly complained that students receive federal assistance and the schools typically pressure instructors not to fail ANYONE - some have indicated their adjunct status has been threatened accordingly.

when i was a kid, if a parent found out that someone at the school had to discipline a child, said child got it 10 times more from the parent, when the child got home.

 

[Bobbywhy]

NCEE: U.S. reforms don’t match Korea, etc.
May 30, 2011 By Joanne

U.S. education policy should emulate the world’s top performers — Finland, South Korea, Singapore, Japan and Ontario, Canada — concludes a report (pdf) by the National Center on Education and the Economy.

“The most effective way to greatly improve student performance in the United States is to figure out how the countries with top student performance are doing it, build on their achievements and then, by building on our unique strengths, figure out how to do it even better,” Marc Tucker, NCEE’s CEO, said in a statement.

At: http://www.joannejacobs.com/