Three Blogs That I Recommend to Read

Health Care Reform:

Healthcare reform has been a hot topic and a political issue for the past few years.  I really enjoyed reading this blog and found the topic to be quite interesting and very informative.  Both views on the bill were presented well as it discussed what changes are included in the bill.  The material was clear and from reading, I gained a better understanding of the bill. Definitely after reading the analysis post, I can honestly say I know more about healthcare reform.  Previously, I had to rely on what others said to get my information.Now reading this information without any underground biased thought, I feel that my knowledge on the bill is accurate. With the passing of the bill, hopefully our country can move forward and make affordable health care available to all.

America was in a recession, but then they got high

I found these blog posts to be very interesting and to some extent, quite humorous. When I first realized that the blogger was going to write about legalizing marijuana, I wondered, how is she going to keep up with writing on this subject.  Granted, this subject is not biggest problem in today's society but if politicians actually sat down and thought about the benefits of legalizing marijuana, many problems would be solved.Overall,  I think Lacey LaPlant did a good job on discussing the topic as well as analyzing the benefits of legalizing marijuana.

Park 51:

I enjoyed reading this blog. I thought that Me’s blogs were well written and her stance on the issue of building the mosque on ground zero was thoroughly researched and analyzed. Reading her blogs made me think deeply about the situation. I also liked the analogies she used in the blogs. In addition, I think Me does a good job in presenting both sides and their thoughts on the issue without seeming biased. Overall, I thought she did a good job on the blog posts.

Mental Health Break

For those whom haven’t seen Willow Smith’s new music video, here it is! It’s rather interesting lol. Enjoy!

Public Education-Implications Post

Have you ever wondered how our country would be if the public school system was never reformed. Even though we would not immediately see the results, later on in the future, it would be a disaster.  Our future and our lives will be in the hands of the students we are educating today.  If our schools continue to produce students that are in the 12th grade and reading on an elementary level or if the dropout rate continues with students dropping out of school before they able to vote, our future is in trouble.  A change is desperately needed in the direction of our schools. If not, America’s upcoming generations will not be prepared for the future and our country will suffer. 

The Consequences of Not Reforming

  

One consequence is innumerable students will not be qualified to work and our society will be filled with less productive people.  There will be a shortage of doctors, lawyers, teachers, educators and professional people of many fields. Also, we need to ask ourselves, who will be making the important decisions affecting all of our lives?  Our students will not have the ability to solve problems because they have not been trained as well as they lack the cognitive ability to do so. Obviously, the achievement gap between students of different socio-economic classes will increase and possibly, a new social class will emerge.  

In addition, the conditions of our schools will continue to decline.  America’s students will continue to lag behind the rest of the world and lack the knowledge to be competitive, a role we have always took pride in.  America will no longer be a global leader in technology, energy or healthcare because we have not prepared and educated our students properly.  Overall, America’s reputation as a world leader will decline.

To avoid all of this, I believe if all public schools raise their standards and expectations of students as well as put more funding into education, regardless of where they attend school, students will be better prepared for the future. If our schools don’t change, our future will be worse than what it is now.

Public Schools vs Private Schools: Is there truly a difference?

While parents have the belief that an education from a private school is better, many are deciding to remove their children out of public schools and enroll them into private schools. In this post, I am going to discuss the differences between both public and private schools and examine whether one is better or not.

Since many families can’t afford to spend thousands of dollars on the tuition of private schools, public schools definitely have an advantage when it comes to finances and saving money. While this is true, numerous school districts around the country continue to face major budget cuts. In addition, many high school students around the country aren’t prepared for the rigorous academics of college. Because of that, many parents believe private schools are more effective in preparing students for the future.

Public Schools versus Private Schools

 It is generally believed that private schools have a more rigorous academic curriculum. Unlike private schools where the curriculum is more specialized, in public schools, the curriculum is broader and it is designed for all students. While students that attend private school (i.e. a Christian School) are forced to take certain number of courses and forced to have a certain believe, classes in public schools are broad, exposing students to various backgrounds and beliefs.  As a result, students from public schools are more likely to be better prepared for the real world when it comes to dealing with people from different backgrounds because of their exposure to different thoughts and views.  Another notable difference between both types of schools, is since private schools are smaller, students have more interaction with teachers, leading to students learning what they need to know on grade level instead of playing catch up later on. This factor likely contributes to and explains why private school students perform better in college and are more likely to seek a higher degree than public school students.  Regarding courses of study, with private schools having a demanding curriculum and higher standards, students that graduate from those schools are very prepared for the future.  I believe if all public schools increase their curriculum and raise their standards, all students will be better prepared for the future, making public schools more valuable.

Theory Post for Public Education

 From schools districts facing severe budget cuts to students not being able to read on grade level, it is very hard to say that Americans don’t have reasons to be concerned about public schools.   In order to complete the debate on whether public schools are preparing our students for the future or not, I will talk about the positives and the negatives of receiving a public education as well as discuss some of the plans that our government and school districts around the country plan to do in order to improve the conditions of our schools.

                                     

Public education plays a fundamental role in our society. Majority of parents can’t afford to send their children to private schools, so many have no other choice but to send them to public schools. Over 90% of America’s children attend public school. This fact along shows the severity of the problem and how important it is for our society.  In addition, while private schools have specialized curriculums (i.e. Christian schools) public schools have a broader curriculum, exposing students to more thoughts and ideology. However, since private schools are smaller and students have more interaction with teachers, this environment is more conductive for learning and students are able to master the material which is not the case in all public schools.  Since many educators know that many public school classrooms are overcrowded and they have limited resources, plans are in the works to change these conditions.  The Obama Administration is trying to improve the conditions of the schools by making needed changes one of which includes increasing teachers in the classrooms so students can learn more.

 It will take many resources, time and patience before we realize the full potential and the impact of the investment in education required.  This by far, is one of the greatest challenges our country is facing in this 21st century, yet, it is a challenge we must win in order for our great country to continue being the world leader we have always been.   

SEO Scholars Program

Continuing from my previous post about neighborhood schools and low income students placed in a disadvantage, this video takes a different perspective. This video talks about a program that inspires low income and minority students in the New York City area .The SEO Scholars Program is an enrichment program that prepares students from inner city schools for the academic pressures of college. This program not only helps students succeed in gaining admission to competitive schools, it also gives them the self-confidence that they will need while in college.

Analysis Post for Education in Public Schools

What is going on in our schools? “Until recently, the school he (Zebedee Williams) attends, Roosevelt High, has struggled with gangs, poor attendance, and lack of discipline. These problems that are not unique among St. Louis schools. Over the past several decades, St. Louis families have increasingly abandoned the public schools, moving their children to county schools, to parochial and private schools, and to charter schools that draw per-pupil dollars from the public school system.” says a PBS news report done on low income public schools. In recent years, these types of moves have become more common and it is becoming a major issue.  For this reason, researchers are examining and trying to determine how to solve the many issues going on in America’s public schools. While some try to ignore the problem or pretend there is nothing wrong with our schools, we continue to hear stories like the one above, making it apparent that we do have some serious problems.  Even though there are many dependable sources and reports that provide reliable data on what is going on, there are other reports that are not truthful.  From this post, I am going to go in depth on this issue using various opinions and thoughts about the issue.

                 From schools being unequally created due to politics  to the economy which has resulted in teachers being laid off and schools being closed, it is understandable why Americans think public schools are in a crisis.One reason many people believe that public schools don’t prepare students for the future is because American students are behind in comparison with the world. In 2007, a report released by the National Center for Educational Statistics, 4th grade American students performed above average in an assessment that included 35 different countries. Unfortunately though,looking at the data for 15- year old American high school students, it is a different story. The Program for International Assessment (PISA) is the exam that tests the knowledge of 15 year olds worldwide on subjects such as reading, math and science. According to the results, the American students didn’t do so well. Out of the 30 OECD countries that participated, Americans scored below average on 23 of the countries that were tested. Following this release, the Associated Press released a report about the same data. In December of 2007, this report was presented in the New York Times titled “Other countries’ Students Surpassed US’s On Test”. While it was true that American teens didn’t perform as high as others on the assessments, the article still had more of a negative undertone. The article also failed to mention the data of fourth grade students testing above average. While it is good that the fourth grade students perfomed well, the NY Times article was right with their viewpoint that US schools need to change the direction they are going. With that in mind, educators are trying to figure out what is going wrong in our public high schools as well as what is needed to change this trend. The following  talks about just SOME of the problems that are going on in our schools.

Are Public School Accurately Preparing Students for College or Not?

One question that many people ask about public schools is whether they are accurately preparing high school students for college or not. Due to the fact that nearly one-third of students entering a post-secondary institution needs to take remedial courses in order to do well,  many believe public schools aren’t doing their job in preparing students. In order to measure whether students are prepared for college, college admissions look at standardized test scores to determine whether they will be successful at their institutions or not. Organization such as the American College Testing organization believe that taking their exam and scoring high on it means that a student is prepared. With thousands of parents spending hundreds of dollars on prep classes, many buy into their story which is not always true. Recently published in a Boston newspaper, the article “ACT Scores Dip but More Students Are Prepared For College”, it discusses the recent dip in composite ACT scores, but the slight increase of students prepared to do college science and math courses. This brings out the point that schools that teach students more effectively in the classroom have a greater effect and prove success more than standardized tests.

Currently at The University of Nevada-Las Vegas, forty percent of incoming freshmen lack the ability to read on college level while almost seventy percent of students don’t have the sufficient skills to do college math. While the middle 50% scored around the average ACT score, they still weren’t prepared. Instead of thinking that standardized test prove whether students are ready for college, educators believe the curriculum and standards set in high schools prepare and prove that students are ready for a higher education. Educators believe that if high schools raise their standards and teach students what they need to know, preventing them from playing catch up later on, students will be much more prepared for the future. Coming from a non-biased source and backed by many, this point is very true.

The Game of Politics and The Economy

Another problem that is taking a toll on public schools is the economy and the game of politics. With the economy leaving less money for things to get done, many are debating where money and tax dollars should be spent in regards to education. With states such as California,  teachers are almost unable to meet the learning and social needs of their students due to budget cuts, right wingers such as Andrew J. Coulson believe no more tax dollars should be spent on public education and teachers. While reading Mr. Coulson’s biased article, I couldn’t help but notice that he is using research that is prepared by himself to make his point. Not only that, he fails to mention the other side of the argument as well as the graph he uses is formed incorrectly. (He puts the costs of sending children to school on the same line graph that tells reading and math scores. From observing his tone, you definitely know that his article is biased and reading it makes readers realize the different political views that people have about education. Additional ways which politics affect our schools is with the policy of neighborhood schools. With neighborhood schools on the rise, the relationship between economic status and the quality of education that a person receives continues to lower the reputation of public schools.  Recently in Wake County Schools, the school board decided to reverse its diversity policy and assign students to schools using this policy.  Most Parents obviously know the results of this situation and many are filing lawsuits against the county as well some are demonstrating protests causing people to get arrested. With forcing all students from a certain socio-economic status to go to one school, schools become less diverse and inequity becomes an issue.

Students that come from families that have low incomes are most likely to be put at a disadvantage. Back in 2004, six out of ten high school graduates coming from families making under $33,000 will attend college by the age of 24, which is less than students coming from families making more than $80,000.  While some people may say that low income students actually receive more help, realistically in the long run, they aren’t receiving the proper education to prepare them for the future. Even if admitted to a decent college, there aren’t likely to succeed with obtaining a bachelor’s degree.

In order to improve the conditions of our schools, the government is now working hard and coming up with programs to implement changes in public schools. Starting with George Bush’s No Child Left Behind, small improvements have been made. To further improve the success of public schools, Barack Obama is making changes to the Elementary and Secondary Education Act. According to his website, those new guidelines are designed to prepare and measure students’ growth and create accountability standards to ensure success. In addition Obama is making changes to the No Child Left Behind act and he plans to make sure future students are prepared to enter kindergarten. As well, he will expand the federal Pell Grants so a broader range of students are able to enter and afford college. Even though his ideas sound promising, some are not happy about them. CNN presents  the article,” Obama’s Educational Plans Draw Fire” saying groups such as pro-profit universities as well organizations that prepare students for college are against his plan to increase funding to community colleges, encouraging students to go there. That is obviously not shocking, considering these companies will be affected by those policies. While all these plans sound good, it all goes back to one thing, adequately teaching students while they are in primary and secondary schools, prepares them for the basic fundamentals that they will need for life. When all public schools start doing this, our country will be singing a different tune when it comes to education.

Neighborhood Schools- Is It Ruining Our Public Schools?

As many already know, or even been a victim of, neighborhood schools in America are on the rise. For those who are not familiar with neighborhood schools, they are schools which force students to go to the schools that are closest to home. Regardless of the socio-economic background of majority of the students, kids are still forced to go to that school. Unfortunately, with many of today’s public school districts using this method to assign students to schools, more problems are arising due to the lack diversity. Not only does neighborhood schools create the issue of re-segregation, but people are also concerned that all schools are not equal, therefore leaving some students at a disadvantage. To answer whether all schools are equal or not, studies show that schools in working or lower class neighborhood are not equal in comparison to upper or middle class neighborhoods. Research shows that students in middle class schools are more likely to perform higher on standardized tests and do better in class, than students from lower income schools. Why is that? Various reasons from the lack of parent of involvement to the lack of resources available can cause this dilemma. Unfortunately, it’s not unusual to hear of low income schools not only have the resources such as textbooks to use for class, they also tend to not have best teachers. With students not having the proper resources from the beginning, they are already put at a disadvantage in being prepared for the future. With various programs in place trying to fix the problems in low income schools, it is sad but it goes back to the fact that in order to get a decent education in this country, you must have money. With the recession taking a toll on many families and forcing them to settle in lower income neighborhoods, the problem of unequal schools and students not being prepared for the future is on the rise.

The following map shows the current high school boundaries in Charlotte-Mecklenburg Schools. FYI, the schools in the middle/ upper-class areas (northern & southern Mecklenburg County w/ the exception of Myers Park, which is one of the wealthiest areas of Charlotte) are considered the best schools in Charlotte, while the schools in the middle, often fail to meet adequate progress. Because the neighborhood school policy, I wasn’t allow to attend a school that was 10 minutes away from my house. The school, which was not only new, it also offered more classes than the high school that I went to.

http://www.cms.k12.nc.us/cmsdepartments/StudentPlacement/Documents/High_bdy_1011.pdf

The Consequences of Having Uncaring Teachers in the Classroom

Recently, Time magazine discussed some of the problems going on in public schools. One subject that it spoke about in particular was training and putting new teachers in the classroom. Unfortunately today, there are many unmotivated teachers in the classroom, not teaching with the best intention in mind. Instead of instructing young ones and making sure they are prepared to move in life, they are more concerned about making a paycheck. With this attitude common among teachers around the country, it is not shocking that students are not learning the material that they need to be successful in the future. Having teachers that didn’t care about students is something, unfortunately, I can relate to. Coming from a low income high school, it wasn’t uncommon to have a teacher that didn’t care about the welfare of students. Every day in class, you knew that the teacher didn’t want to be there, not only because they told us that, but also by their actions. It was common for me to teach myself the materials because the teacher didn’t teach it nor cared about us learning it. Even though I made it out of high school and got into a good college, now I am starting to see the effects of having teachers such as that. Today, while learning new things on the collegiate level, I still struggle with basic material that was supposed to learn back in high school. Even though I spent 4 years in high school, I am still not totally prepared for college. Even though there are some teachers out there that are concerned about the welfare of students and are truly passionate about teaching, because of cut salaries and mistreatment from the school board, this problem is only expected to get worse.

Is the Government Failing Our Schools?

As I brought out in the last post, public schools in this country are facing a major crisis with preparing students for the future. There are a high percentage of students that are not graduating as well, a high percentage of students that are not able to read on grade level.  Unfortunately this problem is only going to get worse. Recently, due to the economic hardships that our country is facing, school districts are facing major budget cuts while the cost to send children to schools is increasing. Most states don’t have the resources to support public schools, leading to fewer resources in the classroom and children suffering too. With many students barely having the proper resources to get an education in some schools, students are getting less preparation for the real world. Even though we can’t help the fact that we are in a recession, it seems like education isn’t the biggest concern of the government. There are things that could be cut so we can focus more on education. With billions of dollars spent on the wars in the Middle East and millions of dollars spent on unnecessary scientific research, it seems like our priorities are not on improving education. Recently in Charlotte- Mecklenburg schools, at least 10 schools are scheduled to be shut down next year. For the students that went to those schools, they will be sent to others schools, causing schools to be overcrowded. In addition, CMS is going to dissociate several high schools and mix elementary students along with high school students, leading to other problems.  Instead of school board members taking a cut on their salaries and keeping schools open, they get a raise. Unfortunately, people care more about spending money on their own desires, than they do of today’s generation. Without the proper funding, many students aren’t getting the proper resources that they need to succeed in school, therefore leaving them to be unprepared for the future.