During class we discussed many possible solutions to the No Child Left Behind Act that we've concluded isn't really working. However, before we begin to discuss solutions we must figure out the problems we're trying to solve. I thought it was interesting the different spectrum of views regarding race, class and education inequality. Personally, I think that although class does play a huge role as an unequal resource it is unfortunately the case that race and minority ethnicities are often the ones in a lower class. I think we need to ask ourselves what the bigger picture is and, why is this?
We also, towards the end, began talking about charter schools as a possible solution to No Child Left Behind. I think that charter schools are a good way to experiment however I feel like they could also create their own problems. What if a school's method of teaching really isn't working? It's not fair to those students that attended these schools, and what does it mean for their future? I do, however, believe that student, parent and teacher involvement is crucial to the success of a student's education. As I've said numerous times I think education goes behind the classroom, and is even more important at home. I was interested to find how how many charter schools there are in Albany where I live, because to be honest I had never heard of any. I found a KIPP school, the kind we had discussed towards the end of class. I'm curious to find out whether my parents have ever heard of them and why we never discussed the possibility of me going to one. Was is because the information wasn't out there? Was is because I wasn't having problems in my school? Or could it be because going to a public school in the suburban area where I live was the "normal" thing to do? I wonder if other people in our class ever had that discussion with their parents, was a charter school ever an option?
I understand why there haven't been many political reforms regarding education; it's incredibly difficult to think of solutions, however this doesn't mean that we can't keep trying.
http://www.newyorkcharters.org/proKIPPTechValley.htm
Subscribe to:
Post Comments (Atom)
5 comments:
I think teachers are the key tool to the educational system. A teacher could potentially make or break a student's career in schooling. A motivational teacher could convince a student to strive harder and push them to do better. Teachers should be able to have faith in all their students. They should be able to have enough time to learn each student's rhythems and ways of learning so they can better implant knowledge on them. I think if more emphasis was placed on the teacher and each student was taught in a way in which they can learn we would have a higher graduating rate and a higher amount of kids who attend college. I think more emphasis should be placed on teaching rather than tests within a classroom.
I had never heard of a charter school before this class and this leads me to the fact that I am froma very segregated area where I only went to school with 3 black kids, and I was tought education 'in a white man's view' meaning we didnt discuss issues with black people often. There were things such as Martin Luther King Jr in which every student learned about, but on a regular basis I learned about white history. I find this very interesting that me, nor anyone I went to school with, had a problem with this or in the case that they didnt realize like me, why was this?
i thought your post was very interesting because i am from albany also and have never heard of any charter schools in our area. i did not know any students who attended these schools, but maybe thats only because the majority of the people i knew i met in school. i think its very interesting that you found one in our area, i wonder who does attend it. maybe because we live in a suburban area outside of albany our schools were better and students who lived in the actual city whose schools werent as good attended the charter school. i wonder if my parents had ever considered sending me to the kipp school. perhaps they didnt even know there was one in the area. also i agree that education goes far beyond the classroom and that we need to look at the bigger picture when class plays a large role in how a student does in school and class seems to be based upon your race/ethnicity. it seems as there there is a far bigger problem that the achievement gap within our education system.
i thought your post was very interesting because i am from albany also and have never heard of any charter schools in our area. i did not know any students who attended these schools, but maybe thats only because the majority of the people i knew i met in school. i think its very interesting that you found one in our area, i wonder who does attend it. maybe because we live in a suburban area outside of albany our schools were better and students who lived in the actual city whose schools werent as good attended the charter school. i wonder if my parents had ever considered sending me to the kipp school. perhaps they didnt even know there was one in the area. also i agree that education goes far beyond the classroom and that we need to look at the bigger picture when class plays a large role in how a student does in school and class seems to be based upon your race/ethnicity. it seems as there there is a far bigger problem that the achievement gap within our education system.
The KIPP schools were mentioned in Tough's article so what did you think of his critique?
Post a Comment