I didn't realize how the choice of school could be so crucial to one's educational future. This is mainly because I never had a choice of school. When I was younger I went to a Jewish private school, but when my brothers were born we moved into another district since the public school where we lived wasn't known to be a "good school." From then on, however, I went to elementary school, middle school and high school all with the same people. Now that I think about it though having so many choices in schools, to me, seems like its only furthering segregation amongst economic and racial classes. Information about the different kinds of schools, one of many unequal resources is not made widely accessible to parents, whose decision it is to choose where their students attend. The role of parents, then, in my mind is to obtain information about their children's potential schools in order to make an educated decision.
Another role we looked at is the role of our schools to affect other educational decisions we have later on in life. As I discussed in class, my guidance counselor was a huge influence on some of my decisions about colleges and she gave me information that I learned in class maybe every student wasn't given, kind of the inside scoop. I really believe it is a problem that some people are getting this inside information, because it's obviously providing for an unfair advantage for those people.
On the topic of the different kinds of schools; public, private, magnet and charter, I had never heard of magnet schools before. I wonder why that is? I wonder why all these choices are available yet no one really knows of them. Here is a website about magnet schools in NY, there's one in Albany where I live that I've never heard of
http://www.publicschoolreview.com/state_magnets/stateid/NY
So how do we fix this. Surely I don't have the answer, but I believe that government officials and people in high positions deciding educational policies should. They were elected or chosen for these positions because they had a plan, or were supposed to at least. I'm not saying its easy, but many political platforms are about educational reform, but where is the reform?
This might sound silly but I was thinking in class that there should be a Extreme Makeover School Edition show. That show spends so much money fixing houses, which I understand are sometimes in need of fixing (even though I think sometimes they go over the top) I think the money could be spent wisely on a larger scale helping schools obtain at least the material and structural resources they need. It would help the students like the one's that Kozol describes not see the dirty boards and papers all over the floor and holes in the wall and writings all over the desks. Although he says that the physical detriment of schools might not be the biggest problem for schools anymore, I think it is still critical to fix these issues because it affects the students' attitudes and that fixing the structure of the schools is the first step in creating a positive learning environment for the students.
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I find it interesting how, all throughout our life we are taught to be open to diversity. Yet, when we attend school, it is with the same people for the majority of our educational career. This in turn does just the opposite. It keeps us sheltered from the "unknown" and segregates us further.
I think it would definitely be fascinating to create a reality show that focuses on education, because as I'm sure it will be helpful to obtaining resources for some schools, it also raises awareness to the public who have not even heard about what has been occurring around them.
From the information we've read about magnet schools, though, I wonder how much they hurt "regular" public schools. Many often have competitive admissions -- requiring students to take exams to enter the schools. How does this address the issues of inequity for students in under-resourced schools that haven't had the opportunity to learn? By this method, are these schools not then taking the "smartest/brightest" students away from the public schools and in a way encouraging and perpetuating the negative stereotypes regarding public schools, and the children who attend them and also making it harder for public schools to pass the tests required by NCLB? I can't imagine all magnet schools being run this way, but the information I found so far indicates this is a part of the process for a lot of magnet schools.
And your idea about an Extreme Makeover: School Edition doesn't sound weird at all. A few other blogs mentioned it, and I've heard it discussed in other places as well. I do remember seeing a school makeover on one of the home improvement shows awhile back, but they just made over the playground area, I believe... it was a few years ago so I don't really remember it. I think it would be an interesting idea... and an interesting show.
I do wonder how schools will be able to discipline and encourage against school vandalism though. From "minor" things to gum being placed on desks and chairs to more major events like breaking windows, etc. To what extent should children be held responsible for their actions? Parents need to support schools who make children clean up their messes instead of arguing about how unfair it is or about how their child isn't going to work to replace whatever was broken. I think students also need to take more pride in their schools -- how often do you see trash thrown around? Even in our brand new UDC, I've picked up trash that other students have left behind. COLLEGE students who are supposed to be adults. It's just ridiculous. I think schools should be allowed to promote pride and work-ethic and some other components of character education without so much resistance from parents. What good would it do to spend money to repair/clean up schools, when the students continue to vandalize them?
I suppose it goes back to the question about how is responsible for making schools better. I was kind of surprised how many people said it was basically the responsibility of the school board or the government without giving much consideration to the responsibilities of the students, parents, and others involved.
From the information we've read about magnet schools, though, I wonder how much they hurt "regular" public schools. Many often have competitive admissions -- requiring students to take exams to enter the schools. How does this address the issues of inequity for students in under-resourced schools that haven't had the opportunity to learn? By this method, are these schools not then taking the "smartest/brightest" students away from the public schools and in a way encouraging and perpetuating the negative stereotypes regarding public schools, and the children who attend them and also making it harder for public schools to pass the tests required by NCLB? I can't imagine all magnet schools being run this way, but the information I found so far indicates this is a part of the process for a lot of magnet schools.
And your idea about an Extreme Makeover: School Edition doesn't sound weird at all. A few other blogs mentioned it, and I've heard it discussed in other places as well. I do remember seeing a school makeover on one of the home improvement shows awhile back, but they just made over the playground area, I believe... it was a few years ago so I don't really remember it. I think it would be an interesting idea... and an interesting show.
I do wonder how schools will be able to discipline and encourage against school vandalism though. From "minor" things to gum being placed on desks and chairs to more major events like breaking windows, etc. To what extent should children be held responsible for their actions? Parents need to support schools who make children clean up their messes instead of arguing about how unfair it is or about how their child isn't going to work to replace whatever was broken. I think students also need to take more pride in their schools -- how often do you see trash thrown around? Even in our brand new UDC, I've picked up trash that other students have left behind. COLLEGE students who are supposed to be adults. It's just ridiculous. I think schools should be allowed to promote pride and work-ethic and some other components of character education without so much resistance from parents. What good would it do to spend money to repair/clean up schools, when the students continue to vandalize them?
I suppose it goes back to the question about who is responsible for making schools better. I was kind of surprised how many people said it was basically the responsibility of the school board or the government without giving much consideration to the responsibilities of the students, parents, and others involved.
I, too, moved from Brooklyn to long island based on the school district. My family moved to plainview based on its school district. I never realized how big a difference a choice in school district could make. My high school was predominantly white and Jewish. I wonder how parents of the school district would react if people from different social classes and ethnicities began to attend my school. I also think the idea for Extreme Makeover school addition is really a great idea. It is true that they spend so much money on fixing houses, fixing schools seems to fit right in with the criteria of helping people.
You and Patricia seem to be on the same wavelength with these solutions and they are certainly great ideas!
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