The Problem of Education Dominant view today, public schools are failing Many see school reform as a solution Critics are cautious Urging more careful analysis Failing schools based on test scores American students worse in math and reading Compared with Singapore, Korea, Japan, and Finland Scores are clustered more closely Compared with countries as England, Germany, France, and the Netherlands Learning focus has now changed in light of the global community Collaboration, dialogue, interdependence, and creativity Ushering in age of cooperation, communication, and critical open-mindedness Standards Need for standards? Low scores on standardized exams is a complex problem Standards defined Quartiles, quintiles, deciles, and percentiles Creating such a plan requires: External demand the interest and aptitudes of students Content of the subject matter What constitutes a respectable course of study answer Commitment to democratic aims Space available to break into smaller constantly changing groups the concerns are intertwined Performance standards When speaking of standards, performance or achievements is what we have in mind Rejection of racial and gender bias Participatory deliberative democracy How do we decide what is required for an A? Content standards Opportunity to learn standards Standardize what all students should learn in certain subjects and further what subjects students should be required to study Standard academic curriculum All students should have an opportunity to learn to prepare for college or a vocational education Schools have not provided equal opportunities for children to learn Opportunity to be forced into studies one dislikes may not constitute an opportunity to learn Content should be reviewed by content experts first Many people accept the idea of national content standards often narrowly and specifically defined and the impetus for creative variety has been lost Generally “the best” were drawn from the economically well to do with a few academically talented students invited to join the circle Teacher accountability Standard practice is to hold teachers accountable for stated learning outcomes Teachers deserve neither sole credit nor sole blame for what students learn or fail to learn Native ability, home environment, community resources, and personal effort all contribute to student success or failure in learning Teachers should not be held accountable for adhering strictly to the prescribed curriculum Rather they should expect to justify what they do when they depart from it in recognition of their deeper responsibility to students Choice Many argue that parents should be able to choose their childs school Choice is fundamental in a democracy Achievement gap Are teachers simply incompetent to teach minority and poor children? Is there a better way to describe the problem and create a path to a solution? 21st century teaching Emphasis on collaboration Communication in the form of dialogue Recognition of interdependence Critical thinking Creativity Creating a satisfying life in three domains: home, occupation, and civic
Posted on: Mon, 24 Nov 2014 23:32:32 +0000
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