Restoring America’s Education Prominence

Recently, nationally known educator and author Dr. Linda Darling- Hammond presented a lecture to future teachers and scholars at Temple University in Philadelphia.  Darling- Hammond, currently a professor of Education at the Stanford University School of Education noted that “The United States will never reverse the decline of its students’ academic achievement scores compared to the rest of the developed world- nor ensure its continued economic and political prominence- until it makes the necessary financial commitment to ensuring equality in education.”

Dr. Darling-Hammond noted that she observed two significant areas of achievement gaps for American students. One was the gap (which has been persistent) between white and affluent students and those students who live in poverty. The second gap – which has widened considerably since the 1970s- is between American school children and their counterparts in other high achieving countries.  When asked about possible solutions, her recommendations included making a significant investment in teacher preparation programs in America’s colleges and universities, emphasis on higher order thinking skills ( HOTS),  and personalization in the classroom including  making schools smaller and limited class size. Finally, the importance of parent contact and cooperation cannot be overlooked.

How are we as a nation going to be able to equip our children and prepare them to compete in the intense 21^st century global job market unless we as a nation address the issues of poverty, homelessness, health care and adequate nutrition ? The focus is on urban education, teaching our nation’s school children who live in the inner cities. This crusade for equality is not new. Fellow educator Jonathan Kozol has for many years been a champion of inner city children with his written work that includes,” Savage Inequalities,” Death at an Early Age, On Being a Teacher and Illiterate America.

The landscape and final agenda has not been set for the upcoming Presidential election, so it is difficult to tell if public education in America will become a significant campaign issue in 2012. However, during all of the campaigns that I have followed, I have yet to come across a candidate who was not an “education President!”  The difficulty lies in the juxtaposition of being pro-education and at the same time cutting funding or eliminating social programs that would help underserved children to become more successful. While throwing money at a problem is not a sure fire way to solve it, neither is withholding funding from programs that have proven to be successful.

Please note- Dr. Linda Darling Hammond most recent book,” The Flat World and Education: How America’s Commitment to Equity Will Determine Our Future” was reviewed on this blog on June 27,2011 and is retrievable from the link on this page. Other books by Linda Darling-Hammond include: Preparing Teachers for a Changing World: What Teachers Should Learn and be Able  to do ( 2007), The Right to Learn: a Blueprint for Creating Schools that Work, and A Good Teacher in Every Classroom (2005). All of the above listed books are available at Amazon.com and can be order via the link on this site.

As always your comments and suggestions are welcome.

Spring Break Alternatives

I just returned from a brief trip to famed South Beach in Miami Beach. The traffic was impossible. The neighborhood was jammed with men and bikini clad college women who had just recently invaded the town for the annual rite known as “Spring Break.” Frankly with the enomoiny in its current state, I did not expect such a large turnout this year. While I know that many of the participants w will have an enjoyable week in the sun before they have to return to their studies, I thought that there might be a more productive way to spend the week. It just so happens that there is. It is known as “alternative Spring Break”. Students get an opportunity to go to another country for a week and volunteer their assistance to the community.

The University of New Mexico’s Continuing Education division has activity programs for children ages 6-12. There is a Lego camp, as well as other opportunities for arts and crafts activities. There is also a teen job boot camp to help students gain an advantage in applying for summer employment. There are also opportunities for aspiring writers and astronomers.

There are several other organizations that are worthwhile to investigate. Projects Abroad, United Planet and ELAP provide opportunities for students to aid in under developed nations. Students can choose to work in Costa Rica or Guatemala for example.

Projects Abroad (http://www.projects-abroad.org/) offers opportunities for internships as well as volunteer projects. The organization has placed students in Africa, Latin America and Eastern Europe. The organization has an average placement of 8000 participants a year and been actively engaged in these projects since 1992.  For more information you may access their web site or contact them at 347 West 36th Street, Suite 903, New York NY 10018. To phone-    US Toll-free: 1 888 839 3535.   

Another such organizations is United Planet whose mission statement include the following “As an international non-profit organization, United Planet strives to create a world in which all people understand, respect, and support one another. United Planet's global network of leaders and volunteers fosters cross-cultural understanding and addresses shared challenges to unite the world in a community beyond borders.” For more information about United Planet please go to http://www.unitedplanet.org/. Participation can be from as little as one week to an entire year.  Program costs start at $995.

ELAP – Experimental Learning Abroad Programs (http://www.myelap.com/). This organization offers individual as well as group placements in a number of countries but primarily focuses on central and South America. Opportunities are available for people with interest in business, health, education, and conservation.

The point is that spring break need not be your parents’ notion of what spring break was. (If you are a nostalgia buff, rent the movie “Where the Boys Are” with George Hamilton) You have an opportunity to make a difference in the lives of people all around the world. You can work on your tan this summer.

Become a part of the solution.

No CHild Left Behind's Tenth Anniversary

Happy Birthday NCLB

This year marks the tenth anniversary of the No Child Left Behind law. It was the cornerstone of President George Bush’s education platform.  It was supposed to increase teacher accountability in the classroom. It was also supposed to raise the level of achievement for America’s public school children. It was supposed to help America “Catch up” with the education systems in other western nations after falling behind for many years. So if NCLB was supposed to be the greatest educational development since the McGuffey Reader, how come there are so many people against it? How come Congress has been reluctant to reauthorize the law?

The No Child Left Behind Law was modeled after a simpler program introduced in Texas when George Bush was governor.

One of the positive platforms to come out of the law was the notion of “highly qualified” teachers. This meant that all teachers had to prove proficiency in the subject that they taught. This required that a teacher complete an appropriate amount of course work in a specific subject area (like mathematics or English), and pass a standardized written examination ( in New Jersey, for example, the approved examination is the Praxis Series).

One of the controversial parts of the law dealt with adequate yearly progress and student performance on standardized test. Essentially this meant that a school’s grade relied on how the students performed on one written test. There are way too many variables to place so much weight on one day of testing out of an entire academic year. Both teachers and students were concerned about factors beyond their control that were impacting the education process.

In an era where there is a public clamor for less government intrusion, there is great deal of discussion as to whether the bill should be reauthorized. Under the 10^th Amendment to the Constitution, anything not specifically delegated to the federal government becomes the purview of the states. So it has been that state government controlled public education in their states- setting standards for both students as well as teachers.

In 2011 President Barak Obama authorized states that they could seek waivers around certain proficiency requirements in exchange for changes favored by the administration.

We truly don’t know where this will all end. It is a sensitive political issue, especially in an election year. Every candidate desires to be the “Education President.”

As always, your comments and input are welcome.