Education Reform

If you know me really well you know that I have strong political views and that I can get fired up about politics fairly easily.  If you don't know me all that well then you have probably never heard me talk politics.  I have no interest in arguing about topics unless I feel it will actually make a difference.  I know it is unlikely that I will change another persons view and it's even more unlikely that they will change mine from one conversation.   There is a topic that has been bred into my being, so I am going to talk politics now because this is a topic that is close to my heart, education.  My parents have been heavily involved in the education conversation and some extremely vital movements in education since I was 12.  While growing up the last thing I wanted to hear about was education, but look at me know and you would never know it. While in college I lobbied at the state house in the education committee.  I've been extremely involved in Liberty Public Charter School, based on the Harbor method, for several years (I was a teacher's aid and also taught computer)  until I had my son, which now I still plan to volunteer at the school.  My husband and I are also founders of a new school that will be built near our home that will be a sister school to Liberty.  I guess you could say I have lived and breathed education for 12 years.

We are so involved in these schools because they are educating our children the way they should be.  The teachers are hands on, involved and inspired to come to work daily with their best game.  They are rewarded for their hard work and innovative thinking, rather than just by the number of years they have been there or by test scores.  Text books are rarely used (only for math and science)  instead they are using interactive ways to engage these young people and keep them focused.  Student performance is off the charts and children who come in from other schools have tremendous growth within a years time.

You would think that this is all due to small class sizes, long contracts for teachers/tenure, and a whole lot of money.  Quiet the contrary!  The school runs on a fraction of the budget most surrounding schools have allocated to them.   Their class size ranges from 28-32 students and if there is an ineffective teacher in the classroom there would be no hesitation to let them go.  Because of their support from administration the teachers are able to set high expectations for attitude and performance.  Why do we belittle our children and expect so little of them?  They can and will rise to the challenge no matter their background, race, IQ or special needs.  At these schools, classes are managed better than most companies.  So, here is a school that is already putting in place many of the proposals Tom Luna is suggesting in the Education Reform.....and....it's working! If you strongly disagree with these proposals and if you feel taxes or money could fix the problems, then you haven't seen it in play.  I encourage you to seek out one of these schools that is making it happen and take a tour.  If you are asking our government to look under "every rock"  shouldn't you yourself?

There's experiences in my life that certainly sway my opinion as well.  Do you remember when you were in high school and you'd go to registration, look at your schedule and your heart would sink?  All because you got stuck in that one teachers class that everyone hated.  I'm not talking about the teacher that was just strict or the class that was really really hard.  I'm talking about the math teacher that I had who was spent 5 minutes at the beginning of class to go over 2 questions that several students got wrong and then went back to her desk while we read our text book, so she could sip coffee until her retirement came.  I'm talking about the teacher who I truly believe hated children.   She had no desire to meet with students who were struggling, or who said "are you stupid" to me when I asked a question that apparently was too ridiculous for her to answer.  I'm even talking about the teacher who students all loved and wanted to be in his class because he gave everyone A's and let you pass notes and hang out all class because he had a job that couldn't be taken away.   I have all the respect in the world for teachers, but I'm sorry those are not teachers.  Those are people with a free ride to a salary every year.   My husband puts his life on the line each and every day,  men and women are sent off to war to fight for our freedom, but at the end of the day, if they mess up, make one mistake, don't take their job seriously, do you think their Sergeant, Chief, or supervisor thinks twice before sending them on their way?  No.  Teachers should have the same fear, so they will have the same drive to do well every single day.   When do NFL stars have their best season?  That last year before their contract is up for renewal.

As far as the online classes,  I took one online class in college because it was only available online,  I did not do well, so I didn't take another online class. Even though there were certain classes only offered online and even though it would have been more convenient for me to take the class online, I avoided them like the plague.  This is most people's reasoning for not making students take an online class in high school.  So, let me get this right:
Colleges and University's are increasing their online classes and requiring most classes to be taken in that manner.
Study shows that most students will be required to take online classes in college
fail

Therefore:
We should not prepare students to succeed in college by making them take online classes in high school, so they can get used to the difference.
We should not set up our students to excel in an ever increasing technological world
We do not believe students can learn how to take a class online, even though they can learn how to link their tweeter to their mybook and blog about their medical diagnosis from wiki all while updating their status?

I would have never opted for an online class in high school.  BUT I would have much rather failed an online class in high school instead of failing it in college where I was paying hundreds of dollars for it.  I do believe we need to implement a plan to educate students how to take online classes and how to benefit from them.  There needs to be a way to help these students prepare for their future.  I would have benefited from that in more ways than one.  I would have appreciated if my high school would have looked at what would help me do well in higher education rather than just my four years there.  Most company's are using online classes now to educate their staff on new policies and risk management topics.   If the purpose of high school is to prepare our students for a higher education and or future employment, then it is crucial that we train these students how to use technology for learning and how to successfully complete a class online before their college diploma, or future job is on the line.

I say all of this not get people riled up, but to encourage everyone to do exactly what we are asking of the government, look at the possibilities.  If you have not seen a school who has these policies in place, then you truly can not say it will not work.  And once you see it you can make judgements yourself, but I hope this will encourage you to seek out a school that has similar policies in place.  If you do not know of one please let me know and I can give you the name of several.