- What are the most important challenges pertaining to higher education in America today?
- Which of the four leading positions (showing on the middle of the guide) do you favor the most and why?
- What other choices or options regarding higher education could help train more people, improve American competitiveness, and our economy?
Thursday, April 17, 2014
For Class on 4/24: Education in America
Outside of our families there is arguably no greater source of our political socialization than schools. And the reality of schools in America is mixed and largely troubling. Many have focused on the falling ranking of American K-12 education with respect to the rest of the world. We will discuss some of this in class. For now, however, I would like you to focus on higher education. There is no doubt that we have a huge number of high paying jobs in America that do not have enough sufficiently trained applicants to fill available jobs. Take a look at this issue guide from Public Agenda on higher education. You may also want to take a look at the Obama Administration recently released college scorecard here. You can start the discussion by answer any or all of the prompts below:
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I favor approach 3 most. I think it's the best option of the four to ensure that education doesn't just favor those who can pay for it. The article also mentions how there will be millions of future jobs that won't be filled due to lack of qualified workers, though we have millions of kids whom the system fails to properly educate. We're wasting a ridiculous amount of potential by not giving less advantaged kids a decent education.
ReplyDeleteThis can easily be put in positive economic terms. The more skillful workers we have, the more productive our society is in general. The argument against the approach says that providing every child with a high quality education is too expensive, requiring a tax increase. I think that argument focuses too much on immediate issues and right-in-front-of-your-face results. I see educating every kid in a better, more equal way as an investment. By the time they become professionals in whatever field, those kids that would most often have ended up unemployed or in jail instead become productive members of society. The return on investment has the potential to be highly profitable.
And it is not just the educational aspect that divides kids, but also their foreseeable potential. Approach 2 of the Public Agenda pushes this idea of having the brightest go to the best school, thus reaffirming this belief that the public schooling system is for those that cannot afford or compete against those charter/college prep schools. Naturally, some kids will be smarter than others, but that does not mean that lesser cannot intellectually grow and compete for college acceptance and/or a high-standing career job in the open market.
DeleteExactly. I believe that a fraction of kids deemed unintelligent actually are. Most don't excel academically because they're turned off by the rote learning, view education as pointless when living in communities lacking prosperity, and/or have no peers or educators to make the importance of education relevant.
DeleteWhen it comes to education and job placement in the US, there's no doubt that the level of competitiveness is incredibly high. However while it is very high there are many positions that you see not being filled because they don't meet the minimum education requirements. However one thing that stood out to me was where we place in math scores around the country. We pride ourself as a country with the best universities in the world but at the same time are not competing at the same level that other countries are competing at.
ReplyDeleteI also agree with all three stand points. Out of all three I think that approach one is the most important. I believe if we set the bar high enough starting from the top (principles and teachers) children will follow and want to learn because the teachers are going out of their way to make sure that the students are learning as much as possible.
The fact that our overall educational system has failed to deliver high marks in certain educational fields, such as science and math, is virtually well-known in our society. The unfortunate thing is that this trend does not seem to be improving at an adequate rate. The fact that “Three-quarters of students entering college are not adequately prepared for college-level work in areas such as reading, English, math or science,” especially considering the claims of the author we previously read that believes an educated citizen is the key to a prosperous democratic nation. In other words, both the American economy and political system suffer as a result of this fall in educational standards.
ReplyDeleteComing from the Chicago Public Schooling system, I am too familiar with the lack of standards and college-preparedness of students in public schools. However, instead of trying to save the public schooling system, the trend seems to be how to get the best and brightest out of there and leave the rest to their fate. Approach 2 of the Public Agenda analysis demonstrates this claim, where the brightest students would be grouped in certain schools, potentially leading to more resources being forwarded towards those schools at the expense of public schools. While financial assistance is needed to improve public schools, teachers and parents alike should also work hard in educating the next generation by holding themselves accountable to high standards. In short, a student’s education should be more geared towards intellectual growth rather than the obtaining of a diploma.
Any type of higher education after K-12 is expensive. So expensive that many students can't afford to attain an education past what is provided for them. This creates many issues. It discourages those who can't attend college after high school to finish out their last four years and earn their high school diploma. Many drop out and begin low paying labor intensive jobs at an early age. In 2011, the Bureau of Labor statistics reported that 68.3 percent of students who graduated high school were enrolled in college. Of that 68.3 percent, only 58 percent of college students attained a degree after six years. That leaves less than 29 percent of Americans with a college degree. With this being said, I believe that Approach Three would be the most beneficial to help children succeed. By providing public schools with more financial support, students will have access to the materials that they need to most successfully learn. With these materials and better grades because of them, more students will have access to scholarships to allow them to attain their diploma and work towards a degree. Without proper funding, kids are being deprived of their right of the opportunity to learn and succeed. More money leads to a higher quality of education which leads to an influx of college students with leads to an increase of people available to fill high-skilled jobs.
ReplyDeleteIn order to close the widening skills gap we must first address the greater threat to the future skills gap—the economy. The current state of the economy has led to high levels of unemployment, bankruptcy, and foreclosures. Many families can barely survive, let alone afford astronomical tuition costs. These factors exacerbate the future widening of the skills gap. For instance, bankruptcy prevents the approval of additional student loans. Because federal student loans are limited, these additional loans determine whether an individual can cover the remaining tuition, books costs, and additional other fees. Beside these broad economic issues, there are specific institutions that are contributing the widening skill gap—businesses.
ReplyDeleteWhile there is a skills gap, there are also many careers over-flooded with prospects that have trouble finding a job worthy of their credentials. Even when accredited individuals do find a job worthy of their credentials, they are limited by barriers embraced by financially cautious business owners. One barrier, exacerbated by our current economic state, is the increasingly prevalent method of short term contract agreements to control employment costs. For instance, schools and colleges are hiring more and more adjunct professors to avoid educators from achieving tenure and increased salary over time. In fact, one undisclosed professor mentioned an email that was recently sent to all DePaul professors that incentivized retirement to those near-retirement, tenured professors. This tactic has numerous implications for both educators and students. To educators this means limited salaries, constant transition to different education institutions, and prevents them from receiving the almighty tenure. Widespread discontent of educators can potentially impact the quality of education students receive. As the article points out, the average salary of teachers today is 14% less than what other professionals with the same level of education. Thus, the risk associated with pursing certain levels of education, with tuition costs greater than a home, will discourage future prospects and create skills gap in professions that are currently stable. Point being, we must first solve these greater issues if we want to enhance quality of education and close the widening skills gap.
One potential solution is to redirect education efforts, through policy, to business owners. Legislation could be passed requiring business owners to consistently attend educational seminars led by leading economists that inform them of the potential outcome of these practices. Financial incentives could be rewarded to businesses that eliminate certain employment tactics for the greater cause of bettering the economy and preventing a future economic collapse. Clearly this is not a simple task. However I believe some improvement is achievable.
I think that the most important challenge to higher education in America today is the high school dropout rate. The website has some startling statistics, for example, roughly half of African American and Hispanic students do not graduate on time. That number is massive. When students drop out of high school, there is only a very remote chance that they will ever go back to seek higher education. Also, I think that if students take an extra year to graduate high school, it is less likely that they will go to college. This is a huge problem, because in order for minorities to improve their socioeconomic status, they need to be educated to get higher paying jobs. Of the four leading positions, I favor the first one, which is to set high standards and hold the schools and teachers accountable for getting there. Many people argue that this would put too much emphasize on testing, but I think that there can be other ways, such as essays, which would allow children to show knowledge and creativity besides filling in multiple choice bubbles. I think that making sure each child is at the same level is the only way to keep the system fair for tax payers, as well as to give everybody equality of opportunity.
ReplyDeleteI agree with the third approach presented on Public Agenda. It is important to give schools a level playing field, especially in low-income neighborhoods, and I think that's a step towards stabilizing and bettering the state of education. And I agree that it starts before kindergarten. The points that are presented are things that we all idealize as being what would make our education system so much better, and I think it's time to actually put it into action. It is always said that children are our future, yet we don't invest in them to make sure we have a great future. I think having a better education system goes further than just the type of education that children from each neighborhood is receiving, I think that when you have grammar schools and high schools that are really working towards bettering their students, the community also benefits from it. If I were to apply that model to my own neighborhood, Humboldt Park, I think it would change the landscape of the neighborhood completely. Change the types of programs that grammar schools are offering and better them so that the kids who graduate from these schools perform just as competitively as their peers, whether they go to their neighborhood high school or selective enrollment. If schools like Clemente churn out leaders, students who are ready to succeed in college, and who have a different mindset because of a difference in education, then the whole neighborhood could see a positive change.
ReplyDeleteI think it's important to really take a look at our education system and stop blaming teachers for low test scores and recognize that test scores CANNOT define how well a student, teacher, or school is doing. I have always valued test scores because I've been a high achiever since grammar school (I did not attend my neighborhood school, instead I went to a bilingual school downtown because it was better than what my neighborhood offers) and that was a belief I had all through high school until my sister, who went to the same grammar school, was informed that one of her teachers was being laid off because she was not putting enough emphasis on test prep and was instead teaching them in a more hands-on method and things that the students truly were interested in learning, again not teaching to score high on achievement tests. It was such a blow to her personally and to her classmates that it made me reevaluate that idea that I had that you should teach to reach high test scores rather than teach something that is relevant and useful. And that is also when I realized that not everyone is born to successfully take tests, and that shouldn't define whether they are smart or not, or high achieving or not or whether they should go to a nationally acclaimed school (for example Northside College Prep) or to a neighborhood school where the retention rate is extremely low and security has to patrol the streets during dismissal to break up fights (I'm looking at you again, Clemente).
It's just so important to really, critically look at education at the most basic level. Education is something that is so precious and people stress how important it is to have, yet we won't change the system that is failing us.
The position I favored the most while reading this guide was the third approach which said that the government should give public schools the financial and community support they need to help all children learn. The other approaches didn’t seem quite as effective, or would not be as effective without this aspect. Just holding teachers accountable and having a great principle isn’t going to promise good test results or academic gains by students on their own.
ReplyDeleteThe other approaches, while having some point that I agree would help, won’t really solve the problem at hand. To improve education we have to improve the way we teach and what we teach, not how we monitor and evaluate. It is important to set high standards for students to challenge themselves to reach but they cannot do so without the support they need to learn. Financial and community support allows schools to acquire the resources needed to teach the many different types of students that will be in one school alone. However, it has to be bad sure that the financial and community support is used as effectively as possible within the school so that there is no financial loss without academic gain in return. Some students would have the chance to do better on tests with education that can help them learn, in whatever manner that is.
I think that the most important challenge America faces for higher education is the amount of emphasis that is placed on it. I definitely think that any student who wants to go to college should certainly be allowed to and capable to do so. However, I think it is important for the country to examine and recognize how important industrial and vocational jobs are as well. Personally, I feel as though today we have this cultural notion that one must go to college in order to go anywhere in life and I think that it is creating an increased number of “white collar ready” workers and not enough blue collar workers. There is nothing wrong with either type of workers, but I simply do not think people understand that when push comes to shove you need both types of workers for a functioning country. In other words, my argument is that if the U.S. continues to produce massive amounts of white collars workers only, then there could be a potential for greater class inequality. I think more emphasis, acknowledgement, appreciation, and training needs to be given in the realm of industrial and vocational. This in and of itself is a higher education in my opinion that is vastly undervalued today.
ReplyDeleteOf the four positions on developing a better American schooling system, I agree with the third, which promotes giving schools financial and community support needed to help every child learn. I think that this would be the most effective and morally correct of the options offered because it gives extra attention to the areas and schools that need it most just to catch up with other schools. Also, it is morally correct because to me it is a solution that can incorporate all children and make the education of all children as equal as possible. High standards, school choice, and talented principals are very subjective options that could lead to good results or greater educational disparity.
When reading the issue guide from Public Agenda, I am most surprised that we have a shortage of skilled, well-educated workers. For some reason I had it in my head that it is hard to find a job after college, or at least that is what I have heard from recent grads. Maybe people are just in the wrong location to find these jobs?
ReplyDeleteI believe the biggest challenge pertaining to higher education in America is the lack of opportunity to go to college. People in lower and middle classes either can’t or don’t want to go to college because they do not have enough money to go. And for the people that do go, we graduate college with massive amounts of loans to pay off. More challenges having to do with lack of opportunity are, some people that want to go to college can’t because they need to financially support their family or some kids do not have the support system to allow them to apply for college. Most all of these situations are common with people that are financially not well off. I think lack of opportunity for a good education in general is what is lacking for a large amount of people.
I think providing another source of education/training for people that do not go to college would benefit the economy greatly. China has training programs for un-educated people, resulting in these people able to make a living. Countries that do this seem to benefit more off of globalization.
In my opinion, there are two major prloblems facing the educational system today: lack of vocational opportunities provided to students and a lack of attention given to sturuggling students in school. If schools really want to improve our nation's education system, then they should begin by shifiting some of their efforts from providing just teaching in specific subject areas to an empahsis on vocational training. Kids in high school especially should have the opportunity to identify various trades and other opportunities that they have a passion for, especially since many jobs do not yet exist even though people recieve training for them, such as in the technology industry. High schools should also place more ephasis on teaching students like skills such as how to manage a bank account. I did not learn how to manage money until later in high school and as a result, had to rely on my parents to teach me the valuable skill since I didn't learn it in high school. If kids in high school today learned these life skills, they would be even better prepared for their future and career.
ReplyDeleteThe second major problem in education is that of not properly identifying and assisting those students in school who are struggling. During my middle school and high school years, I felt as though teachers would often recognize the high-acheving students while at the same time expecting very little and often ignoring the struggling students. Schools must invest more in intervention, so they can properly the underlying cause of why a student may be struggling in school. I have met many people, including several friends who initially struggled in school but were identified as having learning difficulties. After receiving the proper support, most if not all of them have been successful in school. It is impertative for schools to focus more on vocational training and working with struggling students in order to help them succeed. If schools do this, there is not doubt in my mind that the educational system in America will be vastly improved in the years to come.
I think that the biggest challenge in regards to higher education would have to be the cost. The price of college is so high that most people cannot afford to continue on in school after high school, whether or not they want to. The cost of tuition and the fact that financial aid is not available to everyone is what is keeping people out of colleges and forcing them into the work force. Also, the fact that in today's society, a college education is pretty much a necessity if someone wants a well paying job makes it more difficult for those who cannot afford higher education.
ReplyDeleteLike Molly mentioned, I found it quite surprising that there is a shortage of skilled, well-educated workers. I mean, there are so many people in college today that I figured that they would be able to find a job somewhere, somehow because of the education that they have received as opposed to companies hiring less educated workers.
-Katelyn Schweitzer
TIL I am a genius in Kyrgyzstan.
ReplyDeleteI hate to echo other answers in the thread, but a few of the greatest challenges to higher education are fairly blatant: it costs an arm, leg, neck, ear, pinky toe, kneecap, and jaw to go to college unless you have a 46" vertical. That, combined with the fact that a lot of people are trying to do the same thing you're doing to get their remaining leg up on the competition means a great deal of emphasis is placed on being able to boast a college degree. Experience is highly valued in the workplace, and in order to get experience, you'll need credentials, and if everyone you're going up against is flashing a college degree, it would help significantly to be able to do the same. But it's so crazy expensive, you need to work two jobs in the city while going to school to help pay it off (plus rent), but then you're swamped with schoolwork and work and extra curriculars, so you postpone career planning and internships because Game of Thrones is on and you ALWAYS watch it with your friends, and then before you know it you're a senior and you aren't sure what you really want to do yet. Sound relatable? Much of it has to stem from financial difficulty. I know if I was more financially sound, I'd feel much better, much more confident, and more willing to take risks that could lead to great opportunities, both in higher education and the workplace. Since it's really difficult to please everyone, I'm uncertain that a real defined solution to improving education as a whole will appear anytime soon. Apply, connect, apply and hope it all works out until then.
TL;DR - The $truggle is real
I think that one of the biggest problems in higher education is accountability. We talked a lot about it in class yesterday and I think that people made a lot of good points. The fact that students would try to get professors fired for giving challenging them and giving them bad grades if they fail to meet the standards is ridiculous; even more so if the professor does end up losing his or her job one way or another over the issue. If the professor has astronomical, unrealistic expectations or arbitrarily gives out failing grades, that’s another story, but they should be able to hold university students to higher standards and expect a lot of effort from them. The university should be responsible for evaluating the situation and standing behind good professors to make sure that classes do not slip into lax standards because professors are afraid to challenge their students. As a student, I’ll be the first to admit that I get annoyed when professors make it difficult to cut corners and expect a lot of work from us; we students have busy lives and putting in a lot of effort is time consuming. Then again, I know that I have to appreciate good professors who have a vested interest in making sure that we learn the material that we are supposed to take away from the class. College is a huge investment (as most people above pointed out) and if universities give in to students who are resistant to challenge themselves, they let their students down because they will be less prepared for the “real world.” Universities should hold their professors more accountable for higher standards and professors need to hold their students accountable for meeting those standards and actually earning their degrees. Those standards may vary based on the school or major, but (most) students invest in an education to prepare them for their careers or whatever path they choose to take and expectations should reflect that. Furthermore, universities should be held accountable by private industries and by society as a whole because they have a vested interest in quality higher education as well. They invest in education in the form of private scholarships and government grants because they benefit from the positive externalities of a well-educated population and work force.
ReplyDeleteI realize that a lot of my argument is based on a “worst case scenario” kind of situation, but I think that the overall problem is a result of losing sight of the purpose and importance of higher education and that could be a slippery slope.
I believe the biggest challenges that higher education faces are the cost and also the possibility of finding a job after college. Higher education costs keep rising every year and not many Americans can afford higher education. Many people believe they’re better off using their luck and making something out of themselves without the help of education. Also there are so many college graduates that can’t find jobs. Many college students take out college loans, which they can’t pay later because either they don’t make enough or they can’t afford it. I think if the government did more finically to help students there would be an increase in enrollment.
ReplyDeleteI favor approach number three because I think its great to invest in the school, which would result in students getting a better education. There are many schools that don’t have proper tools to help them grow so they lose the ability to see the potential within them. Creating a safe environment for the students will help them grow in academically and emotionally. The schools can help their student with finding the tools within themselves and see how much they can grow. Its also nice that all school would get funded equally. Having better after school programs would give every student the opportunity to get more out of their education.
America was once the world’s most educated nations, but now it is losing its ground. There has always been problems with America’s educational system. But, now there is more of a struggle to make education competitive. Some of the many challenges America has with the education system is to better train and motivate teachers, more and better childhood programs, improve curriculum, higher standards and more rigorous but frequent assessments. As too higher education we need more motivating professors and administrators. Last but not least better funding which is important because not everyone has the funds to continue an education.
ReplyDeleteI think that the only options we have in order to improve America and our economy is to provide better challenge students and show them that everything they are doing has so much worth later. Also teaching students life skills that they can bring to work. I would go in favor to three. The reason being it all comes down to everyone having an equal education. Although, its not easy doing so, its still very important that all our future leaders have the same opportunities like for say rich high end suburb schools.
I agree with Grant (and everyone else) that the biggest issue in higher education is the cost. However, I also agree with Daile that accountability is a problem as well but more importantly I think these two things go hand in hand. Due to college being so expensive it is very common that parents pay the tuition, after all going to college is what is expected after high school now days. Many high school graduates take having their college tuition paid for granted. I would argue that the students that have to pay for their college tuition or have to take loans out, hold themselves more accountable for being successful then those who have it paid for. Which is why I think it is so common that college graduates and young professionals are not getting those high paying jobs; yes they went through the motions of college and have the degree but many students are not held accountable during their college experience and are not actually properly trained or graduate obtaining skills to get these jobs.
ReplyDeleteI favor approach one the most for this exact reason, holding schools, teachers, and even students accountable is the only way students are really going to succeed and be ready for the working world. However, I don’t completely agree with how the article says this should be done with all the standardized testing and having a national curriculum. Every part of the country is made up of different demographics and face their own challenges so I think this should be done on more of a local level. But this is also something that should be continued through higher education as well.
I believe the most important challenges pertaining to higher education today are financial aid and student enrollment, first we must focus on students being eligible or having the will and perseverance to pursue higher education. More importantly, I believe, the economy plays a role in both factors; financial aid and student enrollment. First, plain and simple, those who are intelligent enough and are enrolled in colleges simply do not have enough money to attend college. The second is those who are considered “dumb”, don’t have the will-power, or are not interested, have been failed by the school system! They have not failed. The amount of resources in schools leading up to higher education should be increased so these students can get to higher education. This includes, and is not limited to; after school programs, funding for more qualified school teachers, etc. More importantly, we have to focus on these marginalized communities and K-12 schools first.
ReplyDeletePretty much what I just said, I would favor the third position the most, because I feel it is needed the most. My explanation, just as mentioned is that there are so many marginalized communities with large disparities in resources. The other approaches, I believe, are flawed because it is resources like support and money that are needed the most. For example, setting high standards on students will only cause psychological stress anxiety and would not really get anyone anywhere because you are not focusing on improving the student. In regards to approach two, again, is the same thing I initially mentioned. You can let kids go to better schools, but the bigger problem is those schools the students are currently attending with very low resources and support! And approach four is similar to approach one because the students are not being focused on being developed.
Well, as mentioned above, there is a huge number of high paying jobs in America that do not have enough sufficiently trained applicants to fill available jobs. This poses the question; what choices or options regarding higher education could help train more people, improve American competitiveness, and our economy? However, I also believe the question answers itself. The best thing to do is offer that training and necessary experience to fully develop future employees for their respective jobs. We need more charter school like methods to a certain degree, or rather, trying to get students focused on a possible career that is in their grasps and offering experiences like unpaid internships, these students look forward to by getting really engaged with students and their interests to put their heart into their heart into their craft and excel. There should be more available internships to make easier make a smooth transition into jobs. Students should be able to understand the idea of unpaid internships good for them because, well, it lands them a job!
Approach Three: Give public schools the financial and community support they need to help all children learn.
ReplyDeleteApproach Three is the approach that I agree with the most. Schools in lower income areas suffer economically because they don’t have equal education funding. I think that promoting after school programs will also help in lower income areas where public schools are their only options. Leveling the playing field among schools financially can help with the opportunities and life chances that marginalized groups will experience. Reducing the class sizes and giving incentives to good and capable teachers will help students learn more, be more engaged, and be more likely to continue to higher educations.
Like many of my classmates I favor Approach #3. It reminds me of one of my favorite West Wing episodes. In the episode Sam says this about education:
ReplyDelete"...education is the silver bullet. Education is everything. We don't need little changes, we need gigantic, monumental changes. Schools should be palaces. The competition for the best teachers should be fierce. They should be making six-figure salaries. Schools should be incredibly expensive for government and absolutely free of charge to its citizens, just like national defense. That's my position. I just haven't figured out how to do it yet.
Education is everything in this country. I have been fortunate enough to go to private school pretty much the entire duration of my educational career but if I had to attend the public schools in Indianapolis things might have been a lot different for me. It's not right or fair that certain schools don't receive the resources that other schools receive and because of this burden it isn't fair to hold all teachers to the same standard for evaluation (approach 1) Approach 2 seems to be a nod to the voucher system which will clearly cause an issue with overcrowding at schools and won't solve the overall issues of opportunity inequality. Approach 4 seems very pie in the sky. Isn't that what we shoot for now? If we're not trying to put a talented, committed principal in every school we should get out of the business of education all together.
As I step down off my soapbox I just want to reiterate that the best long term option for the entire country in my opinion is creating schools that provide opportunity and resources for the most challenged to the most gifted students regardless of race, religion, color, creed, class or sexual orientation.
The United States has a tough time competing with many other countries on students' performance. I think that approach 3 would ideally be the best option. I do not believe that approach 3 is the most practical though. Our federal government is in extreme amounts of debt. Our local and state governments aren't doing much better. I think we all agree that kids should be getting an equal chance to succeed. It is very important that we instill confidence in our children. In many failing schools kids see the people around them struggling and not going to pursue higher education. We need to provide kids with positive role models. We have to ensure that teachers are encouraging every kid that they can succeed. Kids without faith in themselves are simply set up to fail. If someone tells them they aren't good enough then they will believe that.
ReplyDeleteThere are numerous reasons why one is prevented from attaining an higher education but the most obvious one is economics. Federal grants and state funding to public universities have dramatically decreased over the past thirty years which has led to an overworked strained system. Student debt has surpassed 1 trillion dollars, more than the Americas collective credit card debt. The number of students applying and attending college in the U.S has reached an all-time high though without adequate funding state funding many colleges are facing problems of: overcrowded class rooms, annually increasing tuitions, unassured housing and are unable to guarantee graduation in four years. All of these problems ultimately decreases one chances of completing or deciding to attain a higher degree. Overcrowded classrooms not only place a strain on the professor but increase the likelihood of disengaged students who feel less inclined to ask for assistance when struggling with the material. In CA our colleges are so overcrowded many are faced to take out more loans to pay for a fifth year of college in order to obtain a degree. The rising cost of college should not be a burden placed upon students as the financial rut of higher education today is not our youths fault. The government must find a way to increase Pell-Grants and other assistance for any individual to go to college if the desire. I also believe that American culture around college must shift in both low-income and middle class affluent areas. First off, I think that in low-income areas there needs to be more of an emphasize that higher education is attainable despite ones poverty level or economic status. Being raised in a family with no members whom have attended college can make the idea and possibility can seem foreign. However, programs such as the one in Kalamazoo’s Promise in Michigan are changing the outlook for many students who thought college was out of reach. (here is a link to NPR segment about program http://www.npr.org/2014/04/16/303365867/how-one-michigan-city-is-sending-kids-to-college-tuition-free). Programs like the one in MI are giving purpose to K-12 education, as success in those years will translate to success and acceptance from colleges. Going to college is supposed to allow for social mobility allowing one to achieve the “American Dream” (whatever that means nowadays) unfortunately the finical barrier deters many. As to my second point, I think that those who have grown up all there life knowing they will and must attend college there is pressure that one must attend one of the top universities such as Harvard, Princeton, MIT… And if one doesn’t it is “game over”. The culture that we have created that labels only a few school as amazing is harmful and has again led to many schools overcrowded. We need to shift the culture to supporting junior college and vocational schools. JC is a great way for smaller class sizes and leaves one free from massive student loans.
ReplyDeleteAnyways… I could go on forever but it is almost 8 so I must post. But here is another link to NPR special series called Paying For College. A lot of the segments are only 4-6 minutes so I hope someone listens to some.
http://www.npr.org/series/290910253/paying-for-college
Quick reflection on the four options: I think that all of them have a lot to offer and many of the ideas proposed are already implemented policies but are either unified, underfunded or have no system of assessment. However, I do not support increasing vouchers a long term solution to the education debate. Re-arranging kids to move away from failing school neglects the question of why do students need to leave. How do we get to the core problem (though there are a ton of them)! By examining other countries public school systems and way they incentivize teachers and students should be assessed and compared. The U.S has a lot to learn from those who are ranking far above us.
I definitely think the state of education in America is very bad. I think a mixture of the solutions given would probably be the best remedy for the current situation. For instance, take from approach one the implementation of Common Core. This will ensure the same thing is being tought in every school. From approach 2, we can set up the database that allows parents to access test scores and other important information which can allow easy parental intervention. From approach 3 we can implement that revenues from state and federal taxes are distributed equally to all school districts, while leaving the opportunity for local municipalities to give more or less of their own tax income to these schools. This avoids the issue of raising taxes. From approach 5 we can take the disciplinary measures that are offered. This creates a climate of seriousness and allows the teachers to isolate those who create disruption while they teach those actually interested in education.
ReplyDeleteI think these five things stated above, done together, would have a massively positive impact on education in America.
Posted for Cameron:
ReplyDelete"I found the statistic that only fifteen percent of teachers in high-poverty schools demonstrated ability to increase student achievement quite startling. It could stress one of two things. The first being the limitation of quality teachers on student improvement. If students aren't receiving the resources they need at home - especially emotional or psychological - they are much less likely to succeed. Second, it could emphasize the importance of putting quality teachers in front of students. Teachers are in front of the student 280 days out of the year, and have the biggest potential for impact in their lives. It also affects the likelihood that they will enter into a good college or school adequately prepared. Options like merit-based monetary incentives - where the most effective teachers are rewarded with bonuses or raises - is an option that has been explored by groups like Students First, lead by former D.C. Chancellor of Public Schools Michelle Rhee. One thing we should all be able to agree on, though, is that teaching is an incredibly honorable, vital profession that frankly doesn't carry as much prestige as it should. Teachers should be paid more than they currently are across the board, and higher education institutions must explore ways they can better attract and select the most qualified, passionate students to enter the field of education."