Reform Starts Here: The Goals of this Group

Thanks for getting this started Betty. Some books to consider as the dialogue around the transformation of education gets underway: Diane Ravitch's The Death and Life of the Great American School System: How Testing and Choice Are Undermining Education and Yong Zhao's Catching Up or Leading the Way: American Education in the Age of Globalization.

There has been a need for education reform for many years. One of the main problems with the reform effort is that there is many splinter areas that need work. When reform actually is in the beginning stages, a group is motivated one area of need like reading. The reform starts off strong. Since the areas of need overlap like reading and second language learners, the reform efforts are slowed by the complication of additional educational needs. The educational system needs to be revamped. One area cannot be addressed in isolation. Therefore, our reform efforts loose steam. We need to address the core problems first.
According to a blog entitled, When Pedagogy and Policy Collide written by Brigitte Knudson, what America is experiencing is called “commodification” of education. We have gone from teaching to following policy. In turn, education has become big business instead of a learning tool. Our children are memorizing puppets not free thinking and critical learners.

Race to Nowhere is a good jumping off place; our children are suffering. No one wants that to happen. We can start with a goal: the purpose of school for our children. Then we can start an action plan of how to implement this goal for all children in all communities.

1. We need to decide the purpose of school? I think school is a place for young people to learn skills to be good citizens, to take care of themselves and be happy, healthy and whole. We have to move away from the policy model.

2. We need to learn how to teach our modern day learner. Our struggling student base continues to grow. The lack of understanding students to their core leads to an increased dropout rate and unhappy children. We really need to know how to help those that have fallen behind. Rote materials and programs are not the answer. Individualized assessments coupled with appropriate intensive interventions are the answer.

3. We need to come together as a community: educators, parents, students and school officials. What I loved about Race to Nowhere is that it asked for a grassroots effort. I have worked many years in education, writing programs and papers, collecting data, presenting to people and trying to change the system to assist struggling students. I have worked vigorously in a system that does not support innovation. The current educational paradigm is broken. A grassroots movement outside of this system will help jumpstart change for a better future in education as a whole.

STEM: Mainstreaming Career and Technical Education (CTE)
Jim Brazell, CEO and Founder, ventureRAMP, Inc. —Friday, March 12, 2010

Fueled by Washington’s focus on STEM (science, technology, engineering and math) and U.S. competitiveness, Career and Technical Education (CTE) is emerging as a platform for systemic education reform in Texas, New York, California, Florida, Maryland, Ohio, Pennsylvania, Michigan, Georgia, North Carolina, Kansas, and Arizona. The implication for the educational technology and publishing industry is a wave of change enabling educational technology and textbook budgets to include CTE curricula and infrastructure. The rise of STEM broadens the definition of educational technology to support high-technology “shop” classes and broadens the market for kits, labs, simulations, and software and “hands-on” projects in K-12 schools.

As the U.S. turns its attention to STEM education and education reform in general, transdisciplinary programs that unify CTE, academics and arts are gaining ground as a method of increasing student retention, graduation, performance, and readiness for college. In effect, the definition of a well-rounded student is evolving from a liberal arts education to an integrated education including CTE. Rather than focusing on academics for college-bound students or vocational education for work-bound students, these programs transcend traditional silos and tracking by merging academic and vocational curricula and college pathways. More http://www.ednetnews.com/story-4350-19.html

Thanks for starting this group, Betty. I have long been a fan of Edutopia and certainly used links to your articles in my newsletters and even feature Edutopia as the best site for educators on my own website. I certainly agree with Lisa about the major points she makes: a new vision for the purpose of school; meeting the needs of the modern learner; uniting in a common purpose. Absolutely!!

Having been a teacher and a school and district-level administrator on both sides of the country for a long time, I also agree that the current paradigm must be exploded, and a new, sleeker, faster, smarter system envisioned for ALL of our kids. We need human-friendly schools, not factories. We need critical and creative thinking, not testing. We need collaboration and synergy, not politics. Those are the talking points for a new Ning I put up very recently, not only to dialogue as we are doing here, but (eventually) to actively campaign for reinventing school for the new millennium. The campaigning is, to me, the critical piece, as soon as we begin to assemble a critical mass of people, since what we really need to do is educate our policymakers about what school means and what it can do. I hope everyone here will join (parents, teachers, whomever) and that you'll pass the word to your networks:

www.ChangeTheSchools.ning.com

We have posted a wide-ranging agenda for change that encompasses much of what is already being said here, and we welcome your input, blogs, and comments. Thanks so much for taking a look!
Patricia Kokinos, www.ChangeTheSchools.com

It is very sad to me when I see the students as in the video so stressed to perform. They are not learning. Is there a chapter in Texas? Does anyone knows? I am going to look at the website that Patricia posted later in more detail.

Thank you so much for your contributions!

Betty

Community conditions that are beyond the control of schools have great effects on attempts to reform education. The vast majority of parents of our students are full-time (often over-time) workers. Their daily schedules are set by the needs of their children and the demands of their employers. Parents and their employers must be involved in assessing existing conditions and designing reform. Attempts to reform the school day should include the development of accommodations from employers to enable more parent participation in the education of their children. Schools, parents and employers must all be partners in reform efforts.

I have enjoyed the discussions.

Ray,

"Community conditions that are beyond the control of schools have great effects on attempts to reform education."

I agree social issues within our community are an important concern. This is another reason why we have to look at the entire system including social constructs for families who struggle financially, emotionally and physically in our society. We do need a new paradigm.

Patricia great comments! I joined your website, thanks.

Ray,

I'm with you: We need more opportunities for parents and families who work full-time and over-time (and there are a lot!) to get involved in our school communities. I like your suggestion of accommodations by employers. When I was teaching, so often a parent or guardian would express great desire in coming to the school for a meeting or open house, or to volunteer, but their long job hours made it impossible.

To the group,

As teachers, administrators, school coordinators and counselors: What might be some ideas for involving parents with long and inflexible job hours more in our school communities?