Thursday, April 23, 2009
Consider Us Lucky
I still can't decide if I'm happy with the discussions about reform in our public schools. The best thing I think I can come up with on what needs to change in our schools is the teacher/student interaction that Tyack and Cuban mention. The one thing at least every student can remember about high school is the one teacher that really understood them and connected with them. So, the reform needs to encourage ways to increase these encounters. With the progression of schools, I think we've come a long way. I think I've probably said this before, but I think schools today are a lot better than they used to be. They may not be perfect, some better than others. At least we have a system that still attempts to fight for what students need. A recent clip on Fox News shows an Afghan school that did not get the textbooks and supplies that were paid for by donors. If that isn't bad enough, the students have to be advised to handle the textbooks with care so as to not tear them because they are so flimsy. AND, some students are forced to buy illegal copies in markets! I never even imagined that buying textbooks illegally was an issue. I know we can't really compare the schools in America to schools in these places, but I guess I just wanted to point out that a lot of students would be lucky to go to public schools and I still don't see why they are that bad.
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3 comments:
Just as a side note to your comments, when I taught in Africa the students were not allowed to read books from the library that the donors gave them. The headmaster said that they would ruin them or steal them. Now the books just sit in the library collecting dust. I bet if the kids were allowed in the library frequently, they would not feel the need to steal the books! I used to monitor the kids in the library once a week after school, and they LOVED it. They looked at the pictures and wanted me to help them read aloud. The kids have no one to read to them, or to help them fluently read themselves. For the most part, Americans are lucky when it comes to education and resources. I think we take many things for granted.
I think it is our responsibility as teachers to create our own versions of reform in our own classrooms. We will have to do our best to reach each student and try and help them to have a meaningful learning experience. It will be our duty to make sure that we connect and interact with the students.
I agree that we are definitely lucky here in America. Everyone here has a right to a free public education. The quality of education that one receives is often up to the individual student. In this country, for the most part, children are provided with the resources that they need to receive a quality education. In other countries some children are excluded from receiving an education for reasons such as: gender, religion, handicap, or even "subpar" IQ. Even though public education is not perfect, at least we all have the right to attend school.
Nora Stewart-Ricks
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