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Teachers, parents and students: Be aware!
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Posted on Apr 30 2009
In a Newsweek magazine article, “Calling the Baby Ugly,” dated March 23, 2009, George F. Will makes a strong case for change in America’s education system. The U.S. Secretary of Education, Arne Duncan, says that under Bush’s No Child Left Behind program, “We have been lying to children and their parents because states have dumbed down their standards of proficiency. Sometimes you have to call the baby ugly.”
The articles goes on to say that the quality of schools usually reflects the quality of the families from which the students come. It is estimated that about 90 percent of the differences among schools in average proficiency can be explained by five factors:
1. Number of days absent from school.
2. Amount of television watched in the home.
3. Number of pages read for homework.
4. Quantity and quality of reading matter in the home.
5. Presence of two parents in the home (considered the most important factor).
Though the government can’t do much about the above points it can affect time and talent. The 180-day school year was designed in the 19th century to allow students on farms to participate in spring planting and fall harvesting; this practice is clearly outdated. The long summer break now makes it necessary for schools to devote time to remediation (reviewing materials learned and forgotten from the previous school year). So why not lengthen the school year, which is up to 60 days shorter in the U.S. than in many advanced nations?
Consider these two points:
1. With every F a freshman gets, the chance of graduating declines 20 percent.
2. Of freshmen who miss eight days of school per semester, fewer than half will graduate.
The article goes on to say that finding talented teachers is more important than reducing pupil-teacher ratios. Education can lure such teachers with better pay and forgiveness of student loans. Schools should also consider hiring teachers with “alternative certification”—credentials other than those provided by education schools.
Anybody interested in making some changes?
[B]Perry Conner[/B] [I]As Matuis, Saipan[/I]
