Recently I have been reading John Merrow's book Addicted to Reform: A 12-Step Program to Rescue Public Education, a book with which I don't completely agree, but a book that makes some compelling points. (I do, however, strongly recommend it to my friends in education.) One of the points that I found myself in agreement was how schools have lowered graduation requirements to improve graduation rates; thus these schools appear to be improving, but it is only an illusion. During my career I saw students receiving high school credit for on-line classes (home-school) offered by an "for-profit" college and packets of meaningless grammar, punctuation and usage drills provided by the same educational institution. Today, the news announced that students will receive credit in middle schools for activities in which they participated outside of the school: private music lessons, community team sports, and private art classes. The effects of such decisions may save the state or district money, and reduce the time more affluent students spend in the class, but it reduces the quality of all students' education.
Students who are not intellectually engaged do not retain learning for long. Meaningless activities like completing worksheets or digital worksheets (which the on-line classes are) is a futile act that students recognize as meaningless and quickly disregard this learning because it is not applicable to their reality. Often the instructions given in these packets lack clarity. As a middle school teacher, past students frequently appeared at my door after school to ask for help. As a result, I met with these students for an hour or two after school to tutor them, but unlike the "for profit" college that provided these worksheets, I was not compensated financially for my time. I was appreciative that the student recognized that human interaction is key to learning. When my daughter was a child, her father and I took her to Florida to visit her grandfather and his wife. She was excited to find seashells on the beach, but when we arrived her grandfather's wife was appalled at the idea of collecting sea shells because they might be dirty and insisted we buy shells in the tourist shops. What she didn't understand that finding the shells herself made the shells meaningful to my daughter. These students do not need knowledge shoveled into them; they need to find the shells themselves.
Second, as a educators, we should be asking what is important for students to know? Since the world is rapidly changing most educators agree that helping students become "life-long learners" is key to their future success. After all computers were in their infancy when I was a middle school teacher. With the exception of my math teacher Miss Penniger who told me in 1965 that learning the binary code was an important part of learning to become a programmer, computers were not part of anyones life. As teachers, we do not know what careers will disappear and what new careers will be created. We do know that these students will have to learn new skills to stay current. Worksheets do not teach critical thinking, research skills and have little relevance to the the reality today or in the future. Repetitive drills do not engage students and stifle any intellectual curiosity the child has. As a result, the child perceives rote learning as dull and meaningless, and it is. Instead of spending tax payers' money to the "for profit" colleges to create meaningless mush, districts should spend that money on real teacher who could create summer school or after school classes for students earning high school credits. Socializing and group problem solving gives students human interaction skills that will help them in the real world. At home on-line classes may be an appropriate option for seriously ill students, but it is a poor choice for most students and should be eliminated.
What about giving students credit for out of school activities? Granted some of the music lessons and sports program may be quality, but as a school there is no way of knowing because they are not controlled or evaluated by the district. I have seen some truly substandard programs when my daughter was young and I has searching for a community theater program or a sports program for her to participate. Greed driven individuals with no credentials will be developing meaningless art or sports programs to grab some of the tax-payers money. This is not good for the children or the tax-payers. Quality art and sports programs enhance a school and create a sense of community. It is through working in such programs that students develop life-time friends and an appreciation for both arts and sports. Like any learning, students become healthier adults if their love for physical activity and creative expression become a life-long pursuit.
Education is an investment in the future of our democracy. When we short change our students by providing substandard education, we create a generation that cannot compete in the global market with highly skilled jobs in technology, medicine, science, business, finance, journalism and every other profession requiring a vast understanding of good communication skills, mathematics, technology, a sense of history and thirst to keep learning more. We need thinkers, creators, and leaders to solve the problems of tomorrow. Our schools need to provide meaningful challenges to every student. Don't "dumb-down" our schools to make data on graduation rates look impressive. THAT IS A SCAM. A scam that will cost all Americans dearly.
Students who are not intellectually engaged do not retain learning for long. Meaningless activities like completing worksheets or digital worksheets (which the on-line classes are) is a futile act that students recognize as meaningless and quickly disregard this learning because it is not applicable to their reality. Often the instructions given in these packets lack clarity. As a middle school teacher, past students frequently appeared at my door after school to ask for help. As a result, I met with these students for an hour or two after school to tutor them, but unlike the "for profit" college that provided these worksheets, I was not compensated financially for my time. I was appreciative that the student recognized that human interaction is key to learning. When my daughter was a child, her father and I took her to Florida to visit her grandfather and his wife. She was excited to find seashells on the beach, but when we arrived her grandfather's wife was appalled at the idea of collecting sea shells because they might be dirty and insisted we buy shells in the tourist shops. What she didn't understand that finding the shells herself made the shells meaningful to my daughter. These students do not need knowledge shoveled into them; they need to find the shells themselves.
Second, as a educators, we should be asking what is important for students to know? Since the world is rapidly changing most educators agree that helping students become "life-long learners" is key to their future success. After all computers were in their infancy when I was a middle school teacher. With the exception of my math teacher Miss Penniger who told me in 1965 that learning the binary code was an important part of learning to become a programmer, computers were not part of anyones life. As teachers, we do not know what careers will disappear and what new careers will be created. We do know that these students will have to learn new skills to stay current. Worksheets do not teach critical thinking, research skills and have little relevance to the the reality today or in the future. Repetitive drills do not engage students and stifle any intellectual curiosity the child has. As a result, the child perceives rote learning as dull and meaningless, and it is. Instead of spending tax payers' money to the "for profit" colleges to create meaningless mush, districts should spend that money on real teacher who could create summer school or after school classes for students earning high school credits. Socializing and group problem solving gives students human interaction skills that will help them in the real world. At home on-line classes may be an appropriate option for seriously ill students, but it is a poor choice for most students and should be eliminated.
What about giving students credit for out of school activities? Granted some of the music lessons and sports program may be quality, but as a school there is no way of knowing because they are not controlled or evaluated by the district. I have seen some truly substandard programs when my daughter was young and I has searching for a community theater program or a sports program for her to participate. Greed driven individuals with no credentials will be developing meaningless art or sports programs to grab some of the tax-payers money. This is not good for the children or the tax-payers. Quality art and sports programs enhance a school and create a sense of community. It is through working in such programs that students develop life-time friends and an appreciation for both arts and sports. Like any learning, students become healthier adults if their love for physical activity and creative expression become a life-long pursuit.
Education is an investment in the future of our democracy. When we short change our students by providing substandard education, we create a generation that cannot compete in the global market with highly skilled jobs in technology, medicine, science, business, finance, journalism and every other profession requiring a vast understanding of good communication skills, mathematics, technology, a sense of history and thirst to keep learning more. We need thinkers, creators, and leaders to solve the problems of tomorrow. Our schools need to provide meaningful challenges to every student. Don't "dumb-down" our schools to make data on graduation rates look impressive. THAT IS A SCAM. A scam that will cost all Americans dearly.