Public vs Private

As I was searching for a topic for my final post, I was thinking about my own education growing up and how it has made me into the woman I am today. I thought about the schools I attended and the teachers who helped me along the way, and I began to think about the opportunity I had as a child to attend both a private and public schools. From kindergarten to middle school, I attended a well-known and highly aspired private school in my area. However, as the time came for me to enter high school, my parents gave me the choice to change to public school. Looking back on this switch, I can easily compare the differences between the school both good and bad. Yet, these comparisons of good and bad have sparked debates within the education boards today. In a Time article, John Cloud argues this topic. He states that,” today’s study shows that sending your kid to private school is still a better way to ensure that he or she will get into college” (Cloud). He claims that private education focuses more on the aspect of learning material rather than memorizing like public schools. Nonetheless, he does agree with the idea that private schools often achieve better score averages of students because of the socioeconomic status of the students that attend those schools. He agrees that achievement of a student is based how on how well that student is being encouraged by parents and the resources that student is given. Public schools, which often can cost the same as a college education, automatically give students a boast in their SES. But does this mean that public schools offer less of an education? Many would say not at all. There are many factors that are apart of the achievement scores of a student and therefore there is no way of ultimately stating which school provides a better education For example other educators would argue that public schools often have a greater number of teachers and courses to offer to higher achieving students and therefore give a greater chance for that student to succeed.  Ultimately there is no way of generalizing a school saying this one is better than the other. Every school and student has pros and cons that can contribute to their education.

            So what does this message convey to teachers? I believe it shows that a good teacher can be effective in any school environment. Teachers must access the backgrounds of each student and individual address their learning needs. If teachers did this across the board in both private and public schools, I believe this would close the gap between the two school systems.

Citation: Cloud, John. "Are Private Schools Really Better?" Time. Time, 10 Oct. 2007. Web. 22 Feb. 2012. <http://www.time.com/time/nation/article/0,8599,1670063,00.html>.

Charter Schools

This weekend I had the chance to walk through a charter school in New Orleans. This was not only my first chance in the city of New Orleans, but also my first chance to walk through a charter school so I was curious to see a little bit of what these schools were all about. As I walked through the school, I began to wonder how well these schools are accepted into this area. Charter schools, which are exempt from school regulations, have more opportunities in the ways in which they run their schools. However, is this a good or bad concept that has been brought into this city? Tonight, as I began to do a little more research into these schools, I have come to see the benefits of their existence in types of areas like New Orleans. The main benefits including more choices for students, diversity, specialization, less bureaucracy, and more planning allowed for the school. Each one separately affects the school, but ultimately gives the school more benefits than a regular public school. Starting with the choices for students, charter schools are not districted to a certain area like a public school but instead are based on a lottery system that allows for students to pick whether or not they attend the school. Also this leads to the second benefit, which is diversity. Charter schools since are not districted to a certain area allow for a wide range of student bodies including students from poor areas to more affluent areas. This continues to enhance the minorities groups of the schools. The third benefit of a charter school is the idea of specialization. Many but not all charter schools participate in specialized programs for the students that emphasize special subjects such as art and the sciences.  This allows the students who come to these schools to have connections with other students in their learning enhancing the learning environment. The fourth benefit is the fact that charter schools do not have to work with the “middle” man therefore eliminate the bureaucracy many public schools deal with daily. The last and final benefit is that charter schools are required to meet certain performance goals, which includes a great deal or management. This effort often forces the school to exceed and push students to gain greater education.

            Each one of these benefits, I believe are great reasons for charter schools to be apart of cities like New Orleans. It pushes not only the limits of the students, but ultimately ends up changing the dynamics of the neighborhoods in which they are presented. One day I hope to maybe teach or be apart of one of these classrooms at sometime in my career to see the differences between a normal public school and a charter school. I think this will be the only time that I could truly agree or disagree whether or not these schools are beneficial or harming of the students and cities. 

Image Citation: http://www.missoulademocrats.org/HB%20603

IPads in the Classroom

Throughout the course of this class, I have come to find the technology is vital to the flow of an everyday classroom. From a sheet of paper to a smartboard, all technology helps to create a new and exciting environment for students to learn. However, as new technology continues to enter the marketplace, teachers are forced to make decisions on what technology will best aid in helping their students. One of the most recent hot item that has been produced is the IPad. This tool, which has been very successful, is now starting to make its way into classrooms across the country. It has applications that can helps student in all subjects ranging from math to history and gives students a new and interactive way to work with material hands on. It also has been great in aiding the teacher. Teachers can now use this technology to get immediate results of assessments and assignments from their students and in return know how and what their students can improve on.  Therefore, this little piece of technology that aids in helping both student and teacher alike, I believe is a necessary addition for every classroom in America.  However, there is one major problem, which the education board has run into, and that is money. These little gadgets come with a great price on them and would require cuts in other departments in order to bring them into all classrooms. As teachers, we must ask is this technology is worth the cuts in other departments? And will the payoff be worth it in the end? My answer is yes. Technology will only continue to get more and more advance outside the classroom, and it is the school systems job to keep classrooms up to date. Students should know how this technology will affect their future and learn how quick and effective it can be not only in a classroom but also in outside environments.

However, I also know that this technology is not the same from classroom to classroom across the United States. This also presents a problem in the system. I believe that every student should have equal opportunity in every classroom across the nation, including the ways in which the student and teacher learn and give information. It has been proven that technology can help in both these areas and therefore should be present to some degree in every classroom.  If IPads cannot be available for every room, as teachers we should at least strive to make some type of advance technology available to every classroom ultimately giving every student equal opportunity no matter what district they were born into.

Image Citation:http://www.digitaltrends.com/how-to/how-to-register-an-apple-ipad/ 

English Language Learners

After doing a little more research last week into the Teach for America program, I started to dig deeper into the problems of inner city schools. I wanted to know what the real issue these teachers face everyday when they are preparing for a day in the classroom. One of the main problems I found for these inner city teachers was a language barrier between themselves and the students. Many inner city classrooms have students from all diversities and backgrounds. This can make for a great mix in the classroom; however, it can also cause some problems with the student teacher communication.  A few years ago the English-Language learners program was put into place, which has made a significant change for students in schools. However, these programs are increasingly growing slim compared to the need of students with language barriers. “According to the National Council of English Language Acquisition, the number of ELL’s in public schools nationally rose from 3.5 million students during the 1997-98 school year to 5.3 million in 2008-09” (Maxwell). This statics are staggering. But my question is how are teachers dealing with these issues? It is not a requirement for education majors to be bilingual or have some kind of course in a language, but somehow I feel that it is necessary.  If as a teacher you want to make a real change for every student that enters your classroom then the basis for this is communication. Teachers do best when they understand how to best communicate their knowledge to their students.

Therefore, I began to evaluate myself as a teacher and ask if I am ready for these types of challenges. I want to believe that I am, but issue involving language barriers come with a lot more effort and practice outside of my education classes. I also believe it is important for every teacher to evaluate them self on this issue. Every teacher, in private schools or inner city need to be aware of the challenges every teacher across communities faces to be able to keep up with the ever-changing environment of a classroom. This will inspire teachers to continue to make change for not only the subject matter of language barriers but also issues including efforts to raise test scores and graduation rates across the United States.

Maxwell, Lesli Lesli A. "Education Week: ELL Programs Get Overhaul in New York and Los Angeles." Education Week American Education News Site of Record. 25 Oct. 2011. Web. 01 Feb. 2012. <http://www.edweek.org/ew/articles/2011/10/26/09ell_ep.h31.html>.

Image Citation: http://schoolchoice.mpls.k12.mn.us/English_Language_Learners_ELL.html

Teaching for America...

As a child who grew up in an upper middle class family, I assumed too many things were rights not privileges. I thought the car my parents drove, the house I lived in, and the expansive private school I attend was all-apart of the deal. I do not think that as an elementary school student it ever crossed my mind that other children went without new binders, cute pencils and brand new electronics when they entered their classrooms. However, as I began to grow older, I realized that these things were just the opposite. They all came at the price of someone else. I had people all around me that wanted the best for me and were willing to give something else up in order for me to succeed later in life. This realization has led me to seek interest in an education career and even deeper into inner city education.

I have found that one of the most influential programs today is the Teach for America organization. This organization seeks to end educational iniquity throughout the United States. They choose the best of the best from colleges all over the nation and train them to become a one of a kind teacher in low-income communities.  These teachers are truly making a difference in K-12 classrooms. Test scores have improved, graduation rates are rising, and student’s lives are being changed for the better.  These dramatic results are all a product of investment. One teacher had made little sacrifice for a student to gain much in return.

This is the kind of teacher I want to become. I want to make a change for the better. Every teacher, from teaching the richest of the rich to the poorest of the poor should strive for this kind of an education. Ultimately, a child should be given no less of a chance of success depending on the neighborhood in which they were born.  An exceptional teacher who is willing to sacrifice will slowly help in gaping this very solvable problem.

For more information about Teach For America please visit, www.teachforamerica.com