Nature of Schools

Our schools are expecting changes by the year 2020. While the year 2020 sounds far away, in actuality it is only about 7 months away. We can see a lot of big changes coming to classrooms in these next few months. One of them is technology. As I myself have gone through school, the levels of technology in classrooms have gotten more advanced. I began kindergarten in the year 2001, where classrooms were not filled with technology. As I got further into elementary school, SMART Boards started to make their appearance. Now, almost every school district has chromebooks available for their students and technology innovation or collaboration rooms. By the year 2020, our students will have grown up with these technological skills and we should be using that as an asset. Even students think the technology is beneficial ( link to video ). In the next few years, our students are also going to gain a voice and choices in the matter of their education. Many students are active voices in their sch...

In every way, shape, and form, the goals that schools have are all important. When taking the poll, How Important are These Student Goals , it was hard to really separate and decipher which goal was more important from the other. It really depends on what the needs of that school are to identify which goals are most important. All of the listed 20 school goals have some sort of value, but different levels of importance depending on the school. For example, a high-needs low income school may not have getting the students prepared for college ranked as the most important goal. Maybe instead, their goal is getting these students ready to join the workforce or to learn how to become a productive member of society. The most important goals that I think all schools and districts can agree on are: 1. Develop strong self-concept and self-esteem in students 2. Educate students in avoiding social pitfalls: Unwanted pregnancy, AIDs, drugs, and alcoholism 3. To teach students work ethic: punctu...

In schools, we do the best we can to try to prepare our students for the society they live in. It is universally agreed that education is an important factor and should be going along with our changing world. Framework makers adapt to the changing times to education to fit the needs of the changing world. Schools in a way reflect the society we live in, even though many schools are reluctant to change. In a way, school is almost like a miniature society. We have our own set of rules, a hierarchy system, a 'governing body', and a social class system. Schools reflect how society changes politically, socially, and economically. It is simply reflected by the students. The students divide themselves into their own social class system. Students who are of similar social and economic status will typically come together into the same group of friends. The students carve out their own creations for how society should be, with the influence of education above it.

It can be tricky to bring a group of people together to make a decision on whether to open up a school or not. At the end of the day, the decision should be made based upon whats best for the students. In the case of the Escalante School, I am on the fence with if I support it or not. According to the board meeting, the goal of the school is for low-economic disadvantaged students of color. There are some positive ideas to support this charter school. One being that the school would be filled with vital tools and resources to help these students who are in need. While this school could provide useful resources to these struggling students and their families, there would be a few questions that I would have for board members on the real necessity for a school like this. Well, by creating this environment, wouldn't this be as if we are segregating these students? Why can't the board members and superintendents develop programs for them within the public school? I feel like there ...

Being someone who does not live in the state of California, it was difficult to wrap my head around the amount of money that state could spend on education. When giving my poll answers, it was difficult to choose between which choice was #1 or #2 when comparing educator training for new reading and math standards or additional dollars for lower performing schools. Of course, I know that extra money is put towards lower-performing schools in an effort to raise the school standards or to achieve better facilities and school-wide technology.  In terms of the lowest amount of funding, that was where I placed after school activities, even though the majority of pollers did not agree with me. I thought the schools were likely to cut costs in after-school activities. While I do not see the after-school activities as being any less value, they are just not programs that school board officials would try to save. If cuts were being made and it was between keeping a STEM program or cutting t...

Jonathan Kozol's article, Savage Inequalities  shows the horrifying reality behind schools in poverty stricken areas. One of the most horrific things about this article was all of the violence that these students were exposed to at such a young age. Some of these occurred within their own families or feet away from the school. Kozol describes these children as being "thin", but not in a flattering way. That means these students are not getting their proper nutrients. Not only is life outside of school hard enough, but the inside is not much better. There is sewage seeping throughout the school. There are even science classes with no science equipment. With these awful conditions, how can we expect our students to learn anything or to even attend school in the first place? It is almost as if no one living outside of this community is East St. Louis even cares  about what is happening to these students. Issac Saul's article directly calls out the problem with teacher ...

We all know how private schools get their funding, from tuition payments and donations. Private schools provide students with a great education. But, not all students are required to attend private school because not all students are entitled to a private education. However, every child is entitled to a free public school education. Every child getting a free education is great, but it leaves people wondering the age-old question of: "Who's gonna pay for that?" Here is a chart depicting where these public schools get their funding from. This funding mostly comes from property tax and sales tax, largely funded through state and local programs. Everything about that school from teacher/admin paychecks to the doors in front of the building are all funded through tax. Here is the problem we run into: If schools are run through property and income tax, then what about the schools in districts with a high poverty rate? Many of these schools get funding from the sales tax of...