Equality of opportunity is imperative to the success of a capitalist society like the United States. -Normandin

Parts of this blog will be related to the State of the Union Address from last Tuesday. If you haven’t watched it here’s a link: 

Notice this is the “enhanced version” the White House released afterwards. The enhanced version has facts and figures that bolster the speech (now you can read those figures instead of spending so much time staring at politicians).

Also, here is a transcript of the Address. 

Education took the national stage last week when it was a topic in President Obama’s State of the Union Address. Approximately twenty minutes into the address, key educational topics were discussed including tuition prices, community college training programs, and the need for improvement in our public education system. The President said, “Teachers matter. So instead of bashing them, or defending the status quo, let’s offer schools a deal. Give them the resources to keep good teachers on the job, and reward the best ones. In return, grant schools flexibility: To teach with creativity and passion; to stop teaching to the test; and to replace teachers who just aren’t helping kids learn.” From our class discussions it is obvious that this is easier said than done, especially with teacher’s unions in control of so many aspects of public education.

Just as we discussed in class last week, evaluating teachers is essential to improving learning in our public education system. The idea of creating a teacher evaluation process that includes both peer evaluation as well as the test scores made by their students seems like a workable solution. If teachers are going to continue to be evaluated by standardized tests, it seems they would still be required to teach (at least partially) to the test. 

The topic of standardized tests was a topic we touched on briefly during Professor Kaplan’s tutoring training. Different states have different tests they require students to take at the end of an academic year. For students who move to different states during the school year it can be difficult to transition because the classes may be covering different topics at different times than their previous school. This problem, in my mind, can be remedied by a national standardized test. If we desire to have highly educated students, doesn’t it make sense to have a national set of education standards for our students?

Luckily I have found an article that articulates many of the problems I see with education in America here. Ryan Normandin writes for MIT’s newspaper with his complains in the public education system. In this article Normandin comments on the confusing curriculum of public high schools and the need for a national standardized test. Another comment is made with regards to teaching methods:  

lectures give a 5 percent retention rate of information, while reading gives 10 percent on average. On the other hand, group discussions offer 50 percent, practice by doing 75 percent, and teaching others 90 percent. 

Doesn’t it make sense how so many of our classes at UNCA (especially honors courses) are discussion based?

Another interesting moment during the State of the Union is when the President said, “I call on every State to require that all students stay in high school until they graduate or turn eighteen.” While I watched it I remember being a bit taken back. If we require students to stay in high school, shouldn’t we give them a reason to stay? Waiting for “Superman” showed us that many students who drop out are either discouraged from learning or have too many things outside of school (problems at home, for instance) keeping them from coming back. In Normandin’s article he emphasizes the magnet school as the solution to the increasing drop out rate. By having schools with different themes (science and math, arts, etc) it would be easier for students to dive into a specific subject they find interesting and explore its complexities while still receiving the general education required by the state. As this cartoon illustrates, magnet schools allow students to specialized in a subject of their own choosing.

 

This brings me to Normandin’s quote that started off this entry. I believe this equality of opportunity ties in directly with Nussbaum’s list of Central Capabilities in our week’s reading. It is interesting to see how this list can be implemented within the modern education system to provide a new level of respect for the dignity of students and teachers. Many aspects are already included in primary education; play is an integral aspect of elementary school for many children. Affiliation and the ability to have concern for other humans and interact well with others is another goal of childhood education. I feel that one of the most important things on the list is promoting sense, imagination, and thought. Children should feel supported in their learning, especially because studies have shown how different people learn in different ways. If Professor Kaplan’s tutoring training has taught us anything it was that it can take students a long time to learn information, but the time it takes them is crucial in understanding. Our human dignity requires equal opportunity to learn and in some cases there is a huge disparity between children in the educational system today. As this article from the New York Times describes, some private schools charge up to $40,000 annually in tuition. While public schools are forced to cut programs due to funding, private schools continue to build new facilities. How is this an even playing field for students in the New York public school system?