It seems the whole world now knows the name Trayvon Martin. There were names like Rodney King and Elian Gonzalez before him, but Trayvon has become the latest chapter of the United States Book of Racial Controversy. So how did he become an overnight household name? I think the increased access to information through technology has caused an increase in the desire for people to create under informed opinions. A few months ago it was Kony 2012, and now it's Trayvon Martin.
So first off, for anyone reading this that for some reason does not know who Trayvon Martin is, here is a quick rundown of the story. A 17-year-old black man (Trayvon) is walking down the street in a gated community in Florida. He was apparently coming from a convenience store where he purchased Skittles and iced tea and was going to visit his father's girlfriend. The light-skinned neighborhood watch leader (George Zimmerman) see's this "suspicious" man walking down his street and calls 911. Against the advice of the 911 operator, Zimmerman approaches the young man. A scuffle ensues and Trayvon is shot to death by Zimmerman who pleads it was in self defense.
Now I don't have a particular side on this issue, I am just fascinated at how big of an issue this has become based on limited details released through the media. NBA players wearing hoodies, protests in Seattle (over 3,000 miles away), and dozens of other actions have taken place that I quite frankly do not understand.
I know our justice system is a joke at times, but I still believe people are innocent until proven guilty. I think this same thing should apply to opinions....judgement should be restricted until you actually know what the hell you are upset about. To me, the fact that Zimmerman was not immediately arrested does not prove his innocence, but it does prove that there was more to the story.
Technology has impacted how quickly information is spread and how things turn viral. Perceived racial injustices always cause a lot of emotion, but to see such nationwide outrage come from news stories reported by people who may also share this anger is crazy to me. There is a process for sorting these things out. If George Zimmerman did not abide by the law, he will receive his punishment. If in the end justice is not served, reserve anger, protests, Facebook rants, etc for that time. I wish that same outrage could be used proactively for electing politicians, fixing education, and fighting poverty instead of reactively for voicing opinions about topics people are under informed about.
Tuesday, March 27, 2012
Friday, March 16, 2012
education reform
So I haven't written a blog for awhile now, partly because I have been busy and partly because there wasn't really interesting that I came across and felt the need to talk about. I guess that kind of fits my personality too. People think of me as shy and quiet, but that's usually because I don't say anything if I don't have anything to say. But anyways, I have seen a few things in the news lately and have overheard a few conversations regarding education reform and thought I would explore my own thoughts about the topic.
Quick disclaimer here: I am not an expert on anything regarding education reform; these are just my slightly educated opinions and ideas.
changing summer vacations
Breaks in schooling began sometime in the 1800's as a way for children to offer assistance on farms during the spring planting seasons and fall harvest seasons. Over the years it has sort of transformed into a must needed break from schooling. I would like to see schools to shorten the length of summer vacations (currently around 3 months in the U.S.). Kids are not learning anything during this time, and also forgetting some of the information they did learn. Many households these days have 2 working parents so reducing the burden of finding 3 months of childcare would be beneficial and cost effective for parents. And while you're at it, extend the school days another hour so people can actually get their kids after work. What is the difference between spending an hour at a daycare or after school program and another hour of school? 180 more hours per year of education, increased pay for teachers, and more options for parents getting their kids after work. Also it kind of sucks paying for schools that are only used half of the year.
no child left behind
Get rid of it....or at least change a lot of it. The way I understand the NCLB Act is basically that any school which receives government money is required to meet certain educational standards which are verified by standardized testing. States who do not meet standards are punished by not reduced funding if they are below standards. This encourages more bad results instead of increasing results. I don't completely disagree with having federal standards for education, but let the states decide how to achieve those goals. Stop encouraging "teaching to tests". Fund education equally based on population of enrolled students Set a percentage for federal money and state money each year to prevent states from making annual education budget cuts and rather than punish schools by taking away federal funding, reward success by subsidizing their education costs with federal money when students.
gifted programs
Get rid of these too. I have a hard spot with this subject. I was in a gifted program from 2nd grade until 7th grade. The teachers I had were all great and I learned a lot of information I would not have ordinarily learned. Working at my own pace in subjects like math allowed me to excel more than I would have in a regular class. The problem comes in once the program was complete in 8th grade. Once I got into Jr. High I basically stopped learning. Nearly everything that was covered in every subject in Jr. High was basically a repeat of information I had already learned. There were no advance classes available for Jr. High and only a few available in High School. In effect all of the extra learning I had gotten was put on hold until everyone else got caught up. I know it was probably just a result of the school district I was raised in, but I still view it as a waste of time effort and money that could have been put to great use. I would rather see the expectations for everyone go up as a whole. Instead of moving the "gifted" kids to another class, raise the bar for the average class to make sure everyone is learning at a higher level.
foreign language
We live in a global society, yet most people here do not speak another language. I may be a little biased because both of my kids are in a Spanish Immersion class but the benefits I have seen so far are amazing. My son is in his 4th year and my daughter in her 2nd and it is crazy to see how quickly kids are able to comprehend another language. I don't think every student should be in a full immersion class, but I think language requirements should start by 1st grade. Every other major country takes up foreign language at young ages except for the U.S. Here is a good article explaining the need for increased attention to foreign language from a national security perspective.
It is pretty well known now that the United States is drastically falling behind a lot of other major countries in the world when it comes to education. There are a lot of things that can help to change that, but I think first of all coming to mutual agreement among the states and government is the first step. No stupid partisan decisions or forced ideas, and no more reluctance to change. It is broken and a lot of blame is placed on teachers, when in reality it is the system that is screwed up.
What are your thoughts?
Quick disclaimer here: I am not an expert on anything regarding education reform; these are just my slightly educated opinions and ideas.
changing summer vacations
Breaks in schooling began sometime in the 1800's as a way for children to offer assistance on farms during the spring planting seasons and fall harvest seasons. Over the years it has sort of transformed into a must needed break from schooling. I would like to see schools to shorten the length of summer vacations (currently around 3 months in the U.S.). Kids are not learning anything during this time, and also forgetting some of the information they did learn. Many households these days have 2 working parents so reducing the burden of finding 3 months of childcare would be beneficial and cost effective for parents. And while you're at it, extend the school days another hour so people can actually get their kids after work. What is the difference between spending an hour at a daycare or after school program and another hour of school? 180 more hours per year of education, increased pay for teachers, and more options for parents getting their kids after work. Also it kind of sucks paying for schools that are only used half of the year.
no child left behind
Get rid of it....or at least change a lot of it. The way I understand the NCLB Act is basically that any school which receives government money is required to meet certain educational standards which are verified by standardized testing. States who do not meet standards are punished by not reduced funding if they are below standards. This encourages more bad results instead of increasing results. I don't completely disagree with having federal standards for education, but let the states decide how to achieve those goals. Stop encouraging "teaching to tests". Fund education equally based on population of enrolled students Set a percentage for federal money and state money each year to prevent states from making annual education budget cuts and rather than punish schools by taking away federal funding, reward success by subsidizing their education costs with federal money when students.
gifted programs
Get rid of these too. I have a hard spot with this subject. I was in a gifted program from 2nd grade until 7th grade. The teachers I had were all great and I learned a lot of information I would not have ordinarily learned. Working at my own pace in subjects like math allowed me to excel more than I would have in a regular class. The problem comes in once the program was complete in 8th grade. Once I got into Jr. High I basically stopped learning. Nearly everything that was covered in every subject in Jr. High was basically a repeat of information I had already learned. There were no advance classes available for Jr. High and only a few available in High School. In effect all of the extra learning I had gotten was put on hold until everyone else got caught up. I know it was probably just a result of the school district I was raised in, but I still view it as a waste of time effort and money that could have been put to great use. I would rather see the expectations for everyone go up as a whole. Instead of moving the "gifted" kids to another class, raise the bar for the average class to make sure everyone is learning at a higher level.
foreign language
We live in a global society, yet most people here do not speak another language. I may be a little biased because both of my kids are in a Spanish Immersion class but the benefits I have seen so far are amazing. My son is in his 4th year and my daughter in her 2nd and it is crazy to see how quickly kids are able to comprehend another language. I don't think every student should be in a full immersion class, but I think language requirements should start by 1st grade. Every other major country takes up foreign language at young ages except for the U.S. Here is a good article explaining the need for increased attention to foreign language from a national security perspective.
It is pretty well known now that the United States is drastically falling behind a lot of other major countries in the world when it comes to education. There are a lot of things that can help to change that, but I think first of all coming to mutual agreement among the states and government is the first step. No stupid partisan decisions or forced ideas, and no more reluctance to change. It is broken and a lot of blame is placed on teachers, when in reality it is the system that is screwed up.
What are your thoughts?
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