I am really going to enjoy spending my Friday afternoons with you and I am particularly interested to hear of the experiences of the student teachers.
Geez- what did we talk about on Friday- I KNEW I should have done this earlier.
Standards- it seems that we are still talking about standards- it seems that I've been talking about standards in a lot of my classes and that I will continue to do so for a very long time.
The more I think about standards the more I think that there should not be National standards or even State standards. What would happen if assessments were done away with?
In my (embryonic) idea for education reform there would be requirements for learning (I haven't decided if they should be mandated by the U.S. government or State governments yet) which would include strict guidelines for:
teacher certification
building resources
teacher/student ratio
services provided to students (in and out of school)
services provided to families (in and out of school)
and that's pretty much it
-oh, and EVERYONE has to graduate
Also- in my new model (if it starts next year) the U.S. and State government (combined) give each student $20,000 per year to go to the school of their choice. This is more than any other state currently spends on their students.
"The national average in fiscal year 2009 was $10,499, a 2.3 percent increase over the previous year, according to the U.S. Census Bureau, citing data from Public Education: 2009. Some states spent way above the national average, starting with New York, which spent $18,126 per student. Other top spenders include Washington ($16,408), New Jersey ($16,271), Alaska ($15,552), and Vermont ($15,175)."
(Sorry this info was from Fox News- but it WAS based on U.S. Census data)
Already, just the U.S. government spends $10,441 per pupil (2008-09 expenditures by the U.S. government-in constant dollars) http://nces.ed.gov/fastfacts/display.asp?id=66
I figure if the U.S. and State governments relieve themselves of the standards and assessments business they would have a lot more money to give to students, right? Schools would then become more focused on their market- more user-focused, and provide students (and parents) with what they want and what they need, because they will only receive money from their customer- the student. Because of student (and parent) demands schools would evolve into "boutique" schools- offering their constituent students the type of education that will advance students in their chosen career path.
Not every student should go to college (like Emily's example of her brother). There is a place for everyone and that's not always in an ivy covered hall somewhere. My idea gets a bit of inspiration from the German education system. Students are tracked (and unfortunately sometimes not by choice) to either college-bound secondary schools or trade-bound secondary schools. I think this is a brilliant idea. Students should be educated in where their talents lie and every student is different.
Are these schools public, private, charter, magnate? I hate to say it, but I think this model would dissolve the public school system. Schools would become businesses and the students would be the customers. With $20,000 in their pocket per year, students will have the power to reform schools on their own, money talks.
I know there are a lot of kinks in my plan to work out; jurisdiction, funding sources, union involvement, etc. What about transportation you say- how will students get to their school of choice if they live far from it? No matter- by the time my plan gets implemented- we will all be teleporting back and forth to the grocery store;)
See you on Friday.
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