Is College Worth the Investment?
When evaluating the worthiness of a college education, there are certain questions to consider: What do folks really learn in college? Is what people have learned in college what makes the education valuable, or could it be the simple fact of possessing a college degree that accomplishes gains after graduation? Then again, maybe the kinds of people who go to college are just the kinds of people who would have been great at anything they tried anyway — with or without that degree. It might be as an entrepreneur, or a leader of a powerful home security team. Whatever the case may be,...
Read MoreTeacher Quality and Education Reform
Is teacher quality really the most significant factor in student achievement — either in terms of growth of the students according to standardized tests, or in their ability to do more than just sail from grade to grade, only to be astounded when their scores on the SAT are not high enough to get them into college? The fellow in the video below seems to be on that bandwagon — but educators realize that there is far more wrong with American education than the perceived abilities of teachers and administrators to “move” students. The fact is, some students are...
Read MoreSocial Networking Classrooms
More classrooms are using social networking as a legitimate facet of online learning strategies, including improvements in reading and writing skills. As teachers find themselves outnumbered by students in the wake of national budget cuts across all fifty states, finding creative ways to get students reading more and writing more is critical to the continuance of public education systems. Underfunding, lack of adequate time, and classroom overcrowding all contribute to conditions that have led American students to lag behind those in other countries over the past twenty years, and falling...
Read MoreTime To Get Your Degree
You have probably been thinking about receiving or finishing your college degree for some time now, but there always seems to be something holding you back. You are always going to find obstacles in the things that you do in life, but honestly there is no better time than now to get your degree. You might think that sound crazy, and a lot of people do. Seriously though many of the concerns that you probably have about going to school, while valid, can be easily resolved. Let’s look at some common reasons people do not finish school and how to overcome them. Not enough time....
Read MoreQuantifying No Child Left Behind
After almost 90 percent of Baltimore city schools fell short of achieving Adequate Yearly Progress this year under NCLB rules, schools around the nation mirror this same downward slide. Exponentially more and more schools are failing to make AYP each year since 2001 under a federal program that penalizes schools for not making progress (even if they are already performing well.) According to the outrageous mythology that is No Child Left Behind, 100 percent of American students will be proficient in both reading and math by 2014. That gives us two more school years. But the U.S....
Read MoreThey Can’t Write
There’s an obvious disconnect between students in the nation’s public schools and the expectations set out for them once they reach the real world, and it lies somewhere between context-appropriate self expression and projecting a professional image to potential employers. Many kids these days realize from an early age they will just be passed through their grade levels, whether they have really grasped the basics like reading and writing or not. This is dismal for the students, the parents, and especially the teachers who have to take up the slack in subsequent years —...
Read MoreMake a Difference
Every teacher is faced with a choice. They can either teach what is required of them and drop all ties with students at 5pm when they go home or they can take an active interest in bettering the students that come before them. Teachers are more than instructors. They are life coaches and deserve our respect and admiration.
