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EDUCATIONAL REFORM.
Term Paper ID:24593
Essay Subject:
Examines social & economic roots of problems in school & proposed solutions. Role of parents, student achievement, career & employment opportunities, violence & drugs, legislation, teaching methods.... More...
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Paper Abstract:
Examines social & economic roots of problems in school & proposed solutions. Role of parents, student achievement, career & employment opportunities, violence & drugs, legislation, teaching methods.
Paper Introduction:
Paraphrasing the title of a recent best-selling book, it takes a village to raise a school. Societal changes over the past 20 years have created an education system in crisis. Among these changes are the breakdown of the family, school violence, rampant drug use in the schools, an increase in the school population of students with special learning needs, and rapid technological advancement. Schools alone do not have the resources to cope with these changes. Today's successful educational institution must develop partnerships with school administrators, teachers, parents, law enforcement agencies, social services agencies, and the business community.
The family in modern society is in crisis and this often exerts a negative effect on student achievement. Parents, although well-intentioned, may hinder the development of their
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Theeffective school must improve the achievement of all students, withoutresorting to potentially defeatist labelling, which leads students todestructive means of enhancing self-esteem, such as violence. . The third is the critical need to address the high dropoutrate. Hughes, Jr. Instruction in social skills is important in the school curriculumgiven the environment of violence and fear for personal safety thatpervades many school campuses. Students in private orsuburban schools enjoy well-equipped facilities and committed teachingstaffs. (1992). A relationshipexists between drugs, alcohol, and violence. In a 1991 survey, 44 percent of teachers reported thatstudent misbehavior had a significant impact on their teaching. 1). economy, and will create irreparable damage if leftunchecked because students will be unprepared for the demands of theInformation Age. Department of Education. Drug dealing, once a rareoccurrence on school campuses, is not uncommon. Maccoby, E. Progressive schools are experimenting with innovative ways toevaluate student learning such as portfolios of student work on individualprojects, and oral and written examinations. Development of this visionshould include input from school personnel, law enforcement officials,social services agencies, local government, students and the businesscommunity. Whenteachers are judged by the quantitative measures their students produce, itfosters competitiveness among the teaching staff and discourages risk-taking. A 1993 Louis Harris pollthat surveyed high school students around the country found that 11 percentof the students had been shot at in the past year and that 15 percentadmitted carrying a gun (Brown, 1994, p. In general, the childrearing practices of parents focus on thefuture expectations that parents hold for their children, and thesocioeconomic level of adults influences these expectations. Creating a safe school climate. Garnier, H., Stein, J., and Jacobs, J. The key is to empower students, giving them a stake in theoutcome of their schools and their career prospects. Schools alone do not have theresources to cope with these changes. In 1986,almost 3 percent of teachers surveyed indicated that they had consideredleaving the profession because of problems associated with studentmisbehavior (OERI 6). (1994). Liebes, T. (1992, November). AmericanEducational Research Journal, pp. Englewood Cliffs, NJ: Prentice-Hall. 23). The family in modern society is in crisis and this often exerts anegative effect on student achievement. Societal changes over the past 2 years havecreated an education system in crisis. 1 5). Substance abuse among children is occurring at suchan increasingly younger age that more attention must now be given to theelementary years. Special services andconsiderations are needed for these students to keep them in school andhelp them adjust to life beyond school: "The majority of students withspecial learning needs still encounter significant difficulties inachieving successful employment, independent living, and socialrelationships after leaving the educational system" (Brolin, 1995, p. In 1989, 7 percent of public school students and 52 percent ofprivate school students aged 12 through 19 reported that drugs areavailable at their school. School-related crime has created a frightening environment for theaverage student. Parents are the main agents of socialization for their childrenduring the period of their lives when they are most susceptible toinfluence. Among these changes are thebreakdown of the family, school violence, rampant drug use in the schools,an increase in the school population of students with special learningneeds, and rapid technological advancement. 33). This "crisis mentality" can becircumvented, however, if school administrators identify the consequencesand costs of educational reform. 1 14). Every day, an estimated 27 , guns accompany studentsto schools, and nearly 3 million thefts and violent crimes occur on or nearschool campuses each year (Garcia, 1994, p. Another example is the type of elementaryschool envisioned by educator John Dewey in which students learn throughstudying occupations: "Education through the occupations meant for Deweyan education that engages the intellect in reflection upon practicalactivity--the shared practices of the community that are the roots of humanlearning" (Wirth, 1992, p. and Perry-Jenkins, M. The sample was composed of single mothers,nonlegally married couples, and residents of communes and group livingarrangements. Violence is a common occurrence in city schools. This system has already hampered the futuregrowth of the U.S. Career education: A functional life skillsapproach, 3rd edition. Wirth, A. (1992, Fall). Once labelled an underachiever, the school itself often acts asa barrier for such students to benefit from the same opportunities as"brighter" students. Over the past two decades society hasacknowledged its failure to serve all students by enacting legislationaimed at educating students with special learning needs. The first issueinvolves the assimilation of students with disabilities at the upper gradelevels. 11). The main instigator of the current wave of educational reform issociety as a whole. Thrustfor Educational Leadership, p. Alarming statistics are being generated on the extent of violence onschool campuses. Today's successful educationalinstitution must develop partnerships with school administrators, teachers,parents, law enforcement agencies, social services agencies, and thebusiness community. The fourth is whether all students should be required to meetminimum competency standards to qualify for a high school diploma. 1 6-1 17. A 1991 survey revealed that during a 12-month period, 2 percent of teachers at all grade levels reported beingphysically attacked, and 8 percent threatened with bodily harm (OERI 7).Almost twenty percent of teachers said that they had been verbally abusedby a student in the previous four weeks (OERI 7). Four important issues have been currently identified in careereducation for students with special learning needs. Whenviewing television with their children, parents often engage inconversations with them concerning program content. Full-Service Schools. SanFrancisco: Jossey-Bass.----------------------- 14 In general, these students will encounter no problems in copingwith the demands of tomorrow's high technology society. Middle-class professional jobs are generally associated withself-direction and the ability to manipulate interpersonal relations,ideas, and symbols whereas working class jobs are associated with respectfor authority and conformity to external and imposed rules. Washington: U.S. Others have initiated searches of students andtheir belongings. An example is Franklin High School inNew York, which became the Manhattan Center for Science and Mathematics.Attendance and the number of students receiving diplomas at the schoolsoared: "Although the school is now independent of the district, it showsthat school redesign growing out of the choice policy can lead to high-quality education in a desperate urban poverty area" (Wirth, 1992, p. It truly takes a whole village to raise aschool. Parents fromworking class backgrounds often foster skills in their own children thatwill make them suitable for working class jobs. The authors concluded that nonconventional family lifestylesmay increase the risk of school failure through drug use and earlycumulative family stress. (1995). In a 1993survey conducted by the Harvard School of Public Health, 33 percent ofparents said that fear of harm has made their children less interested ingoing to school and made it harder to pay attention in class (Brown, 1994,p. Almost 3 percent of senior high schoolstudents reported having five or more drinks in a row in a two-week periodduring the 199 -91 school year; about 14 percent said they used marijuana(OERI, 1993, p. Economic stresses accompanied by the high cost ofhousing and health care have resulted in a significant number of familieswith children living below the poverty line. 23). 73-86. Unless significantsteps are taken, however, students in inner city neighborhoods will bepoorly equipped to face the challenges of the future, and will remainhopelessly stuck at the bottom of the economic rung. Further, even in cases where television is notpresent in the home, its absence is the result of an "ongoing ideologicalbattle" among family members (Liebes, 1992, p. Some administrators now view teacher absenteeism andlack of committed involvement as major problems in their schools. Still other schools have hired monitors to patrolrestrooms, hallways, and school grounds. 1 -14. 175-176).The breakdown of the family has resulted in an increased number of childrenliving in poverty, where families perpetuate the lowered ideals of thepoor. Garcia, P. The influence that parents exert over their offspring does not endwith childhood. Such schoolswould focus on offering specific educational programs that are attractiveto both students and teachers alike. For instance, parentsuse television to warn their children against certain external influences.Liebes (1992) found that television, particularly the nightly news, is usedby parents to reinforce their own political beliefs and to aid in thepolitical socialization of their children. Many Information Age occupations require a team approach to workplaceperformance. Student test performance varies based on numerous factors:"The simple idea that current standardized tests yield objective scientificfacts about learning differences . . . (1996, April). (1997, Summer). 182). The American workplace has beentransformed by the employment demands of the electronic/computerrevolution. . A recent study reported that one in 12 students remained home oneor more days because of the fear that someone would hurt or bother them atschool (Garcia, 1994, p. Research by Garnier, Stein, and Jacobs (1997) indicates that familylifestyle values have an influence on school achievement, particularlymultiple problem behaviors in children such as drug use and school failure. 22-24. Aboutone in four children live in households headed by single parents and three-fourths of all mothers of school-age children are in the labor force(Dryfoos, 1994, p. Unfortunately,the impetus for the formation of such coalitions usually comes about as theresult of some community crisis. This process may start informally in elementaryschool, but progresses toward a more formal expression by the time astudent reaches high school, and includes practices such as trackingstudents into differently paced class sections, and/or differentiatedcurricular strands (e.g., college prep, commercial, basic, remedial). (1993).Reaching The Goals: Safe, Disciplined, and Drug-Free Schools. and Perry-Jenkins, 1996, pp. Thus children are taughtthe types of behavior and personal attributes appropriate to certain workenvironments. Although schools have an important role to play, a comprehensiveapproach involves the creation of partnerships. 73). Educators must respond to theneeds of today's children and their families by providing a wider array ofservices than found in traditional schools in the past. In the period 1986-199 , at least 71 persons were killedwith guns at school (OERI 3). Today's adolescents areheavily involved in the drug culture, and drug-related activity isincreasingly invading the school environment. Violence in city schools exerts a negative effect on the learningenvironment. Schools have responded to thisactivity in a variety of ways. Social classissues in family life education. The processof dropping out of high school: A 19-year perspective. Unfortunately, school reform has lagged behind workplacereform. 175-182. Numerous education laws have been passed by the stateand federal government, among them the Rehabilitation Act of 1973, theEducation for All Handicapped Children Act Amendments of 1975, theIndividuals with Disabilities Education Act of 199 , the Carl D. Partnership with local business concerns has made this transformationpossible. A 1993 survey by theHarvard School of Public Health found that 62 percent of parents admittedthat the availability of guns has caused their children to be worried aboutsafety at school (Brown, 1994, p. (1994, October). The same survey found that 2 percent of parents know a child who has asked for a gun for his or her ownprotection (Brown, 1994, p. Office of Educational Research and Improvement (OERI). Progressive school administrators realize that a prerequisite foreffective school planning requires developing a vision and establishinggoals. is a myth" (Wirth, 1992, p. Lower-classparents in urban societies tend to encourage less creativity andplayfulness in their children, and are more controlling than their middle-class counterparts, who reinforce the "American dream" ideals of self-support and autonomy (Hughes, Jr. Granted, some enlightened schools in America are beginning to use theteam approach. Television is used inhouseholds either as background or as object of focal attention. 3-6). The centralized, bureaucratic foundation of schools in Americansociety has created an educational system that relies on standardized testmeasurement and rote learning. The system of economic dualism in the nation's schools contributes tothe lack of preparedness for the Information Age. Easy access todrugs and lethal weapons is an obvious factor. One solution to the current crisis in the educational system is torestructure American schools to make them schools of choice. Liebes (1992) contends that the pervasive influence of television inmost households leads to a combination of informal learning on the part ofparent, child, and media. Dryfoos, J. The role of parents in thesocialization of children: An historical overview. Parents, although well-intentioned, may hinder the development of their children's potential.Modern parents often lack the time and resources to provide the type ofsupportive environment that is necessary for intellectual growth. 23). Athough muchprogress has been made, the American educational system needs additionalreform to appropriately serve these students. Youth violence: Causes and solutions.Thrust for Educational Leadership, pp. PerkinsVocational and Applied Technology Education Act of 199 , the School-to-WorkOpportunities Act of 1994, and the Goal 2 : Educate America Act. The authors followed a sample of 2 5 Euro-American families who werenonconventional in structure. Family Relations, pp. Due to the sophistication of computer-dominated tasks, ashortage of workers with a high degree of technical skills exists: " . Students come to school highand some brazenly use drugs on school property. Violence affects students as much or more than teachers. A contributing factor in the increased criminal activity in cityschools is substance abuse among the student population. Students with special learning needs are those with various types ofdisabilities (e.g., speech or language impairments, mental retardation,serious emotional disturbance) or are disadvantaged (e.g., reluctantlearners, pregnant, substance abusers). Most have adopted some form of drugprevention curriculum. For example,adults who hold middle-class professional jobs assume that, on reachingadulthood, their children will hold similar positions. Too many of today's schools contribute to parental negativedevelopment of student identity by channeling youngsters onto career tracksbased on subjective criteria such as personal appearance or languagefacility. The question is, how can teachers find thetime in their already crowded classroom schedules to teach social skills?Combined resources are necessary: " . 13). Paraphrasing the title of a recent best-selling book, it takes avillage to raise a school. The reliance onstandardized testing as an accountability measure for schools is fraughtwith problems. .increased international competition, changes in both industrial structureand consumer demand, and the capacity of technology to help meet thesechallenges act as forces to push skill levels upward" (Wirth, 1992, p. Successful schools are inclusionary schools. It continues throughout adolescence and even intoadulthood. 395-419. 13). Some ofthese acts have been responsible for the evolution of instructionalservices from special classes for students with disabilities to theinclusion of students with special learning needs into regular classrooms. Students are divided into teams and work onvarious interactive projects. 13). 12). As Maccoby (1992) notes, "At every stage of life, relationshipsinvolve coregulation, and individuals never graduate to being free of theregulatory requirements of intimate others unless they become socialisolates" (p. The second is whether all students should be subjected to the samecurriculum. DevelopmentalPsychology, pp. Schools were once considered "safe zones" from illegal drug-relatedactivities, but those days are long past. . the involvement of a variety ofschool personnel greatly enhances the generalization and maintenance of theskills learned to different settings and events" (Brolin, 1995, p. Department ofJustice found, in a recent study, that half of all violent crimes againstyouths 12 to 19 years of age occurred in school buildings, on schoolgrounds, or in the vicinity of school (Garcia, 1994, p. (1994, October). Unfortunately, most schools persist in perpetuating the individualapproach to learning rather than the team approach that would preparestudents for employment in information-related fields. Television, parents, and the politicalsocialization of children. Thesestatistics demonstrate why school safety has become one of the mostcritical education issues faced by modern society. Brown, D. San Francisco: Jossey-Bass. Clearly, safety issues interfere with theeducation of school children. Given the disruptive effect of drugs in a learning environment, thecreation of drug-free schools in the educational system is a criticalissue. Teachers College Record, pp. 81).Standardized testing creates anxiety in teachers and students alike. However, underlying causessuch as deteriorating social and economic conditions cannot be overlooked.Efforts to improve the situation in city schools have increased during thepast decade, but much needs to be done to assure students a safe,disciplined environment in which to learn. References Brolin, D. One such school is the Rindge School of Technical Arts inCambridge, Massachusetts. The expense involved inattempting to curtail drug activity has led to a diversion of time,resources, and energy that could be used to fulfill the educational missionof schools. Much of the American labor force is currently employed in information-related fields. 313). The U.S. Getting students excited about future employment prospects is a meansof encouraging student achievement. All students,regardless of their relative ability to learn deserve a chance to reachtheir maximum potential. Education and work for the year 2 .
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