There are a number of reasons that a school might fail, chief among them being an inequality of funds throughout a state’s public-school systems, a criminally underpaid staff, and a lack of retention among students over their summer break. To address these issues, I have created a three-pronged approach, one which I believe will fundamentally alter our public-school school systems for the better, and will ensure that our students receive a quality education that stays with them when they walk past the doors of our school and enter into the rest of the world. I call this reform “YES”, as it focuses on three essential areas of reform.
• Year-Round Schooling.
• Education Funding Reform.
• Salary Increases for Teachers.
Our current school hours and length is a problem, in that it is inherently detrimental to what every school’s motives should be; accumulation and retention of knowledge by their students. A study by the Century Foundation, a think tank based in New York, highlights many of the benefits to switching to year-round schooling, along with having an increased number of options available to students during after school hours. The Century Foundation cites California’s adoption of year-round schooling as an example of its benefits, and speaks to the problems it solves. In California, year-round schooling results in increased retention and reduced class sizes and crowds (All-Day, All-Year Schools). The usual summer break is dispersed throughout the whole year, giving
Teachers shape the minds of students to realize what their purpose is in life. Lately, because of certain educational reforms, it has been hard for teachers to say what they need to say. “In 40-plus states, the math and English guidelines determine the knowledge students have to master by the end of each grade, what they’ll be tested on this year, and in many cases, how teachers and principals will be rated at their jobs once those test scores are released” (Strauss). Most educational reforms are adopting standardized testing and should be reconsidered. Statistics even show that since we have taken part in reforms like No Child Left Behind, Race to the Top, and Common Core State Standards math and reading are declining. These standards tell teachers what to teach and what the students should know by the end of the school year. The reforms also evaluate teacher performance by how well the students learn the information. Some people believe educational reforms should not be telling teachers how to teach their students, and others believe that the reforms are absolutely fine the way they are. However the truth is educational reforms are yet to be perfected.
When coming to high school you quickly learn that you have a lot more freedom than you did in junior high. You can eat anywhere on campus and hangout with any social group you won't. Finding the right social group is one of the biggest factors in high school. I found new friends and discovered new things I didn't know i would like. High school is great because it provides you with multiple sports throughout the year that junior high doesn’t provide such as soccer, cross country, swim, and football to name a few. I chose to be involved in soccer, track, and cross county which helped me find many friends. Cross country for me was filled with the people that were trying to achieve the same goals as me. If i could i would play every sport at the
Imagine a school year that never ends. A year without summer, relaxation, and vacations with family. Summer is the time of year that every student cannot wait arrive. But what if the playful time filled with friends, smiles, and laughter did not exist? What if school remained in session year-round? This is happening in 3,181 schools across America and is gradually increasing (edweek.org). The government calls it: Year-Round School. There are both many pros and cons to this controversial issue in today’s education; however, Year-Round School is not a good decision because of the social outcomes, the financial costs, and the academic effects that Year-Round School burdens on the students.
In society today, a college education is often seen as a “the next step” in a young adult’s life. Whether they actually know what they would like to earn a degree in, they feel the need to continue their education as almost everyone around them is pursuing post-secondary education of some sort. It is often argued that a college education is not necessary to get ahead because of the manufacture based workforce that is up and coming in America, however, there are many benefits to having a post-secondary education such as a higher rate of pay and more job opportunities.
Industries such as business and medicine depend on extreme methods and forward thinking ideas. To be a successful enterprise, one must be willing to take risks and try new things. Within the last century, education has attempted to take a leap of faith by completely flipping the traditional school schedule and idea of summer vacation upside down. Just as with any idea, there are advantages and disadvantages as well as supporters and opponents. Each district must look at their own individual needs and evaluate the trials from schools that have gone before them to decide if year-round schooling would benefit their school.
How would the population react if the schedule that structures many peoples’ entire year were to change? This change is a reality for a growing number of families across the country as a method of improving primary and secondary education through year-round school. Although many have come to accept or even embrace year-round school in an effort to help students retain more material, year-round school would actually disrupt the learning environment, be potentially detrimental for students and their family’s financial health, as well as that of the schools, and could take away from family and personal time.
A teacher who was part of a year round system recounts, “I found myself going through 3 school years without that opportunity for self-assessment and planning for the future of the educational program.” (“The Effect of Year Round Schools” 1999/22 February 2005). With a much shorter summer break, teachers will not have enough time to increase their education, which can benefit the learning of their students. For these reasons, year round schools are not as beneficial as the traditional school year.
Many people, including President Barack Obama believe that year round schooling is the best option for American students, because the year round system gives students equal amount of time in school, while increasing the efficiency of a single school building (Ave 1B). “More than two million students in some three thousand U.S. schools attend year round programs in 41 states” (Lawson 48). This astonishing number seems large, but really is only 2% of students in the United States. Many of the perceived advantages of year round schooling revolve around cost and learning efficiency, but in reality the traditional system gives essentially equal
From the early 1900’s through today, America society as a whole has embraced the nine month general education school year. As we progress into the future, we need to look for more efficient ways to educate the general populous. When we initially went to a nine month school year, there were a multitude of reasons. As we look at the reasons why we began to utilize a nine month school schedule, we need to consider both the advantages and disadvantages of transitioning to a year round school model. While we continue to grow and expand as a nation, we need to reevaluate our current school model. From this, we will look at why schools should transition to year round schools, and abandon the
Have you ever really pondered the way schooling is done today? Have you ever wondered if it is really the best fit? Some experts say that a all year round schooling calendar would be more beneficial to students. Paul Von Hippel, a researcher and sociologist of ohio state University, says “Students have a better tendency to remember material because of short breaks.” While other people believe that summer vacation is an american tradition and shouldn’t be changed. If I could plan my ideal school, I would create an all year round calendar, teach specified subjects, and begin the school day later. Summer break dates back to the 1800s(Pearson, 2010). Now is the time for a change, or is it?
As of 2014, over 3000 schools in the United States are year-round. Instead of having one longer summer break, these schools take several shorter breaks throughout the year (Scholastic 15). With so many advantages and very few disadvantages of year-round schooling, it is not surprising that these schools chose to exchange their excessively long summer breaks for shorter, more frequent breaks. Not only can year-round schooling improve the academic performance of students, but it can also economically benefit all aspects of society. Schools should adopt a year-round calendar, causing one to question the perils of year-round schooling.
The topic i’ll be discussing today is related to surviving high school. Except, not your senior year, sophomore, or junior. But your freshman year. No matter what, you’re freshman year was always the scariest. Wasn't it? Well today I will be giving you some useful advice to surviving your first year. We are all scared when it comes to being a freshman, whether you ask yourself, “Is being a freshman that hard? Does it look like when they show it in movies or television shows? Will the teachers be rude or mean?” well the answer is simple. Most of the times depending on the high school you’re attending might or might not be the ideal one. Many of you will find these ideas very helpful while others might find them a bit confusing. Hopefully most
Studies have shown that one way to improve students achievement is to start an after school homework club. Teacher and students volunteer to meet with those who either have difficulty in certain subjects or want to finish their homework early. I believe that my school, Ridgeview middle School, should establish an after school homework club. To begin with, I know that not every student learns at the same pace. Homework clubs will be a very reliable source for students to learn something they have missed or just simply do not understand. Coupled with one-on-one time, homework clubs will be like heaven on Earth for students.
Can you imagine a world in which parents were free to send their children to only the best schools, no matter which neighborhood they lived in? What if cost wasn’t a factor? Imagine if even a student in the poorest section of town had access to the best education. What could that child achieve? What would they become? How would their life change? Those questions that I asked lead now to the focus of the essay. The world we live in is ever so changing, with that the need for education also needs to be changing. No longer do classic public schools fit the job in all certain situations. That is why with school choice being a controversial issue in education reform, school choice public funds should be used to support school choice programs that offer parents alternatives to traditional public schools.
As I sat there and thought to myself what did everyone thing of me after hearing what I have done. “Taylor Bloom responsible for the deaths of 53 high school students. My head started to wander back to my high school days. In my sophomore year, I was bullied nearly every sing day by the stupid jocks. I started to hate myself so I decided to change my look. The next day I straightened my hair, put a black skirt on, and a white button up shirt with some heels, I left a few of the buttons on my shirt unbuttoned. I was making my way up to the school, I saw all eyes on me even the jocks could not take their eyes off of me. WAS I BECOMING POPULAR? Two weeks later I was the most popular girl in South Lake High. I had a tall, handsome boyfriend and my two new best friends Karli and Rebecca. Everyone wanted to be like me, everyone loved me or as I should say “worshipped me”. Until one night at a party I got super intoxicated and ended up doing things I probably shouldn’t have. That next day everyone was talking about it and all eyes were on me not that I am complaining, but it was not a good look they were giving me… they all knew what I had done that previous night. I did not show up for school the rest of the semester in fear I would lose my reputation so I started getting homeschooled.