The Quality School : Managing Students Without Coercion

Lincoln High School, which is located in a low-income neighborhood in San Diego, was a rebuilt after 50 years of failing to educate children. Rebuilding the high school was the answer the community had been looking for they were hopeful. Before the rebuild most students who attended Lincoln did not meet the standards for their grade-level, few graduated and even fewer went go on to college. After years of suffering and neglect there was little doubt That Lincoln High School deserved the $129 million it received from the city to rebuild. But was rebuilding the school the solution for Lincoln High School 's education problem? First we’ll examine, How the problem started, the decision making steps and if the plan was successful.

In chapter 19 the author mentions Anne Fox Elementary School, a school in Chicago that goes from having a very poor academic performance in the entire school district of 21 other schools to becoming the second highest academically performing school in just a matter of few years. Anne Fox Elementary School is a great example of the magic that can take place when adults really see the full potential in children and take responsibility in making sure that the children's needs are met in terms of academics. Anne Fox Elementary School shows what can really take place when adults truly believe the idea that every child can succeed. By looking at where they were going wrong and targeting those problem areas Anne Fox Elementary School, created a timely, and organized way to make sure the meet their goals. From changing the false belief of I can’t to I can the elementary school really turned

Ms. Foster feels that one of the main problems in teaching the children in her classroom is that there are emotionally and behaviorally disturbed (EBD) students who disrupt the entire class. In addition, they often have problems staying on task. She advocates the use of self-management techniques in the classroom. Self-management techniques teach students to modify their

Since prior to the 1980’s, the American education system has rapidly declined in all areas. The article, “A Nation at Risk,” written by President Ronald Reagan, depicts the many issues in the U.S. school systems regarding the content, standard and expectations, time, teaching, and leadership and fiscal support. This piece, apparently, has led the country into an extreme educational reform to improve all aspects of our school system. Based on my experiences in high school, student test scores, and current school conditions, I believe that while all issues raised by the commission in the report are not necessarily a problem anymore, issues with student growth.

Diane Ravitch, an “educational historian”, answers four questions in her book, Reign of Error. Is American education in crisis? Is American education failing or declining? What is the evidence for reform being promoted by the government and adopted by many states? What should we do to improve our schools and the lives of our children? According to Ravitch, the “crisis” concerning American education is actually a myth. In this book, she addresses myth after myth providing adequate clarity and information. She looks deep into the facts and brings to light what is actually happening in education in America in the following areas: test scores, achievement gaps, graduation rates, teachers and test scores, merit pay, charter schools, virtual school, government involvement of failing schools. In the latter chapters she offers specific solutions with detailed plans and recommendations to preserve and improve American education. Ravitch’s thesis is that American public education must be protected against government privatization and that we must work together to improve our schools. I couldn’t agree more with Ravitch. Government involvement in education has negatively impacted education since the passing of NCLB. Our focus has changed from being innovative teachers to cookie cutter teachers. Government officials should not make decisions without advice from educational professionals. We must all work together to make education work.

Many teachers are faced with the difficult task of managing their student’s behavior. Even if we

The No Child Left Behind act emerged as a result of a massive increase in the costs of schools, while failing to show an improvement in their students performances. (Paterson 32) Since these standardized test have been in effect teachers have been judged off them. The problem is that

Dr. Debra Koss ( child psychiatrist) believes that in our society today teens and parents face more stress and pressures than ever before. When a student acts up the first thought should not be punishment but what is going wrong in this young one’s life and how can it be helped. In Fund du Lac High School three hundred fifty-eight freshman out of six hundred thirty-two participated in mental health screening and sixty-four percent of the students tested were diagnosed with a mental illness. Many factors are contributing to this bad school environment ranging from overworked students, students ridiculing other students and faculty that genuinely do not care about the students. A teacher, who does not take interest in the students and does not do their best to make sure their students succeed, risks destroying their students confidence. 8,300 students drop out on a average day. These students say they drop because they don't feel safe, they can't keep up, they couldn't attend everyday or they did not have the confidence they would finish the class. Students everyday are either dropping out or hurting themselves because of the events that happen inside these school buildings. Forty percent of parents say children experience the most stress from academics. Chronic stress causes a sense of panic which causes more stress. “Despite whatever is going on -if you are a bit depressed, stressed, or overwhelmed you want to put up this positive

In chapter 5, Reforming America’s Schools, I learned many things that affect me as an educator. An important fact that interests me was that there are four goals that schools should follow. The first one is academic, including a broad array of knowledge and intellectual skills. The second one is vocational, aimed at readiness for the world of work and economic responsibilities. The third one is social and civic, including skills and behavior for participating in a complex democratic society. The fourth one is personal, including the development of individual talent and self-expression. This will affect me as an educator so that I can follow and do my best to complete these goals. Now I am aware of what should be done in a classroom.

Though many feel that the American education system is a model of success, compared to the educational system of Finland, the American system is in dire need of reform. The focus of these reforms should begin with mandatory recess, teacher salaries, and high-stakes testing. Recess should be a necessary part of the student’s day. Teachers, who are the key to student’s learning, do not make they salary they deserve. Standardized testing is unfair because one test cannot determine a student’s ability.

In 1983, Ronald Reagan stood in front of the press and read from a report called A Nation at Risk: Imperative for Education Reform. The report had been written by the board of the National Commission on Excellence and Education and gave Americans reason to believe that our system was anything but acceptable. While the report did touch on some positives in American public schools, there were many instances that needed to be fixed. A Nation at Risk opened the eyes of many Americans and thus started a rolling stone for more “rigorous and measurable standards.” Although the notice has hung around school districts across the nation for over thirty

Based on her knowledge as a teacher, with 30 years of experience, Julie Roger-Martin believed that she had established a framework by which students could achieve excellence in the classroom and with standardized tests (Frysh, pp.1-10). Even though she was comfortable with her capabilities, her students did not perform as well as others students. Teachers with mediocre school children were excelling in test scores, while their classroom work did not mirror this increased knowledge. Julie Roger-Martin, confused by the test results, was unaware of the underlying reasons for the improvement. The Atlanta Public School System was cheating in order to obtain good scores. Teachers made the decisions that truthfulness was a value that could be sacrificed in order to attain higher salaries and federal funding.

This paper is an overview of mental health professional with several years’ experience to be a consultant to a local district superintendent. Based on information gather from a phone call from the superintendent regarding three students and a teacher that was severely stabbed by a student. This has been in the media for about two weeks. During this time, the superintendent has been receiving complaints from people in the community, parents and teacher stating that security measures are not adequate and that discipline for the student are lax. My responsibility as a MHP consultant is to develop a plan of action, intervention and my recommendation to the superintendent. To help improve communication within the community about the school, student, teachers and administrate staffs.

Chaplain (2010) discusses how a multilevel nature of behaviour management, which extends from each child as a unique individual to the whole school ethos, can create effective learning. This coincides with clear expectations for behaviour in order to allow learning to happen.

by Karen Dorgan — 2004 This qualitative research project studied the efforts of a small public elementary school over the course of 1 academic year to meet higher standards imposed by the state. The state's department of education defined school success in terms of the percentage of students passing a set of multiple-choice, standardized tests in four core areas of the curriculum. The study looked particularly at strategies the school applied in an attempt to raise students' mathematics test scores. Interviews, classroom observations, and document analysis were used to analyze the effects of new