Again and again, this writer has pointed to the public school classroom as that place at which the most change can be affected in the short term. There are three steps that we can take, as a state, to bring strong reform to the public school system.
1. Educate the whole student.
Educating the whole student means an overwhelming show of support for their needs at every part of the day. We must provide, when they are tired and hungry, a fresh meal and a calming rest. And when they’ve recharged, the material must be engaging and relevant if their interest is to be genuine. If their interest is not genuine, neither is their attention. In educating the whole student, we address the full spectrum of needs of every student. The hungry ones don’t miss a meal. The mistreated find comfort. The lonely find community. With their needs met, their focus, retention, and enthusiasm increase exponentially.
A note on the responsibility of the instructor to present the material in a manner that is engaging and relevant to the student: they deserve an engaging portrayal of the material. Let’s not forget that our students pledge, mostly without question, a significant portion of their lives to classroom efforts. Their time, individually, is worth as much as that of their instructor. It is right to praise them both.
2. Bring the family in to the school.
Parenting classes offer families a unique opportunity to meet other people from the community, share struggles, and learn from another. Holding these classes on campus guarantees a level of accountability for both parents and students that is hard to achieve without the family’s presence at the school.
Educational family dinners encourage more families to participate in dialogue with school staff, lengthen the attention span of participants, and provide a nutritious meal that sets an example for young, impressionable families.
Increased health services on campus make up for a great shortfall of these services in the community. Currently, most schools offer a nurse and one or two counselors to address the needs of hundreds of students. We should have a full-service medical clinic in every school. The ratio of counselors to students should be drastically smaller, so that every student has a consistent relationship with a figure that can provide much needed support and guidance.
3. Bring the community in to the school.
Hire a force of artists to teach classes in an extended, integrated school day. This fills a gaping hole in arts-education, provides an outlet that has been proven to reduce negative behaviors and increase student academic performance and retention levels.
Organize mentors and student volunteers to provide more interaction, guidance, consistency. Embracing these world-changing individuals would be a huge step forward for the public school system. Adversely, the ratio of adults to students would shrink, and community organizations could invest more resources in the schools, spending less on rent by housing their operations on-campus. By providing grants to nonprofit organizations that serve students and families, we encourage an environment that addresses so much more than simple academic measures of success.
We must embrace the school as the front line in a great battle for the future of our state. By following these three guidelines, educators and families can make great strides toward a brighter future for Texas’ students.
Hublius
1. Educate the whole student.
Educating the whole student means an overwhelming show of support for their needs at every part of the day. We must provide, when they are tired and hungry, a fresh meal and a calming rest. And when they’ve recharged, the material must be engaging and relevant if their interest is to be genuine. If their interest is not genuine, neither is their attention. In educating the whole student, we address the full spectrum of needs of every student. The hungry ones don’t miss a meal. The mistreated find comfort. The lonely find community. With their needs met, their focus, retention, and enthusiasm increase exponentially.
A note on the responsibility of the instructor to present the material in a manner that is engaging and relevant to the student: they deserve an engaging portrayal of the material. Let’s not forget that our students pledge, mostly without question, a significant portion of their lives to classroom efforts. Their time, individually, is worth as much as that of their instructor. It is right to praise them both.
2. Bring the family in to the school.
Parenting classes offer families a unique opportunity to meet other people from the community, share struggles, and learn from another. Holding these classes on campus guarantees a level of accountability for both parents and students that is hard to achieve without the family’s presence at the school.
Educational family dinners encourage more families to participate in dialogue with school staff, lengthen the attention span of participants, and provide a nutritious meal that sets an example for young, impressionable families.
Increased health services on campus make up for a great shortfall of these services in the community. Currently, most schools offer a nurse and one or two counselors to address the needs of hundreds of students. We should have a full-service medical clinic in every school. The ratio of counselors to students should be drastically smaller, so that every student has a consistent relationship with a figure that can provide much needed support and guidance.
3. Bring the community in to the school.
Hire a force of artists to teach classes in an extended, integrated school day. This fills a gaping hole in arts-education, provides an outlet that has been proven to reduce negative behaviors and increase student academic performance and retention levels.
Organize mentors and student volunteers to provide more interaction, guidance, consistency. Embracing these world-changing individuals would be a huge step forward for the public school system. Adversely, the ratio of adults to students would shrink, and community organizations could invest more resources in the schools, spending less on rent by housing their operations on-campus. By providing grants to nonprofit organizations that serve students and families, we encourage an environment that addresses so much more than simple academic measures of success.
We must embrace the school as the front line in a great battle for the future of our state. By following these three guidelines, educators and families can make great strides toward a brighter future for Texas’ students.
Hublius
I read an article from a colleague of mine that emphasized how much a child’s family needs to be involved in their academic career. Before even describing what was discussed, I feel compelled to state that I agree with 99% of what was argued. My colleague discusses the major points of what we as a state (and we should even do this at the national level) need to start doing to improve our youth’s education.
ReplyDeleteI firmly agree with the point that we need to start making education for children more "engaging and relevant" so that the children will focus more and retain more. My colleague’s second argument that we should start to involve parents more in their children’s education is also of paramount importance. The one thing that I'm not sure that I can justify in this argument is adding a full medical clinic to all schools; I'm not sure if as a state we can afford that expense at this time and most of the time, sicknesses at school do not require immediate medical attention. As for the second part of the argument, I do agree that our schools do not have enough counselors to fully give every student the attention and guidance that they need and that we should hire more counselors so we can close the gap in the ratio of counselors to students.
Overall, I believe that my colleague’s editorial was well thought out and presented and that we do need to start making changes to improve our education system; after all, the children are our future...