School Reform

                As society changes, our schools must evolve to be current and relevant for students to be successful.  School reform is not a new idea; many theorists have changed educational goals, purposes and the overall meaning of schools.  It only takes one person to change an idea or policy.  In the landmark case Murray v. Curlett, Madalyn O’hair’s voice was heard and prayer was taken out of schools.

                Education is continuing to evolve, but whose voices will be considered for school reform?  State and federal-level politicians have the biggest impact on educational change because they set the standards of education.  In the local school district, board members and administration dictate how the school should reform, but where should the information come from?

                With the change is society moving so quickly, many educators and politicians are unaware of the reality of student life because they have been removed from the situation.   If a superintendent has been out of the classroom for 15 years, do they truly know or remember the challenges teachers and students face?  That is why I believe that students, teachers and community members need to make their voices heard to board members, superintendents, and politicians.  Since the school and government is making decisions that reforms schools, stakeholders need to be active to express their concerns, views, and ideas.  Stakeholders need to speak up when they see something that is not right.  Just a few months ago, my son’s school had an issue that very few people knew about but I felt that it was unethical.  I voiced my concerns to the superintendent and the next day changes were made to fix this oversight.  One person can make a difference. 

                In the David School (a rural charter school with at risk kids), parents, students, teachers and Principal Mitzi all meet together to discuss plans, goals, or problems like drug abuse.  The principal goes to the students’ home to discuss changes that need to be made.  She also asks for input of students to help make decisions.  At the David School, everyone’s voice is being heard and reform is occurring because of one or two people’s opinion.

Gender Bias

                When I first meet a student, I try no too, but deep down I have already made a judgment about them or the class as a whole.  Then, a couple of weeks into school year, I have to change my preconceived notations about the student.  I usually think that my girl students are going to be smarter than my boy students because the girls talk in class, express their thinking patterns, and visibly show interest in the class.  Boys, on the other hand, are quieter in class discussions, sleep in class and do less homework assignments.  Girls might put forth more effort in my Algebra 2 class, but the boys outscore the girls on the test.  My boys might be able to outperform the my girls, but I find myself catering to the females because they are more willing to ask questions, come to tutorials, complete assignments and have positive attitudes.

                After looking at the data from all three journal Gender Roles: A Matter of Nature or Nurture, Men’s Issues: A Myth that Schools Shortchange Girls and The Silent Gender Gap, I feel that gender bias has been over dramatized.  All three articles point out that females have increased in academics and are passing males, but the margin is very slim.  When looking at the data, the difference between male and females are just a few points different in the females’ favor.  Over the past decades, there has been a push for females to be competitive with males and now that they have just edged the males in academics there is sudden panic. 

                Boys and girls think differently and have different expectations.  In the County Boys episodes, there are more males attending The David School than females.  The David School does not push the boys as hard.  They let the boys create a newspaper or start a choir, but the teachers do not force the male students to do extracurricular activities.  The school system has changed in teaching styles, which favor females over males.  Best practices teach that students retain more when they write down what they learned after being taught a lesson.    This is a great practice, but it is like pulling teeth for my male students to summarize a concept, but females do not have as many issues writing a summary.  In my math class, I require every student to show their work for each problem.  My male students tell me all the time, that they can do the work in their head.  I have never had a female student complain that she wanted to do all the work in her head and just give an answer.  Boys and girls think differently, but we cater more to girls thinking patterns than boys.

Rita

The David School is in a rural poor area of Kentucky.  This school faces many challenges because this is the last chance for many students to get an education.  Most students do not see any future for themselves due to the high poverty rate and lack of jobs and opportunities.  The David School struggles with finances and finding ways to motivate students to be successful.

The Wilson Middle School is in a metropolitan area with about 1200 students and is strong in art, drama, and music.  The issues with the Wilson are the low test scores and the diverse ethnic and economic groups are not properly represented in the artistic programs.

Rita Martinelli is the new principle at Wilson Middle School with a desire to get the school back on track academically and wants to integrate students of all diversities into all programs.  Rita under stands that students under achieve because they are not pushed to higher standards.  I feel that Rita would make a strong impact on the David School as well.  Rita has a background of working students in poverty and diverse ethnic backgrounds.  She also knows the importance of capturing the student’s attention and pushing them in directions they will be successful. 

I feel that Rita would work with the teachers at the David School to think outside of the box when presenting new topics.  These students would do much better with hands on topics because they are in small groups and this helps them control their learning.  Many of the David School students have placed walls and barriers around themselves because they don’t want to be hurt or let down.  These students need to see how each lesson will affect them in the future.

Rita would also work with each student to find what motivates or interest them.  She would find projects or assignments that they could research and show as an accomplishment.  I feel that Rita would create more job related activities that would help these students be successful in the real world.  While the Wilson and David Schools are different in size, they both have similar problems.  I feel that Rita would be successful at both schools because of her passion to help economically deprived students to be successful.