Over the course of this blog I wrote a lot about why public schools need to be up to par with the other schools surrounding them. We have learned that education holds a direct connection with health, so much so that it even has differences in the types of air that is breathed. However, we have yet to cover exactly what it is that we can do about it to make it better, which is exactly what will be discussed today.
An article by published by the Huffington Post explores some methods of attaining a better education for those living in low income areas that attend public schools that aren't exactly the best. One of the first things listed was in reference to what time of day students should be starting school which is backed by an article published by the Atlantic. There have been studies done which proves that the academic performance of teenagers improves if they start their day slightly later. The reason for that is because most students at that age range do not get the recommended 8.5 to 9 hours of sleep, the hours are longer for adolescents because their body is doing a lot of work in regards to puberty etc.
In the article written by Emily Richmond it is stated, "Researchers analyzed data from more than 9,000 students at eight high schools in Minnesota, Colorado, and Wyoming and found that shifting the school day later in the morning resulted in a boost in attendance, test scores, and grades in math, English, science, and social studies. Schools also saw a decrease in tardiness, substance abuse, and symptoms of depression. Some even had a dramatic drop in teen car crashes."; whose research was provided by the University of Minnesota’s Center for Applied Research and Educational Improvement.
Another way of improving some of the schools, is by teaching children at their pace. Unfortunately, we live in a society where test control your future. However, if you never actually have the time to sit down and learn the material then you are bound to fail anyway. This method is also not impossible, especial not now that we live in an age of technology. If taught with a lesson online and then reiterated by a teacher in class the students would be able to be more successful. The student would be able to attain the information being taught instead of having knowledge thrown at them from every direction making it impossible to grasp. There was an article posted in August of 2015 which went on to explain how children learning at their own pace are more successful than those who are in a class being taught at instead of being taught to. The article is entitled "What Happens When Students Work at Their Own Pace" and it provides proof based on the few schools that has begun to use this technique.
Here's a video providing background on a rural area that implemented the policy of allowing the chance to learn at their own pace with the help of technology.
The last solution which I will be providing today is an option that would seem counter intuitive, getting rid of homework. In an article provided by Independent, an United Kingdom paper, there was research that disclosed some of the effects of homework that we might not have noticed otherwise.
It is stated, "Professor Susan Hallam, of the Institute of Education, University of London, investigated all studies on homework for the past 75 years and came to a conclusion that homework accounts for less than 4 per cent of the differences in teen students' scores. Professor Hallam found that while homework can enhance examination results (a tiny bit), its impact is relatively small compared with students' prior knowledge in a particular subject.
Professor Hallam also points out that homework can lead to family friction, especially when families are pressuring children to succeed. Children or teenagers can be badly mentally affected by extreme pressure put on them, which adults are sometimes unaware of and is counterproductive as well as horrible for the student."
All three of these solutions on how to improve public schools are options. However, it is important to note that a changes needed. Share your thoughts, do you have any suggestions on what schools should do to be better?
Friday, April 15, 2016
Friday, April 1, 2016
A Cycle You Weren't Aware of
As you are well aware education is a matter that is linked immensely with success; though the presumption of that success only being financially related may actually be inaccurate. There are a few articles that I have reviewed that overlook the ties between health and education. Those with higher incomes typically live longer and healthier lives than those that are less educated and this is a matter that expands for the generations to come.
In an article written by the National Poverty Center explains the way that they were able create a correlation between education in health stating, "First, Cutler and Lleras- Muney examine individuals’ mortality rates. By matching respondents with death certificates obtained through the National Death Index, they find that individuals with higher levels of education are less likely to die within five years of the interview. An additional four years of education lowers five year mortality by 1.8 percentage points (relative to a base of 11 percent)."
Below you will find an info graph that provides a visual to what is meant when the statement, higher education leads to a healthier life.
Photo Accredited to Robert Wood Johnson Foundation
The reason that the health of those with low income is so important is because it is one of the factors that create a dwindling slope. According to Eric Jensen, when a student is ill he or she may not attend school in an attempt to get better and with certain ailments such as hearing loss or asthma, there is an affect on attention, reasoning, learning, and memory. All of which lead to a greater issue in the future. Unfortunately, for most people that are facing these ailments, they do not have access to the resources that are around in order to find a cure or help better treat heir ailments so that they can continue to move forward within life.
It is also important to note the way that diet has an effect on health as well. Unfortunately, we live in a world where a burger is a dollar and a salad is about ten. When people are in poverty they have to choose between missing nutrients and having enough food for the entire family. What happens in this scenario is that the nutrients will just have to be missed and deal with the consequences. That means having a diet that is high in sugar, salt or glucose, all of which has a serious impact on a child's behavior in school as it can either make it seem like the student is disinterested or hyper-active depending on the types of food that the child is eating.
In the article written by Cutler and Lleras- Muney there is a paragraph that runs off the statistics in the way that the correlation between education and health is understood based off of their research. It is stated that, "better educated individuals are less likely to self-report a past diagnosis of an acute or chronic disease, less likely to die from the most common acute and chronic diseases, and are less likely to report anxiety or depression. The magnitude of the relationship between education and health varies across conditions, but it is generally large. More education reduces the risk of heart disease by 2.2 percentage points (relative to a base of 31 percent) and the risk of diabetes by 1.3 percentage points (relative to a base of 7 percent). An additional four more years of schooling lowers the probability of reporting being in fair or poor health by 6 percentage points (the mean is 12 percent), and reduces lost days of work to sickness by 2.3 days each year (relative to 5.2 on average)."
It is clear that there is a correlation between health and education based off of the previous information mentioned. However, one can also assume that the reason for education having such strong ties with health falls back into the fact that those that are in poverty typically cannot afford healthcare, or the time it takes to attend school. It is a never ending cycle that has to come to an end; take note that no matter what area of the cycle you start at education is always the key to breaking the cycle.
Below you will find an info graph that provides a visual to what is meant when the statement, higher education leads to a healthier life.
Photo Accredited to Robert Wood Johnson FoundationThe reason that the health of those with low income is so important is because it is one of the factors that create a dwindling slope. According to Eric Jensen, when a student is ill he or she may not attend school in an attempt to get better and with certain ailments such as hearing loss or asthma, there is an affect on attention, reasoning, learning, and memory. All of which lead to a greater issue in the future. Unfortunately, for most people that are facing these ailments, they do not have access to the resources that are around in order to find a cure or help better treat heir ailments so that they can continue to move forward within life.
It is also important to note the way that diet has an effect on health as well. Unfortunately, we live in a world where a burger is a dollar and a salad is about ten. When people are in poverty they have to choose between missing nutrients and having enough food for the entire family. What happens in this scenario is that the nutrients will just have to be missed and deal with the consequences. That means having a diet that is high in sugar, salt or glucose, all of which has a serious impact on a child's behavior in school as it can either make it seem like the student is disinterested or hyper-active depending on the types of food that the child is eating.
In the article written by Cutler and Lleras- Muney there is a paragraph that runs off the statistics in the way that the correlation between education and health is understood based off of their research. It is stated that, "better educated individuals are less likely to self-report a past diagnosis of an acute or chronic disease, less likely to die from the most common acute and chronic diseases, and are less likely to report anxiety or depression. The magnitude of the relationship between education and health varies across conditions, but it is generally large. More education reduces the risk of heart disease by 2.2 percentage points (relative to a base of 31 percent) and the risk of diabetes by 1.3 percentage points (relative to a base of 7 percent). An additional four more years of schooling lowers the probability of reporting being in fair or poor health by 6 percentage points (the mean is 12 percent), and reduces lost days of work to sickness by 2.3 days each year (relative to 5.2 on average)."
It is clear that there is a correlation between health and education based off of the previous information mentioned. However, one can also assume that the reason for education having such strong ties with health falls back into the fact that those that are in poverty typically cannot afford healthcare, or the time it takes to attend school. It is a never ending cycle that has to come to an end; take note that no matter what area of the cycle you start at education is always the key to breaking the cycle.
Thursday, March 17, 2016
Affirmative Action... Does it really work?
In terms of college diversity a lot of people look around for the reason why it isn't so diverse. The most common discussion that is brought up in it's regard is affirmative action. But what is affirmative action really doing, does it help with diversity?
As defined by merriam-webster affirmative action is the practice of improving the educational and job opportunities of members of groups that have not been treated fairly in the past because of their race, sex, etc.
There was actually a recent case brought up that began in 2008 by Abigail Fisher and is actually still continuing on. For those of you who are unaware, Abigail is a caucasian woman who blames her her inability to be accepted in to the the University of Texas on her race and claims that if she were black that should would be accepted into the school of her choice. An article by the Huffington Post was published January of 2016, goes to make a point of how Abigail's anger may be displaced. The article states that "Affirmative action, when it was introduced by President John F. Kennedy in 1961, originally required entities that receive federal funding to take tangible steps “to ensure that applicants are employed, and that employees are treated during employment, without regard to their race, creed, color, or national origin.” In 1967, Lyndon Johnson added sex to that list."
The reason that this case is being brought up today is because affirmative action is not an act that is specifically for people of color and therefore does not help through the means of providing better chances to be able to reach the step in which affirmative action may help those who have lesser access to high quality education. That is the reason why a few states have decided to use a new policy called the top1 0 percent rule. In another article that was posted by the Huffington Post, the top ten percent rule, is described as allowing the top 10 percent of the graduating classes of public high schools to be automatically admitted to the state public universities. CBS news even mentions that the policy has been working extremely well.
It would seem that this method would be helpful to many students however there are many disputes on weather this policy is fair or not. According to CBS news the main reason why Texas, the originator of this policy, decided to come up with this policy is because they wanted more African Americans and Hispanics within their schools. However, the were denied being able to allow people in simply because of the color of their skin, so as to avoid cases such as the one that Abigail,who was mention earlier, is taking part of now. The state of Texas decided to respond by accepting the top 10 percent of every public school because of how extremely segregated a lot of the high school's in Texas are. This provided an opportunity for those who previously believed that they would never be accepted into a good college to be able to do so.
But for every good thing there is a consequence, and one of the biggest issue that are being reported is the fact the the students who could be accepted anywhere are taking away opportunities from students who were not at the top of their class.CBS news even has reports of people switching their children to less competitive schools so that they can graduate in the top 10 percent guaranteed,
The importance of this 10 percent rule is directly proportional to Abigail who blames affirmative action for her reason as to not being accepted to the college of her choice. However, the top 10 percent rule was also available to her as well. It is unfortunate, that neither of these policies worked for her but it is important to not all of the opportunities that these policies create in helping to make America a place where everyone can have a fair opportunity. Even the national center for educational statistics state that there are quite a few of the gaps between race and education that are being narrowed. What this means for our nation is an opportunity of having a true democracy as well as a chance to eradicate some of the damage that was done to people within the minority, race, sex, sexual orientation etc.
As defined by merriam-webster affirmative action is the practice of improving the educational and job opportunities of members of groups that have not been treated fairly in the past because of their race, sex, etc.
There was actually a recent case brought up that began in 2008 by Abigail Fisher and is actually still continuing on. For those of you who are unaware, Abigail is a caucasian woman who blames her her inability to be accepted in to the the University of Texas on her race and claims that if she were black that should would be accepted into the school of her choice. An article by the Huffington Post was published January of 2016, goes to make a point of how Abigail's anger may be displaced. The article states that "Affirmative action, when it was introduced by President John F. Kennedy in 1961, originally required entities that receive federal funding to take tangible steps “to ensure that applicants are employed, and that employees are treated during employment, without regard to their race, creed, color, or national origin.” In 1967, Lyndon Johnson added sex to that list."
The reason that this case is being brought up today is because affirmative action is not an act that is specifically for people of color and therefore does not help through the means of providing better chances to be able to reach the step in which affirmative action may help those who have lesser access to high quality education. That is the reason why a few states have decided to use a new policy called the top1 0 percent rule. In another article that was posted by the Huffington Post, the top ten percent rule, is described as allowing the top 10 percent of the graduating classes of public high schools to be automatically admitted to the state public universities. CBS news even mentions that the policy has been working extremely well.
It would seem that this method would be helpful to many students however there are many disputes on weather this policy is fair or not. According to CBS news the main reason why Texas, the originator of this policy, decided to come up with this policy is because they wanted more African Americans and Hispanics within their schools. However, the were denied being able to allow people in simply because of the color of their skin, so as to avoid cases such as the one that Abigail,who was mention earlier, is taking part of now. The state of Texas decided to respond by accepting the top 10 percent of every public school because of how extremely segregated a lot of the high school's in Texas are. This provided an opportunity for those who previously believed that they would never be accepted into a good college to be able to do so.
But for every good thing there is a consequence, and one of the biggest issue that are being reported is the fact the the students who could be accepted anywhere are taking away opportunities from students who were not at the top of their class.CBS news even has reports of people switching their children to less competitive schools so that they can graduate in the top 10 percent guaranteed,
The importance of this 10 percent rule is directly proportional to Abigail who blames affirmative action for her reason as to not being accepted to the college of her choice. However, the top 10 percent rule was also available to her as well. It is unfortunate, that neither of these policies worked for her but it is important to not all of the opportunities that these policies create in helping to make America a place where everyone can have a fair opportunity. Even the national center for educational statistics state that there are quite a few of the gaps between race and education that are being narrowed. What this means for our nation is an opportunity of having a true democracy as well as a chance to eradicate some of the damage that was done to people within the minority, race, sex, sexual orientation etc.
Thursday, February 18, 2016
Gentrification Please? Hold on the Public Education Though...
The area that you live in holds a great portion of power in regards to the type of education that you will receive. Be it in an urban city, suburban town, or a rural area. It even occurs in cases where gentrification is found.
Gentrification is the buying and renovation of houses and stores in deteriorated urban neighborhoods by upper- or middle-income families or individuals, thus improving property values but often displacing low-income families and small businesses.
Gentrification is the buying and renovation of houses and stores in deteriorated urban neighborhoods by upper- or middle-income families or individuals, thus improving property values but often displacing low-income families and small businesses.
On paper this idea seems like a good thing as it helps to make areas that are poor develop. According to the Atlantic there is even a difference in government spending toward that area. There are more resources that are placed into area where the people with higher income live.
Spike Lee even ranted about gentrification and his personal experience with it.
Disclaimer: Intended for a Mature Audience
However, the resources that the government places into these communities do not reach the public school systems that are already in place. In fact, gentrification does more harm than good for the public school system. The reason for that lies in the fact the government can trust the upper- or middle-income families to send their children to private school or charter school.
In doing this, it sets the public schools that are available even further behind. In some cases, it hurts the public school system so much that schools are forced to shut down.
Thus creating a world where racial and socioeconomic discrimination is apparent. This is an issue that has gotten to the point in which some places have begun to file lawsuits against the city's that support these forms of discrimination.
The reason why these cases are being filed is because the government was always in position to help out the urban community. But, in most cases the city chooses not to help until there are citizens living in the areas that are of higher class.
However, this issue leads to even more issues, such as wage gaps which develop due the gap within education. Unfortunately, when matters such as this arise it creates living gaps as well. When looked at in a closer range we can see that the gap that is created effects the environments that people are able to live in. In some instances it holds an effect over the air that some people have to breathe in!
But what can we do about this problem?
From my research, I have come to realize that this is an issue that is hard to find a solution to. For instance if the government gets involved in the beginning, when the city is still in poverty, then we face the issue of the city becoming too dependent on the government. However, if we continue to not do anything then there will be a continuous decrease in the way that some people are living.
It is unfortunate because we live in a time where the price of living continues to go up and the means of attaining a living is becoming increasingly more difficult.
Evenstill, I continue to believe that the only way to fix this issue is by correcting the school systems that are located throughout America. It is completely unfair that money holds such a great weight on education. One would expect that education would be the one place where money doesn't hold prestige. But, it does.
"On average, aggregate measures of per-pupil spending are positively associated with improved or higher student outcomes. The size of this effect is larger in some studies than in others, and, in some cases, additional funding appears to matter more for some students than for others."
How do we remove the power of money from the essence of education?
That is a question which I am still pondering on, but I would be pleased to hear your suggestions as to the way that we should handle the issues of money in education or in regards to gentrification.
How do we remove the power of money from the essence of education?
That is a question which I am still pondering on, but I would be pleased to hear your suggestions as to the way that we should handle the issues of money in education or in regards to gentrification.
Thursday, February 4, 2016
A Personal Connection
In America there is a great deal of talk in regards to equality. American's often list it as one of the key values in life. Yet, equality is not always something that is attributed to all of the American people.
I will be speaking specifically about the inequality that is in education systems and the way that it effects children when they grow into adults. This is an issue because in an outstanding nation such as America, the only way to truly grasp equality is through education. However, the quality of education that is performed thought our nation is not equal. Thus setting great gaps between the opportunities that are available, based on class and race.
I have come to realize through a great deal of research that where one lives has a large effect on the quality of education that they will receive. Many of those that live in areas where a majority of the neighbors have a higher income, also have access to better public school systems.
On the opposite end of the spectrum there are those that live in poverty and the only access to a good education is through private school or using someone else's address to send their children to a school that is in a better area.
If we were to look at this as a math problem we could simplify it by saying that better areas, have education systems with a greater quality. This is important to note because of matters such as gentrification that makes situations like this relevant. It also explains the reason that some people just cannot receive the help that they need.
Think back to when you were a child. Remember those times where you were forced to go to school. What were your parents reason behind sending you to school? For most people that answer is so that they could graduate and proceed either to college or get a job.
However, the issue with this need to go to school, to be successful is useless if the school that you attend cannot provide the resources needed to be successful in life. My first experience of this issue occurred whilst I was in grade school, and no more than seven years old. My elementary school was in the process of becoming a magnet school, and they attempted to kick me out.
My mother fought for me to stay in the school that I was in because it was one of the best schools in the school district. She believed that the school was attempting to eliminate all of those that they felt weren't worth their good standing education.
I then had another experience during my freshman year of high school. Budget cuts. The first thing that was offered to be taken away were the school buses and new textbooks.
Never mind that the school bus was the only way for most people to get to school because of the distance from their home to their school. I am certain that this may baffle some of you, but it is also a reality for others. Also take note that new textbooks were another thing that were cut, even though most of the textbooks that we were using were at least a decade or so.
This all refers back to the quality of education. There is no equality if we cannot find a way for everyone to have access to the same resources. There is no equality if the first thing that is taken away from them is their only hope of success. There is no equality if we do not find a way to help better the standards of education in low-income neighborhoods. But how do we do that?
Often times when asked for a solution in regards to education many say that the answer is in the hands of the student. Unfortunately, that is not where anyone can begin to find a solution to this issue because it is something that starts before the students are even involved, hopefully as we continue our journey we will find a way to fix this issue.
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