But Now it's Time to End

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?

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.