Need For Change

A Crisis in American Schools By Laura Ahles

The call for a change in American education What all those parents who are so complacent about the alleged excellence of their local schools need to remember is: It was our best and brightest students that ranked 24 th in global competition. No matter how good you may think your local school is, it still doesn’t stack-up against the rest of the world. – Brennan Kingsland of Set Our Teachers Free

The crisis in American Education Beginning in the mid-1970’s these students have been entering college so badly prepared that they have performed far below potential, often to the point of functional disability . We tend to assume that with their high aptitude for learning, they should be able to fend for themselves. However, the experience of the past fifteen years has proved decisively that they can’t. -Daniel J. Singal, William Smith College

The least experienced teachers, teach the neediest kids! -U.S. News and World Report Imagine if the only doctor on call for your medical emergency is a recently graduated medical student. Are you satisfied with this level of care for your child?

Unprepared for the changing global economy Percentage of public high school-level teachers who reported a major and a certification in their main assignment, by selected main assignments: 2003-04 National Center for Education Statistics 11.1% 16.4% 70.7% 83.6% 81.8% Social Science 8.3% 12.8% 71.7% 87.2% 80.0% Science 12.7% 24.0% 64.5% 76.0% 77.2% Mathematics 9.1% 15.5% 71.1% 84.5% 80.2% English Certified in main assignment No major in main assignment Certified in main assignment Major in main assignment Total Certified Selected main assignment

The crisis stems from the GAP between the nation’s growing need for scientists, engineers, and other technically skilled workers, and it’s production of them. Not Enough Graduates

Major Problem “As the generation educated in the 1950’s and 1960’s prepares to retire, our colleges and universities are not graduating enough scientific and technical talent to step into research laboratories, software and other design centers, refineries, defense installations, science policy offices, manufacturing shop floors and high tech start ups.”

Dropping out of School “With up to 75% of students dropping out in some of our large, urban areas, that converts to 3 out of 4 students with no diploma and no skills. Even worse, if that is possible, far to many students who do graduate, cannot read or compute math adequately.” -Brennan Kingsland, author on Education Reform

Technology “ Children today know how to text message, play games and carry on internet and cell phone conversations simultaneously. Then we wonder why they are bored in class.” -Brennan Kingsland, Author on Education Reform

We cannot fix American education alone in our one classroom.

We need to work together to solve our problems! It Takes Teamwork!

How can we be on the same page with 50 different education systems?

We’ve taken on too many of the world’s problems in our schools: Nutrition Ed. Health Ed. Immunization Vocational Ed. Practical Arts Physical Ed. School Lunch

Still going… Consumer Ed. Career Peace Leisure Recreation education Special Ed. Drug/alcohol Awareness Parenting Ed. Character Ed. School breakfast Keyboarding and computers Global education Ethnic education Multicultural education ESL Bilingual Early Childhood Full Day kindergarten Pre-school After school Stranger Danger D.A.R.E. Sexual Abuse prevention

Is there anything we’ve left out? HIV/AIDS education Death education Gang education School violence prevention Divorced parent groups Student gay rights groups Terrorist prevention Obesity prevention Sexual predator awareness Internet crime prevention

We added too many programs onto our teacher’s plates…

Without adding one single day to the school year!

How can we compete with less practice? National Center for Education Statistics 193 International Average 180 USA 188 Canada 190 England 195 Russia 210 Italy 207 Switzerland 215 Israel 222 Taiwan 223 Japan 225 Korea 251 China Days of School Country

Superintendents in schools are being asked to show a DVD called InsideOut to students and teachers. It is meant to motivate our kids to stay in school and avoid a life behind bars. InsideOut is a documentary with prison inmates telling their personal stories of regret for not pursuing an education and graduating. Is this what it has come to?

There are huge populations out there who are motivated beyond your imagination. That’s what you’re going to contend with. They didn’t grow up with what you had, but they want it. And you can’t believe how much studying goes on in those families. -David Calhoun Vice Chairman General Electric The difference between “them” and “us”

Lack of interest in science “ The lack of a sufficient number of graduates isn’t the fault of the institutions themselves. Clearly there is a monumental lack of interest in science and technology among our nation’s youth. Virtually all of them have PC’s, cell phones, music players, TVs, video games and other gadgets. They love to use them, but they have no interest in designing them. The big question is why?” -Junior Technical Engineering Society

Not enough Engineers U.S. inability to produce a sufficient number of scientists and engineers who are needed to support future growth. Increased use of foreign nationals to staff our high-tech companies.

Jobs are going over seas American enrollments in science programs and graduation rates both are cyclical. Currently, enrollments and the number of science degrees awarded are flat. - www.aaes.org

“ We need to address this critical shortage of homegrown high-skilled talent. America can certainly compete. But to do this, America needs to recognize that future innovation is not pre-determined to occur in the United States.” -AeA President, William Archey No Free Lunch

This is not only about the future of the U.S. tech industry, but about our children’s future. It is their jobs, their prosperity and their standard of living that are at stake.” -AeA President William Archey www.aeanet.org It’s not just a game

What Employers Want Highly skilled technology savvy workers Creative, imaginative thinkers Problem-solving ability Initiative to find creative solutions to global problems

The Cost to Fix American Education According to the report called Diploma to Nowhere, remediation in public institutions costs roughly $2.5 billion every year to provide students with the content and skills that high schools failed to provide them. - Diploma to Nowhere

High School Diploma = A Joke The report also delves into what it calls “the hoax being played on America”: The public believes a high school diploma means a student is ready for college-level academics. Parents believe it—and so do students—but more than one million students continue to fail placement exams every year. -Diploma to Nowhere

Million Dollar Mistake Research tells us that students who drop out of school make a “million dollar mistake”—the difference in a lifetime of earnings between the average high school dropout and a bachelor’s degree recipient. - Marguerite Kondracke, President and CEO of America’s Promise Alliance

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