My Boarding School Blog

The quality of education today is far improved and centralized than it was centuries ago. The method of teaching back then was just instructional with little or no student participation at all. The primary aim of education at the early times is to just give information to students. There were no opportunities for self learning, exploration, analytical thinking or problem solving. It is all concentrated on knowing the facts.

Government institutions have structured education reforms to uplift the face of education to the people. Programs have been implemented to make education free for all and available to all society classes. Bringing a positive change in education is deemed very idealistic though it is not impossible. With education reform there are many aspects that need to be considered like assessment, technology and curriculum.

Here are just some of the issues that various education reforms are trying to address.

• Class Sizes – this refers to the student teacher ratio in a class. A low student ration is considered by some to be very effective in student learning. With a smaller class size the teacher will be able to concentrate on a handful of students and will further determine their areas of strengths and weaknesses which she can utilize to help them improve in their academic performance. For developed countries like the US in which their Department of Education is allocated with high funding for education can employ many teachers to keep a low student teacher ratio but unfortunately for most states this is not always the case. Funding may be insufficient or there are no teachers available in their area. Big classes is not advisable for optimum child development as not all have the same learning ability and for those who are lagging behind, the teacher cannot slow down for them to accommodate their learning speed and information uptake thus producing poorly educated students.
• Quality of teaching – this is an ongoing issue for most educational institutions as there are fewer teacher who are qualified to teach students nowadays. Let’s face it being a teacher, with its low income and huge amount of workload it is not the most popular career choice. Teach for America (TFA), a non profit organization in the U.S. recruits new college graduates to teach for two years in low income communities in America. The goal is to help out and make an impact to the students in pursuing their education. Members are given a five week summer training to prepare them for the commitment. Criticisms towards the TFA program have been raised many times. A USA Today 2009 article stated that the program replaces experienced teachers with new inexperienced ones who have not developed teaching effectiveness yet to save on costs for tenured teachers. Some schools are rumored to lay off experienced teachers and employ new TFA teachers with beginner’s salary. The hope of receiving quality education for these low communities is now taken away from them.
• Curriculum standards – standardization of school curriculum is proposed but has never been implemented as schools choose to have their own structured curriculum based on their resources and facilities which is a sound argument. The government in turn wants to implement a standardized way of evaluating student performance through standardized tests like what the No Child Left Behind Act is trying to carry out.

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Learning is a dynamic process that does not always take place in a four walled classroom. Most educators say that learning is best achieved from experiences and interactions with people outside of school. Traditional learning tools in classrooms are sometimes perceived as boring and monotonous for students. They need an edgy, refreshing and a new way of learning that can enhance their creativity and cultivate the hunger for knowledge. Educators need to create a richer source where students will engage into and start learning.

At Ashmount Primary School in North London, student log on to the Internet and start their Math classes in different way than most traditional schools do. They learn math from their math professors all across the globe in India. Ashmount School is one of the few state schools in Europe that outsources teachers from other countries, mainly in India, through the BrightSpark Education.

BrightSpark Education trains professors in India to teach Math to their students online. They offer quality teaching as the London based company is the one who trains these Indian professors to teach online. The advantage of learning online is that the kid feels confident and in control of how he learns when he do it online. Studies have shown that students who utilize online learning in math develop twice the rate in national tests.

BrightSpark math teachers follow standard lesson plans but they are free to use their own structured teaching style online. Students are more enthusiastic in learning online because it gives them the feeling of exclusive teacher and student learning session that builds trust and fosters open communication which can facilitate effective learning.

But not all agrees to the benefits of online teaching as some believes that outsourcing online teachers is a risky step since they cannot empathize well with the student because of cultural difference and communication barrier with the use of just a headphone and a webcam. For some teachers they just feel threatened that they may lose their jobs to foreign teachers who teach online with a lower salary.

Parents are taking it in a more positive way especially towards online tutoring for their kids. It gives them the option to supplement what their kids learn in school and they can choose among different tutors online based on their qualifications and price per hour. Everything is recorded and documented so parents can review the effectiveness of an online teacher’s style. It will also give their child a peek into the window of the world exposing them to different cultures and values of other nations without leaving home.

Online teaching has its advantages and disadvantages but by trying it out both parents and students can experience the opportunity to see whether it will work for them or not. Whichever way it goes, it is still an opportunity that a student will definitely enjoy.

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Parents are growing fearful of sending their children in school because of the gun shootings and violence reported in news that happens in school grounds. Parents are torn between wanting to keep their children safe and giving them the opportunity to study. Parents shouldn’t feel this way. Schools are children’s second home mainly because they spend most of their day in the four corners of the classroom, in hallways, locker rooms, gym and school grounds. It can be regarded as their second home.

Contrary to what is perceived by many people, violence in schools has steadily dropped in the last 10 years. According to the US Department of Education’s National Center for Education Statistics (NCES) the annual rate of violent crimes in 2007 was less than half of the rate in 1994 (40 per 1,000). The graph below shows the declining trend of school violence from 1994 up to 2007.

Source: U.S. Department of Justice, Bureau of Justice Statistics, National Crime Victimization Survey (NCVS), 2007. Cited in Figure 2.2 in Indicators of School Crime and Safety: 2007; National Center for Education Statistics, U.S. Department of Education

School is an important part of an individual for this is where he develops skills, acquire knowledge and learn to make lasting relationship with friends, mentors and colleagues. Every year approximately 50 million students go to school both in elementary and high school. Imagine if one in eight students carries a gun in school; it would be enough to wage a war.

Everyone must act to make our schools safe. Teachers, students and parents should help each other to be vigilant in reporting crimes and violence happening unnoticed. According to NCES survey 84% of public school has a low security system in place and 3% with no security at all. This is characterized by insufficient school guards and metal weapon detectors. Security guards should wear their badge at all times and implement strict rules on preventing outsiders from entering the school premises. Schools should initiate violence preventions programs and policies. Information can be found from these organizations: Center for the Study and Prevention of Violence, School Violence | School Bullying | School Safety, and National Crime Prevention Council.

Parents can help in preventing violence in schools by paying attention to changes in personality of their children. Many times children who are experiencing personal problems and those observed to have sudden change in moods and outlook are prone to becoming violent. Talk with your child if you see symptoms of depression, violence towards animals, sudden rage or sudden bouts of anger. Most of the time those children without an emotional outlet to turn to are the ones who succumb to violence.

Teachers are responsible in guiding students when they are in school and should equally be observant of brewing quarrels among peers and classmates. Teachers should watch out for bullying and gang fights in and out of the classroom, usually in school grounds like fields, gyms or hallways. Refer troublesome students for counseling and be prepared for crisis situation.

Students need to participate as well in trying to prevent school violence. Report untoward acts of bullying or peer pressure experienced or witnessed. Control your emotions and learn anger management. Know when to walk away in the presence of violent confrontations.

A safe school can be achieved if all would participate in its prevention. We need to strive hard to maintain a safe learning environment for the children.

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Who would have thought that mobile smart phones can be used as an educational tool? That these electronic gadgets do not only serve as a medium of communication to connect with friends and family but a helpful tool for research as well.

Educational Institutions are using technology to aid in enhancing student academic performance. From the development of the Internet which opened everyone to the information highway to these mobile gadgets you can take with you anywhere you go, the possibilities are endless.

The University of Leeds is giving away iPhones to its 500 medical students to access online text books. Smart phones are used to disseminate information like memos, notices and student schedules. Applications can be downloaded to smart phones anywhere there is a wi-fi internet connection. Useful applications range from Dictionaries, Language-specific dictionaries and medical encyclopedias. It is a vast collection of libraries at your fingertips.

Apple Microsoft leads in the development of mobile applications with their iPhone, iPad and iTouch. Their apps store offers a wide range of useful apps for students. Basically their gadgets offer access to the Internet when connected via wi-fi. Through the Internet you can download apps that can feed updates into your mobile device various information on news, health, entertainment and other stuff. Another feature of these smart phones is their one click access to your social networking sites. Getting connected is useful when you are studying in groups, working on research projects and consulting term papers with your professors.

Email helps students a lot in exchanging information and documents necessary for school. Almost all institutions have websites where online transactions can be made easily and hassle free. Imagine how technology has made the lives of our students easier so that they may focus on their academic courses and subjects all the more.

The University of Leeds has revolutionized its way of teaching and helping their young students embrace technology and learn to live with it making good use of it. The iPhones provided for the medical students should be returned once they graduate and if in case it is has been lost or stolen relative information stored in them can be remotely erased in cases where patient files and cases are stored and should be kept confidential.

Freshmen students at the University of Central Lancashire in Preston make use of the mobile applications to find make their way around campus. As new students they are often lost in between classes and they find themselves having a hard time locating buildings and classrooms. An application that serves as a map of the campus helps them to find their way to their next class in a breeze.

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“Waiting for Superman” is a documentary made by film maker Davis Guggenheim and producer Lesley Chilcott. The film talks about the failure of US American public schools in meeting the standards of education. The film is recognized at the 2010 Sundance Film Festival by receiving the Audience Award for best documentary. The documentary premiered in the US last September 24.

The film is very powerful and moving as it evolves in following the lives of children and parents who hope for a chance to education. It features Black families and Latin American whose income is insufficient to send their children to private schools; they then turn to public schools in the hopes of giving a future for their kids. The aim of the documentary is to provide quality public education for children who cannot afford private schools. The film has inspired Microsoft founder, Bill Gates to promote the documentary. Although Bill Gates received his education in a private school he shares the belief that every American has a right to a quality public education they can use to succeed in life.

When the Bush administration passed the “No Child Left behind Act”, it sparked hope for educators and teachers that the quality of education in the US will see an increase. The “No Child Left behind Act” or NCLB aims to raise the quality of education through standards-based education reform. It believes that by raising high standards and specific goals, academic performance will improve. Some may argue that the goals of NCLB are unrealistic and unachievable. Alabama State Board Member Mary Jane Caylor disputed that the 100 percent proficiency is attainable come 2014.

The NCLB will give funding to states that are able to meet the standard test scores set by each state. The likelihood of states lowering their standards is possible to meet the criteria for the incentives of the NCLB program. Critics say this may cause some states to manipulate their test results or cause teachers to teach the “test”. It will then disregard the true purpose of raising the quality of education through this act.

“Waiting for Superman” is an outcry for legislators and educators to provide quality education in public schools. To face educational reforms head on to dissolve animosity of teacher’s unions in the educational reforms pushed by the government and organizations. The film is emotionally engaging when it showed parents’ frustrations for their children as they go through the lottery system for a better chance of education in a better public school than the one they are currently stuck in.

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