During this week's class, my group discussed the pros and cons of having a locally controlled school district versus a more Federally controlled educational system.
I have to say, I view almost every topic of discussion surrounding education as a parent. I have three elementary school aged girls who I have to say are doing quite well academically. I know this is a strong bias, but I feel like I know what works with them, what makes a good teacher, and a good academic community. One of the most important factors in my childrens' academic success has been parental support, expectations, and involvement in the school. Having said that, while I believe parent involvement and volunteerism in our schools is paramount, I would like to see more Federal controls in place.
By this I mean that I believe every third grader in the US should be studying the same thing. I think a third grader in NM should be learning at the same level, at the relatively same time, as a third grader in Virginia or Florida. If third graders in other states are studying the basic introduction to geometry, so should be our third graders in NM. This would allow for us to truly compare different school districts in the country, and also ensure us that a basic standard of instruction is being provided every where. I guess what I'm saying is I'd like to know that my third grader in NM is doing what is considered third grade curriculum in other parts of the country. I guess what I'm trying to say is that grade level standards need to be more standardized throughout the Nation. Does that make sense?
One disadvantage to this, obviously, is less control at the local level. As I said, I am a very active parent at our local elementary school, and I believe the parents there have a voice that is heard by the principal. She always tries to accommodate our requests as much as possible, and the thought of losing that due to less local control is intimidating indeed. However, I believe parents can still be highly involved, even in the face of mandated curriculum. Essentially, we have that now, it is just mandated locally, by the school district.
A perfect example of a lack of standardization is the fact that until last year, different clusters throughout APS had different math curriculum. Each curriculum was decided upon by the principal...something which is totally stupid. Sandia Cluster was utilizing one curriculum, and Eldorado cluster was using Every Day math. Well into the beginning of the school year, APS decided to mandate that all children use the same math curriculum. WOW!!! Talk about a rough transition. The kids really struggled to adjust to the new curriculum. It just seems to go without saying that all schools in APS should use the same core curriculum, and that if changes are made, they should be decided upon over the summer and implemented at the beginning of school.
Well...enough of my complaining about some crazy decision making1
Hi Lisa, First I have to say that I love your an active parent. There are so many people who aren't. I am in Colorado this week and had to get a rental car...I was talking to the gentleman who helped me (I'm kind of chatty) and he was telling me he doesn't know any of his kids teachers, doesn't know what they are being taught, he just shows up when he's supposed to. I thought that was really sad. I agree with having an standardized curriculum. All 4th graders should be learning the same math for example no matter where they live, whether its in a different state or different city. On the side note...I would love to talk to you about skating!
ReplyDeleteHi Lisa, I really enjoyed what you had to say about how being parent will influence your teaching and that you are such an involved parent. I don't think I would have done as well in I did in school myself if my parents were not involved in my education. I agree with your point of how we should have a national curriculum, so that all students are learning the same topics and hopefully at the same level. But a national curriculum may also mean that we teachers would be more accountable to the government and have test our students more. I think less control of education at the local level is more of a disadvantage to our students education as we can see from your example of different math curriculum that was taught in this area.
ReplyDeleteHey Lisa,
ReplyDeleteSeeing the world through the eyes of a parent must be interesting . I think you’re spot-on with your comment about the importance of parental involvement in their kids’ lives. Unfortunately, not all kids have the same level of support. A certain deal of control at the federal level may help with standardization, but we must also be able to make certain allowances for other areas were Federal Govt interaction fails. I think we can all attest to how inefficient the government can be at times. Parent’s involvement with their kids AND the school board is essential in whatever way our education system is set up.
I wasn’t aware of APS and the different math curriculum. Thanks for sharing that. What a novel idea; standard math, or any subject for that matter, curriculum. How the heck were principals selecting the curriculum?