Need for Change in our Educational

SystemBy: Anil Karim

Graduate Student University of Houston Victoria

We constantly examine our educational programs and

try to better them.But are our children

benefiting?

Partnership With Culture

Instead of promoting diversity and change we are creating

cultural gaps

Cultural Gaps Created

Belief in the “one size fits all” pedagogy

Caused by

Public school instructors need to acknowledge that…

Students from different backgrounds do not learn in the same manner.

Different Background, Different Learning Style Not all students learn through the same mode of instruction

◦ Auditory learners vs. ◦ Visual learners

Some students come with a stronger foundation

Some students learn at a different pace

Cultural Gaps in Education Today

Design the infrastructure

Develop the curriculum

Set the school holidays

Design assessments and standardized tests

Minority communities

Forced to adopt the programs, instruction, and facilities

Impacts: history, heritage, values and beliefs

Dominant Members of Society

Cultural Communities

Diversity is strength!

Or it is our biggest failure?

The inability to embrace diversity leads to inequalities with in the education system

1. Poverty2. Racial Gaps3. Funding Gaps

Major American Educational Inequalities

The unequal distribution of wealth is directly

related to inequalities in education beginning at early education.

Cycle of PovertyLower

academic achievemen

t

Inequities in the

marketplace

Substandard living

conditions

Lower influence on public policy

Lack of Education

The official poverty rate in 2006 was 12.3%.

In 2006, 36.5 million people were in poverty.

3.6 million people are in poverty only in Texas, where over half a million reside in Houston.

National Poverty Statistics

21.9% of our children are in poverty.  This resembles nearly over 7 million children nationally.

Lets take a look around the world….

Children in Poverty

% of children below national poverty lines in rich nations

The USA is Second to Last behind Mexico (which is considered a rich nation)

When families are in a lower income bracket, the following practice specific outcomes have been documented:

 

Henderson & Mapp, 2002, in Sanders, 2008, p. 287

Why is income Important?

Lower student achievement

Poor student behavior and attendance

More negative school climates

and social atmospheres

On average, almost one year behind middle-class children in their education – at the age of five, they are 11.1 months behind others in vocabulary tests.

Have the highest drop out rates

Are in property-poor school districts where funds are moving to property-rich appropriated through the reward program

The Poorest Children

These gaps are created when students of a particular race (African American, Latino, Native American) perform below the national average, verses those who perform above the national average (Whites, Asians)

Racial Gaps

Racial Gaps in Education

Blacks (24.3%) Hispanics (20.6%) Asians (10.3%) Non-Hispanic Whites (8.2%)

The majority of poor are Hispanic and African American, limiting only 8% to white Americans.

Majority of Black and Hispanic children are 4 years behind when they graduate high school.

In Texas, 46% of our schools are Hispanic and will grow beyond 50% in the coming years.

The states have adopted new exams in an effort to raise academic standards to hold schools and students accountable for their performance.

But is this helping or hurting the students?

Closing the Gap

The tests are generally not aligned to the curriculum which means that

students are tested on material to which they may not have been exposed.

The tests are also administered in English

which means that some students are unable

to comprehend the questions.

Educators fear the content learned in school will be geared towards passing these “tests” and less on actually educating the students.

Schools in low income districts often face issues with funding

Funding Gaps

Cash incentive programs that reward schools for high scores on

standardized tests creating a growing gulf between the rich and poor.

This doesn’t make sense!

Instead of investing on schools that are failing we offer

Students do not have access to proper materials and environment needed for success.

Consequences of Funding Gaps

The rich school keep getting richer, and the poor school keep getting poorer.

We spend Less than 3% GDP while Sweden spends 18%

While we have 21.9% of our children in poverty compared to only 4.2% in Sweden

Social Spending

Spending an equal amount on education among high poverty and low poverty districts

A 2004 report by Education Trust shows that

◦ 36 states have a funding gap, with a nationwide difference between high-poverty and low-poverty districts of $1,348 per student

Close the funding gap between districts by:

Increase in high school drop out rates◦ Leading to an increase in unemployment

A decrease in college enrollment ◦ Leading to a lower quality of life

Inequalities in education lead to

In 2005, male workers ages 25-34 with a high school diploma had a median income of $29,600, while those with a bachelor’s degree or higher earned $48,400.

Among women, those with a high school diploma made $23,500, and their counterparts with bachelor’s degree or higher earned $39,500.

High School Grads VS College Grads

The Importance of Education

Poverty increases as level of education decreases

Looking at the Big Picture… Why Degrees Matter

A decrease of student involvement.

Lack of student interest in the classroom.

Low performance on examinations.

Inequalities in Education Lead to

In 2005, Raytheon Company launched its MathMovesU program, and surveyed middle school students nationwide.

84 percent would rather clean their room, take out the trash, eat their vegetables or go to the dentist than do their math homework.

Anything BUT Math…Please

What is the importance of Math and Science

in Education

Early childhood

Science in early childhood settings offers a means for children to develop many important skills: large- and small- muscle control, language, early math concepts and problem solving.

Higher Education

According to the US department of education, Students who take rigorous mathematics

and science courses are much more likely to go to college than those who did not.

Improvement Math and Science will help the students become more competitive.

Where is the US in terms of math & science compared to other nations?

In the Program for International Student Assessment, American students had an average science score that was lower than the average in 16 other countries. In math, they did even WORSE, posting an average score that was lower than the average in 23 other countries!

Creating the Spark

The key to educating students’ long term interest in math and science is to develop engaging educational activities that spark and build upon their situational interest

“Situational interest”—the interest a person has in the current task they’re doing.

By putting the material into a meaningful and relevant context

The more interested students are in a subject, the more involved they become in their assignments—putting greater effort into their studies and engaging in deeper levels of thinking.

But How Does Interest Affect Achievement?

Making the learning process more interactive and engaging

Developing engaging educational activities

Using hands-on projects

Stimulating the imagination

Encouraging group work

Talking about career opportunities in the classroom.

How can you get students to becoming interested in science and math?

“We will not be a leader unless we can improve our national performance in math and science”

-Wilcox

It’s a Dog eat Dog World

Darwin’s “Survival of the Fittest”

If you are not the BEST of the BEST, you’re in trouble!

Globalization

Global economic competition is confronting every sector of our economy and our workforce – in information technology as well as in manufacturing, among professional employees as well as blue-collar workers.

Due to the current economic situation, the job market has become more and more competitive.

Students coming out of college must have more then a college degree to land a job or someone else will beat them to it.

A Labor Department report shows:

There are about 6.3 unemployed workers competing, on average, for each job opening.

Another reason for the increased competition in the job market is outsourcing.

The US is falling behind in Math and Science

Are US students prepared for competition with international students?

Do they have the skills?

What can be done to prepare them?

In 2006, president Bush introduced the "American Competitiveness Initiative" that would:◦ Encourage kids to take more math and science

◦ Train 70,000 high school teachers to lead math and science advanced placement courses

◦ Bring 30,000 math and science professionals into public school classrooms to teach.

Increasing Competition

Changes in the curriculum in the public schools

Compared to the rest of the world, we are falling behind

What can we do?

Preparation for competition begins with...

Develop statewide literacy programs built on research about effective reading instruction.

Provide professional development in literacy instruction for high school teachers.

Provide accelerated learning grants to support partnerships between districts and institutions of higher education.

And most importantly… Fund Career Technical Education programs that are academically rigorous and

focus on the dual goals of college and work preparation.

Changes in the Curriculum

Provides career awareness, career counseling, and assessment for elementary and secondary school students through academic instruction integrated with relevant technical skills and related work-based activities.

AIMS test results find that CTE-enrolled high school students score higher overall in math, science and reading than average. 

Career Technical Education Programs

According to the Adelman research (1999)

The rigor of the high school curriculum is the most important predictor of college completion—it is more important than parent education level or family income An intensive academic curriculum had the strongest effect for African American and Latino students

Students completing a college preparatory curriculum are more likely to succeed in college and less likely to need remedial

coursework.

Increasing Rigor

Raising graduation requirements Ensuring access to quality course content and instruction

Aligning course content and assessments with the skills necessary for higher education and employment Institutionalizing additional support for students at risk.

Increasing the Standards for A Brighter Future

According to a College Board study,◦ Higher rates of volunteering, voting and donating

blood correspond to higher levels of education as do lower unemployment and poverty rates.

A Better Quality of Life

According to New York Times, “The achievement gap between white and minority students has not narrowed in recent years.”

Between 2004 and last year, scores for young minority students increased, but so did those of white students, leaving the achievement gap stubbornly wide.

So What has Changed?

Schools rely on local property taxes as a crucial source of funds.

◦ The poorer districts are still not receiving sufficient funds, making it difficult for their students to excel academically.

“The U.S. has created a caste system of public education that is increasingly separate and unequal.”

-TIME

Racial inequality still remains an issue and diversity is not fully accepted.

This is the time for change!