Lifting Up Our Children Through Public Schools
How to Lift Up Future Generations
Renee Moore, a teacher in a very poor Mississippi Delta school, is quoted in Tim Walker's article as saying if we truly agree that education is the way out of poverty, " . . . then we need to stop making the schools that serve the poorer children the most impoverished schools" (Walker 2013). Moore has a valid point, made even more urgent by the fact that more than half of the students in American public schools " . . . come from low-income families" (Rich 2015). Indeed the majority of students in "21 states are poor," Rich writes in The New York Times.
Hence, this paper proposes working with the federal government, with states, and with private sector corporations to properly fund all public schools, in particular those that serve towns and cities steeped in abject poverty. It's outrageous that so many of America's children are being robbed of the chance to succeed in life due to the criminally inadequate schools that dot the landscape. This is not a new problem. But it's been festering for years and demands attention.
This paper proposes to follow the constructive guidelines proposed by the Equity and Excellence Commission in its...
The U.S. currently ranks #27 in math knowledge; only 65% of four-year-olds have an opportunity to attend preschool; and two-thirds of 8th graders in the U.S. cannot achieve even "mere proficiency" in science, according to the report.
Incidentally, this 52-page report was commissioned by former U.S. Education Secretary Arne Duncan, who showed positive leadership during his tenure. Can we expect the same degree of commitment to funding our poorer schools from the new Education Secretary, Betsy DeVos? That is a valid question because DeVos is a billionaire business woman (with no university background in educational matters) whose generous contributions to charter schools (in particular, Christian charter schools) and her indifference to funding public schools comes out clearly in her biographical materials.
She has recently funded private Christian schools to the tune of $8.6 million; she has given $5.2 million to charter schools; and she has given just $59,750 to public schools as part of her philanthropic activities (Rizga 2017). Again,…
Public Schools vs. Private Schools - Culturally appropriate education Review of the literature Education and culture Teaching dispositions Outmoded educational model Would vo-tech be a better public school goal? Developing the person instead of the mind Opposition to change in public schools Alternatives to public and private school School reform has been a constant theme of public debate for much of the past two decades. Standardized testing, which was supposed to solve the problem of poorly prepared students graduating
Background: Why Teach Sexual Education? With about half of all high school students admitting to have already had sex, and only 60% of those students claiming they used a condom, sexual education can be considered a public health imperative (National Conference of State Legislatures, 2019). Unwanted pregnancy and sexually transmitted diseases are the most important health-related reasons to teach sexual education in public schools. Research has shown that “when sex education
Poverty and Children in the U.S. Poverty Stricken Children in the United States of America It is unfortunate to state that sociological ills have preserved their place in almost every society, civilization and empire. Be it slavery, illiteracy, disease or poverty; one vice or the other has invaded communities throughout history and wreaked destruction upon the inhabitants. Despite the revolutions in the information technology and communication sector, countries are still experiencing a
Figure 1 portrays three of the scenes 20/20 presented March 15, 2010. Figure 1: Heather, Rachel, and Unnamed Girl in 20/20 Program (adapted from Stossel, 2010). Statement of the Problem For any individual, the death of a family member, friend, parent or sibling may often be overwhelming. For adolescents, the death of person close to them may prove much more traumatic as it can disrupt adolescent development. Diana Mahoney (2008), with the
In addition, they tend to be more prone to special education placement (Altshuler 2003). The researcher concluded that Public schools and child welfare agencies must begin to work together to support students' educational functioning. Professionals in both systems appear eager to work together more collaboratively, but need to resolve the historical mistrust. Schools of social work can help by teaching their students ways to break down the chasms that separate
That "reflects, in part, the more complex houses that Habitat builds in the United States, as well as the mind-numbing issues -- involving insurance costs and government regulations -- that seem to have bogged down efforts to rebuild after Hurricanes Katrina... (Volunteer group lags in replacing Gulf houses, New York Times, February 22, 2007). Even without that latter disastrous devastation, though; but also in spite of huge latter-day gaming profits,