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One of my former students posted this link on his Facebook page. I'm very proud of him, as he is studying to be a teacher himself. This article illustrates the problem that the US faces when we do not ensure that all children are ready for academics by age 5.
The schools and children in the story are less than 15 miles from my school. The descriptions are accurate and disturbing. In some kindergarten classrooms, most of the children are completely unprepared for any group setting, and have no real experience with following directions, schedules, discipline, or taking turns. And yet teachers are expected to have their children meet the same benchmarks as students who have three or four years of preschool experience or be declared incompetent in the classroom. I just don't see that as equitable.
The US is only as strong as its weakest link. In education, that would be Mississippi.
Good article and post, though I'd like to respectfully suggest that the notion that education in the US is only as strong as its weakest link is faulty. That suggests that education is a monolith, and all are held back by the challenges of some. I disagree.
Are you into "group work"? This amounts to "have one or two students do all the work, while the other students do nothing, or very little at all, and write their name on the paper, while talking during the whole "project"".
Very little is accomplished with a group project. It wastes lots of time. Very little learning occurs.
Whole group direct instruction is the most efficient method of instructional delivery. There isn't any debate on this issue, for it is as true as saying that trees are green.
You're also not considering that Mississippi has a very high black population. Blacks typically do not do as well in school as other demographic groups. Thus, it stands to reason that Mississippi, as a whole, will not do as well on assessments as states who have fewer blacks.
The fact of the matter is that people need to face reality. Bad schools are not "failing schools". They're "failing schools" because they're filled with a failing student body; a group of students from a background whose home life and/or culture is one predisposed to failing.
All the talk of greater funding, smart boards, cooperative learning, project method, etc. means diddly if people aren't willing to be REAL. The schools have not failed the students. The students have failed themselves. The schools are merely the ones who receive the blame for parent ineptness, for it is not politically correct to blame the kids, their parents, or the constituents who will ensure that a politician stays in office.
You're also not considering that Mississippi has a very high black population. Blacks typically do not do as well in school as other demographic groups. Thus, it stands to reason that Mississippi, as a whole, will not do as well on assessments as states who have fewer blacks.
This just might have something to do with poverty, not race.
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One out of every two black children in Mississippi lives in poverty, compared with 16 percent of white children,
It might also have something to do with attendence
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In Canton, where school begins the second week of August, each year scores of students from kindergarten through 12th grade fail to show up until after Labor Day.
Are you into "group work"? This amounts to "have one or two students do all the work, while the other students do nothing, or very little at all, and write their name on the paper, while talking during the whole "project"".
Very little is accomplished with a group project. It wastes lots of time. Very little learning occurs.
Whole group direct instruction is the most efficient method of instructional delivery. There isn't any debate on this issue, for it is as true as saying that trees are green.
You're also not considering that Mississippi has a very high black population. Blacks typically do not do as well in school as other demographic groups. Thus, it stands to reason that Mississippi, as a whole, will not do as well on assessments as states who have fewer blacks.
The fact of the matter is that people need to face reality. Bad schools are not "failing schools". They're "failing schools" because they're filled with a failing student body; a group of students from a background whose home life and/or culture is one predisposed to failing.
All the talk of greater funding, smart boards, cooperative learning, project method, etc. means diddly if people aren't willing to be REAL. The schools have not failed the students. The students have failed themselves. The schools are merely the ones who receive the blame for parent ineptness, for it is not politically correct to blame the kids, their parents, or the constituents who will ensure that a politician stays in office.
I'm not talking about doing instructional work in groups. I'm talking about learning how to operate as part of a group--listening for instructions, lining up, keeping your hands and feet to yourself, etc. These are norms that are commonly learned in early childhood experiences such as Sunday School or play dates. The children referenced in this article have no functional experience being in a group setting.
I am absolutely considering that Mississippi has a very high black population. In my 26 years of teaching, I have taught fewer than 20 white students, and the majority of them were at the alternative school where I only spent one semester. I have spent my entire career trying to help close the achievement gap. Fortunately, I have taught a lot of students who have taken on the task as well.
I don't agree that the students have failed themselves. We are talking about children who have been alive for less than 70 months. How could they be responsible for the situation in which they find themselves?
What do believe is the solution? Should Mississippi mandate pre-school for all 3 and 4 year olds? Or do we need to go back to the kindergarten model where it was a year to instill the skills you point out and not an academic year where reading and writing are taught?
I'm not talking about doing instructional work in groups. I'm talking about learning how to operate as part of a group--listening for instructions, lining up, keeping your hands and feet to yourself, etc. These are norms that are commonly learned in early childhood experiences such as Sunday School or play dates. The children referenced in this article have no functional experience being in a group setting.
In the sense of behavior in group, I agree with you. In terms of curriculum instruction in a group, I vehemently disagree. I think it's one of the worst problems in the schools.
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I am absolutely considering that Mississippi has a very high black population. In my 26 years of teaching, I have taught fewer than 20 white students, and the majority of them were at the alternative school where I only spent one semester. I have spent my entire career trying to help close the achievement gap. Fortunately, I have taught a lot of students who have taken on the task as well.
You can try to close that achievement gap, but I don't believe that it will ever be closed.
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I don't agree that the students have failed themselves. We are talking about children who have been alive for less than 70 months. How could they be responsible for the situation in which they find themselves?
At the early elementary level, certainly not. However, for late elementary, middle, and high school students, the students, and the influence from their parents, plays a significant role, far out of the range for the typical teacher to correct.
What do believe is the solution? Should Mississippi mandate pre-school for all 3 and 4 year olds? Or do we need to go back to the kindergarten model where it was a year to instill the skills you point out and not an academic year where reading and writing are taught?
Why should this be the responsibility of the government of Mississippi? The problem is not one of Mississippi failing to advance students, educationally. The issue is one of the demographic realities facing the schools of Mississippi.
If you were to switch the populations of Maine and Mississippi, we'd be talking about failing Maine schools and "good" schools in Mississippi. It isn't the system failing the kids.
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The Weakest Link--Education in America is only as good as education in Mississippi
