Governor Strickland Education Plan?? (Dayton, Mentor: appointed, fit in, how much)

[techshuffle]

What is Governor Strickland thinking about with the new education plan. It makes no sense to make teachers do 4 year internships, have the school year go an extra 20 days and change the schedules of students all across the state!

[jlrosen]

Let's look at the global rankings for US education

• Mathematics—The United States ranks 25th out of the 30 Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development (OECD) and is well below the average score.
• Reading—The United States ranks 16th out of the 30 OECD countries and barely beat the average score (by 1 point).
• Science—The United States ranks 20th out of the 30 OECD countries and is well below the average score.
• Problem Solving—The United States ranks 25th out of the 30 OECD counties and is well below the average score.

We aren't in the top half in any category.

[rrtechno]

I'm just curious, since I don't know where you got your figures, where does Ohio fit in the ratings of the US states.

[jlrosen]

Originally Posted by rrtechno

I'm just curious, since I don't know where you got your figures, where does Ohio fit in the ratings of the US states.

34th

Smartest State 2006-2007

the international rankings are from the Department of education

Average mathematics literacy, reading literacy, science literacy, and problem-solving scores of 15-year-olds, by sex and country: 2003

[firefightermom]

Originally Posted by techshuffle

What is Governor Strickland thinking about with the new education plan. It makes no sense to make teachers do 4 year internships, have the school year go an extra 20 days and change the schedules of students all across the state!

School to go an extra 20 days? Sounds good to me. I think all schools should drop the archaic calendar, which was based on agricultural needs, and update to year round classes. Kids don't need summers off the help with the harvest any more!

Some areas already do this; my cousins in Dayton go year round. Why not?

[Ohiogirl81]

It makes no sense to make teachers do 4 year internships

I'd agree with this. A four-year internship does not guarantee a better teacher. There's gotta be another way.

[Hartwell Girl]

I read over the plan and I think a lot of it makes sense, including the 4 year internship. Many new teachers need some support and help in their first few years and this is a great way to make sure that happens. I think at this point, Ohio schools need to do everything possible to make some changes, no is not an option. In order to have better schools for this state, the standards need to be raised and holding teachers and PARENTS accountable is a great start. My son is not a CPS student, his father believes strongly in a Catholic school system but I am a CPS volunteer and involved in many aspects and I understand the system is broken and it needs to be fixed.

[Joe 4520832257]

Originally Posted by techshuffle

It makes no sense to make teachers do 4 year internships!

It does if your goal is increased protectionism of one of your stronger voting blocs.

[The Don]

Originally Posted by Hartwell Girl

... the system is broken and it needs to be fixed.

I agree - many schools do a terrible job educating their students - BUT is the cure more of the same?

Most of the private schools have similar scholastic calendars as their public counterparts but their students do substantially better than those in the government schools.

Look, I can remember when the American automobile was the king of the road - then what happened? Foreign manufacturers, particularly the Japanese, came in. Car buyers saw that the foreign brands were signficantly superior and they switched.

As American auto manufacturers saw market share decline, they decided to clean up their act and improve their products.

So my question is -- if it can work for automobiles and other commodites, why can't it work for the school system?

End the near monopoly that public school systems have on our educational establishment - make them compete with private schools and each other!

[cleveburg]

I didn't expect to come across this topic on this forum (haven't visited the forum in quite awhile), but I happened to be researching the Internet on States with the LEAST government involvement in the educational system AFTER hearing Gov. Strickland's plan. Quite frankly, I'm upset about it.

More government involvement. Yep, that's what we need. Are they kidding me?

Four year internships? Crazy. You either have the ability to teach or you don't . . . plain and simple.

Food for thought . . . before the inception of the Department of Education, conduct your own research as to how good the schools were. Most were excellent! Less government, more parental involvement, and very good teachers.

Now keep in mind . . . MANY of those teachers did not even have a four-year degree. They were grandfathered in the system at a time when a degree wasn't necessary. Many had apprenticeships. Did that make them less of a teacher? By all means no. But government became involved and started mandating everything because society lost structure.

Look at it this way . . . Did a WWII pilot at the age of 17 (yep, 17), have a formal education? No. Did Harry Truman have a college degree? No. How about Bill Gates, Ted Turner, Debbie Fields? No. They followed their passion, and they succeeded. Is a nurse who only graduated with a diploma from a hospital-based nursing school with 25 years of experience any less than a nurse with a BSN or an MSN in nursing? Absolutely not. In fact, she's probably better. Why? Because of life experience. Unparallel.

In my profession (Career Services), I come across many, many professionals . . . lawyers, C-level Executives who would like to teach. Once they find out all the mandates, they usually say, "Forget it." It's very, very sad because they have a wealth of knowledge they can offer these kids, as they succeeded by working through the hard knocks of life. LIFE provides experience.

As you can see, I take a different view on the entire Educational system. I believe Education has become a business, and I find it very, very sad that because it is "broken" government is trying to fix something they are responsible for breaking in the first place.

All these mandates . . . I actually feel sorry for the kids already struggling because the stresses of making it in the world are becoming ridiculous. How much more can they take? I'm all for accountability and hard work, but for crying out loud, these kids are swimming in homework, and teachers have so many directives to meet that they are unable to be creative and make the classroom fun.

I believe intertwining some type of "Mentorship" program with key members of the business community could be a major benefactor to kids seeking to learn about REAL world experience from a REAL world professional - - - - not to mention, it would provide guideance many kids are lacking today.

Sorry to ramble. I am just very disappointed with Gov. Strickland's plan.