Final Paper 3

Jordan Nichols

Eng 101:

Dr. Begert

Final Formal Paper    

            One of the most passionate topics in today’s political atmosphere is education. Huffington Post states that during a survey from Pearson firm that United States will rank 17^th amongst the world (par. 1).  Even worse is that according to the same study that only six percent of American students would actually be testing at an advanced level from taking an international exam (par. 12). Sir Ken Robinson examines the detrimental effect of education and how modern education is not preparing our children for our generation (Feb 2006). So how can we gain ground on a paramount issue in our country? A country that might have the answer is Finland. Finland normally ranks in the top education levels of the world. Due to its small population and small resources Education Minister, Tuula Haatainen, says, “In Finland, we believe we have to invest in education, in research and in higher education. Education can Pioneer new areas for jobs. We always need new skills for the labor force.”(par. 3- 4). Finland ranks high in every study, because it’s willing to put forth the effort and research into education. America could gain more ground in our education system if we emulate Finland in their approach for their future generation. Finland has bold ideas that they introduced in their schooling system and they are reaping the benefits of well educated generations. They believe in unified school systems, strict prerequisites for teachers, and free as possible schooling from pre-school up to universities.  If we understand more about Finland’s education process and implement into our schools we could better prepare our children.

            Finland’s education system works quite differently from other countries. The schools won’t separate children into different education groups from performance. From ages seven to sixteen you would go to the same school system as your peers. After that you would choose to go to either vocational school or higher learning school systems. In America we want to separate the over-performers from the under performing children. It’s a distinct reflection of our high capitalism market. Our economy and work force is based on showing up and working harder than the person next to you to achieve greater status, so of course this will trickle down to our children. Finland believes in inclusion of all students for nine years in comprehensive school (school ages 7-16). Across the board students get the same education base as their peers. Haatainen would state that this is the most important part of the system, because for those crucial nine years they can invest the same amount to everybody (par. 10).

            Another key note in their schools is that their students are not charged money for amenities like in America school systems. No child has to pay for lunch. No child has to pay for their universities. This develops a sense that the country is investing substantially towards its children. This will result into more students going into higher learning and being able to perform at higher levels. Bill Gates tells us that we have a plethora of highly skilled jobs in America, but the sad truth is that due to the neglect of education amongst our citizens, we will not be able to hold those positions (Waiting for Superman). Our economy has a bleak view from us is because that our own people can’t fill the shoes for the demand of new jobs. Those positions will go to other people and thus hurting our economy. One of the worse things to know is that after surviving a barrage of subpar public schooling in America the realization that in order to gain higher learning you will have to spend thousands of dollars of your own money. In 2012, the average college graduate loan debt was $27,253 which is a 58% increase from the past seven years, according to Forbes (par. 4). Imagine a place where you would not get punished for seeking higher learning. It could definitely benefit our country if our future workers were not restricted in what jobs to apply solely based on how well they can manage that school debt. More students might be more eager to go into more fields that may not yield more income, but further develop our country. Maybe students would be encouraged to go into a job that makes them happy instead of just a place to make their bills more manageable.  This could a great factor in our next generation doing something that benefits our future not just our future bank account.

            Finland also employs teachers with high skill sets to teach their students. They are entrusted with doing whatever it takes to help prepare their pupils for life and higher education. Finland has strict guidelines if you want to become an educator in their country. Their teachers are chosen from the top ten percent of graduates that would go on to highly specialized master’s program (par. 6).  They are more prepared for the classroom. In America it seems that after only four years of undergraduate study in an education field might push out teachers too soon. A lot of teachers would say that the first couple of years is hard to adjust to teaching and that could be detrimental in losing a year of a child’s education. Finland will let people more skilled in teaching go on to educate children. An education taught by a proficient teacher is only the standard for a select K-12 schools in America, but it is the normal for all schools in Finland. If you’re a child in poverty or a child blessed in a wealthy family you will receive the same education from the same highly trained professionals. Teachers are the most important part of the education process. Lacking in skilled educators can deter children from getting the best attention and development they need. America’s failing school isn’t the cause from bad teachers but it also sets up an environment where teachers can’t get the necessary comfort level when they enter their first teaching year in K-12 schools. This could definitely benefit their students in the classroom and will not set the children back years of learning.

            I believe America can learn a lot about Finland’s education system. With our country’s dwindling process to prepare our children for the future we have nowhere else but look upon the countries that are doing the most to benefit their children with education. Finland is at the top of most rankings due to the extensive research and resources devoted solely to public school systems for their country. They have unified school systems that will give every child the same opportunity to better themselves. They implement their highly skilled process for almost zero dollars. You can go through all levels of education without going into mass debt. They also make sure that their children are only learning from the best teachers by using a great standard of what skills an educator can have. America has spent a lot of time at the top of many categories in the world, but education is not one of them. We must do the logical thing and look upon which systems are working and used those methods to help our children get back on track. If we do not fix the education system in our country than it will only get worse for our future development and economy.

            

                                                  Works Cited Page

1.       Huffington Post. "Best Education In The World: Finland, South Korea Top Country Rankings,   U.S. Rated Average." Breaking News and Opinion on The Huffington Post. N.p., n.d. Web. 13 Mar. 2013. <http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2012/11/27/best-education-in-the-wor_n_2199795.html>. 

2.       Robinson, Ken. "Do Schools Kill Creativity?" TED, Monterey, California. February 2006. Lecture. 

3.       Coughlin, Sean . "BBC NEWS | UK | Education | Education key to economic survival." BBC News - Home. N.p., n.d. Web. 13 Mar. 2013. <http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/education/4031805.stm>. 

4.     Waiting for Superman. Dir. Davis Guggenheim. Perf. Geoffrey Canada, Michelle Rhee, Paramount Vantage. Paramount Vantage, 2010. DVD 

5.       Touryalai, Halah . "More Evidence On The Student Debt Crisis: Average Grad's Loan Jumps To $27,000 - Forbes." Information for the World's Business Leaders - Forbes.com. N.p., n.d. Web. 13 Mar. 2013. <http://www.forbes.com/sites/halahtouryalai/2013/01/29/more-evidence-on-the-student-debt-crisis-average-grads-loan-jumps-to-27000/>. 

6.       Hancock, LynNell . "Why Are Finland's Schools Successful? | People & Places | Smithsonian Magazine." History, Travel, Arts, Science, People, Places | Smithsonian Magazine. N.p., n.d. Web. 13 Mar. 2013. <http://www.smithsonianmag.com/people-places/Why-Are-Finlands-Schools-Successful.html>.

 

Paper 3 Rough draft: "Finland Is The Key"

           One of the most passionate topics in today’s political atmosphere is education. Huffington Post states that during a survey from Pearson firm that United States will rank 17^th amongst the world.  Even worse is that according to the same study that only six percent of American students would actually be testing at an advanced level from taking an international exam. Sir Ken Robinson examines the detrimental effect of education and how modern education is not preparing our children for our generation. So how can we gain ground on a paramount issue in our country? A country that might have the answer is Finland. Finland normally ranks in the top education levels of the world. Due to its small population and small resources Education Minister, Tuula Haatainen, says, “In Finland, we believe we have to invest in education, in research and in higher education. Education can Pioneer new areas for jobs.” We always need new skills for the labor force.” Finland ranks high in every study, because it’s willing to put forth the effort and research into education. America could gain more ground in our education system if we emulate Finland in their approach for their future generation. I believe that if we understand more about Finland’s education process and implement into our schools we could better prepare our children.

            Finland’s education system works quite differently from other countries. The schools won’t separate children into different education groups from performance. From ages seven to sixteen you would go to the same school system as your peers. After that you would choose to go to either vocational school or higher learning school systems. In America we want to separate the over-performers from the underperforming children. It’s a distinct reflection of our high capitalism market. Our economy and work force is based on showing up and working harder than the person next to you to achieve greater status, so of course this will trickle down to our children. Finland believes in inclusion of all students for nine years in comprehensive school (school ages 7-16). Across the board students get the same education base as their peers. Haatainen would state that this is the most important part of the system, because for those crucial nine years they can invest the same amount to everybody.

            Another key note in their schools is that their students are not charged money for amenities like in America school systems. No child has to pay for lunch. No child has to pay for their universities. This develops a sense that the country is investing substantially towards its children. This will result into more students going into higher learning and being able to perform at higher levels. Bill Gates in Waiting for Superman tells us that we have a plethora of highly skilled jobs in America, but the sad truth is that due to the neglect of education amongst our citizens, we will not be able to hold those positions. Our economy has a bleak view from us is because that our own people can’t fill the shoes for the demand of new jobs. Those positions will go to other people and thus hurting our economy. One of the worse things is knowing after surviving a barrage of sub par public schooling in America is the realization that in order to gain higher learning you will have to pull money out of your own pocket, and not just a little but thousands of dollars. In 2012, the average college graduate loan debt was $27,253 which is a 58% increase from the past seven years, according to Forbes. Imagine a place where you would not get punished for seeking higher learning. It could definitely benefit our country if our future workers were not restricted in what jobs to apply solely based on how well they can manage that school debt. More students might be more eager to go into more fields that may not yield more income, but further develop our country. Maybe students would be encouraged to go into a job that makes them happy instead of just a place to make their bills more manageable.  This could a great factor in our next generation doing something that benefits our future not just our future bank account.

            Finland also employs teachers with high skill sets to teach their students. They are entrusted with doing whatever it takes to help prepare their pupils for life and higher education. Finland has strict guidelines if you want to become an educator in their country. Their teachers are chosen from the top ten percent of graduates that would go on to highly specialized master’s program.  They are more prepared for the classroom. In America it seems that after only four years of undergraduate study in an education field might push out teachers too soon. A lot of teachers would say that the first couple of years is hard to adjust to teaching and that could be detrimental in losing a year of a child’s education. Finland will let people more skilled in teaching go on to educate children. An education taught by a proficient teacher is only the standard for a select K-12 schools in America, but it is the normal for all schools in Finland. If you’re a child in poverty or a child blessed in a wealthy family you will receive the same education.

            I believe America can learn a lot about Finland’s education system. With our country’s dwindling process to prepare our children for the future we have nowhere else but look upon the countries that are doing the most to benefit their children with education. Finland is at the top of most rankings due to the extensive research and resources devoted solely to public school systems for their country. They have unified school systems that will give every child the same opportunity to better themselves. They implement their highly skilled process for almost zero dollars. You can go through all levels of education without going into mass debt. They also make sure that their children are only learning from the best teachers by using a great standard of what skills an educator can have. America has spent a lot of time at the top of many categories in the world, but education is not one of them. We must do the logical thing and look upon which systems are working and used those methods to help our children get back on track. If we do not fix the education system in our country than it will only get worse for our future development and economy.

Pablo Friere's Changing the System

Pablo Friere has very strong criticism to how our normal education is carried out. He believes that education mirrors a plutocracy state where the teacher is the master and the students the lower class or has he states "peasants". He would take out rote memorization as a whole in order to incorporate "natural" learning or learning outside books and charts but in real time. This would place students as a whole as active participants in the learning process making them apart of it and not just spectators for learning. No more classrooms, chalkboards, or administration just pure learning bliss in open fields are in the natural environment of the subject. Instead of a student reading about physics in a classroom he would be take the students out in the world and show them how inertia works not just the formula for it. This would make the students active in their learning process which would benefit them to picking up not only knowledge of the event but actual experience on the topic.

Chalk Notes

Morgan Spurlock opens up with retelling his upbringing with all his family members being teachers. Stating they would trade stories about the difficulties about teaching but none of them giving up.  “50% of teachers quit in the first 3 years”.  First day of school shows various first time teachers and how they interact with the students. A couple of them show no positive feedback from the students. Painfully watching a teacher trying to lead his first class, the teacher is getting no response from the students.  It shows the teachers in the lounge and it shows that the teachers themselves are not proficient in high school subjects. It also shows a first time Assistant Principal that seems way over her head.  It shows how the teachers deal with their relationship with their students.

A struggling history teacher has trouble keeping his students in order when multiple verbal fights break out disrupting class. The teacher stopped students after class asking them since they knew more than he did to try to stay at a lower level to make him look better. The teachers show very similar characteristics with high school students especially when the asst. principal starts to match making fellow teachers. A teacher went to a disruptive student’s house to speak with his parents and instead of being professional with the parent he drank wine with the mother and son. The new assistant principal shows unprofessional relationship with her friend Coach Webb and they partake in arguments in the office in front of their peers.  Mr. Lowery who was always struggling with controlling his students finds later in the year opportunities to connect with them by participating in slang spelling bees and even tries to rap a long with them.  

Even the movie was not a real but it’s based on a lot of the common occurrences that happen in K-12 schools. Teachers that come in as very young inexperienced professionals that are pushed in front of a group of yearning students and they’re not up to the task at first. Almost half a year is wasted in letting the chemistry with the teacher to teacher and teacher to student relationships to form a healthy bond. A lot of the teachers act in very kid like fashion in front of peers and the students that will come across as unprofessional and immature.  It also shows how much time a teacher spends trying to prepare for the class and how much of the job they take home. The assistant principal was staying up working on her job every day until 10:30pm and the strain was very noticeable.  

Waiting For Superman Notes

Opens up with an educator Geoffrey Canada talking about how Superman becoming not real was a devastating moment in his childhood. The fact that nobody was there to save him was heartbreaking to him as a child. In 1999 the narrator spent the year learning about the public school and he saw great educators. The realization hit him because even after seeing the great teachers in public schools they were failing and he opted to place his child in a private school. Anthony, a Washington student, talks about how hard school was due to his father passed away from drugs. Anthony is being raised by his grandmother, Gloria. It now shifts to a student named Daisy who wants to become a nurse, doctor or veterinarian. Daisy very strong willed and already wrote a letter to a college and got acceptance. Mr. Canada states he was slated to go to a high school in the Bronx but states if he would never succeeded if he went to a failing high school. Movie shows various presidents in the past about how they want education to be the number one priority. Since 1971 we’ve doubled the money going into the school but not the results, especially in mathematics. It shows a kid name; Francisco states his love for math despite every other student complaining about the subject. Interviewing a parent the narrator asked what is the first thing he would see if he walked into a public school in the Bronx and the answer was a security desk. Geoffrey will explain that students will make fast predictions about their environment and they know they are on the lower rung of the system. Nakia, a parent of an inner school student, will make it her goal that her child will go to college. President Bush and the leader of the Liberal movement signed a bill with “No Child Left Behind”. They will test every child in their proficiencies. Showed maps of all states in America from 8^th graders in Math and Reading and the numbers or poor.  Daisy’s parents are both high school drop outs due to financial problems.  Unfortunately for Daisy her pathway to college is a string a failing public schools. A doctor at John Hopkins University as coined the term “drop out factories” due to the fact of over 200,000 public schools failing to teach students in elementary and middle schools and will push them to high school. Are failing neighborhoods the reason for failing schools are is it the other way around? Figures are shown that it costs $33,000 for a prisoner a year but only $8,300 for private school. Chancellor of Washington, D.C., Michelle Rhee shows her frustration with the failing school system. She is the 7^th chancellor of Washington, D.C. in ten years. Government has almost too many hands in education. With federal, state, local, and district regulations. Michelle Rhee wants to slash the entangled mess of too much government agencies with their conflicted standards. A study shows that a good teacher is crucial to the students’ progress. After tracking students’ progress will go up 150%. Tenure was stopping a superintendent from firing horrible teachers. Tenure will state no matter what he couldn’t fire teachers who would only read newspaper during his class. Historically the teachers’ union started because it was women who were trying to protect themselves since they had so little rights. 55,000,000 dollars were given to politicians from the teachers’ union. The contracts between educators won’t even let the high performing ones get paid more than an under performing teacher. Tenure clause in the contract won’t let principals fire their teachers so in every state that pass them from school to school. In New York they place under performing teachers in disciplinary hearing that last a year in which the teachers will still collect their salary. Out of all the teachers that have tenure only 1 out of 2,500 will be successfully fired. Geoffrey Canada will petition to start a charter school in the worst performing district in Harlem. Michelle Rhee would go on to close 23 schools in Washington, D.C. Her reasoning is she not a career superintendent so she’s not focus on the politics. She just wants to stop turning a blind eye to education deficiencies and that including firing her own children’s principal.  Up until the 1970s America’s public schools were one of the best. Since then the United States have dropped all the way to 23^rd in world categories. Even in suburban areas where there are well maintained performing arts centers and sports complex the scores are still below average. Public schools will put students in tracking which is a technique that a school official will determine the student’s curriculum. Education reformers will try new ways to teach kids. They would start from the ground up by not letting the students come to them later under educated. They would open up schools during Saturdays and during summer. They would build an environment of education around the students to help push them. What started has two charter schools under KIPP and they used this method and started over 30 schools nationwide. This would prove people wrong that disadvantaged children can go on and be successful in education and not to prison. Michelle Rhee would try to dismantle the tenured teacher problem by having teachers opting out of their tenure contract by choosing a non-tenured contract that would see higher raises.

Watching this documentary help me realize how far the system is broken and how little is invested in using the right techniques that showed results. Many occurrences have shown light on how certain charter schools can make under taught students and make them proficient no matter what their financial situation. The public thinks that it's just a poor district problem but it showed how even well-funded suburban schools that have huge infrastructure are still not proficient in science and math. It's harder and harder to change a system that is so sunken down by legislative bodies that even though we know the answer, implementation is the harder course.  

Mike Rose vs Lewis Black

Two men go down different avenues to get their point across. Lewis Black uses a satirical tongue in cheek to bring forth a harsh reality hidden behind the laughs and Mike Rose will divulge point by point ways to not only point out what is wrong but how to change it. Even different the main point is our education is under performing and our children are the suffering and our nation's progress is dismal. Lewis Black brings out many examples on how our mainstream media is not covering the education as much as possible by pointed out they will spend just a week talking about education and they rest about criminal coverage. Mike Rose's vocal point is the reason our education reform is not changing for the better is because the leadership of this country will call upon high marketable CEOs and economists even though none of the people are educators. Rose's message is clear to change education we must change it from within the walls of education and who better than the teachers themselves. We shouldn't be calling on Steve Jobs for his opinion on how to educate our children. He does have a great success story but its irrelevant to the education process.

Brainstorming 2/28/2013

       If I can change one thing about education it would be standardized testing in schools. Ever since world rankings have come into play our policy makers has had a weird and uncontrollable fetish about test results. It's just a multiple choice test on information that we have been dog and pony showed into taking. We rehearse more on how to bubble in four different options then on how those four choices really mean. Looking back we use to go through "test taking" workshops. Our education has resorted to teaching us on simply how to take tests and not function with the knowledge we gain.

     It seems after every class you grind out rote memorization to get an "A" but never proficient at the topic. They coach us up from once we're able to hold a #2 pencil all the way up to college admissions on a couple of tests. Teachers forced to educate their students on only the test because it is the only choice to prove that they are indeed teaching our children. But it is not a remark on how much we have learned on the subject, but merely the performance we give on opening night that we've been dress rehearsing for our K-12 life.

    If educators could build around their own teaching methods(you know use their actual skill they spent four plus years honing in higher education) instead of leaving it up to a board of local politicians. Let's let our teachers relish our students in their knowledge by using the mode that's best fitted for the subject. No longer should science be taught in a cinder block, windowless room but outside in the world where science lives and breathes. Students are far too institutionalized by a school that shouldn't be blocking the creativity, but inspiring it.