Day 12

International schools have created high-performing systems. Early child education in France uses a coordinated system with education, day care, and health services. There are positive parent-child relationships and many of the students get enrolled in preschools. In England, there is an extra hour spent on reading and math in the elementary schools. The government offers more funding for the lower performing schools, and they offer early intervention and catch-up options for those students who need it. Finally, Japan shows high performance in math and science. They have great daycare programs, great parental involvement and they have a longer school year.

The Alliance for Excellent Education program published a report on the effectiveness of teachers and ways to achieve success in the classroom. They looked at Finland, Ontario, and Singapore, once again recognizing the success of international schools. The schools in Finland, Ontario and Singapore are also very diverse, so using them as models for the United States schools is beneficial. The United States can learn from the efforts foreign schools have implemented, and possibly use the methods shown in the foreign schools for the further development in education policies.

Although the United States sometimes feels superior to other countries, I do think we can learn from some of the other education systems around the world. It is beneficial to look at the structures of other countries that are experiencing success. I think that the United States has gotten lazy in their education and they forget that it is a competitive world. Other countries are starting education sooner, they stay in school longer, and experience more rigorous schooling to prepare themselves for the real world one day.

International schools not only experience success in their students’ progress, but teacher effectiveness is also modeled. Teacher effectiveness has now moved to a top focus for the U.S. Department of Education. Ronald Edmonds described an effective school having these seven characteristics: a safe and orderly environment, a clear school mission, instructional leadership, a climate of high expectations, high time-on-task, frequent monitoring of student progress, and positive home-school relations. (478) Coordination of instructional planning, methods, materials, and testing is also something to improve the effectiveness of the school. Collaborative problem-solving, attention to goals, and responding to the development of academics for students are more things to consider when a school is striving to make their schools more effective.

There are five lessons presented in the article by Alliance for Excellent Education that will help shape an educational system for excellence. The lessons include “a systemic approach, strong recruitment and preparation, attractive teaching conditions, continuous support for learning, and proactive leadership development” (2).  These foreign schools offer systems for teacher and leader development, and they include coherent components that are not just a single policy. To develop teachers further, leaders in Finland, Ontario, and Singapore believe that getting the right people to teach and preparing them well is important. They also promote education as an attractive profession. Although that might be more cultural, they do strive to make their teachers well educated. The teachers in the foreign countries begin with good education, but the jurisdictions also “provide opportunities and support for teachers to develop their knowledge and skills, to improve their practice, and to grow as professionals” (6). Finally, the biggest success in teacher effectiveness in the foreign countries has come from the investment in leadership development and support. They try to build a school vision that all teachers can share.

I think that many of the characteristics Edmonds explained about effective classrooms and teachers were true. Support for education at home and open communication is important for teacher effectiveness and success for the students in the classroom. With a clear initial mission, the staff shares the same vision. When the teachers are well educated, they will be prepared to teach the classroom content, and will understand classroom management. Passing state standards is a focus in education, but it is important to realize that the teachers have also been called to nurture their students. God places people in our lives for many reasons, and teachers have the opportunity to impact a child’s life. If the teacher is well educated the classroom will work effectively, the students will obtain knowledge and skills, and God can be honored in the entire process.

Article from Alliance for Excellent Education cited above: http://www.all4ed.org/files/TeacherLeaderEffectivenessBrief.pdf

Day 11

Individualized instruction tries to “provide a one-on-one student-teacher or student-computer relationship” (429). The University of Pittsburgh developed the Individually Prescribed Instruction (IPI) project. The teachers assessed the students, and then developed an individual plan for each student. Objectives were stated in behavioral terms, and the teachers gave students individualized learning while continuing to evaluate their progress. A school in Hawaii has found their own way of success in the classroom. Although the other schools in the nation have similar goals and objectives, Hawaii Technical Academy does things in a different way.

Hawaii Technical Academy uses one-on-one tutoring to improve the students’ success. The school blends face-to-face teaching with online learning. The performance of the students is reviewed each week, and they use a standardized online curriculum. The teachers say that “success depends on two factors: an engaged parent and a motivated child.” The school offers education to students from all over the island who are seeking individualized approach. Hawaii Technical Academy realizes the importance of assessments, and they strive for academic success, but they also understand the significance of flexibility in the methods of education.

I can see the benefits of individualized instruction. If there was a way for each child to be assessed individually, and then given a specific plan for how to improve their progress in specific levels, I think the academic success would soar. Every student has special talents given by God and they need a little nurturing to expand those. With one-on-one learning, students are able to grow in their “lower levels”, and see their own progress in the week by week assessments.

Another instructional approach is distance education. Distance education refers to different uses of technologies. Some schools use cable or satellite television to expand the instruction from the limited resources offered in the classroom. Other schools use teleconferences to watch a resource person or teacher instructing other students. The students can watch the explanation as if they were right there in the room, and they have the ability to freely ask questions. They also have the opportunity to make decisions about other information that should be presented. Distance education is not just for the isolated or small schools, but it is also used to expand the students’ learning. Lifelong learning comes with completing a distance education program because knowledge of technology is important as it continues to grow.

The Hawaii Technical Academy not only uses one-on-one instruction, but they also use distance education. The Academy enrolls students from many areas of the island who need a more flexible schedule. The students come from regular public schools, military families, home-school, private schools, and charter schools. There are some face-to-face interactions, but the school works to improve students’ individual strengths and weaknesses from work done mostly at home. A 7^th grade student said, “You can work at your own pace. If you get it down in most schools, you have to wait for everyone else. This one, you learn it once and you go ahead and go on to the next thing.” In this case, distance education is used because it is more flexible, and because the school does not have enough room in its building to house all the students all the time.

I have done distance education twice in the last year and both times have been positive experiences. I do think the flexibility is nice. For people who have more than one job but still want an education, distance education might be their only way of getting one. As technology continues to advance, distance education is almost just like being in the classroom with video conferences and group discussions posted online. If God has allowed for these changes to be made and technology to grow, I think it is important to take advantage of that. We must learn to honor God in all our work through honesty and integrity. Education can be obtained in a variety of ways, the important thing for people is to find what God is calling them to do, and then do it.

Article cited above: http://www.edweek.org/ew/articles/2011/06/02/33hawaii.h30.html?tkn=SMUF79BADwX2%2B9qLOth0dqZ%2FepNBar2o%2B21K&cmp=ENL-EU-NEWS2

Day 10

There are government guidelines regarding prayer and religion in schools. The U.S. Department of Education developed a list of guidelines on religion in the schools. Students are allowed to organize groups, but teachers cannot encourage or discourage these groups. Teachers can meet before or during lunch for prayer or a Bible study. Students are able to organize groups to the same extent that students are permitted to organize other non-curricular student groups. They are also able to freely express their religious beliefs in homework, artwork and other assignments without fear of discrimination. The work should be judged “by ordinary academic standards of substance and relevance and against other legitimate pedagogical concerns” (285). As long as nothing is being forced and it is not during school hours, students and teachers have the freedom to practice their religious beliefs at school.

Although there is freedom in practices at school, some schools still do not allow their students to freely express their religious beliefs. Jordan Sekulow wrote an article for the Huffington Post about protecting students’ rights to religious expression. Throughout the article, he shared stories of different students in schools around the nation who had been demonstrating support for the troops, or wearing a rosary to honor loved ones who had died. The school districts were concerned that the religious clothing were “gang-related”. They did not want the students to wear a red, white, and blue beaded necklace to support the troops, or a rosary to remember the death of family members. The superintendents were taken to court. The personal stories about the students showed that they did not intend to start any controversies within the district. Raymond Hoiser was a seventh grader who wore a rosary to remind him of his uncle and brother who had recently passed away. As Sekulow claimed, “the rosary was simply something he wore to help him cope with two difficult losses.” There are basic rights in the First Amendment that protect students like Raymond from being suspended. His story has gotten national attention now, and hopefully it will cause school administrators to think before they fight the student in a religious action.

People are so obsessed with the phrase “separation of church and state”, that most do not know what freedoms the students have at school. I was surprised to read the freedoms we were granted; it was more than what I thought. Some of these freedoms include discussing religious beliefs in homework and projects, and organizing groups that meet at the school, just not during school hours. It is important that religious groups at school are treated the same as any other student group. It takes courage to start a religion club in a public school to begin with, but it has the possibility to draw people to Christ. My high school started an FCA (Fellowship of Christian Athletes) group right before I left. Although the teacher involved in the group was told to take his name off the posters and only put his room number, he still took an active role in the group. People in the group would bring friends and the group grew in numbers. I hope that the group is continuing in its success, and that more and more people are beginning to understand how great the love of God can be and how it is important to honor God in extracurricular events as well.

Article cited above: http://www.huffingtonpost.com/jordan-sekulow/protecting-students-right_b_593909.html

Day 9

Bilingual education is an example of multicultural education. Multicultural education is known as “teaching students with differing ethnic and racial backgrounds” (372). Bilingual Education provides education in the students’ native language to non-English speakers. As the immigration numbers have continued to rise, bilingual education has expanded in public schools across the United States. Some believe that all students, no matter their ethnicity, should receive some sort of bilingual education. These types of programs, providing education in English and another foreign language are called “two-way” or “dual” bilingual immersion. In order to make the dual bilingual immersion programs successful in the future, leaders have recommended that multilingual competency should be stressed, along with mastering the English language.

There have been some controversies over bilingual education. There is an argument debating “first language maintenance” versus “transitional bilingual education” (TBE). First language maintenance emphasizes teaching in the native language over a long period of time to build the basics before teaching the students a new language. Transitional bilingual education would stress more intensive English instruction and teach all subjects in English as soon as possible. Those in favor of the maintenance believe that it will “help sustain a constructive sense of identity” in the minority students and “provide a better basis for learning higher-order skills such as reading comprehension while learning English” (375).  People against the maintenance programs think that there would be more separation and it could discourage students from learning English well enough to function well in society. Some of the staff at the schools with bilingual education have had different views as well. Those in favor of bilingual education believe that schools need adults that can teach English Language Learners (ELL students) in their own language. Others believe that these transitional or ESL (English as a second language) programs only require a few native language or bilingual speakers. Furthermore, some critics claim that bilingual education programs are “primarily a means of providing teaching jobs for native language speakers who many not be fully competent in English” (376).

As controversies are being discussed about bilingual education, funding for teaching the foreign languages are beginning to suffer. An article titled “Foreign-Language Programs Stung by Budget Cuts”, written by Mary Ann Zehr, discusses the recent lack of funds for foreign language instruction.  Many people are confused by the budget cut decisions because the Obama administration has spoken highly about the importance of learning language. Elaine E. Tarone, the director of the Center for Advanced Research of Language Acquisition at the University of Minnesota, says that language-resources may not be big, but they are effective. As Zehr puts it, “She said she’s frustrated that the Education Department hasn’t released a couple studies to the public that report on the effectiveness of language and international education programs authorized by the Higher Education Opportunity Act.”

The lack of funding, or the loss of funding for bilingual education, is hard for me to hear. I understand that we are having economic problems, but I do not think that a child should be deprived of a greater education because of that. As stated above, bilingual education has many benefits. I think that God intended to offer His children those great opportunities.  God has equipped us with everything that we need to have success in this world and learning a new language could be very beneficial. People could use the new language to share God’s great news. The new language could be used to bridge cultural gaps and work towards building the idea of shalom we wish for.

 I took part in a dual immersion program and I have nothing negative to say about the program. As I look back at my high school graduating class, I would say that about two-thirds of the top twenty graduates came out of my dual immersion program. Now, socioeconomic status, pride of the parents, and cultural background could have played a role in that initial decision for being placed in that type of education, but I do think that everyone in my class benefited from the bilingual education. I would say that for some students, learning the native language first is crucial for success in every area of life later on. However, learning a new language is easier when you are younger so I think that educators, students, and parents should take advantage of the younger language instruction.

Article cited in the blog above: http://www.edweek.org/ew/articles/2011/06/01/33language.h30.html?tkn=SWQFp65wcExcRSUVvAhSUpquL5a%2FbrPBcrQe&cmp=ENL-EU-NEWS2