Thoughts on Education

I am really interested in what changes we will see in the next few years regarding public education. I like to be optimistic about where society is going with regards to views on the responsibilities of public schools to education children in more ways than academics. It's quite sad and harsh reality that most children who struggling in school have greater struggles when they return home. Needless to say, school has become a safe haven for students of all ages and not just a place of progressing intellectually in preparation for higher education and successful careers.

Obama shares a vision in his speech outlining 5 pillars that I support him in. While there are many other priorities on his agenda, it is my hope that we can be a part of these changes and improvements in the way that education is regarded in our society as a whole. Students, parents, and teachers have such a greater potential that we can reach.

I was recently conversing with an acquiantance and neighbor about the curriculum that is taught and standards for 7th grade students in the math. She was shocked when I told her that most in the local schools are learning pre-algebra concepts in the 7th grade and many would not advance to algebra in the 8th grade. While I have recognized a difference in standards from my experience in 7th and 8th grade, thinking that perhaps the district I grew up in had a differnet curriculum that the local standards, I did not think that it was so much of a greater difference from the standards of other nations! We are more than three grade-levels behind the math pacing in many other nations. Wow.

I cannot say that I have even a portion of the solution, but this motivates me to think more seriously about how I see my personal potential as well as that of my students. There's a lot of work to do!

(Here's a link to his agenda in relation to education- I could not get to the speech transcipt electronically) http://www.whitehouse.gov/agenda/education/