Author Archives: Jenny Huang

Since we’re starting to register for new classes for the summer and fall semesters, I’m pretty sure we can relate to the financial aspect of higher education. I have noticed, and as mentioned in the article, that college is getting more expensive, yet the government is still cutting its financial aid. This makes it really hard to for students because a majority of people who attend college attend a public college, hoping to get free and quality education. Over 75 percent of students in college choose to attend public colleges like CUNYs. It seems to be a very great alternative to private schools because because of various factors but most importantly, it is a lot cheaper. I can relate to this because I basically chose to stay in the city rather than to live upstate or out of state because I’m basically getting paid to go to school. However between 2001 and 2002, tuition has increased about 20 percent! That’s insane because those who are hoping to get similar education to that of private schools for free are now in jeopardy of being in debt for choosing to get higher education. The government encourages people to go to college and is trying to help them in every which way possible, covering as much fee and tuition as possible, but as we witness, once there’s a budget cut schools– elementary schools, middle schools, high schools, and college– are the ones who get hit the hardest. Even though the cuts are drastic, I still believe that public colleges are still going to be in better business than private schools. If one can choose to pay in full or in part, it is quite obvious what he will choose. But it would be great if the government figured out how to increase financial aid to parallel the increase of tuition in schools.

In a different article, it stated that students were actually deterred from entering college because of the tuition raises. In recent students, tuition rose about 30 percent! This just goes to show that the socioeconomic status of a majority of the United States is made up of lower to middle classmen who can’t afford higher education. This is a big problem because if all these people are getting turned off by the price for education, America will be falling behind even more compared to other countries’ academics. There is always the option to take out loans, but who wants to be like tens of thousands of dollars in debt when they come out of college? And many people are well off without going to school because they have very good communication and networking skills. With a huge amount of students turning away from college and drop out rates, colleges will be in jeopardy of losing their business. Similar to how elementary, middle, and high schools have to get shut down because of low performance, colleges will have to do the same because of a lack of attendees. So do you believe the government will put more money towards education now that so many people are shying away from higher education in order to make America’s academic levels rise? and what other solutions can help aid this dilemma?

Parental involvement has shown to be really important in the development and learning process a child goes through, and I completely agree. In the previous EDU class i took, we talked about a parent’s responsibilities to teach his or her child the basics upon entering pre-school. Are parents supposed to teach colors? alphabets? shapes? numbers and etc before he or she admits his or her child into kindergarten? Most people would say yes, but what if those parents do not speak English. How can they take on those responsibilities when they too have no knowledge of the subject matter? Parental involvement at a young age is crucial to how a child grows up because they will internalize that experience and project it onto their children in the future. However, some parents are too busy to pay any attention to what a child is learning at school so they have no way of getting involved. Studies show that parental involvement shows an increase in students grades and confidence. I remember a professor told me that the difference between scoring high on SATs scores and scoring mediocre is that those who score higher have frequent conversations with parents. It seems pretty striking how little it takes to help a child succeed. Its not even like those conversations revolved around vocab/math studies, just regular talking about the child’s day.

Parental involvement could also be applied in schools. Similar to the conversation we had in class, I think parents should get involved in the classroom but it is very hard to know where to draw the line. Of course parents should be able to have a say in how and what is being taught in school because the material can conflict with religious or even personal beliefs. But how do we decide when it gets intrusive and when are parents stepping overboard? It’s a sticky situation because some argue that parents aren’t involved enough, and then when they do get involved, they get criticized. Personally, I feel that not all parents need to join the PTA or get involved in the school. Once they do, they almost become a part of the faculty, which is not okay. I remember children in elementary school who had parents that were in the PTA, and it just seemed they always got treated better and were let off easier when they got in trouble. But I agree that parental involvement makes a child smarter. My cousin is very involved with her child, who is 4 years old, and his education. I saw them the other day, and he recited the vowels to me! I didn’t learn vowels until i was like 2nd grade! and he’s four years old… Of course, my parents do not speak any English, but still. Parental involvement in schools and in a child’s life only has many benefits, so it should be highly encouraged. So, should we try to regulate parental involvement in homes to better learning? and how can we help those who have careless parents?

The NCLB act requires all schools that receive federal funds to reach 100 percent passing rates for all student groups on state tests by the 2013-2014 school year. That is absurd. With the current progress schools and the education system is in right now, it does not seem that the goal is at all attainable. To have absolutely every single school, child, and teacher commit to the NCLB standards is impossible. There cannot be 100% anything and what happens when the students and schools do not reach that goal? The schools will lose funding and close, cause a new wave of problems. I think the government is not trying hard enough to come up with a plan that works. They are just rushing for results and giving a deadline to do something that isn’t even remotely possible. They need to set annual or even semi annual goals for the schools, not give them a period of time to achieve the 100% passing rate. The government is not working closely enough with the students to see why many children are failing, rather they just want to implement an act that will presumably get rid of all their problems. The NCLB act seems like an ultimatum for failing schools and students. There is no equal opportunity within the system because it is obvious that children with more funding and are in better neighborhoods are doing a lot better than those in poorer neighborhoods- and in the end, those are the students that will be suffering from failing grades and standardized testing. Another aspect that is flawed is that the NCLB act relies heavily on test scores. Test scores, as mentioned in class, is a great way to measure progress, but should not the only way. Test scores do not measure a child’s learning capacity nor does it measure a teacher’s teaching capacity.

Chapter 4 mentions that “the very definition of what constitutes as an educated person is now dictated by federal legislation. A well-educated person is one who scores high on standardized math and reading tests. And ergo a good school is one that either has very high test scores or is moving toward them at a prescribed rate of improvement” (67). It doesn’t strike me as alarming because it seems that everyone measures everyone else by their grades in school, on tests, and by numbers. Quantitative information seems to be more important than anything else nowadays and is what the government is relying on to see results. Rather than just reading off a bunch of statistics of failing grades, why don’t these officials go into the schools and directly ask the child or staff what is not working? and then maybe try to implement workshops or new programs to help the schools. But obviously, that is just wishful thinking. The government, like everyone else, will just favor those who have the high scores. One’s ability to take tests well may be from practice or it may be a gift, and for those who suck at it, well that’s just too bad.. right? The school system needs to innovate ways to make the failing students feel as if there is hope for them. Some teachers just treat the underperforming children badly because they don’t think its worth their time. When a child does bad, everyone wants to point fingers and no one wants to take responsibility, and that may very well be the reason why children are doing so terribly in school. So what kind of system should be created to ensure a well-rounded program to teach and educate children? The problem as we discussed, is not a matter of more or less funding, so why are so many children in poorer neighborhoods doing so bad?

At first when I heard about No Child Left Behind, I thought it was a great idea because the government is stepping in to help make education better for all students. However, the chapter puts the act in a different light. All children are required to take a test have to pass or exceed the proficient level by 2014. There has never been such a short time period for the changes to occur before. And quite frankly, it seems impossible! Compared the status of our education system now, there is no way that each and every student and school will be able to achieve those standards. This just makes it harder for the teachers and the school management team because they are going to be the ones to blame if the students do not succeed. The reason being is because children do not know that there are these standards to fill – they just know that they have to pass a test, and for many, that’s not enough of an incentive to do well in school. The government seems to be implementing a really difficult standard for the public school system, which is why there has been word saying that NCLB is only there to benefit the privatized sectors.

In addition, the scores acquired could be forged to prove that schools are not doing as well as they are. This frightens me because the government is supposed to be the ones who are honorable and the people that citizens trust with politics. Faking the scores to show some information that the government wants to be true is completely and utterly unacceptable. The reason for school closures nowadays is because of low test scores, but after reading this chapter, it makes me question what is really happening behind closed doors. The people that get directly affected are the students and the teachers. The students will have to be put in alternative schools, which is obviously leading to overcrowding. The teachers are labeled as inadequate and the parents will get upset and it seems that everything goes back to the way the teacher is teaching. It seems that even after identifying the troubled schools, the government still hasn’t taken any effective action to better that school and the programs offered. NCLB seems to excessive and unnecessary. I find this to hold somewhat true. Schools that are already failing do not need more tests to verify that fact. The government seems to be spending money on tests, programs, and other types of regulations that are obviously not needed. That money is used the wrong way and students, teachers, and parents are suffering.

Even if the government were to implement a new way of testing or regulating school curriculum, how effective would it be? and would it even help the situation anymore than it is now?

The final chapter mentions a lot about getting rid of prayers in the public school system. I think it that schools and religion should be completely separate and secular. It is not fair for people of different cultural backgrounds to be taught a specific religion or practice. Just because the bible is not practiced in schools, it does not mean that it is not practiced in the country. It is pretty evident that the most practiced religion in the U.S is Christianity, and even the constitution favors Christians. We would use to have to pledge allegiance to the flag and in that pledge, “under God” is used. When I was in elementary school I remember practicing this every morning despite that English was not my first language. I did not know what the words mean nor did I know what I was saying, I just mumbled along with my classmates and soon enough I was pronouncing every single word perfectly even though I had no clue what I was saying. Even now I would be able to recite the pledge of allegiance and still question what the true meaning is. There is an extreme bias for Christians which is extremely unfair to other people who make up the country and the school systems. In the chapter, it said that Reagan was trying to gain popularity by promoting prayers in school. If prayers were still allowed in schools, I think we would have a very big problem. I don’t think it is safe to mix religion with education just because people come from so many backgrounds and have so many different beliefs that just introducing and teaching one religion can lead to uprisings. This is similar to how the class felt about schools only teaching U.S history and not focusing on other parts of the world.

The No Child Left Behind Act is supposed to help create equal opportunities for students. However, it is pretty evident that that is not true. Children may be put into schools and it may be mandated that they do, but how do we know each child is getting the same opportunities as someone who has more money and more funding for their schools. Just placing children into schools is not enough. There may be bad teachers and there may be good teachers, bad neighborhoods and good neighborhoods, so how can we ensure that each and every child is getting what they need to succeed? As mentioned in the previous chapter, rich neighborhoods have better academic statistics compared to developing neighborhoods and communities. Nationalizing a set curriculum sounds to be a great idea to get the entire country on the same level, but with different teachers, we cannot monitor the ways students are being taught and how well or fast they take in the information. It is really hard to implement any kind of system where we know for sure each and every child is learning at the same speed and getting the same resources. There is no such thing as “equal” in a capitalist country. The people with more  money will always have better opportunities because they will always have leverage over the poorer community. They will always have better facilities, better equipment, better programs, and a better curriculum. So how effective are these new acts in helping children, parents, and the community to achieve better standards? and where do you feel the government is lacking?

Kozol addresses the fact that schools that are doing poorly is because they are underfunded. The reason for them being underfunded is because of the demographics and the neighborhood of the particular school. He talks about how district 10 in the Bronx is basically broken up into two districts because the northwestern part fosters many elite and sophisticated families and consists of very few low-income families as opposed the southern part, where they are many nonwhites. It is pretty obvious that the northern part of the district 10 is doing a lot better than the southern part. The government even favors the district that is doing better because when it comes to a distribution of electronics, the northern region gets more supplies. This is not only evident in the Bronx, but everywhere they are schools. People give more praise to those that are doing better, and the reason they do better is because they are more than well-equipped to learn and to participate in school activities. Under-performing school are below standards because it is quite obvious that they under-funded. Without proper facilities, money, and support, these school will never get up to par with the better schools. And with the failing economy, the government wants to get rid of under-performing schools, which leads to bigger class sizes and less attention to the students. When students get less attention, they will not learn as well, no matter how well they are being funded. It is easier for a class of 20 to learn the same material than it would for a class of 35. There will be too much going on for the students as well as the staff. So closing down schools is obviously not the answer. Parents are upset because their children do not have a school that belongs to them anymore. Big schools are being sectioned off into elementary, middle, and even high schools. . .  so basically three schools in one building– that does not seem like a perfect environment to foster any kind of learning and progression.

Another thing I found interesting was how government officials think that school are under-performing because those schools have bad teachers. The superintendent believes that in order to help schools in the southern part of the Bronx, they would have to improve thee quality of teachers in poor schools. This does not make any sense to me because if the same teacher were put in a better school, her students would do better than those in the bad school. It is very unfair to the teachers who get put into bad schools because they seem to be the only people the community blames. Why are the children  not doing well in school? Why are they failing? People will automatically assume that it is because the teacher is inexperienced, using the wrong teaching methods, and is inadequate. Both students and teachers need to be well funded in order for progress to happen. If a teacher from northern Bronx were to be put in a bad neighborhood, does that mean that the children will automatically get better grades? No. A lot of pressure is put on teachers because they are the ones who are around the students all the time and have the most interaction. It is not fair to say a teacher is good because her students get good grades and to say a teacher is bad if her students get bad grades. There are so many factors that need to be considered but are overlooked.

There are so many obvious inequalities which led to the government  trying to step in and help. How big of an impact do you think they will have on the future education system? Will it be possible to end inequality at all?

Racism obviously still occurs but on a more low-key scale. The beginning of chapter identifies people’s first experience with race-related memories. Children or even adults have misconceptions about different races and ethnic backgrounds because they are not familiar with those types of people. But racism is learned. Children are not born hating the different skin colors there are, but it is because what their parents teach them. I believe that racism is based on bias and stereotypes. Growing up, my parents always warned me about non-Asian races because they thought those people were bad. I grew up distant from people who were  not Asian because of what my parents had told me, but as I got older, I started to realize what my parents experience was a result of pure ignorance. They had never encountered people of other races before since they came from Asia. But America is truly a melting pot and my parents could only rely on instincts. Luckily, those racist thoughts and lessons left me because I learned that all people are basically the same, and what does it matter if we’re different colors? But I have to admit, I still have some preconceived judgments about people but I’m pretty sure others do too. But it is up to society and schools to teach children about the different races there are in school to help the community be more accepting and open. However, I don’t believe that prejudice, bias, and stereotypes will ever vanish because these preconceived thoughts sometimes hold true.

Tatum also touched on a really interesting point of how lighter skin blacks and darker skin blacks were perceived differently. She mentioned about a conversation she had with another child when she was young about how she wasn’t black and that she was just tan. I think this is really significant with how blacks portray themselves. Of course, Tatum is black but a lighter skin black, but nonetheless black. For many years, blacks have been ridiculed for their skin color because they are not light skinned. This causes blacks to be ashamed of their skin color and heritage because of mean comments and the way society has treated them. Also in popular culture now,it is very unlikely to see a very dark African American because I think the idea of light skin=beauty still resonates in society. With that said, the media has a lot of influence in the way people are, so children who recognize this will treat others differently. Though racism is not allowed anymore, it is without a doubt that stereotypes, prejudice, and biases still occur. Could the government or mass media be at fault? and can racism be completely abolished?

Bilingual education is an important and wonderful aspect of American education. Bilingual or duo-language education makes schools much better for immigrants because they can learn English through their native language. In addition, duo-language education will help preserve the immigrants native culture. Before the Bilingual Act in 1969, immigrants, namely Mexican-Americans and Hispanic-Americans, created an uproar against the government because they felt that they were being suppressed and their culture was being ignored. Biligualism became the most important factor between voting democrat or republican. Mexicans and Puerto Ricans were strong advocates for the democratic party, which is why the democratic party won and passed the Bilingual Act. We can see how important it is to preserve one’s native culture even in modern society. We have various ethnic parades to celebrate the many different backgrounds there are in America, and to implement bilingual education in schools is a great idea. Students not only learn a language other than English, but they get to experience a different culture if the second language is not theirs. I know there has been a lot of debate going on over whether or not the United States should have an official language that is English. It would completely eliminate the use of bilingual education, which would then cause a bigger uproar because the U.S is made up of so many different ethnicities. But with so many ethnicities in America, how do we choose which other language is appropriate to teach in the school system?

Another interesting point was the section about children with special needs. For years children with disabilities were neglected and segregated for being different and learning in a different style. It is without a doubt to say that that type of unfair treatment should not be tolerated. Yet we still see a divide in schools where children who learn at the average rate are put together in one class, and those who have special needs are put into separate classes. I don’t think this is a reasonable way to divide children. Children will automatically know who is more capable and who is not, and for the school system to draw clear lines to show the difference makes it no different from bullying. I still think that there is much to be done over this situation because any type of division in the school will be critiqued by parents and the public. Students with disabilities are still capable of learning, they just learn at a different speed or through a different technique. It wouldn’t be okay if the world favored normal people over those who have special needs, so why implement that when children are young? Many people fail to remember that what children experience when they are younger will and can dramatically affect them when they are adults, so if they were taught in an environment where people with differences need to be separated, they will not be open to the different types of people there are in the world. So, what can be done to close this gap between special education and “normal” education learners so that we can have a fairer school system?

Giving youth the choice of entering the military is a great idea and seems pretty ideal for the government. The government would be able to have men for their troops and will be able to use these men as means of protection for their country. But the men that join also get benefits out of the military too. The book states that the government will provide for tuition costs and expenses for college and postsecondary schooling for the veterans. The whole concept seems flawless and both sides win. However, the fact that the military was only open to men and not women made it less likely for women youth to get a job and an education. Also, men were drafted at a point to join the military and did not enter at their own will. The government’s idea of implementing more jobs is to force young men into the battlefield and hopefully take it as an experience and continue on with a collegiate career afterwards. Some people join the military because of the benefits they will get. I know on some job applications you have to indicate whether or not you were in the military or not, and it is very likely that those who have served will get the job. This creates an unequal playing field for those who do not want to join the American battle force because it is very evident that their are many risks. As mentioned before, there was a draft, but now people can enter the military on their own will. Whether or not they are doing it to show their nationalism and patriotism, we will not know, but it is safe to say that they will get many benefits out of their experience.

This chapter also touches on SAT testing and I don’t believe it is the best way to assess one’s knowledge and capabilities. The SATs were created to measure intelligence and a person’s place in the labor market. That is, if you are smart, then you must be well off in society, and if you are dumb, well, that’s just too bad for you. But the issue with the SATs is that many students are forced to take it for their college career but the scores are never used again to determine anything else. If you score higher than the average child, you will be able to get into the school. But for the child who scores lower and gets into a mediocre college, he also has the choice of transferring. In that process, SAT scores are not needed anymore, and that child could very well end up in the same college as the child who scored a lot higher. We have already established that we do not believe the SATs directly reflects any kind of intelligence, but there is no happy medium. Schools will always stand by testing and students will try to get rid of it. Also, the fact that the regents exams are so closely formatted as the ACT subject tests makes it seem like it would only make sense to get rid of one of those tests. However, it is advised by teachers to have students take the ACTs in case their SAT scores are not high enough. But if a student does well in school and bad on the SATs, his or her chance will to get into their dream school will still be jeopardize. The most interesting point the book makes is that these tests are used to judge people’s place in society. That just seems absurd because book smarts is very different from street smarts and any other kind of smarts. But these tests only test on material learned from books. So what is a better system for testing that we can implement on the school system to ensure maximum opportunity for children to succeed? and should the government step in to regulate what and how is being tested?

This chapter touches on the influence of the media and how it affects children in school. I think that media is extremely important and should be controlled because there is just too much that is uncensored for children. There are television shows that embrace teen mothers and glorify teen pregnancy, reality shows that are merely for entertainment and are ultimately pointless, and shows that just emphasis on the bad. When children watch these shows, they automatically want to act like the characters in the show. There are much racier shows that air on public television nowadays, and it is sending the wrong image to children. I remember an episode of Gossip Girl where a threesome was occurring and it received a lot of criticism even though the scenes were not explicit but it was obvious what the show was trying to convey. The show is very successful and is marketed towards young teens to young adults. It seems okay for adults to see shows that embody a lot of sexual innuendos, but it is not for children. And I agree that there should some limitations to what public television shows. The chapter talked about movies and radios, but in this era, there is much more freedom in what the media can show. But then again, the media is not all that is responsible for rowdy or unacceptable behavior, parents, friends, and other people around the child affects their ability in school as well.

Another thing the chapter talked about that I found true was using movies to promote morals. I think film is a great way to educate children because there are so many movies and shows that promote good behavior and actually teach the children something. The book says that there is a difference between movies that are morally uplifting and movies that are just plain degrading, and it is up to the adults around the child to determine if the movie is appropriate for children. Disney movies are almost always shown to children when they are little and I think those movies are fine because it helps foster children’s creativity and the movies create a type of hope. Other shows like The Magic School Bus and Arthur are very informative and make learning fun and more interactive. However, when parents use television as a tool to quiet down their children, it becomes a problem. The media has such great influence over children that they need to be monitored and taken seriously. Even commercials can send of the wrong idea sometimes because a lot of commercials use sex and other racy material to promote their products. If an adult sees the commercials, they would be fine with it, but if a child sees it, they may get the wrong idea. It seems ideal to control what children are exposed to these days, but it is very difficult because there are so many factors that contribute to a child’s growth, and it would be impossible to monitor everything. So do you think the government should step in and regulate television shows, movies, and the radio to make sure children are raised properly and correctly? and how can parents and other adults get involved to help?