Breaking the Small Business Code

The Brick Walls Keeping Education from Improving

    US News & World Report's Education Blog has a GREAT blog article on how the eduation "community" received President Obama's proposals for improving education. The differing opinions on what he said and what needs to be done is sadly another example of why it will be so difficult to improve education in America.

    To refresh your recollection, President Obama said he wants the United States to have the highest proportion of college graduates in the world by 2020 and asked every American to complete a year or more of college or career training. He talked about the need for more reform in education and said he wants to reward teacher performance and grow the number of charter schools. He also talked about providing ore financial support from pre-school through college.

    Sadly, as usual, the "education community" was NOT pulling together. As usual the entrenched interests looked at their position and as the comments of the various "experts" show - they are all going in different directions.

    I am becoming so frustrated that I voiced my opinion in the comments section!  To read the article AND my comments, go to the On Education Blog Comment Section.  Then add your own comments there or here!

Do AP Classes Teach the Subject or to Pass the Test?

     My favorite resource for college-related news US News has ANOTHER great article -  this time on how some high schools are considering dropping the College Board's Advanced Placement (AP) classes. 

    The reason being given is it "restricts" how teachers can teach.  The issue teachers say is they want to put less emphasis on memorization and test preparation and more on "exploration" of the material.  This is another example of the conflict between testing to make sure our students have a minimum level of skills versus teaching to pass the exit or other measurement exam!

     What complicates things is the AP class is considered as being a "valuable"  indicator of the ability of the student to do college-level work compared to taking a traditional/non-AP classes.  Because AP classes are taught to a specific "rigorous" college prep level and there is a national test through the College Board (same people who do the SAT), it helps validate a student's college potential compared to other students.  This is especially valuable when the college admissions staff does not know much about the high school's reputation.

     Most high schools also add a point to the student's classroom grade (e.g., a 3.0 is a 4.0 in an AP class) in recognition of the difficulty of the classes compared to the traditional level classes.  This AP bonus can mean a higher overall GPA value for students.  The problem in dropping the AP classes is the more elite the college, the more likely other applicants are taking AP classes and that their high school GPA will be over 4.0!

    I can agree that "learning" may be different when there is less emphasis on memorization and preparation for passing the AP test. I also agree there is a need to measure the "learning outcome" so we can tell if our children are getting the education they need.  So both approaches are right and both are wrong.  We need a blend of both!

   Again, what do you think?  What should we do to measure student preparation versus teaching beyond passing a test?

   

Impact of High School Accreditation

     What happens when the high school loses its accreditation?

     This is more than a theoretical question.  The Southern Association of Colleges and Schools (SACS), one of the nation's major accrediting agencies, revoked the Clayton County school system's accreditation in late August after the district's leaders failed to achieve eight of nine mandates for improvement set by SACS in February 2008.  This situation is impacting thousands of students, many who are applying to college right now.

      There is a great summation of the situation at US News & World Report posted on 9-19-2008. (click logo for link to article).

     Supposedly, college-bound students will not be directly impacted by the revocation.  Per the US News reporting, Georgia does not require in-state applicants to its state universities to graduate from accredited high school.  Several colleges, including Harvard, said its admissions process doesn't really look at lack of accreditation.  The reason given is they admit students from other than "traditional" high schools including home school and foreign students.

     So what does this mean for students at marginal high schools? The impact on college admissions becomes how the college will evaluate the applicant GPAs.  The use of "neutral" or equally administered admissions tests like SAT,  SAT IIs, ACT, and AP tests may become more important when the value of the grades becomes questionable.  The more elite the college, the important testing may become to prove the level of education received.

    The same US News article had a great quote from Forest Park High School Parent Teacher Student Association President Theresa Brown-Manuel. She feels strongly that parents should ask: "What can I do as a parent and as a member of the PTSA to help solve this problem? Well, I can do a lot."      Parents and students need to be involved with their high schools to INSIST that they be given the best education possible.  Look at testing scores.  Look at what percent of students go on to colleges.  If they are not good enough, work to make them better!

Wall Street Meltdown Affecting Student Jobs

There is a great blog by Alison Go at the U.S. News blog site about the impact of the failure of Lehmann Brothers on student jobs.  Not only are college seniors and graduate students with offers being impacted, alumni from the elite Ivies like Yale are calling career centers for help.

     What I found the most interesting is a quote in the blog that was taken from the Michigan Daily by Al Cotrone, director of career development at the Business School:

"With fewer positions available and more veteran bankers looking for jobs, every student who's interested in banking will need to take a real serious look at the career they want and the life they want and the risks they take with that choice," said Michigan's business school career development director. "

    

 

             THE MAJOR YOU CHOOSE CAN IMPACT YOUR JOB PROSPECTS!

     Why is this such a big deal to me?  It's because over and over again I hear counselors tell students to pick majors in topics that interest them.  I like to call it the "follow your bliss" mantra from the 1960's.  Do something you love and success will follow.

     I agree with a Yes, BUT!  There is no guarantee that you will be able to find a JOB in what it is you like to do.  You may LOVE and be very good at English Romance Literature but I don't know about very many jobs in that field. 

    So the answer is BALANCE, RESEARCH and FLEXIBILITY.  It's okay to major in something you like but DO THE RESEARCH to understand the potential for jobs.  Have a balanced approach about picking a major you like with an education that lets you get a job.  And should you not be able to find a job in your major because the market has changed like it has just done, you need to be FLEXIBLE and learn new skills or maybe even look into a major or job you don't like as well!

    College is a great place for an education.  The problem is the real world will want to hire you to do something.  The question is whether or not your major in which you have an education can get you a job that allows you to live the life you want!