Wednesday, March 26, 2014

Third Answer

Content:

EQ: How can a nonprofit best promote high school education to socioeconomically disadvantaged teenagers in Los Angeles?

Answer #3: To ensure students are granted equal educational opportunity.

Detail 1: In the United States, schools are funded by property taxes. In lower income areas with lower property taxes, schools are of lower quality.

Detail 2: The top 10% of U.S. schools only accept about 9% of their students from the bottom 2 income quintiles,

Detail 3: Family resources are one favor in educational inequity - 15% of white students, and 10% of asians are raised in single family homes, while 27% of latinos and 54% of african american students have only one parent.

Source: Holsinger, Donald B. "Inequality in Education: Comparative and International Perspectives." CERC, 2007. Web. 2008. http://sociologia.davidjustino.com/wp-content/uploads/2012/05/HOLSINGER2008_inequality_in_education.pdf

Conclusion: As many educational equality reforms have existed in the United States, educational inequality by socioeconomic class is still a very big problem.

Sunday, March 9, 2014

Educational Variance - A hardship!

 "The roots of education are bitter, but the fruit is sweet."
 - Aristotle.


The more I research into the United States' complex educational system, the more I question. The most outright current problem with it is that none of it is unified. Going over from California to Nevada may result in a change on any given test of up to 15 mean percentile points, according to the Economics of BA Ambivalence, by the University of Minnesota.

Each state - in terms of education - seems to function independently of its neighbors, with Alabama, Mississippi, and Georgia having the lowest median standardized test scores, while Rhode Island, New Jersey, and Maryland have the highest median scores.

This variance proves to be a major problem in my research because when research papers often compare the United States to other countries, it allows for the extremely low scoring states to bring down the overall average and therefore adds a large error to the results. From now on, I must keep this in mind in order to accurately compare other country's results to the United States. On the other hand, I think this educational variance is what speaks for itself in terms of the United State's overall educational performance.


Monday, March 3, 2014

Fourth Interview Questions

Content:

Post 20 open-ended questions for approval you want to ask an expert in the field of your senior project.  The focus of your questions should be on your many answers.

1st answer: To push for a reform in education which emphasizes workforce training.

2nd answer:To support teachers with effective technology integration within educational environments.

3rd possible answer: Something having to do with international competition/future job markets.

4th possible answer: To clarify existing societal misconceptions. [needs immediate rewording]

1. In your experience, how does a solid education affect an individual to be a functioning member of society?

2. In your experience, how does an individual stemming from a lower income environment differ from an individual stemming from a higher income environment?

3. As the United States as a whole, how can we best ensure our students can compete against other nations?

4. As the United States as whole, how can we best ensure our students are prepared for the future job markets?

5. How may future students be best prepared outside of formal schooling?

6. In your experience, what separates successful teachers from unsuccessful ones?

7. Following those traits, how can these tactics be employed to create more successful teachers?

8. In your experience, how do students respond to "busy work"?

9. In your experience, how do students respond to work they find applicable to real life?

10. In your experience, how do students who learn in collaborative environments differ from individual learners?

11. In the future, what are some of the potential ways you can see technology shaping education?

12. What are some of the potential ways you can see technology shaping society?

13. In your opinion, how may technology be successfully implemented within classrooms?

14. In your opinion, how may technology be misused within classrooms?

15. How can we best teach our students while still giving them the abilities to function within an increasingly rapid-paced technological society?

16. What existing misconceptions do teachers have that affect students today?

17. What existing misconceptions does society have that affect students today?

18. What do you think society's general opinion about our youth is today?

19. If you could change any opinion of society today about your youth, what would it be and why?

20.  How can the United States best be changed to improve modern education and equity for all?