Back To Basics

According to the Educational Advocacy Group founded by Colin Powell, 50 of the largest cities in the United States has a drop-out rate of 52%. The national average as of April 2008 is 70%, which is 1.2 million public high school students every year.

Test scores world-wide places the USA in last place, with countries like Russia and Japan placing the highest. Since the US spends on average $25,000 per student, which is much higher than other countries, why are we last and what is the reason for the outrageous drop-out rates?

*Curriculum

It is obvious that students who 'are' graduating, only have an 8th grade comprehension level, so that must mean that the curriculum chosen by individual states is seriously lacking.

The students are not being taught the basic principles of Reading, Writing and Arithmetic. Due to a lack of teachers, time constraints in the classroom, unnecessary courses, too many students in one class, is it any wonder the children aren't learning anything?

Kids need motivation to learn and you can't do that with a room of 40 students and maybe 45 minutes to teach English. A minimum of one hour should be allotted for English, Math, Social Studies/History and Science. A separate class should be designed for Reading and Comprehension and Spelling. That would be six classes at one hour each.

Math should be up to and including Pre-Algebra. Anything higher, ie., Geometry, Trigonometry or Calculus, should be an elective course only. If a child can't figure out what 20 + 20 is, they aren't going to have a clue how to figure square roots or Pi.

*Discipline

In today's society, discipline in the schools is nil, thanks to many parents. Children need and expect discipline, whether it be at home or at school.

The only way to achieve discipline in the classroom is through respect. If students are made aware in the beginning what a teacher will or will not tolerate, guidelines are set.

They must be made aware that you are there to teach and make it fun and interesting. You are not there to confiscate cellphones and IPods, but will if it becomes necessary. When children learn boundaries, it becomes easier to keep their attention and teach them what they need to learn.

*Parental Participation

You cannot teach a child everything they need to know, therefore it is imperative that you involve the parents whenever possible. At the beginning of the school year, write a standard letter to the parents expressing your desire that occasionally you would like them to oversee a particular lesson or assist their child with research on a topic.

Statistics from the wsws.org (World Socialist Web Site), state that parents spend less than three hours per week regarding their childrens homework.

If parents participated more in their childrens education, maybe there would be less drop-outs because it would show the kids that their parents actually care and would be a better bonding experience between parent and child.

If we go back to the basics: curriculum, discipline and parental participation, there will be less drop-outs and better prepared young adults.

Learn more about this author, Nanette Piotrowski.
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