You know the National Education Association (NEA), the union of public school teachers who are so interested in the education of America’s children. XEKE.com has written previously about the state of the American public school system in “Honesty Is Always The Best Policy, pt. 3,” but a subject such as education, and the damage that the NEA has done to our educational system under the guise of care and compassion, warrants further comment.
The following is posted on NEA.org. (I’m intentionally not linking their website because it’s not worth your time. Trust XEKE.com to brave the front and report to you what is important.) XEKE.com’s comments will appear throughout the piece.
We also believe that providing great public schools for every child is the shared responsibility of NEA and its 3.2 million members/educators, as well as parents, families, communities, businesses, and government at the national, state, and local levels.
NEA has developed 12 action steps to address the nation's school dropout crisis. While there are many ways to address this problem, NEA has chosen steps that are the most promising based on a wide range of experience and data.
Mandate high school graduation or equivalency as compulsory for everyone below the age of 21. Just as we established compulsory attendance to the age of 16 or 17 in the beginning of the 20th century, it is appropriate and critical to eradicate the idea of "dropping out" before achieving a diploma. To compete in the 21st century, all of our citizens, at minimum, need a high school education.
Not bad, not bad. But what’s the “punishment” for not having a high school diploma/GED? There are plenty of mandates on the books that are not enforced, will this be any different? (See gun control, immigration, etc.)
Establish high school graduation centers for students 19-21 years old to provide specialized instruction and counseling to all students in this older age group who would be more effectively addressed in classes apart from younger students.
Coddling these drop-outs is what got them there in the first place. First we couldn’t spank them, then we couldn’t enforce attendance, then we couldn’t hurt their feelings. Where does it end? Discipline and incentive is what they need, not one more “safety net.”
Make sure students receive individual attention in safe schools, in smaller learning communities within large schools, in small classes (18 or fewer students), and in programs during the summer, weekends, and before and after school that provide tutoring and build on what students learn during the school day.
There is already a group of folks doing this, and doing it well: the private schools. Why not fund the groups who are currently doing this effectively with tax vouchers rather than trusting a group of people (the NEA) who has failed over and over again to learn fiscal responsibility.
When the NEA says, “ Make sure students receive individual attention,” they mean raise more taxes to pay people to give the individual attention. We could save a lot of money by diverting tax dollars from the ineffective NEA to the effective private sector.
Expand students' graduation options through creative partnerships with community colleges in career and technical fields and with alternative schools so that students have another way to earn a high school diploma. For students who are incarcerated, tie their release to high school graduation at the end of their sentences.
Explain to XEKE.com how this is not already happening. There are more college openings than there are students to fill them. Any student with initiative knows that if they finish high school with respectable (loosely defined) grades there is a college opportunity for them, many at a low cost via scholarships, grants, loans, or the tried and true method: work.
Increase career education and workforce readiness programs in schools so that students see the connection between school and careers after graduation. To ensure that students have the skills they need for these careers, integrate 21st century skills into the curriculum and provide all students.
This might happen more readily if more teachers showed personal initiative to make connections in the world outside of education, and arrange for those connections to spend a few hours in the classroom presenting their careers and the education it took to achieve that career. This isn’t rocket science, and we don’t need to fund programs to promote what should be simple, creative common sense.
Act early so students do not drop out with high-quality, universal preschool and full-day kindergarten; strong elementary programs that ensure students are doing grade-level work when they enter middle school; and middle school programs that address causes of dropping out that appear in these grades and ensure that students have access to algebra, science, and other courses that serve as the foundation for success in high school and beyond.
Universal = we all foot the bill. High-quality preschool, kindergarten and grade-level achievement are the responsibilities of the family, not the state. Universal preschool = get them while their young so we can fill their minds with our philosophy rather than what the parents what to teach.
Involve families in students' learning at school and at home in new and creative ways so that all families-single-parent families, families in poverty, and families in minority communities-can support their children's academic achievement, help their children engage in healthy behaviors, and stay actively involved in their children's education from preschool through high school graduation.
Haaaaalleluja! Haaaaalleluja! Halleluja! Halleluja! Halleeeeeeluuuuuuja!
Monitor students' academic progress in school through a variety of measures during the school year that provide a full picture of students' learning and help teachers make sure students do not fall behind academically.
Let me get this straight. No Child Left Behind was bad because it meant that teachers had to spend their classroom time getting ready for standardized tests at the end of the year, but this suggestion is good because we’ll measure academic progress multiple times throughout the year? This sounds to me like an improvement on NCLB, but I must be missing something.
Monitor, accurately report, and work to reduce dropout rates by gathering accurate data for key student groups (such as racial, ethnic, and economic), establishing benchmarks in each state for eliminating dropouts, and adopting the standardized reporting method developed by the National Governors Association.
This might mean identifying the teachers whose students are not being adequately prepared. What will we do with those teachers? I’m not convinced the NEA will do what needs to be done (namely, relieve them of their duties). Additionally, this may mean rewarding teachers who excel at preparing their students. Will the NEA reward some teachers without rewarding them all? This, too, remains to be seen.
Involve the entire community in dropout prevention through family-friendly policies that provide release time for employees to attend parent-teacher conferences; work schedules for high school students that enable them to attend classes on time and be ready to learn; "adopt a school" programs that encourage volunteerism and community-led projects in school; and community-based, real-world learning experiences for students.
XEKE.com can live with this suggestion, so long as this “release time” is not mandated by federal law. Mandates as such fly in the face of the free market (see Family Leave Act). XEKE.com would propose that businesses be encouraged to offer this as an incentive to attract the best family-friendly workers.
Make sure educators have the training and resources they need to prevent students from dropping out including professional development focused on the needs of diverse students and students who are at risk of dropping out; up-to-date textbooks and materials, computers, and information technology; and safe modern schools.
Teachers should be prepared to teach their subjects in interesting, relevant ways. Period.
Make high school graduation a federal priority by calling on Congress and the president to invest $10 billion over the next 10 years to support dropout prevention programs and states who make high school graduation compulsory.
Until proven otherwise, XEKE.com is convinced that this number was pulled out of thin air. Once told for what this $10 billion will specifically be used, XEKE.com will have further comment (although we’re suspicious at this point that the money will line the pockets of the NEA hierarchy). Until then, we advocate limiting federal spending.
So there’s a little dose of the NEA’s agenda. One out of twelve isn't bad for this bunch. This time it’s the drop-out rate. Next time it’ll be science education, teacher salaries, or anti-WalMart bias.