Does it even seem plausible for America's public schools to model any of the elite schools? If our public schools could resemble some of the elite schools within America, then yes it would make the education system one step closer to solving the failing test scores, and the" blame-the-teacher" concept. The only question of whether or not this could ever happen would be the question of where the money would come from. While thinking about this I remember in the film Waiting for Superman how they explained the amount of money it cost to imprison one of the teenagers, a high school dropout who got into trouble, verses the amount it would take to send them to an elite academy in the area. They said the difference would be about $8,000. Therefore if our government has the money to fund prisoners for four years, totaling a higher cost than to give them the money to put them through four years of school, why is it not considered as a possible option to solve the education problem?
I do not know the amount of funding our government could afford to give to schools and give to help support a reform for education, but if they can afford to put those students who cause trouble in prison for the same amount of years it would take to educate them, it would seem to me to be a better option.
A lot more has to be evaluated when looking at where the problem lies in education. It is not solely a "blame-the-teacher" problem, but instead has many other contributing factors. What about the child's home life and whether or not they have the basic necessities, or the push and motivation needed to study and do their homework while at home, not only focus when in the classroom. Also, the teacher to student ratio should be examined. In those schools with a better teacher to student ratio, the students are most definitely benefiting from getting a little extra attention than otherwise would be given if more students were in the classroom. Lastly, I think we really need to evaluate the programs our teachers come from, the materials they are learning there, and if they have the ability to teach in different ways and to connect with different students. There is not only a need to teach, but a need for teachers to understand the methods behind it all.
Alyssa- The spending on prison vs. spending on schooling comparison is always compelling to me. It is amazing that we hear so much about the cost of schools and teachers salaries and so little about the cost of prisons, cops, prison guards and parol officers. This is where the media has really fallen down on the job...And I agree, a lot more than just teacher performance has to be considered when looking at the problems of our schools.
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