What I learned this week: Propaganda has a way of convincing people of certain untruths, to the point that they will vote against their own interests if they believe the lies they have been fed. If you repeat something long enough, people tend to believe it.
What I am grateful for: The power of prayer!
I admit I am on a bandwagon about public education. I will be producing and hosting a show you will be able watch on our website after April 20th. We are doing the live show at 7pm on April 20th, here on Ch. 8 HoustonPBS and you will be able to call or email us with questions, ideas and concerns. The topic is timely and no, this is not a fad. It is not going away with political winds why? Because it is a serious problem. If we don't deal with it. It will be difficult for us to thrive as the most powerful nation that we are. Both Republicans and Democrats are beginning to care about this. Those of us who are independent would have prefered that they would have thought about it a long time ago, but the media did not help by not holding them accountable and our own apathy didn't either. Here we are, the most powerful nation in the world, unable to educate most of our public school students. This in turn will create little hope for us to develop technology, innovation, maintain a middle class and tackle the permanent underclass this challenge is creating. I have hope however. We are Americans and we can solve anything if we put our minds to it and realize its importance for the future of our country.
Here are some interesting facts I read in Newsweek. In 2000, a comparative study of Western countries shows US students performing at or below average in math, reading and science. In the 1970's Teaching becomes less desirable as work opportunities increased for women. By 2000, 37 percent of teachers will come from colleges with SAT scores in the lowest 5%. Does that sound dissappointing? Well, Here is where we can find some hope. Wendy Kopp the Princeton senior whose thesis proposed graduates from elite schools into teaching poor kids led to Teach For America. Today 61 percent of those who did participate (about 17,000 alumni) are STILL TEACHING AFTER THEIR TWO YEAR TOURS. What does this say to me? Young people care. They are also at the core of the reform movement that seems to be having an impact. Here Yes and Kipp, two public charter schools are tackling serious problems. They may be able to choose their students, although it is open enrollment, but HISD is watching what they are doing. This does not mean by any means that the teachers that have taught for years or are quite experienced do not count. They have a lot to say and contribute. But let's face it. I don't know or think like my 20 year old nephew. He was raised with different technology, demands, global challenges and what we are asking of teachers today required a tremendous amount of stanima. Is that fair? Probably not. Is it necessary? Do we need to start all over? Can we keep teaching at risk kids (many in the public system are at risk) the same way we did 30 years ago? The Newsweek article points out "New Orleans has made more educational progress than any other city, largely because the public-school system was wiped out. " Do we need to wipe out our system and start all over? Let's forget who we have to blame. What would you do?
LIVING SMART IS NOW ON YOU TUBE. At least 2 seasons are so go there and start watching!
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