the Story of School: Episode 1980-Present

It seems like the biggest trend in this span of time was the idea of reform spurred on by the Nation at Risk essay that came out during Reagan's administration. There was a big push for measurable results. This meant that all students were tested and the results compared with previous results. It was a lot like how the economy functions. There is a budget you have to reach and if you go over that you make a profit. They wanted schools to be profitable.

This brought with it another movement of reform particularly in Harlem. One based on competition and choose. They made some schools smaller and more specialized. Students could choose which schools to go to. These schools did very well and often out performed the traditional public schools. Unfortunately many students weren't able to go to these schools due to distance and not enough of them for all the students who want to go, to go. These schools eventually became magnet schools but they didn't completely fix the problem. This idea seems really good to me. I think that students should be able to decide what they want to do. They should be able to take courses they enjoy and courses that will help them get where it is they want to go in life. And these schools should be open to all kids. That way all of these kids have the opportunity to get a good education in something they like. After all isn't that half the battle with teaching? How do we get students to sit up, listen and believe that our class is important to their life? If all schools were formed around some kind of choice it might help with that.

The next idea that came to the front as a movement was to give vouchers to students who could not normally afford a private school so that they can go. I think this is a decent idea because it means that more students have the opportunities that rich students have. Unfortunately, I don't think this is a solution because not all students can get a voucher and it isn't doing anything to help the public schools. It is harming more students in the long run than it is helping. I am not sure why the government would think this could a solution for schools as a whole.

Another movement sprang up in Baltimore. It was to privatize the schools by allowing the businesses to come in and fund the schools. It was an interesting idea. It brought in more technology and better school supplies but it didn't help the students do better. It also cut out many art and music programs. I feel like this is a mix of good and bad. I think it is good that they were able to get better materials and I think it would be great if the government could take ideas from this in order to get their schools the same things. However, I don't think that cutting out music and art is a good idea. I believe those are equally important in enriching our lives. Plus many students only go to class because if they don't they can't go to their rehearsals that night. There were many days I went to school only because if I didn't I couldn't be at theater that night. And I was one of the good students.