Module 11 Questions and Concerns

Concern: The population of schools continues to rise while the number of available schools continues to decline along with funding for operating schools (the book is contradictory in this statement - page 399 mentions that the number of schools is on the decline; however, on page 400, it says that the number of schools is increasing. Having been witness to many schools closing due to funding and consolidation issues, the latter is probably not the case). Meanwhile, standards, which are not funded by the government continue to increase. The ideal here is oxymoronish. Along with those increases in population, more and more attention is being directed to the minority-driven population groups while asking schools (teachers) to accommodate and educate these groups in order to bring them up to par with the "rest" of the students - namely the whites - all the while raising the standards, which increases the risk for failure for groups already not performing equally across the board. Question: Why would the public and its government expect schools to operate on less, when standards and diverse populations increase? Concern: It is amazing to me that people are confused about the financial crisis America's schools are facing. When you look at the charts on page 407, it is clear that there is a great discrepancy among school districts. On the one hand, a larger school district may offer greater pressure just by sheer numbers. On the other hand, a smaller school district, with lower populations probably has somewhat less day-to-day "office-type" stress, but sometimes those smaller districts offer a greater sense of buearocratic problems because of tight-knit communities with very strong religious centers. That difference in salaries can be directly translated into the classroom as to how much money is spent on each child simply because where they live. Isn't this discriminatory? Question: How do we change the way America views public school funding? NCLB wants all children to be on the same level, learning the same things. But no one wants to change the way the money is distributed. No one seems to want to correct the problems that will likely plague public schools, forcing children to bear the load of inconsistencies in learning. The best way I can think to describe it is this: We feel sorry for the people of Japan in the recent tragedies they have faced. But it isn't directly affecting us - we see it on TV and say, oh - those poor, poor people. But we do nothing because it hasn't reached us personally and it hasn't changed the way we live our daily lives. It's the same in public school funding - no one worries about what's happening until it affects their children directly - when it comes into their living room and sits at the dinner table every night in their house is when people start worrying. Shouldn't this be where we begin to make the change?