In what ways can the use of standards improve the educational system? Describe.

         -if students do not have expectations to live up to, they will not try hard. Implementing standards is the best way to get students working. In High school, I had an English teacher who use to be a professor for UGA. She was the kind you did not mess with. The thought of even being late to her class made your stomach turn. She expected a lot from us, and in return this made me a better student and overly prepared me for college. Engl 1101 and 1102 were such a breeze for me, and I am so thankful she was hard on us. A student’s potential can be squandered by a teacher’s inability to push them.

 

What are some of the potential limitations? List and explain.

         -one of the limitations of raising the standards in schools is that not everyone will “get over the hump”. I was able to take really hard classes in high school because I had a very supportive family who encouraged me all the way. I realize some are not so lucky. Second, expecting more from the students will affect the student who are trying the hardest they can now and still barely passing classes. Third, this shift in standards may be too much for some students and they may just completely give up, which is the scariest part of rasing expectations. The school must “test the waters” to find the right medium of developing higher standards without being unreasonable with the students.

 

List and describe at least three (3) reasons why BASIS High School is the top performing public high school in the nation. Each reason you provide must be described in at least one paragraph or more - do NOT provide a bullet list!

         -The first reason BASIS High school is so successful is because the instructors’ pay is solely based on the performance of the students. There is no teachers’ union. Although we like to believe every teacher loves the job and their students and would do anything to help the children succeed, some do not. Some teachers come in the classroom and could care less if the students learn, and this does not matter to them because they are getting paid either way. This form of payment insures that the teacher will try their best to educate the students. Second, the BASIS schools do not have outside class distractions: no sports. Many think the BASIS are missing the high school experience of playing sports which makes more friends, cheering on those friends and shoeing school pride, and learning how to work together. This may be true on some levels, but sports are used as a past time in high school because most student do not really know what they are working towards yet. In the BASIS schools, most of these students already know what field of work they want to go into; so why not spend that extra time focusing on making that journey to their futures quicker? Third, all the teachers of BASIS have a PHD in the subjects they teach. Being that they have worked in these careers and fields, they know all about the material and could teach it to others. But if you do not have an education degree, you more than likely cannot teach at an American public school which the BASIS people really feel is an injustice to the children enrolled in American public schools.

 

Who is John Gatto referring to in his quote (above) as "some people"? Explain why "some people" would think that our form of schooling is "useful". Hint - you might have to do some Internet research.

         -I believe John Gatto is referring to our government, who do not spend enough money on education. He is trying to point out that they are doing the bare minimum to educate our students. Spending just enough to get some students into college, where they will pay it back times ten. This is very frustrating for those who love our country, to see time and time again, the school system not educating students properly and producing young adults who have never been pushed to work hard.

 

Summary:
This lesson really got me thinking about how we must find a middle ground with our students. How we can push them to succeed without pushing them over the edge. It has been proven over an over again that most people are more successful if they are pushed to try harder, but what are the others who crack under this pressure? Do we forget them and rejoice the ones who made it? When raising standards, we must raise them according to everyone’s potential. What if a school purposed that everyone learn calculus that year? Well, that would be great for the seniors, but not for the fifth graders. It is not about raising the bar to the same level for every student, but raising it for every student on their level.