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Ethan Demme

Thoughts and Policy for Building a Better Pennsylvania

  • Education Reform
  • Parental Engagement
  • Public Policy
  • Lifelong Learning
  • Lancaster County
  • Education Reform
  • Parental Engagement
  • Public Policy
  • Lifelong Learning
  • Lancaster County
  • Education Reform
  • Parental Engagement
  • Public Policy
  • Lifelong Learning
  • Lancaster County

Education Reform

Age-Based Schooling? It Doesn’t Make Sense

September 2, 2015

schoolkidsWhy do we divide children into grades and classrooms based on age? Niccolò Viviani (@NiccolViviani) of Exosphere writes that it just doesn’t make sense. In an article on Medium.com, he writes:

We all know (it’s true for everyone and each of us!) that what you learn out of curiosity and interest sticks with you forever, while what you study out of threat of punishment will fade away very soon after the test is passed. Given that different people are curious and interested in different topics at different times, if we really care about learning we shouldn’t build a system that force every child on earth to study this when he is 7 years old and that when he is 7 years old and a half, this other thing when he is 12 and that one when he is 13.

Niccolo points out that in the real world, we have to interact with people of all different ages. Various circumstances and contexts lead us to take on different roles in relationship to other people – employee, manager, colleague, etc.. – but in the artificially constructed classroom, there are usually only two roles for students: peer and subordinate. One of the results, Niccolo says, is that school kids become college students who accept everything their professors teach without a second thought. One can see that same problem manifested by people listening indiscriminately to the TV pundit or the smooth-talking politician as well. Niccolo writes that this phenomenon is “based on the assumption that only experts could teach.”

In contrast, here’s the model that Exosphere proposes:

Older and younger students would play different roles in the learning environment and the variety would benefit all of them. Older students relating to younger peers would learn to tolerate and act respectful towards them and teaching them would become their best way to foster self-confidence about what they learned.

Click here to read the whole article.

To compliment this article, here’s Sir Ken Robinson’s world famous TED Talk, Changing Education Paradigms:

Filed Under: Education Reform Tagged With: classroom, learning, schools

Education: A Matter Of National Security

August 31, 2015

SONY DSC

Education is often discussed as a moral imperative, a source of economic equality, and a bedrock of the American Dream. Of course, it is all these things and more. But less intuitive is how education serves as a foundation for our national defense. A new Council on Foreign Relations (CFR)–sponsored Independent Task Force report on U.S. Education Reform and National Security expresses concern:

Educational failure puts the United States’ future economic prosperity, global position, and physical safety at risk.

And what does this failure look like? Consider these statistics from the report. 1): More than 25 percent of students fail to graduate from high school in four years; for African-American and Hispanic students, this number is approaching 40 percent and 2): A recent report by ACT, the not-for-profit testing organization, found that only 22 percent of U.S. high school students met “college ready” standards in all of their core subjects.

The report says:

The lack of preparedness poses threats on five national security fronts: economic growth and competitiveness, physical safety, intellectual property, U.S. global awareness, and U.S. unity and cohesion, says the report. Too many young people are not employable in an increasingly high-skilled and global economy, and too many are not qualified to join the military because they are physically unfit, have criminal records, or have an inadequate level of education.

To address this urgent need for education reform, the Task Force proposes three policy initiatives:

  • Implement educational expectations and assessments in subjects vital to protecting national security. “With the support of the federal government and industry partners, states should expand the Common Core State Standards, ensuring that students are mastering the skills and knowledge necessary to safeguard the country’s national security.”
  • Make structural changes to provide students with good choices. “Enhanced choice and competition, in an environment of equitable resource allocation, will fuel the innovation necessary to transform results.”
  • Launch a “national security readiness audit” to hold schools and policymakers accountable for results and to raise public awareness. “There should be a coordinated, national effort to assess whether students are learning the skills and knowledge necessary to safeguard America’s future security and prosperity. The results should be publicized to engage the American people in addressing problems and building on successes.”

You can read more about the task force and read its report by clicking here.

Filed Under: Education Reform Tagged With: education reform, national security

GOP Primary: Trusting Parents In Education (School Choice)

August 10, 2015

GOP

The GOP isn’t necessarily seen as a united party at the moment. It’s hard to find a single issue where the 15 Republican presidential candidates actually agree. However, there is one message that is being consistently stated by candidates from Bush to Paul to Carson. That message has to do with education:

#TrustParents.

Take a look at what has been said. (Bold added for ephasis)

Jeb Bush: “The best solution to our nation’s failing educational system is empowering parents.” [Source]

Ben Carson: ““Education that is closest to home, local education, seems to be the most effective education. So I would tend to be much more in favor of education that is controlled at a state level and by local municipalities—and in which the parents have a much greater say about what is happening with their children.” [Source]

Chris Christie: ” I think parents are better suited to make decisions about their children’s education than union leaders.” [Source]

Ted Cruz: “Every parent has a right to educate his or her children.” [Source]

Carly Fiorina: ““Parents play incredibly important roles in a child’s education, and any successful education reform plan must embrace and encourage robust parental involvement.” [Source]

Jim Gilmore: ‘Parents should have options to home-school their children or perhaps get support in sending them to private school.’ [Source]

Lindsey Graham: “Education belongs in the hands of our parents, local officials, and states.” [Source]

Mike Huckabee: “I am steadfast in my belief that parents—parents—should ultimately decide the best venue for their children’s education.” [Source]

Bobby Jindal “Instead of the child following the dollars … we make the dollars follow the child … because we trust parents not bureaucrats to make the best decisions for our kids.” [Source]

John Kasich: “And there will be more. More school choice, giving families more control over how and where to educate their kids, including technical and vocational education.” [Source]

Rand Paul: “The responsibility for education ultimately lies with the parents and education is one of the greatest gifts parents can give their children. I believe that parents should be empowered to take an active role in their children’s education.” [Source]

George Pataki: ““One of the things I fought for but couldn’t get was an education tax credit, where we could take a part of our taxes and use it to help students to learn better— whether it was with additional support in the public system or paying for education outside in the private or parochial system.” [Source]

Rick Perry: “I see an education system that is the envy of the world, controlled by parents and the people according to the beliefs of the communities in which they live.” [Source]

Rick Santorum: “How about early parent intervention with their children? Instead of focusing on the child and getting them out of the home and into an educational setting, how about focusing on the parents and trying to get the parents more interested and involved? Parents are the first teacher.” [Source]

Marco Rubio: “We need to allow charter schools and other innovative schools to flourish. The key to that is empowering parents. Parents should be the ultimate decision makers on where their children go to school.” [Source]

Donald Trump: “And we’ve got to bring on the competition—open the schoolhouse doors and let parents choose the best school for their children.” [Source]

Scott Walker – I trust parents to make the right choice for their children and I want to help them have as many quality choices as possible.” [Source]

This post looked at the rhetoric of the candidates but do their actions support their rhetoric? My next post will look at the actions of these candidates to see how they compare to the statements.

Filed Under: Education Reform Tagged With: 2016 election, education, politics, trust parents

Nevada Launches Education Savings Accounts #TrustParents

June 29, 2015

http://excelined.org/news/icymi-5-questions-matthew-ladner-foundation-excellence-education/
http://excelined.org/news/icymi-5-questions-matthew-ladner-foundation-excellence-education/

Nevada govenor Brian Sandoval recently signed into law the first universal school-choice program in the nation. The law provides parents with access to Education Savings Accounts, funding that can be used toward education expenses like private school tuition or after-school tutoring or even community college classes.

“Nevada’s embrace of school choice has been as dramatic as it has been well thought out. Governor Sandoval and leaders in the Nevada Legislature did their homework, looked at the evidence, listened to all sides and made a decision in the best interests of Nevada’s families and Nevada’s future,” – Patricia Levesque, CEO of the Foundation for Excellence in Education (source)

Today, Nevada parents were given unprecedented control over their children’s education making NV a national leader in #SchoolChoice. #NVleg

— ExcelinEd (@ExcelinEd) June 2, 2015

The chief sponsor of the bill, Senator Hammond, had this to say:

“I think a healthy public school system has choice, and we’re going to see all kinds of schools pop up to serve the individual needs of students.” –  Sen. Scott Hammond (source)

Wall Street Journal has a write-up about the new law which provides some history and context. It’s worth the read. Here is the link. Back in January during National School Choice Week, Demme Learning hosted a school choice rally. Here’s one of my tweets from a speech I gave on school choice and trusting parents:  

#SchoolChoice means empowering parents with the freedom to choose the best educational environments for their children. #TrustParents — Ethan Demme (@EthanDemme) January 29, 2015

To watch videos of speechs (including my own) from the event, click here.

#SchoolChoice #TrustParents

Filed Under: Education Reform Tagged With: #edtech, education reform, parental engagement, school choice, trust parents

PA Education Summit Report

June 22, 2015

Two weeks ago had the privilege of attending the 3rd annual Pennsylvania Education Summit hosted by the Pennsylvania Business-Education Partnership. It was an excellent day in Harrisburg as educators, business leaders, and elected officials gathered to discuss the future of education in Pennsylvania. Here our some photos and embedded tweets from the event.

PA Edu. Secretary Pedro Rivera
PA Edu. Secretary Pedro Rivera

.@pedroarivera2 “Good schools are the hub of great communities.” #PaEdSummit

— Anthony Barr (@AnthonyMBarr) June 11, 2015

 

DSC_0471
@SenatorSmucker @SenatorDinniman @RepRoebuck discussing education funding

 

“PA is the worst state in the country in education funding equity” @reproebuck #PaEdSummit — Ethan Demme (@EthanDemme) June 11, 2015

“The focus should be how, in a new economy, can we transform our schools to be competitive and are we doing it” @SenatorDinniman#PaEdSummit — Ethan Demme (@EthanDemme) June 11, 2015

Dr. Solomon Lausch, Ron Cowell, and Iain Strachan discussing hiring teachers and staff
Dr. Solomon Lausch, Ron Cowell, and Iain Strachan discussing hiring teachers and staff

Ron Cowell of @EPLC_education: We often overlook the importance of recruiting and supporting school board members. #paedsummit

— PSAP (@PhilaSchoolAdv) June 11, 2015

 

Catherine Krummer speaking on NASCAR's Acceleration Nation
Catherine Krummer speaking on NASCAR’s Acceleration Nation

 

.@CatherineKummer from @NASCAR discussing STEM initiatives and connecting education and racing. #PaEdSummit — StudentsFirst in PA (@PAStudentsFirst) June 11, 2015

Chad Amond, Michael Marrone, and Hans Meeder
Chad Amond, Michael Marrone, and Hans Meeder discussing career pathway innovation

When students partner with industry to work on real work issues, they take ownership & are empowered to become future wk force. #PaEdSummit — ExcelinEd (@ExcelinEd) June 11, 2014

Visit the Pennsylvania Business-Education Partnership’s website for their latest news and be sure and stop by next year.

Filed Under: Education Reform

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