How do we fix public higher education in this country, so that it becomes more affordable for people in our position???
After tonight’s lecture and discussion, and the assigned readings, these are the questions left ringing in my mind. For those being victimized by the for-profit colleges and universities like University of Phoenix and Kaplan, etc., I really feel it is a lack of knowledge about how degrees from these institutions compare with those from ‘old-fashioned’ state and private universities. They are fed lines over and over again, being recruited vehemently—which from the sound of this demographic, probably feels pretty good. The readings (Will the For-Profit Bubble Burst in 2011?, Fed Up with University of Phoenix, and Subprime Opportunity) characterize those attending these colleges as low income and/or serving in the military. They are the poor who have had little opportunity to improve their economic status, save for these for-profits that camouflage themselves as a beacon of hope. I do not intend to paint every single for-profit in this light, but it seems from the readings that this is by and large the pattern. The other two readings attempted to provide a more balanced depiction of the situation.
In chapter 6 and For Profit Schools (at education.com) there was a sense of equivalent performance and quality of education provided by both public and private, state, nonprofit and for profit institutions. The chapter reading described the pros and cons of public versus private education well, I thought. However, I did come away from that portion in favor of private schools. It is unclear whether this is my own skewed impression or whether the author may have a slight bias. Either way, I believe that public schools need desperately to shift in their operation, ideally to resemble some of the positive things that private schools model. For instance class size is a strong arguing point, as it seems to directly correlate with quality of learning, so why can’t we just make more public schools and spread them out so that there aren’t as many people attending the same one? I can see this trying to happen a little bit in the charter school movement, which appears to be a good thing. Though it is a bit confusing; can they be for-profit, do they charge tuition? I was curious about this, so I have a few links that describe more about charter schools in general.
In the article from education.com, I found a balance in the presentation of data. The author gave for-profit educational systems a real benefit of the doubt, relatively speaking, after the readings that were not so generous. Although it aimed to present a balanced viewpoint I still felt shaky about the points made in the cons, they seemed to be intense and yet given little sense of the extremity of impact they could have. Three out of the four were huge flaws that, in the case of them coming into fruition, would make me flee the country. That being said, the system we have is no piece of perfection, but it certainly seems to be doing a helluva lot better than these for-profit ones. Here’s another RSA, the 1st one I saw and the one that turned me onto them. It gives a brief history of our education system, and describes some changes that could improve it greatly. It also touches on the ADHD 'epidemic'.
I agree with your feelings of despiration regarding public schools needing to make a switch to operate more like private schools. It baffles me that when you see something working better than what you have, that you can still deny the fact that changes need to be made. I am so tired of the budget being used as an excuse for everything that is wrong with the public school system. No doubt, there is not enough money. Teachers are not paid enough and there are not enough teachers in general. I disagree with the fact that there are not low or no cost creative ways to help fix the problem... There are plenty of teachers in training that could do internships and help take some of the burden off teachers. There are tons of volunteers that aren't reaching the school districts (as discussed in class early on.) There has to be a creative way to help bridge the gap between the fair to poor education kids are receiving. There are plenty of creative people in this city, let's try to find a way to use that energy to help raise some sharp kids!
ReplyDeleteI second Christi and while there is a serious lack of money, there are tons of young teachers trying to get jobs. My mom teaches first grade has lots of volunteers coming in but no time to organize things for them to do. Most of the books in her library are ones she bought out of pocket and the kids are basically just cranked though each grade level. I feel like education has just become this constant need to meet more benchmarks, to read faster to be doing square roots by age 5. It's just insane. Teachers can't even teach any more because they are too busy teaching multiple choice test taking skills.
ReplyDeleteI like your idea about just creating more smaller schools to control class size. It would also help by not having to bus kids all over the place. I think neighborhood schools are the core of a community. As schools and class sizes get larger we loose our community spirit. Eugene has closed several schools in the last few years. Every time, it has caused a detriment to the neighborhood they were located in. Unfortunately, economics control the cards. I wish people put as much value on community as they do on their pocketbooks.
ReplyDeleteHope is a powerful emotion and I think you bring up a good point there about how for-profit schools are sort of preying on the misinformed under that guise. In my resource development class for pppm we've talked a lot about how words and imagery that state or evoke "hope" tend to be the most successful in fundraising, and I think that basic logic applies here too. People just want to feel like they have a way out, and it's a bummer that I'm not sure they do through for-profit schools after this weeks' readings.
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