Glenn, If you REALLY want to know want my job is like, don¹t miss ³Hard Times at Douglass High School² on HBO tonight at 9:00PM. It¹s as real a look at inner city schools under No Child Left Behind as I have ever come across. Hopefully, it would make people a bit more sympathetic as to what teaching is like under this ridiculous law.
On 6/26/08 9:08 AM, "Glenn" <[EMAIL PROTECTED]> wrote: > http://www.philly.com/inquirer/education/18554429.html > > > This is an interesting article about drop-outs and an adult literacy program. > It gives some good information and statistics to consider. At the end, > consider how the federal funding has been slashed. > > > I believe in a different model to address Philadelphia's serious adult > literacy problem. > > Small community-based programs are needed to help overcome barriers for > literacy program completion. Literacy and employment help are the best core > services to be delivered in neighborhoods, but outcomes would improve > tremendously if a thorough assessment of a participants real life problems was > also completed at baseline. Then matching additional intervention (through > high quality referrals) is done with continued follow-up. > > The baseline assessments, regular case managed follow-up, and core and > beginning employment and literacy services need to occur in the neighborhoods. > Both trust and the message of planning, testing and alternative actions must > be developed by the individual before the education goals can be reached. > (Curriculum needs to be different from high school too. I like to begin each > class with the newspaper, critical thinking, and discussion. It warms up the > brain for fractions and prepositions.) > > Of course, the network of supporting social services is in shambles in poor > urban cities, so that it is a never ending responsibility for the case manager > to develop and investigate referral partnerships. Social service systems > force people through a program without any of them dealing with the whole > person with complex problems. Our social service systems set up too many > individuals for another failure while misleading the general population. Like > the bridges and other infrastructure, the social service delivery systems are > mostly broken. > > I think too many people believe that individuals who drop out or develop > mental health problems at any time in their lives are beyond hope. The fact > is that the interventions are stripped to the bone. Society uses "magical > thinking" when we believe a lifetime of accumulated problems born in poverty > can be addressed with a series of magic bullets. > > I personally don't believe that this society has the will or belief that all > citizens should have a chance at life, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness. > We will not address public education, in the first place, nor do we have any > desire to ameliorate the individual hardships from our sacrosanct mean > spirited foolish policy directions. > > Just my opinion, > Glenn >
