[CALIBK12] [BULK] Re: [CSLA Research Update] Dropout study

[Nathaniel Powell]

Well stated Mary,

I get up set when we say that education is the one of the most  
important things we can offer our children when our local, state, and  
national policy doesn't bear this out.  We has educators could fix a  
lot of what's wrong with our system if we took the politics out of  
it.  When we know that year around school gives many students an  
advantage in achievement, why haven't we instituted it.  When we know  
that high school students do better with later starting school days  
(and elementary school students do better with an earlier school day  
start).  Why do we let other priorities take precedence? Don't we  
expend more money on prisons than high schools?   When we know that  
smaller classrooms create a more conducive environment to learning,  
why do we maintain them at 35-40 students (high school) or 20-30  
(elementary)? This just skims the surface.


Nathaniel L. Powell, Ed.D.
Librarian Media Specialist
Community High School
401 N. Division Street
Ann Arbor, MI 48104
734 994-2025
FAX 734 994-0025


"How does a "technology immigrant teacher" teach a "technology native  
student?" --  Dr. Marielizabeth Crompton

"It is the mark of an educated mind to be able to entertain a thought  
without accepting it." -- Aristotle


On Feb 7, 2008, at 2:37 PM, burchm at lompoc.k12.ca.us wrote:

> I love being an American for lots of reasons, and one is the belief  
> that all American children have the right to an education.  I wish  
> however, that education was broader so that we didn't lose so many  
> to the streets.  Why do we insist on shoving all kids through the  
> same narrow door?  I think that we could do a lot better job of  
> educating kids if we really believed that mechanical intelligence  
> was as valuable as academic intelligence.
>
> I do not believe in a formal tracking system, but I did learn  
> firsthand while while living Germany that there are certain  
> children who do better if they are taught the basics, and then put  
> to work as apprentices and/or laborers early in their lives.  These  
> people then can begin to earn $$$ at a younger age (and of course  
> in that society they also begin getting vested in a retirement  
> program 3-5 years earlier than their peers).
>
> I wish we had more options earlier in life for kids to pursue their  
> futures in different ways.  Also, I wish we valued mechanical  
> intelligence more.  Over and over we tell kids that working with  
> their hands is inferior to working with their heads.  We know this  
> is not true when we are looking for a good carpenter or mechanic,  
> but "Go to college!" is the mantra of America.  So many kids know  
> that college is not for them, and many drop out before gradation  
> because they know they will never go to college; unfortunately we  
> have kids in our system who feel like they have failed just because  
> they want to plant or paint.
>
> Mary P. Burch
> Lompoc High School LMT
> -----calibk12-bounces at lists.sjsu.edu wrote: -----
>
> To: calibk12 at listproc.sjsu.edu
> From: Lesley Farmer <lfarmer at csulb.edu>
> Sent by: calibk12-bounces at lists.sjsu.edu
> Date: 02/06/2008 04:20PM
> Subject: [CALIBK12] [CSLA Research Update] Dropout study
>
> Dropouts' interest in school may start waning early on
> Students who drop out of school don't do so impulsively but instead  
> may fall into a dropout trajectory as early as kindergarten.  
> "Educators may be overlooking important developmental trajectories  
> exhibited by students prior to entering high school," said Gregory  
> Hickman, who directed the undergraduate research. "Dropouts miss an  
> average of 124 days by eighth grade."
> Hickman, G. (2008). The Differential Developmental Trajectories of  
> High School Dropouts and Graduates. Journal of Education Research.  
> [in press]
>
> -- 
> Posted By Lesley Farmer to CSLA Research Update at 2/06/2008  
> 04:16:00 PM _______________________________________________
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