Lack of Improvement Means More Problems for the St. Louis Schools

For sometime now, I have written about the problems within the St. Louis schools. They have been “provisionally accredited” for several years now and are facing being unaccredited in less than three years.

The St. Louis Schools is Missouri’s largest public school system with 37,000 students. For the past several and consecutive years, they have received unacceptable ratings from the state, meaning the St. Louis schools’ students have received a less than adequate education.

Peter Herschend, president of the State Board of Education, stated recently at the Missouri School Boards Association’s annual legislative conference that the primary problem is not ineffective teachers. He noted that a crisis has existed for many years in the St. Louis schools’ leadership or the lack thereof. Along with Kansas City, St. Louis is a key player in the economics of the state. Undereducated high school graduates will soon begin to affect the state’s economy and businesses.

In less than three years, Herschend and his board will be asked to determine the accreditation status for the St. Louis schools, and unaccredited looks to be the outcome. According to state law, if the St. Louis schools is unaccredited for two consecutive years, it could be taken over by the state. According to a 1998 state law, the state board could take over even sooner, without waiting for the two-year unaccredited period to pass.

Herschend told conference participants that the State Board faces three choices regarding the St. Louis schools:

• Do nothing and allow the status quo to continue, which would be unacceptable;
• Form an advisory board that would make recommendations to the existing board of the St. Louis schools; the advisory board would have no power to enforce its recommendations; or
• Form a three-member transition board, which would assume all powers over the St. Louis schools; the current elected board would operate in an advisory capacity only with powers or authority.

Also present at the conference was Maida Coleman, state Senate Minority Leader and Democrat representing the St. Louis area. She believes the St. Louis schools are being singled out, since 12 other school districts within the state also are failing. Eleven of these are performing as poorly as the St. Louis schools, according to Coleman.

Herschend answered Coleman’s allegation of unfair treatment for the St. Louis schools, stating that all districts are treated equally on the same standards — no exceptions.

Many others involved at the state and local levels cite inadequate budgets as the primary problem, with the St. Louis schools barely breaking even and an expected $20 million in the red by July 2007. No school district can last long without control of their finances, especially one as large as the St. Louis schools.

Whatever happens, it will require some real work, knowledge and skills to correct the problem. In the meantime, it is the students of the St. Louis schools who must suffer the brunt of this issue. An inadequate education can affect them for the rest of their lives.

Patricia Hawke is an expert researcher and writer on real estate topics such as economics, credit improvement tips, home selling advice and home buying preparations and education for relocating families. For more information please schoolsk-12.com/missouri/saint-louis/index.html St. Louis Schools

Teaching Entrepreneurship In University – Teaching Conformists How To Be Non Conformists?

“…we do not spoonfeed our students.”, said a professor from Singapore Management University.

I had an interview there recently. I was with four other prospective interviewees who were like me, trying to secure a place in a relatively new establishments in Singapore.

“The Singapore education system is a conveyor belt.”, remarks a Polytechnic student in Singapore.

I was sighing as I was pondering over her quotes.

From a young age, I have been told that I must make it to university and be a lawyer or doctor. For years, I have been told to get good grades and degrees. For years, I have been taught to be a cog in this ‘machine’ called school.

I remembered Robert.T.Kiyosaki (author of Rich Dad,Poor Dad) criticizing education systems in schools.

I was chucking as I was listening to the professor’s speech. In an education system, everyone goes through a fixed set of syllabus. Everyone is taught the same rules and protocols. In that case, how can it breed initiative and entrepreneurship if all is taught to conform?

Some of you may argue that every university has its own style of teaching and incorporating entrepreneurship, I beg to differ. By choosing the typical (and safe) route to university, everyone is now a conformist. Learning comes through experience, it doesn’t comes through rote learning. A better oiled cog is still a cog. It is still part of the system.

Am I part of a cog in this dreadful education system which Robert.T.Kiyosaki described?

In that case, you may be asking why I am still going into University. The reason is simple. I plan to equip myself with the essential skills necessary to be an entrepreneur. Thereafter, I will remove myself from the ’system’ and embark on my entrepreneurial dream.

I guess I am the intelligent cog which studies how the machine works and learns how to jam and defeat it.

The author is a student and budding entrepreneur.
Please goto my blog @ therichestmanonearth.blogspot.com therichestmanonearth.blogspot.com

For information on ways to be an entrepreneur, please visit mcmandpmc.tripod.com The Millionaire Mind

Democracy and Scientific Technique

The word ‘democracy’ has become ambiguous. East of the Elbe it means ‘military dictatorship of a minority enforced by arbitrary police power’. West of the Elbe its meaning is less definite, but broadly speaking it means ‘even distribution of ultimate political power among all adults except lunatics, criminals, and peers’. This is not a precise definition, because of the world ‘ultimate’. Suppose the British Constitution were to be changed in only one respect: that General Elections should occur once in thirty years instead of once in five. This would so much diminish the dependence of parliament on public opinion that the resulting system could hardly be called a democracy. Many Socialists would add economic to political power, as what demands even distribution in a essence of the matter is approach to equality of power, and it is obvious that democracy is a matter of degree.

When people think of democracy, they generally couple with it a considerable measure of liberty for individuals and groups. Religious persecution, for instance, would be excluded in imagination, although it is entirely compatible with democracy as defined a moment ago. I incline to think that ‘liberty’, as the word was understood in the eighteenth and nineteenth centuries, is no longer quite the right concepts; I should prefer to substitute ‘opportunity for initiative’. And my reason for suggesting this change is the character of a scientific society.

It cannot be denied that democracy no longer inspires the same enthusiasm as it inspired in Rousseau and the men of the French Revolution. This is, of course, mainly because it has been achieved. Advocates of a reform always overstate their case, so that their converts expect the reform to bring the millennium. When it fails to do so there is disappointment, even if very solid advantages are secured.

rajan kumar

Chiropractic Degree

Chiropractic schools teach the practice of this drug-free, non-surgical form of natural health care that relies chiefly on the ability of the human body to heal itself. Schools offering chiropractic degrees teach their students how to make spinal adjustments and other techniques that promote the overall wellbeing of their patients.

Chiropractic college students will find opportunities to earn certificates and Associate of Arts (AS), Bachelor Science (BS), Master of Science (MS), and Doctor of Chiropractic (DC) degrees. Students will also that find a chiropractic degree program will offer options for specializations in specific areas of chiropractic medicine, such as internal disorders, nutrition, neurology, orthopedics, sports injuries, or diagnostic imaging.

Students in schools for chiropractic studies should anticipate courses in anatomy, physiology, chemistry, biochemistry, microbiology, neurology, pathology, and psychology. Courses may also include applications of X-ray, clinical skills, chiropractic philosophy, and business operations (accounting, marketing, management, etc.).

Chiropractic degree programs will teach students to obtain patient information and to provide care appropriate for each individual patient. Chiropractic students learn how and when it is appropriate to gain medical histories of their patients; to conduct physical, orthopedic, and neurological examinations; and to acquire diagnostic laboratory tests and X-rays. Students in Chiropractic Degree programs learn to formulate routines of care and to perform chiropractic vertebral and skeletal adjustments appropriate to specific needs of each individual patient.

Graduates from chiropractic schools will find excellent opportunities in the field. Though beginning salaries can be rather limited, qualifications and geographic locations will influence earnings. Experienced chiropractors can expect incomes to exceed $70,000.

If you would like to learn more about schools and colleges that offer schoolsgalore.com/categories/1/chiropractic_degree.html Chiropractic Degrees, you can find more in-depth information and resources on our website.

DISCLAIMER: Above is a GENERAL OVERVIEW and may or may not reflect specific practices, courses and/or services associated with ANY ONE particular school(s) that is or is not advertised on SchoolsGalore.com

Copyright 2006 – All Rights Reserved
Michael Bustamante, in association with Media Positive Communications, Inc. for SchoolsGalore.com

Notice to Publishers: Please feel free to use this article in your Ezine or on your Website; however, ALL links must remain intact and active.

Michael Bustamante is a staff writer for Media Positive Communications, Inc. in association with SchoolsGalore.com. Visit our schoolsgalore.com/healingartsschools.cfm Natural Healing Directory and find Colleges, Universities, Vocational Schools and schoolsgalore.com/categories/1/chiropractic_schools.html Chiropractic Schools at SchoolsGalore.com, your educational resource to locate schools.

Scott Parks’ Wish List for Dallas Schools

Scott Parks is the education columnist for the Dallas Daily News. He had some interesting items on his January 2007 wish list for the Dallas schools. Some are poignant and in dire need. Some are possibilities during this new year. Others are down right wishful thinking without much chance of succeeding, regardless of the need. Here are only a few items from his wish list for 2007:

• Bilingual Education Programs. Parks would like Governor Rick Perry and the Texas legislature to standardize the teaching of bilingual and “English as a second language” students. Currently, the bilingual education programs are different from district to district. All students should learn English as soon and as quickly as possible. Otherwise, the bilingual students are held back from succeeding only because of the language barrier.

• Dallas Schools Leadership. Parks cited several wishes from the Dallas schools leadership:

o Board of Trustees & Superintendent Hinojosa. Though the Dallas schools’ board of trustees is stronger now than in the past, Parks believes that Superintendent Michael Hinojosa is the district’s best hope for getting the Dallas schools back on track. Hinojosa also has the support of business leaders and the public. Parks was encouraged that trustees Edwin Flores, Jack Lowe and their board colleagues now are focused on education, rather than politics, as in the past.

o Texas Association of School Boards. The board of trustees should reject the TASB’s recommendations. Instead, board members regularly should visit individual Dallas schools, themselves, speaking with both teachers and staff. Then, they will know firsthand what is truly happening within the Dallas schools. Parks makes an accurate point that the Dallas schools’ superintendent and Dallas schools’ board are not a team. The Dallas schools’ board is the boss, and the superintendent is “a valued employee” — and the TASB is not part of the Dallas schools district.

o Special Education Students. Parents of these children have enough to do above and beyond the typical parent. Dallas schools’ administrators need to team with these parents to help them understand what the law requires the Dallas schools to do for their special needs children. The current attitude that parents of special needs children are the enemy, who may potentially bring lawsuits against the Dallas schools district, is only hurting the children and their education. As Parks noted, “It’s the right thing to do.”

o College Preparation. Somewhere along the line, someone decided that if a child did not attend college, he/she would not succeed in life. Not all children are meant to go to college. Some do very well in careers that began in high school vocational education programs. Neither my daughter nor my son graduated from college — their choice, even though we discussed at length the benefits of a college degree. They each earn more than $60,000 a year — one is self-employed and the other works for a computer-related company that nearly rivals Microsoft®. My children proved me wrong and proved Parks correct — not all children are meant to go to college in order to succeed. So, stop focusing only on college preparation and refocus some of the energy and resources to provide solid vocational education programs.

o Textbooks. The law requires that every student receive a textbook for the course they take. Some secondary Dallas schools fear too many children will lose or damage the books, costing them some of the precious funding they receive each year for their meager budgets. Children learn better, when they can take textbooks home to study — give them out.
Additionally, lawmakers continually advocate the replacement of textbooks with laptops. Stop it! I fully agree with Parks’ assessment of the situation. He believes a course in media literacy should be required for all high school students within the Dallas schools. They need to be able to analyze the barrage of advertising aimed at them now and in the future, as well as to understand current events and the unobjective biases built into the reporting of the news by the owners of the media.

o Freebies to School Leadership. Nothing should be taken from companies wishing to sell products or services to schools, even a free lunch. This should apply to administrators, superintendent and board members. As Parks cited, “It looks bad”.

• Teachers. It is understandable that teachers are under a lot of pressure to meet prescribed standards set by federal, state and Dallas schools’ officials, not just to meet funding requirements but also performance goals to keep schools open. Because of this, the Dallas schools are losing many excellent teachers to the business world, where they are amply compensated for the headaches. Parks wish is for these great teachers to focus on the challenges and rewards that first got them interested in teaching, continue teaching because so many children need them, and stop obsessing about those things that have little to do with the reason they became teachers in the first place.

• Parents. Too many times when a child gets into trouble at school or receives an undesirable grade, some parents conclude that the teacher is at fault or picking on their child. Like you, parents, the teachers have a hard job to do in seeing that your children obtain a valuable education. It is time for parents to team with the teachers to ensure each child works hard and receives an education that will take them far in life. I remember my son always complaining that a particular teacher was picking on him. When his report card arrived, he was failing English and reminded me that the teacher did not like him. Unfortunately for my son, I had this same teacher in seventh grade English and knew the integrity of the man. His next report card had a much better grade on it. So, parents, first assume the teacher is right and then discuss with them and your child how to resolve any problems with grades or discipline.

One of Parks’ best points concerns private sector companies and volunteers. Dallas schools’ students need as much encouragement to succeed as can possibly be given them. Presentations and mentoring by these private sector volunteers will give our Dallas schools students not only encouragement but ideas for opportunities that come from those who are there.

Patricia Hawke is an expert researcher and writer on real estate topics such as economics, credit improvement tips, home selling advice and home buying preparations and education for relocating families. For more information please schoolsk-12.com/Texas/Dallas/index.html Dallas Schools

Corpus Christi State School: Disabled Student ‘Fight Club’

Texas Governor Rick Perry shut down the Corpus Christi State School after it was discovered that employees forced disabled students into “Fight Club” style boxing matches.  Police say they found video footage on cell phone cameras showing staff members inducing young mentally disabled students of the school into fistfights, shoving the students into each other until a fight would start.

Police are questioning 11 current and former state school employees.  Police say they have not determined if the fights were staged for money, or merely to be uploaded on the Internet.  While the forced boxers were hurt in the staged fights, none of the students sustained serious injuries.

“Workers were staging fight clubs with the residents for their own entertainment. It’s awful abuse – some of the worst I’ve seen in over 30 years,” said Corpus Christi police Captain Tim Wilson said.

Upon Governor Perry’s orders, school officials with the Department of Aging and Disability Services suspended admissions to the Corpus Christi State School installed video cameras at all 13 institutions the mentally disabled in Texas. More security staff will be hired to monitor the video cameras.

The fights were filmed on videos from 2007 to 2009.  Captain Wilson said videos depict “staged events” where residents push, kick and punch, then have their arms raised in victory when they “win.”

Rep. Solomon Ortiz Jr., D-Corpus Christi, said lawmakers have been trying for years to bring light to the state’s poor care for disabled students.   “We’ve been sounding the alarms,” Ortiz said. “Unfortunately, it took a long time to get the leadership of Texas to focus on this issue.”

School for Children with Social Difficulties

Choosing a school for children with social difficulties is a very difficult task. Parents know that the school they chose will have a big impact on their child’s self-confidence, their ability to learn and their childhood experiences. Get it right and you can help them learn and overcome many barriers and many difficulties they may have. Get it wrong and it can become practically a daily nightmare.

What are the options?

There are four ways to teach children with social difficulties:

• Home Education or Private Tutoring
• Special Schools for children with learning difficulties
• Private Education
• Regular State School that has special needs facilities

Each of these schools will have their own set of benefits and disadvantages. If you are looking for a specific type of school that teaches children with social difficulties then you may be lucky to have one close by or unfortunate to find that the closest one is 100 miles away. So your options are limited to what’s available or what you are prepared to extend to.

Which option will be best?

This depends on the child as well as the schools that are available to you in your local area. To determine which school is best, parents have to see what their child needs the most and what is going to the best learning experience. Once the parent has a good idea about which school will be best then it is worth giving it time to allow the ups and downs to settle from the initial change. Even if parents make the best choice there may still be problems. Certainly moving children from one school to another to try out the best option is going to cause problems with the constant change.

So the best thing to do to find out which school is best is to do your homework into what the schools are offering. Talk to the headmaster. Get them to be straight with you about what facilities they have, what experience they have with children with social difficulties, how they would handle behavioral problems if they occur. See what the schools are like, if they have places for children to go to when they are feeling bad or want to get away from the noise of the playground.

What are you child’s needs?

Each of the school choices can be a valid option and will depend on the needs of the child. For example children that are suffering with social difficulties may chose home schooling where their interaction with others can be more closely controlled. Children that suffer with more severe learning difficulties or concentration levels may need more patient and understanding and so a special needs school may be best. The following is a good checklist for things to consider when considering what type of school may be necessary.

• Physical abilities
• Concentration level when learning
• Concentration level with others
• Ability to interact with others
• Ability to conform to rules
• Ability to deal with ridicule/bullying
• Ability to control own behavior and safety
• Ability to be unsupervised
• Self confidence and need for motivation

Some seem a little harsh to think about but these are serious issues that should be considered. For example, some children with social difficulties have a tendency to run out of class when their environment feels threatening, so you would not want to send them to a school where they can be easily lost or could spend time unsupervised. Some children are overwhelmed by the size of the school or number of children so you may want to send them to a small school with a small number of children.

Whatever your options are the choice is not an easy one. So if you are deciding between a specialist school that deals only with children with social difficulties, a private school that has a special needs program and achieves great results, a state school that has small class sizes (not likely), or even home education the choice may not be so easy to make. This is why the choice has to come down to the type of child because they could do great things in a low performing school or perform badly in a high performing school.

The best choice is a school that will make them feel the best, the most motivated, the safest and that they get the most from. So whether you chose home schooling, a special school, a private or even regular state school, if you choose a school that allows them to enjoy learning the most then you are not likely to go wrong.

Ben Sidman is a Parent of an amazing autistic child and founder of autism-support-community.com autism-support-community.com – an informative and friendly web site for parents with autistic children.