Political and economic analysis of educational issue of interest to you

Political and economic analysis of educational issue of interest to you

Choose a contemporary educational issue of interest to you. Like you did for your personal experience, write a political and economic analysis of this issue. (1,000 words)

On my last blog I ended by talking about failing Charter schools.  I am going to go further into that and discuss the effects on the economy when charter schools fail.

First let’s begin by looking at exactly what is a charter school. Charter schools are actually just like public schools for both elementary and secondary. The only difference is that they are allowed to receive donations from charity organizations and groups, and are free of charge. These donations are basically what keep this school alive. Since they are considered charter school, they are more or less free from the control and regulation of the state. They are not in any way allowed to charge for tuition fees and other school fees to their students. Since they are funded by charity organizations, the money coming from the donations will be the only thing to sustain the life of the school. From among the charter schools already formed, the ones that founded them are usually non- profit groups, individuals who wanted to put up a school, parents of interested students, education related advocacy organizations, and other entities. Yet, the state still has the control over the cash flow and other financial transactions made by the school.
Problem number one: “Charter schools are changing public and private school enrollment patterns across the United States. This study analyzes district-level enrollment patterns for all states with charter schools, isolating how charter schools affect traditional public and private school enrollments after controlling for changes for the socioeconomic, demographic, and economic conditions in each district. While most students are drawn from traditional public schools, charter schools are pulling large numbers of students from the private education market and present a potentially devastating impact on the private education market, as well as a serious increase in the financial burden on taxpayers. If governments increase educational spending, tax revenues must be increased or spending in other areas reduced, or else districts may face pressures to reduce educational services. The shift of students from private to public schools represents a significant shift in the financial burdens for education from the private to the public sector.” (Buddin, R. 2012)  The negative effects of charter schools have made major changes for the socioeconomic, demographic, and economic conditions in each district. These major changes are causing impact on the private education market, as well as a serious increase in the financial burden on taxpayers. This is a major problem for tax payers. I don’t know anyone who wants to pay higher taxes.
Problem Number 2: “The 2006 law mandates that any charter school that has received the state's Academic Emergency rating or been placed on academic watch for two out of three years will be shut down. (The ratings are based on state test scores.) The dismantling of so many charters has some experts worrying that when students are forced to leave educational environments where they have friends and feel comfortable, the disruption is destabilizing and upsetting to some of the system's most vulnerable populations.” This is from the Time Magazine article I referred to in my last blog. Moving students around and shutting down schools not only turns into job loss for many but disrupts students who already come from an unstable home life. My students come from that vulnerable population of poverty. Many students attend our school because it is convenient and close to their home. Many do not have forms of transportation and walk to school. Closing school means displaced students and vital learning time lost. In our economy it is already difficult to find and secure a teaching job. Closing and failing charter schools only make matters worse for our economy.
Problem Number 3:  “No sector — not local governments, school districts, court systems, public universities or hospitals — misspends tax dollars like charter schools in Ohio.” I often wonder first hand where the money from our school comes from and disappears to. Our budget is posted on our school’s wiki for all staff to see but many times things do not add up. We were way over budget last year and cut jobs but were able to install a very high tech and expensive camera system all over the school and install 6 huge monitors in the principal’s office so they can watch all day…. And there’s more- “That’s the first paragraph of a story this month in the Akron Beacon Journal about the newspaper’s review of 4,263 audits released last year by the state, which says that Ohio  charter schools appear to have misspent public money “nearly four times more often than any other type of taxpayer-funded agency.” It says that “since 2001, state auditors have uncovered $27.3 million improperly spent by charter schools, many run by for-profit companies, enrolling thousands of children and producing academic results that rival the worst in the nation.” One more thing: The amount of misspending could be far higher, it says.”  Isn’t that interesting? Where is tax payer money going? How is it being used? This to me is by far the most interesting and exploitive article on Charter school issues. “Ohio has allowed charter schools to open and operate with virtually no transparency, leading to so many academic and financial problems that Gov. John Kasich promised real reforms this year. Ohioans are still waiting for the policymakers to decide whether they will really rein in the sector or pretend as if they are.” (Strauss, V. (2015, June 12).)  (If you are in any way interested in the effects of Charter Schools you should read this article. I found this article to be very (what’s the word.) interesting and comical because I work at one of the schools that was mentioned in a not-so positive way.

Cited Sources

1.    Buddin, R. (2012). The Impact of Charter Schools on Public and Private School Enrollments. CATO Institute. Retrieved from http://www.cato.org/publications/policy-analysis/impact-charter-schools-public-private-school-enrollments

2.    Butrymowic, S. (2012, January 31). What Happens to the Kids When Charter Schools Fail?. Time Magazine. Retrieved from http://content.time.com/time/nation/article/0,8599,2105733,00.html

3.    Strauss, V. (2015, June 12). Troubled Ohio charter schools have become a joke — literally. The Washington Post. Retrieved from http://www.washingtonpost.com/blogs/answer-sheet/wp/2015/06/12/troubled-ohio-charter-schools-have-become-a-joke-literally/

Political and economic analysis of your personal experience

Political and economic analysis of your personal experience

Using the theories from the first part of the semester and original research, write a political and economic analysis of your personal educational experience. What were the policies and economic realities which shaped your educational experience? Cite current data, government approved or peer-reviewed journal articles, books, or reports. (1,000 words)

I found it so interesting that Althusser and Marx questioned what people learn at school.  It pretty much came down to them saying that students learn the know-how, rules for good behavior, how to talk properly while ordering others around, and the dominant tasks. Students learn how to become the exploited (proletarians), the exploiters (the capitalists), and the auxiliaries pf exploitation (supervisors) they refer to schools as a reproduction system. They believe that these techniques are completely detached from real life. Althusser thinks that school cannot shape society and that school will be determined by the dominant mode of production in the social formation.

I work in an area where I constantly have to teach good behavior, respect, self-control, and life skills. Many of my students have no rules, guidelines, or adult in their life to teach them these things outside of school. Many of my student’s parents are still children themselves. Their parents are either still in high school or under the age of 18 and haven’t experienced adult life themselves and therefore cannot teach their child about life skills in a work like environment. I believe I am shaping them for society and although Althusser may be right about we are shaping the typical social formation, I disagree that these skills are completely detached from real life.

Ouch! He thinks that no matter what schools do, we will never change the society we live in. Ouch again. I do see his point but I would like to think I can make a difference in children’s lives and education within the classroom.

During a video on Bowles and Gintis, there was talk about the views of the Liberal Progressives on education. Liberal Progressives believe when one obtains higher education, you have more equal distribution of resources. Schools help create equality in society by developing individuals to have the skills necessary to succeed in today’s economy. They believe that Higher Education = Income Distribution. I would love to think that this theory is true but the more continued education I take seems to dig me into a deeper hole. I am either over qualified for many jobs or I am under qualified. I feel that many jobs depend on who you know and that paves the way for higher pay most of the time.

Bowles and Gintis wanted to debunk this view by saying that school has nothing to do with shaping the distribution of wealth and people do not develop personal skills for functioning successfully in the economy. Schools only prepare us to become laborers for wages. They also thought that schools teach rules that correlate to corporate wage labor behavior. It’s hard to say what side I am on here. I believe there are many good points between both sides. When I first started this I believed that Freedmon made points that made the most sense to me. I quickly reminded myself to think deeper. Many of Freedmon’s beliefs are exactly how the education system runs today. For example government being involved in the education system, GERM, and neighborhood effects. I also believed in the Liberal Progressive views on education. Liberal Progressives believe when one obtains higher education, you have more equal distribution of resources. Schools help create equality in society by developing individuals to have the skills necessary to succeed in today’s economy. They believe that Higher Education = Income Distribution. Isn’t this what teachers are taught their entire educational career? The more you know the farther you’ll go!? Becoming educated makes you a valuable member of society. I still believe this. But I have three degrees and am working on my master but am considered over qualified and am not by any means making large sums of money. I don’t believe the Liberal Progressive view that education makes income distribution more equal.  But then again you have my father who has no education, didn’t even finish high school, worked his butt off but has created a life of luxury for himself… I feel that in this day and age an education is a must for people to even look at your job application to consider you for the job. Is Marx, Althusser, and Bowles and Gintis right? School only prepares us for labor force through rules, roles, and know-how?  I do not agree with the theory that teaching methods are detached from real life. As a teacher these theories make me question what I am doing in the classroom.

Working at a charter school is an interesting experience. I feel that charter schools had a good idea in mind when created but aren’t successful. Many charter schools are shutting down due to failing test score and many more reasons. The State of Ohio’s Charter school closure law, passed in 2006, says that The 2006 law mandates that any charter school that has received the state's Academic Emergency rating or been placed on academic watch for two out of three years will be shut down. (The ratings are based on state test scores.) “The closure is another blow for the children of this fading industrial city, where a third of all kids live in poverty and about a quarter of high schoolers fail to graduate. It's a scenario becoming familiar to thousands of families in the nation's poorest neighborhoods as more and more districts start cracking down on low-performing charter schools, which get public funds but operate without the usual bureaucratic constraints.”(Time Magazine) 

Last school year, the charter school I work for closed 4 locations around Cleveland. Job security is a constant scare for everyone who works here. Every fall, enrollment plays a major factor in whether or not I will have a job. Last October, our faculty told the staff that our Charter was way over budget and jobs were to be cut. In the end the jobs that were cut were custodians, aides, office personnel, and some teaching positions. It is so scary not knowing whether or not I will have a job in the coming months.

Cited Sources

Butrymowic, S. (2012, January 31). What Happens to the Kids When Charter Schools Fail?. Time Magazine. Retrieved from http://content.time.com/time/nation/article/0,8599,2105733,00.html

My Memoir

Memoir –Write a creative nonfiction/memoir piece narrating a personal educational experience from the recent or distant past. Use as many details as possible.

Hi guys! My name is Amanda Shope and I currently teach first grade in inner city Cleveland. I became interested in the education field when I started college in 2003. I took some classes my freshman year and decided that I would rather travel then jump right into the real world. I took a job in Lake Tahoe, California teaching snowboarding and became a snow bum. The following summer I moved to Montana and did raft guiding down the Yellow Stone River and eventually decided I should probably go back to school. Since I wasn’t ready to stop traveling I got a degree in Eco Tourism Adventure travel and took a job as a Scuba Diving Instructor at an international field studies station in Andros, Island Bahamas. At the field studies station, students from high school and college would come for a week to two weeks to earn credits. Everyone bunked in rock shacks on the beach which had little running water and ran on solar power. It was an amazing experience for all. I taught the students island ecology, fish identification, scuba diving, sea kayaking, island history, and took them on field trip around the island.  While on Andros, I became friends with locals who got me involved in working with the schools around the island. The island schools were very poor and consisted of cinder block walls and dirt floors. I fell in love with working with the students and became very involved. We had book drives from Florida to Bahamas, taught the students about the ocean, island ecology, and took them on field trips to place around the island.  There is something about working with students who have less that makes it so much more gratifying to work with them. They were happy with life and the things they had. When it came time for me to move back, I enrolled in classes again to obtain my teaching degree. I began working at a daycare facility for 3 years teaching pre-k. I then worked as an aide in a resource room for students with mild to moderate social and emotional disorders. I completed my student teaching in inner city Cleveland and had an amazing experience with an amazing mentor teacher. I have been teaching first grade now in inner city Cleveland for two years. 

Looking back on my experiences, I was teaching people the entire time I was traveling. I was teaching them to basics of snowboarding. I taught people about the river, the Yellow Stone park system, and rafting. I then taught school age, high school, and college students island ecology, fish identification, scuba diving, sea kayaking and more. All of my experiences have shaped who I am in the educational field. I love teaching. I have contemplated leaving the profession due to the downfalls of working at a charter school, the educational system in itself, and the fact that is very hard to find a job in an established school system that pays well and is run well. I also think that our government involvement in education has taken out all of the fun and put so much pressure on children and teachers that it has at some points become unenjoyable and more of a stressor. I sometimes think to myself, could I find another occupation that pays more and require less?  But then again I do not think I would feel the gratification that I get after seeing students improve.