Learning for the sake of learning

Immediate gratification is what our children are learning to expect when we know that for all good things you must wait and work hard!

Fortunate are the kids:

• Whose parents let them struggle for, and earn, the things they want.
• Whose parents “match their funds” for large purchases after the child have worked hard to earn his portion.
• Whose parents expect them to be responsible around the house and in school.
• Whose parents set loving limits, give their children reasonable choices and allow consequences for those choices.

In many states we are paying students to learn but we aren’t even paying for professional development opportunities for teachers to learn more and do different for today’s kids. If teachers want to go over and beyond for quality professional development opportunities relative to their needs – they must PAY the conference fees, travel, hotel, meals and either are reimbursed a few weeks after returning or not be reimbursed at all.

Have we asked employers how they will feel about this new “entitlement mindset” becoming a fixture in their workplace?

• Underachievers… doing just enough to get by
• Always expecting something in return for any work done
• Always given so will more than likely wait for more and complain when it is not offered

Are we ever again going to be able to say, “She always goes over and beyond the call of duty”?

Money has a way of bringing out the worst in us… how will we handle the cheating epidemic that will arise?

Children need to learn that you get what you work for and not a check for simply attending and possibly cheating to get more.

Paying students for grades is not teaching it puts more value on money than on personal goals. The reverse of this for teachers is the same – some want to given monetary incentives to teachers for good test scores, which defeats what we know is good for students.

Students don’t go to school for that one test at the end of the year. Students go to school to learn how to study, connect information and make sense of the world we live in. Money, even for teachers, would corrupt the system.

Link-Ed is a great website for connecting parents with education

Their mission: 

LinkEducation connects children with education opportunities by making it possible for parents, educators, and organizations to find programs and resources in their communities.

You can find all kinds of resources and events in your local, state and national area.   This website was one of the finalists for the IDEA BLOB - $10,000.00 idea of the month competition. 

Go on over to their website and see what you can learn and if you have anything to add!  Early education is the key to success in school and life!

Innovation in business and education

Did you see the show on CNBC about the business of innovation in companies today? As an educator who was on the frontlines of preparing “tomorrow’s innovators,” I was intrigued. I learned many things about business operations and employee motivation but most of all I learned that businesses are innovating when schools are not!

Inside of the classroom, you know you should be preparing the children for what their lives are like today and what they will be like tomorrow. However, when faced with outdated text books, bureaucratic red tape to “teach to the test” and a lack of technological tools for promoting innovation, what should one do?

Wikipedia defines innovation this way: The term innovation may refer to both radical and incremental changes in thinking, in things, in processes or in services (Mckeown, 2008). Invention that gets out in to the world is innovation. In many fields, something new must be substantially different to be innovative, not an insignificant change, e.g., in the arts, economics, business and government policy. In economics, the change must increase value, customer value, or producer value. The goal of innovation is positive change, to make someone or something better. Innovation leading to increased productivity is the fundamental source of increasing wealth in an economy.

So… let’s look at this part. “In many fields, something new must be substantially different to be innovative, not an insignificant change, e.g., goverment policy.” Could someone please tell me what plans for educational innovation either of the presidential campaigns is offering? Is government policy going to change? Are we going to continue sinking billions of public dollars into an ancient public education system where the drop out rate is higher than the graduation rate in many states?

OH… and about early childhood education, the only Americans benefitting from those millions at present are the disadvantaged (and they should) but are we innovating the practices for which we offer that money? Be reminded of the other part of the definition: The goal of innovation is positive change, to make someone or something better. We have been funding early education for the disadvantaged since the 1960’s. How’s it working for us?

Teach a man to fish and he will fish for a lifetime… fish for him and he will always wait for more during his lifetime!

How would you innovate education? I know what I’m doing…

Parental accountability and how we fund Pre-K

Scott Mooneyham nails it when he says,”If preschool and child care programs do not produce significant gains in social and cognitive development or those initial gains are not sustained as the children go through school, then these programs are simply a waste of money. It is worth the time and money to find out how these students fare as they progress through school.”

I say… we must do different to have different! We should be regulating the public dollars spent on early childhood in every state, local municipality and nationally. It is true, early childhood is an economic investment for our country. There is no denying its impact on crime, welfare and employability. However, when is enough… enough? When do we begin assessing whether or not the parent is being accountable for being the first teacher? Wouldn’t that matter for the use of our public dollars? Would you give money to a drug addict for rehab when he continues to use drugs? Would you purchase and pay insurance on a car for a family member that refuses to drive in a safe manner?

So then… would you pay for a child’s education when the parent is taking very few or no steps to make the most of that education? The parent doesn’t attend parent/teacher conferences… doesn’t send the child to school regularly… doesn’t enhance the learning at school with practice at home… doesn’t use the public library for reading daily… and the list could go on and on.

Again… when are parents going to held accountable for the public dollars we are spending on early childhood education? Maybe… just maybe, no one has thought to require them to be active participants working toward increased cognitive, social, emotional and physical abilities. If parents don’t want the responsibility, then they don’t get the services. Many families don’t have the priveledge of these services because household income is too great. And, as funny as it may sound, the children who aren’t served through our public education dollars are scoring sometimes two times higher on standardized tests than the “uncontrolled group” receiving the services. Is it the teacher’s fault… I think not!

Did anyone ever read The Little Red Hen? You know… you don’t do the work… you don’t reap the reward! We must start expecting more from those that are the most influential in a child’s life. Being your child’s first teacher is every parent’s job - the rich, the just-getting-by and the poor!

Education yields results in the economy

 

Nobody can deny the research - for every one dollar we spend in early education we see a seventeen dollar return in the future:  Lower crime rates, less dollars needed for courts and prisons and a reduced burden on taxpayers to afford people on welfare.  Yet during this campaign of 2008 we are consistently hearing that the economy is our number one issue right now. 

Well yes, I agree it is a very important issue, but I also say… it will get no better without a change in its catalyst - education!  Did educated minds decide to take on mortgages they couldn’t afford?  If so, those minds weren’t educated enough.  Did educated minds grow so dependent on foreign oil that it is now sending even middle class into situational poverty due to the cost of living?  If so, those minds weren’t educated enough.  We must look at our education system and how we teach our children to think about the world and their place in it.  Why are so many Americans financially illiterate – could it be that we don’t teach financial literacy?  Why do so many Americans believe they have no control over the destiny of our environment and resources – could it be that we don’t value teaching math and sciences to a high enough standard in our country?  We must revamp high schools to reduce the drop-outs and increase the highly-skilled workforce in America.  Make history come alive to our students.  Help them see history as things that happened in the past but also that it provides ideas for how to improve the future.  

We must know that our economy is a direct result of our education system.  Educational returns are seen over time.  No candidate will be able to offer a miracle “overnight cure” for the economy, nor will they do this with education.  However, if we all work together and pull our own weight for educational reform, we will see amazing returns in our economy.  Get on the bus with ED in ‘08 - join the fight to put education at the top of all political and household discussions.  As I always say, early education is the key to a prosperous tomorrow!

My blog is one of the finalists for the 2008 ED in ‘08 Blog Award. Please take a moment to follow this link http://www.edin08.com/bloggersummit/bloggerpoll.aspx and vote for EARLY EDUCATION IS THE KEY!  Thanks for your vote and your support of education!