Reply to What can be done to level the playing field?

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[quote=Anonymous]Tough question that definitely doesn't have a simple answer.

I think key factors are: school & community culture, expectations, strong foundations, access to essential resources, and personal attitude/priority towards education.

While kids are young, they are still forming a work ethic & an attitude towards whether to prioritize school. Kids may or may not get such an attitude from their home environment, so it seems important to surround as many kids as possible with a school environment that tells them that education is important, adults in the school community believe in the students' potential, adults in the school community will help any student who asks for assistance and puts in the effort, and that being a hard-working student is socially accepted & valued.

Schools that are diverse in terms of looks, cultures, and socioeconomic factors are probably helpful in this regard because it is common in numerous subcultures of American society to value education & expect students to do well, so kids who don't get that from home are likely to be exposed to such attitudes from peers & school staff.

I would like to see elementary schools focus on basic foundations of academics such as:
phonics-based reading instruction in grades k-3, reading & analysis of whole books of gradually increasing length/complexity in grades 1-6;
English/language arts class including direct instruction in grammar, spelling, sentence structure, organization of a paragraph with a topic sentence & supporting details, and by the upper grades introduction to a very basic three to five paragraph structured paper;
Math instruction focused on developing numeracy, understanding of how and why the four basic mathematical operations function, sufficient drill to master math facts through the 10s or 12s, an understanding of how to calculate percentages, how to work with decimals and place value, understanding of measurements, and comfort working with fractions.

Science & social studies/history are in my opinion less critical subjects in the early elementary years but have become so controversial recently that I would like to see schools develop curricula for these subjects after open and robust dialog with the local community.

In my humble and controversial opinion, schools should reduce their use of technology such as computers & internet-based learning in favor of physical textbooks, workbooks, worksheets, and class sets of novels etc. Not all students have equal access to computers, tablets, internet, permission/ability to charge electronic devices,  etc., but physical materials are somewhat easier to use in a range of living environments.

Most importantly, I think schools should move back towards having and enforcing standards for student behavior to improve the classroom learning environment. [/quote]

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