Synthesis Paper #4

Synthesis Paper #4

Justin Czech

The web-quest I created is entitled “Improving Higher Education” and it is intended for a 12^th grade civics class. Today there are many challenges facing America’s higher education system. Hopefully, many students will be pursuing at least some kind of higher education after graduating from high school, and I wanted to create a web quest which encouraged students to reflect on the higher education system many of them would be entering shortly. As a teacher, encouraging my students to think about the challenges facing our country is one of my key responsibilities. The web quest I’ve created will help develop key problem solving skills as well as encourage feelings of civic responsibility, which every teacher should cultivate in order to help students prepare for their futures.

In America’s current higher education system, the cost of a college education is rising exponentially. This is making a college education harder for middle class parents to provide for their children, at a time when such an education is essential for success in a highly competitive job market. If left unchecked, this could create a situation where the gap between the upper and lower classes in America will continue to grow. The “Improving Higher Education” web-quest asks students to think in terms of social justice and decide how our country’s leaders should address such an issue.

Finally, the web-quest I have created meets NCSS principle 8 because it requires students to utilize technology while completing their assignment and to consider the impact that technology can have on America’s higher education system. Students will make posts in a wiki and discussion board, and thus, see the benefits that both technologies may bring to our education system. They then will be asked to consider such technologies when introducing their solutions to America’s higher education problems. The web-quest meets NCSS principle 9 because it asks students to think on a global scale, and analyze how advances in communication and transportation make it possible to closely analyze the higher education systems of other countries and make comparisons between those systems and the higher education system we have in the U.S. The ability to observe, study, and understand what concepts works well for another country and to be able to apply it here in the U.S in a timely fashion is an invaluable advantage in terms of global competition. Students are able to conduct research on foreign universities from the comfort of their homes using only the internet, something that was impossible a little more than a decade ago. By asking students to incorporate a global perspective within their projects, the web-quest meets the NCSS requirement.

Synthesis Paper #3

Synthesis Paper #3
            If the current constraints on schooling were removed, I would completely revamp our education structure. It is ineffective and only contributes too many of the problems within our society. The main problem with our educational structure is that by the time student's reach high school, they have already learned most of the core skills they will need to be successful in the "real" world. High schools and colleges in today's educational system teach redundant curriculum in an unintuitive format that loses many students or quite frankly, wastes their time. The primary function of high schools and colleges should be refocused in order to give students an opportunity to develop more specialized skills related to the careers that they wish to pursue. Upon reaching high school, each student should be allowed to choose most of the curriculum they are taught, from as wide of a variety of provided subjects as possible. In a day and age where our students have learned all of the basic math, science, history, and language arts skills that they will ever need by 8^th grade, general education requirements at the high school and ESPECIALLY the college level, are almost entirely obsolete.
            While this idea may seem outlandish, there are three principle arguments in favor of this redesign of America’s public schools. First, this would be one of the best ways to cultivate student interest in school and make students more interested in their own education, while also eliminating some of the redundancy in today’s educational system. According to the Alliance for Excellent Education, only 72% of Americans graduate from High School. Common responses to this problem have been calling for increased standards for teachers and larger budgets for education. Why are we not focusing more on the students? The main reason students drop out is because they are disinterested or unsatisfied with their schooling experience. Why not try to cultivate more interest by allowing students to pursue their own educational interests by the time they reach high school, instead of holding them to rigid “general education” standards.

The second argument in favor of this design would be that it would align our education system more along with the way humans tend to learn. Daniel Quinn, an award winning author, points out that for hundreds of years “children have managed to learn the things they want to learn and need to learn. They haven’t changed”. It is a well known fact that students are most likely to learn a lesson if they are genuinely interested in what they are learning about. Why go against this natural and simple fact about human nature? If a student isn’t interested in learning calculus, but wants to learn about how to fix automobiles, why should we force that student to take calculus?  

Now the main detractors of this format will argue that by allowing students to have more freedom in what they learn at the high school and college levels, we would prevent them from becoming educationally well rounded. When examined closely, however, this argument is clearly absurd, for it implies that all learning stops at a defined point in a human being’s life. Any teacher, however, understands that learning NEVER ends. If a student chooses a specific profession early in their  life to focus on, it does not mean that they will not pick up a wide variety of general knowledge. We live in the “information” age. Knowledge is more accessible now then it ever has been in human history. To say that by allowing students to have more freedom in what they learn at the high school and college levels would be to prevent them from becoming well rounded students is to demonstrate a general lack of knowledge about how learning actually occurs.

Finally, our society does not value a “well rounded” worker more then we value specialists. America’s economy depends on a highly specialized work force. So the question must be asked, if indeed our school system is responsible for creating a well rounded student, is that necessarily be a good thing? This entire point leads us to the final argument in favor of this type of school system design, which is that it would speed up the amount of time in which American students would be eligible to enter the work force. By allowing our students to pick a trade and master that trade at an earlier age, America will see an influx of young adults fully equipped with the highly specialized skills which companies desire. This will only make hiring American educated workers more appealing to businesses, which would help our economic problems and lead us into a new age of American innovation. 

Synthesis Paper #2

Synthesis Paper #2:

a. What will be the role/responsibility of schooling in 2025?

b. What rigorous/authentic learning experiences can teachers employ to engage all students in learning (especially those that might be otherwise left out)?

            By the year 2025. schooling will play a much different role in American culture. The higher demands placed on school systems by the No Child Left Behind Act will merely be the beginning of a new age of higher expectations and responsibilities being placed on schools.  Along with ensuring that students master the ever growing curriculum, public schools will have new standards of excellence they will be expected to meet.  In a time of such standardization, it will be important that teachers provide rigorous and/or authentic learning experiences to engage all students. To do otherwise would be to handicap our children's education and limit their competiveness in the global market.

            The number of responsibilities placed on schools by the year 2025 will be much higher then today. Schools will be expected to meet higher standards of academic excellence then they are held to today, as America tries to get back into the education race. Handing down a grade of a "C" will almost become the new "F", as teachers will be increasingly pressured to ensure that all students pass their classes. Schools will also be expected to teach their students more about the rights and responsibilities of citizenship the year 2025. As America begins to face tougher challenges, the need for patriotism and nationalist thinking will rise and schools will be expected to be the main cultivators of such feelings amongst America's youth. Furthermore, schools will be expected to

            Authentic or "real life" learning experiences will become more important by the year 2025 and will be utilized more often by teachers. As video and 3-D technologies become more advanced, teaching by "simulation" will become a revolutionary new way of integrating the authentic learning experiences by the year 2025. Imagine handing out a type of 3-D glasses to each student, and when they put on the glasses, your class is immediately transported to the signing of the Declaration of Independence, fully immersed in the event. While this notion may seem outlandish, the entire concept of "immersion" is already the focal point of our video game and movie industries today. By the year 2025, it is plausible that these technologies will be fully integrated and utilized by America's public schools on at least an intermediate basis. This will make authentic learning experiences not only more realistic, but also more engaging to students who would otherwise be left out.

            Today, teachers can already give their students authentic and rigorous learning experiences by assigning group projects, conducting problem solving "panels", taking field trips to local historical landmarks, assigning individual "inquiry based" research projects, etc. As standards increase, and technology becomes more integrated in the public school setting, it is reasonable to conclude that authentic learning experiences will play a larger role in our children's education by the year 2025, even as school responsibilities increase.

Synthesis Paper #1: A reflection on curiculm and valued skill sets for the year 2025

I believe that both the role of content knowledge in American public schools and the skills students will need to master in order to be productive in the year 2025 will change drastically.  Social studies content knowledge will become less emphasized by school officials, in favor of science and mathematics, as America tries to recapture its spirit of scientific innovation. Analytical skills will still be important for students to master in 2025, but typing, computing, and programming skills will also be essential. While schools will be significantly different in 2025 than the way they are now, the overall spirit of America’s education system will be maintained.

When a country ceases to innovate new technology, it quickly loses its competitive edge in the global economic system. America, facing its enormous debt and struggling economy, will be forced to reexamine its approach to science and innovation, which has been lagging behind Europe and Asia for roughly a decade. This will lead to a re-dedication to emphasizing mathematics and science in the classroom, and the social sciences as a whole will be neglected as a result of this. History electives will be cut from the school curriculum. The number of psychology and sociology class offered to public school students will also be reduced. While this will result in a lower level of historical, psychological, and sociological awareness in America, this will pay dividends by increasing the amount of technological innovations made in America each year.

The only curriculum within the social sciences medium will be the field of economics, which should be emphasized in the high school public school curriculum by the year 2025. This will be a direct result of the financial troubles America has experienced in recent years. A more debt conscious American government will put a heavier focus on educating American students about economics at a younger age.

Analytical skills will still be an important skill for students to master in order to be productive in the year 2025. Being good at analyzing evidence and coming to a conclusion based on what you observe is a skill that transcends the ages and will still be invaluable to students in the year 2025. Some of today's valued skill sets, however, will not nearly be as important for student success in 2025. While developing good writing skills will still be the aim of elementary education, the focus in secondary education will shift away from writing to developing solid typing skills amongst all students. Computing, programming, and software/hardware engineering will also become more highly valued skill sets by the year 2025.

The overall spirit of American education should remain the same in 2025 as it is today. Students will be taught to value core principles of honesty, patriotism, responsibility, and integrity. They will be taught how to use problem solving and teamwork to overcome whatever challenges face our society by the year 2025, and regardless of the curriculum being taught or the skill sets being reinforced, teaching these core principles will forever be the main focus of American education.

The Purpose of this Blog

Hello. My name is Justin Czech and I am a graduate student at George Mason University studying to become a history teacher. The purpose of this blog is to bring to light my views on history, government, and education in general. Stay tuned for my first post on the subject of why I chose to teach history and what my professional goals are!