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"Two Million Minutes" or Where There is a Will

Two Million Minutes

copyright © 2008 Betsy L. Angert. BeThink.org

The exceedingly successful Tennessee businessman may have shrieked with excitement when he realized all along he likely knew what would work well in American schools. "More is best." "Too much is never enough." For an Entrepreneur these adages are thought accurate. Bob Compton, founder and head of several technology and medical firms, a man with a Masters in Business Administration from Harvard knows how to tackle a problem and achieve results.

Exit Exams, High School Dropouts; Cause and Effect

copyright © 2007 Betsy L. Angert. BeThink.org

In California, students are crushed by the weight of exit exams. Some feel defeated. After numerous failures on test after test, pupils presume, rather than make another attempt, it is best to just dropout. In 2006, 24,000 high school seniors dropped out, about 10,000 more than just four years earlier.

Please also peruse Dropout Nation; Communities Can Cure The Silent Student Epidemic. The causes and effects of "dropping out" are explored in greater detail in that treatise.

Little Rock Nine Commemorated; Separate and Unequal Survives

Little Rock 9 - 50th Anniversary

copyright © 2007 Betsy L. Angert. BeThink.org

It has been fifty years since America sought to integrate its schools. It was September 25, 1957. The Little Rock Nine, a group of young Black pupils, crossed the threshold into history. Three years earlier, the Supreme Court of the United States of America ruled educational institutions could no longer remain separate and unequal. Unity in our schools was sanctioned in 1954. Brown versus Board of Education was the catalyst for change. However, even after the judgment was handed down, in actuality, few Districts altered enrollment. Assimilation was slow and frequently forced.

Historic Reversals, Accelerating Resegregation In City And Suburbs

copyright © 2007 Betsy L. Angert. BeThink.org

The mantra may be "teach tolerance." Yet, we teach our children intolerance. In America, we see Historic Reversals, [and] Accelerating Resegregation, so says a report released in August 2007. This study, conducted by Gary Orfield and Chungmei Lee, of the Civil Rights Project, University of California, Los Angeles documents what is evident throughout the country; racism is alive and well in America. Indeed, racial discrimination grows stronger each and every day. The most recent Supreme Court decision, handed down in June 2007, endorsed further racial divides. Parents Involved in Community Schools versus Seattle School District Number 1 et al, sanctions school segregation. For the most part, parents and the population at-large embrace this ruling.

Supreme Court Rules; Brown Versus Board of Education Reversed

Affirmative Action: Separate But Equal

copyright © 2007 Betsy L. Angert. BeThink.org

It is official Brown versus Board of Education has been reversed. Providing equal education opportunities to all children, regardless of race, color, or creed is no longer a priority. The 1954 Court decision that invalidated the principle of “separate but equal” was overturned on June 28, 2007. This day will live in infamy. In another of the many recent 5 to 4 split decisions, the neoconservative Supreme Court canceled the promise made to students of color.

Schools Deteriorate. Children and Teachers Suffer. ©

Recently, communities are more actively speaking of the future. They are expressing their concerns for what we as a society have accepted. Mostly the focus is on the war in Iraq. Corruption in Congress can consume us for weeks at a time. When chatting in cyberspace, Americans touch on issues such as the economy, healthcare, and Social Security. These all qualify as vital when discussing our distresses.

However rarely, do we discuss the situation in the schools. We dance around and dialogue some; we speak of students and state there is a need to promote success. At times, educators, and even the greater community consider the topics of "standards," "teaching to the test," and "accountability." Still, these issues stay on the periphery; those in power tie our purse strings. Thus, we capitulate; we yield to their unwitting wisdom. As sad as this may be, we do little or less to better the educational opportunities for our offspring. It may be sadder still that we house our healthy students in decomposing buildings.

Failing Children, Accountability and Testing [FCAT] ©

• Dear reader, as you review this treatise, please consider, the parallels. Pedagogy and poverty are poignant concerns in Florida and throughout the United States.

The results were announced; Florida students overwhelmingly failed the science portion of the Florida Comprehensive Assessment Test [FCAT]. More than two thirds of the population tested below grade level. Science instructors are looking at the recent test results as an opportunity. They have a chance to improve their curriculum. The Science studies departments are planning more hands-on instruction. They intend to attend seminars on how to best prepare students in the summer.

J.P. Keener, the supervisor of secondary science education for Broward County promotes the positive. This official says, ‘‘we're in a good position to line everything up to attack this exam seriously.” Then, the administrator adds, “Now, the last part is the kids, and that's the unpredictable part.''