2up in the paper, pencil. And at 4:00 they’re going home and they’re teaching themselveswithout any sense of what they’re really supposed to be doing.And as we prepare for our work force into the 21st century, everyone’s going to have tohave these digital skills. And a lot of times we’re not teaching those skills. And that’swhat I see as one of the – that’s why I was very excited to hear that he wants to look atthe dropout rate, because I think that’s one of the reasons kids drop out. They don’t seewhat they’re learning is going to actually get them a job. They don’t see that that’s thenext step. So I think that was – like I said, I was really excited to see that.
Ms. Lynda Parker:
I am particularly drawn towards the increased access to college. Asa high school counselor, this is something we work with on a daily basis, and I wouldalso suggest adding into that not only access to college, but also better preparation for thecollege experience, which would add into it leveling the field so that our students in public schools had just the same access and preparation as a private school that hasresources to have college labs and college advisors for just that part of their life, and theydon’t do other things; they simply get these students prepared and ready to go to college.So I would also add to that not just getting them in the door to college, but making surethey’re prepared to stay there for the four to five years it would take them to completetheir undergraduate education.
Ms. Susan __:
I think I just read something online about there’s 40 percent of our college students, because they were talking about loans. So there was a student whograduated, he is $125,000 in debt. And he is working at a $10 an hour job because hewas one of those students who got into college, ended up with this debt, but wasn’t prepared to do the kind of college work that demanded him to get the kind of job. Sothere’s something to be said that we want our kids to attend college, but if I’m not prepared, I’m going to come out with a degree that still puts me back at a $10 an hour with $125,000 debt.
Ms. Elizabeth Kirby:
I think that there really needs to be a clear curriculum, earlychildhood through college. I think that there are huge gaps when students go, sometimesfrom fifth grade to sixth grade, sometimes from eighth to ninth grade. And as a highschool principal, we really do see students who come in with some challenges. It’s verydifficult to address those if you’ve had students who have had one year, two years, threeyears, four years of weak, uncoordinated instruction. And it does lead to lack of engagement in school. It does lead to a dropout crisis. It does lead to teachers feeling burned out and overwhelmed.So if I could do one thing, I would really tighten the curriculum from three to 21 for students, and definitely lengthen the school day, without question. It is too short inelementary school, it is too short in high school. It does not prepare them for college,especially if you have students who are not going to necessarily have the supports to dothe two to three to five hours of homework that they need to do at night. You need thattime on task in the classroom.
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