Deepa Prasad

Mr. Schurtz
English 12 AP Period 2
3 March 2011

Public Education
Thesis:
The public education system in America is
flawed in its inconsistencies; common
standards must be set on federal and state
levels to ensure proficiency in core subjects,
college readiness, emotional fortitude, and the
ability to compete in the economy for all
students who matriculate at public schools.
 QuickTime™ and a
decompressor
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(U.S. Chamber of Commerce)

2014
 74.2%
(“Couverture Voyages Extraordinaires par Jules Verne”)

67.8%
(“Ciclotrig”)

(Emetrics)
 74.2%
(“Couverture Voyages Extraordinaires par Jules Verne”) (+11.8%)

67.8%
(“Ciclotrig”)

(+12.3%)
(Emetrics)
 White Black Hispanic Asian
78.1
78.7% 59.1% 46.2%
%
(“Couverture Voyages Extraordinaires par Jules Verne”)

White Black Hispanic Asian

84.4
70.9% 40.9% 46.2%
%
(“Ciclotrig”)

(Emetrics)
 Black Hispanic
Reading 42.4% 44.7%

Math 33.0% 35.4%

(www.education.state.pa.us)
At what
cost?
 The Arts

(“Prasad”)
 Creativity

(“Tamara and Quynbi Horton 01A”)

 Substance Abuse

(“Plantacja”)
 Anxiety

(“Scared Crying Child”)

Graduation rates
transition into college acceptance and readiness related to
socioeconomic factors
Mean SAT Scores of Local Schools
Related to the National Average

(www.education.state.pa.us)
Mean SAT Scores of Local Schools
Related to the National Average

(www.education.state.pa.us)
 Textof Local Schools
Mean Family Income

Text
Mean Family Income of Local Schools

www.census.gov
Mean Family Income of Local Schools
 QuickTime™ and a
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Hints on Pronunciation for Foreigners
From a letter published in the London Sunday Times (1/5/65)

Beware of heard, a dreadful word

That looks like beard and sounds like bird.
And dead-it's said like bed, not bead.
For goodness sake, don't call it deed!
Watch out for meat and great and threat.
They rhyme with suite and straight and debt.
 “I cdnuolt blveiee taht I cluod aulaclty uesdnatnrd waht I
was rdanieg. The phaonmneal pweor of the hmuan mnid!
Aoccdrnig to a rseaerch at Cmabrigde Uinervtisy, it
deson’t mttaer in waht oredr the ltteers in a wrod are, the
olny iprmoatnt tihng is taht the frist and lsat ltteer be in the
rghit pclae. The rset can be a taotl mses and you can sitll
raed it wouthit a porbelm. Tihs is bcuseae the huamn
mnid deos not raed ervey lteter by istlef, but the wrod as a
wlohe. Amzanig huh?”

(Cambridge University)
Class activity possibilities:
1. Have students respond to a prompt about their day.
After 1 min, have them switch to their nondominant hand
and write for 1 min. Then switch back. Discuss how that
is like learning to write.
2. Brainstorm words and their pronunciation that
immigrants and/or adults learning the language would
have difficulty in pronouncing correctly. (i.e. choir,
chaperone, yacht)
3. Have students write down their favorite part about their
Upper Merion education and share.
* Chocolate chip cookies would be a part of any of the
three *
 Works Cited
American FactFinder. Web. 04 Mar. 2011. <http://factfinder.census.gov/>.
Barrier-Ferreira, Julia. "Producing Commodities or Educating Children? Nurturing the Personal Growth of Students in the Face of
Standardized Testing." The Clearing House 81.3 (2008): 138-43. Print.
Burrow-Sanchez, Jason, Megan E. Call, S. Lillian Adolphson, and Leanne S. Hawken. "School Psychologists' Perceived
Competence and Training Needs for Student Substance Abuse." Journal of School Health 79.6 (2009): 269-76. Web.
Haycock, Kati. "Building Common Ground: College-Ready Standards." Change Magazine -- November/December 2010: In This
Issue. Web. 15 Dec. 2010
Miller, Lynn D., and Christina Short. "The ABCs of CBT (Cognitive Behavior Therapy): Evidence-Based Approaches to Child
Anxiety in Public School Settings." Journal of Counseling and Development 88 (2010): 432-38. Web.
Pennsylvania Department of Education. Web. 04 Mar. 2011. <http://www.education.state.pa.us/>
Vasquez Heilig, Julian, and Heather Cole. "From Dewey to No Child Left Behind: The Evolution and Devolution of Public Arts
Education." Arts Education Policy Review: 136-45. Web.
Walden, Lavada M., and William A. Kritsonis. "The Impact of the Correlation Between the No Child Left Behind Act's High
Stakes Testing and the High Drop Out Rates of Minority Students." National Journal for Publishing and Mentoring Doctoral
Student Research 5.1 (2008). Web. 9 Nov. 2010.
 Works Cited Images

A7nubis. Plantacja. 2007. Photograph. Wikimedia Commons. Web.

Bloggs, Joe. SAT. 2007. Photograph. Wikimedia Commons. Web.

BMS Classrooms. Photograph. Boston. Wikimedia Commons. Web.

Mabel, Joe. Tamara + Quynbi Horton. Photograph. Moore Theater - 100 Years. Wikimedia Commons. Web.

Marlith. Classroom. Photograph. Cathedral School for Boys. Wikimedia Commons. Web.

Rama. Hertzel Front Cover. 2004. Photograph. Wikimedia Commons. Web.

Sousa, Raylton P. Ciclotrig. 2011. Photograph. Wikimedia Commons. Web.

Stroble, David. A Teacher Talks to His Students in a Classroom at Cathedral High School. 1976. Photograph. DOCUMERICA,

Minnesota. Flickr Creative Commons. Web.