In the Chicago Public School System, there is a serious problem happening. Students who are in desperate need of tutoring are not getting it. Since the No Child Left Behind Law, this tutoring program has proved itself invaluable to kids who need a little extra help in their classes. But the situation has 10,000 CPS students - a quarter of the entire school system - who qualify for this tutoring program and are not being helped. But why aren't they getting the help they need?
If your guess was "insufficient funding", you would be wrong. Last year, the Chicago Public School System had $16 million in leftover money from the tutoring fund rollover into this year as they now scramble to spend $33 million in federal aid money in the next few months. They have the money but for some reason, it is not being spent on helping these students with their math and English skills. Clearly, something is very wrong with the Chicago Public School System.
Apparently the CPS failed to put enough students in it's tutoring program earlier this year because it failed to account for attrition. As some kids dropped out, their spots were not given to other kids. But why? This program is not some new, experimental thing. It has been going strong for over a decade already without these problems. Several years ago, the CPS was setting the standard for this kind of program, working right along with the schools, the state, the providers, the students, and the students' families. Nowadays, the CPS is in shambles. They rush to try and spend the rest of the federal money, but at this point in the game, the help is often coming too late to help the students improve their grades enough to pass and move into the next grade. The Chicago Public School System needs to be held accountable and hold itself accountable for this travesty and do what is supposed to be done by helping these student in getting the grades they need to move ahead in school and eventually in life.
This reminds me of just about every other system, and it is a failure. No system can ever work unless every part of it is functioning at 100%. I am not sure why the policy makers don't take this into account when they make up policies. They always need to account for human error and need to have a system of checks to make sure everyone is doing their jobs correctly. It doesn't sound like the person who was in charge of enrollment was paying attention to the drop outs. When something like this happens, it becomes an epidemic as so many kids were left behind and one thing that none of us can ever get back is time.
ReplyDeleteIt is sad to know that children in our schools are being demoted because of the impatience of an educational provider to furnish what is needed in the ongoing educating of the young minds of their charge. Chicago may be the most notice or written about city, when it comes to educational needs of students, but it is not the only city that house schools that educators have lost a handle on. The ones’ who suffer are the children.
ReplyDeleteIn my opinion there would be no need for such a mass sessional need for tutoring among the educational system, if those who claim that their call in life were to broaden and help shape the minds of our children, would follow through on their claim, by using the funds in which are giving to help address that need.
Not every child’s educational need will be the same and there will never be a short cut in getting around the hiring of those who are able to address those needs. There is no amount that should be placed on an educational facility in order to be funded for tutorial need. The educational system’s job, can and will only be successful if and when there are more teacher to balance out the ever growing load of children in the school system.
CHRISTINA VINSON
ReplyDeleteMAY 27, 2012
ACCOUNTABILITY, ACCOUNTABILITY, ACCOUNTABILITY! Know one wants to be responsible for the failures in the Governmental and Educational system. This is a world wide problem that is happening through out the country. The stuggling students are the ones that end up suffering when the public school system fails to educate. I work as a educator and I see that although they have the no childleft behind law, there are children being left behind because teachers aren't teaching because they have lost there passion for children.
I am a strong believer that strengthening the education system in America needs to be on the priority list. This topic inspires me to shape up our community by starting with giving our youth, and our planets future some attention. There are so many children who give up learning because of lack of patience from teachers. Why have teachers lost their motivation? Why is there so little passion coming from these heroes? A subject to think about is standardized testing. Personally I think these tests take away the creativeness of the teachers work. Schools are mainly focused on preparing students for these tests, kids maybe get bored of this routine and lose their passion for learning.
ReplyDeleteI have experienced the bureaucracy that bogs down the public school system. I have three children; fifteen, ten, and nine. My daughter that is fifteen excels in school and is in ninth grade. My other daughter who is ten and my son who is nine are both home schooled by my wife. The public school system could not provide a proper learning environment for them. Going back and forth and dealing with everyone at the school I had educated myself on the dynamics of the system. The faculty that care about teaching are stifled by the ones who don't. There is so much red tape involved with trying to get something done that most people give up. I gave up on the failed public school system, but instead of letting the government have their way with my kids I decided to take my children's education into my own hands. My wife and I are going to be the major influence in our children's lives not the ideology of someone I don't know. Homeschooling isn't easy. Homeschooling takes work and diligence, but the reward of knowing that my children are safe and receiving a quality education is worth the work.
ReplyDeleteI cannot blame the teachers on this issue. The teacher's are held to follow a strict curriculum that revolves around the FCAT test. I have four children, which three have graduated from high school. I have a seven year old that is stuck in this yo-yo effect of public education. I also agree that there could more done if people would speak up on this issue. When I found that the public school system does not teach our children cursive I was flabbergasted by this. I feel that this is being illiterate these children will have to know how to sign their name sometime. It seems that there is a lot of falling through the cracks in the public school system with no end in sight. So, at this time I am trusting the teachers with my child's education and teaching her at home as well to insure that she will have a bright future.
ReplyDelete