Education Today, Waiting on Superman Essay

Today’s education system isn’t so different from what I viewed in the documentary, Waiting for Superman.  Many lower income neighborhoods depend heavily on charter schools to help better educate their children.  In contrast, there are some areas that do not have charter schools to offer, like many Florida counties.  Children should be offered the best possible chance to succeed no matter where they come from.  Scores on standardized testing in public schools represents that many areas of study need more emphasis from caring teachers who love their chosen careers.

            Studies conducted by nationally prominent research institutions show that public charter schools are successfully closing achievement gaps for students of color, English language learners, and students in poverty. Stanford’s CREDO study found that charter schools helped English language learners and students in poverty achieve more than traditional public schools.  Studies by Stanford and Harvard have found that English language learners and low-income students perform better in public charter schools than in traditional public schools. (Stand.org)  After watching the film, it appeared that the lower income children suffered in their learning because of lack of funding for the schools they attended.  The charter schools that are in the lower income areas select potential new students in a lottery type system from a pool of applicants.  It broke my heart to watch the children in the film sit and wait to not hear their names called.  Their dreams for a better life were dashed in a matter of hours waiting, only to be let down. 

            More than one-third of Florida’s 67 counties did not have a charter school during the 2010-2011 school years, according to a StateImpact Florida analysis of state data.  As of the 2010-2011, Clay County was the largest district in Florida to not have any charter schools.  Clay County consistently earns an “A” on state report cards; one reason school officials say there is little demand for charter schools.  In Clay County, high school students can study aerospace, information or agricultural technology at one of twelve specialized academies. (npr.org)    For the most part, it seems as though Clay County schools are performing well enough that charter schools aren’t really needed.  Both of my stepchildren attend “A” schools in Clay County and they are both on the honor roll.  It makes a difference that my husband and I make sure our children get the best education they can.  

In addition, scoring for standardized testing ways very heavily on the grading that many schools achieve on a yearly basis and it impacts each student.  Many schools rely on the scoring from the testing to impact their budgets for each year.  The schools that consistently fail the yearly testing lose money and it negatively impacts the education of their students.  It is my belief that it is partly the educators fault for why children don’t perform well on such testing as FCAT and partly the child’s inability to learn or retain the material presented to them.  There is so much pressure on children to do their best that it can cause stress and make them do more poorly than under normal circumstances.   In view of the nation's substantial curricular diversity, test developers are obliged to create a series of one-size-fits-all assessments. But, as most of us know from attempting to wear one-size-fits-all garments, sometimes one size really can't fit all. (ascd.org)  You cannot expect every child tested to perform the same on standardized testing due to the fact that each one learns differently; thus they retain information differently.   Consequently, standardized testing can hinder a child’s academic growth as much as it can help.  Having teachers and administrators who genuinely care about each child’s educational development makes a huge difference when it comes to helping them achieve the skills they need to do well on yearly testing.

In summary, the United States needs help in its education system as a whole.  There should be as many educational opportunities in lower income areas as there are in some of the higher income areas.  No child should be left behind because of money.  Every child has a dream of becoming something great and they need the help to get there from their schools just as much as they do from their parents.  Standardized testing should not be the deciding factor for how much money a school receives.  If a school is consistently failing because of standardized testing maybe a new idea should be put in place to help that school achieve greatness.  How is society supposed to raise their children into successful adults if they are stunted educationally?  What choice do the children have?  Children are the future and so many are truly still “Waiting for Superman” to save them. What can you do to help?

Works Cited

Multiples sources. "Facts on Public Charters." Web. <http://stand.org/evidenceoncharterschools>.

O'Connor, John . " Charters Not A Choice in Many Florida Counties | StateImpact Florida ." NPR StateImpact: Issues That Matter. Close To Home.. StateImpact, 13 Oct 2011. Web. 16 Apr 2013. <http://stateimpact.npr.org/florida/2011/10/13/charters-not-a-choice-in-many-florida-counties/>.

Popham, W. James. "Why Standardized Tests Don't Measure Educational Quality." Educational Leadership, Volume 56, Number 6, Using Standards and Assessments Pages 8-15 , Mar 1999. Web. <http://www.ascd.org/publications/educational-leadership/mar99/vol56/num06/Why-Standardized-Tests-Don%27t-Measure-Educational-Quality.aspx>.