School improvement
In this YouTube video, middle school students communicate that they are the future of America. Instead of learning how to memorize and recite, they would rather be taught how to think and communicate. The students also express the need for individualized learning instead of teaching to the masses, which, in their minds, “creates boredom, not laziness”. For more on this video, click on the link above.
In an effort to keep the rotating class schedule at her high school,
“Madeleine Siegmund, a junior, gathered 245 signatures on a petition that implores school officials to abandon plans to impose a fixed six-period day”, writes Linda Borg. Madeleine’s fear, along with her classmates, is that the fixed schedule will lead to problems. “’If there is the same class first period every morning and the student is either exhausted or late,’” Siegmund says, “’he or she will most likely fail that class because of the limited ability to participate fully. CUTTING CLASSES WILL BECOME AN EPIDEMIC.’”
In this YouTube video, students express their profound need for a change in the way classrooms are run today. Fixated more on their Ipods, Facebook profiles, and text messaging rather than on what their professor is saying, this video demonstrates the thoughts and feelings of students while teachers think they are listening. Students want their teachers to change how the curriculum is taught to be up to date with the latest technology rather than lecturing in front of the class.
Dozens of high school students, mostly from New York's private, top-notch schools, flock to an after-school writing program in hopes of getting help on their work. Their goal? Entering writing competitions. The students’ high schools, which encourage sports and team competitions, have the opposite approach when it comes to individual competitions. “When students are rewarded for participation rather than achievement they don't have a strong sense of what they are good at and what they're not,” suggests Dr. Mel Levine, University of North Carolina.
“Many young people are experts at collaborating through online technology -- the kind of tools that are powering the new global economy” and edutopia.org asked students, “what it takes to succeed”. Across the globe, students have submitted their answers via web video. Social dynamics takes the top spot, with 5th-12th grade students reporting that they would like to learn more about communication, social networking, cooperation, and presentation skills.
A special report from Indiana University's High School Survey of Student Engagement, based on 81.000 student responses from 26 states, reports, "Today's high school students say they are bored in class because they dislike the material and experience inadequate teacher interaction." In addition, "the findings, show that 2 out of 3 students are bored in class every day, while 17 percent say they are bored in every class." Furthermore, lack of adult support and skipping school were also mentioned as reasons for high drop out rates among students.
For the first time, instead of asking the parents and teachers, the state of West Virginia asked the students what they wanted in schools, as well as their opinions of how well the schools were doing. 4,955 5th-12th grade students from across the state filled out the internet survey, and “improved technology” was the top response. In addition, advanced courses, smaller class sizes, and increased hands-on learning experiences were desired. To read the complete survey and analysis, click on the link above.
The National Findings on Science Education from Speak Up 2007, collected data from 319,223 K-12 students for this Project Tomorrow-Net Day report. In this report, Kim Farris-Berg writes, “While some of today’s students will be producers of scientific knowledge, it’s likely that the majority will be knowledge consumers.” Farris-Berg notes that most students find learning science as a means to graduate high school. However, if science was presented more as inquiry based learning and hands-on projects, instead of memorization of facts, more students would be interested in pursuing STEM (science, technology, engineering, and math) careers. In addition, this report includes open-ended questions with both student and teacher responses.
In this annual report, the Horatio Alger Association analyzes the varying types and levels of family and peer support that American youth receive, youths' outlook on numerous issues from education to social attitudes, and what these students see as the biggest obstacles in their lives (as opposed to obstacles perceived by adults and educators). Two big trends in this year's report were both related to the influence of technology in today's world: "Asked to pick from a list of possible improvements to their school, students say that more up-to-date technology would make the biggest difference. They also believe that their science and technology classes are the most important to take when comes to preparing them to succeed in the global economy."
When a small school sets up quarters within a large high school, friction can develop, especially when the small school marches to a very different drummer. The students at Bronx Aerospace Academy, a small ROTC school located within Evander Childs High School in the Bronx, know this firsthand. Their military uniforms, marching, and different curriculum set them apart. They feel their Evander classmates single them out for harassment. Evander students, meanwhile, worry that they have become second-class citizens in their own school. Hoping to bridge these tensions, students from both sides decided to take a hard look at the misperceptions.