The Hodgkinson Report

I am very hesitant to post a blog about this report or whatever it is. It looks like an article that was written in an educational magazine. The whole idea about this article is about demographics. I am not an expert in this field nor do I intend to be, but I will do my best to express my ideas without offending anyone. Keep in mind my intention is to express my ideas about the topic.

Mr. Hodgkinson starts off by saying "nothing is distributed evenly across the US. Not race, not religion, not age, not fertility, not wealth, and certainly not access to higher education." I am a big fan of the statement that people are a direct result of their environment. It takes a combination of education, culture, family, one's environment, and a number of other factors to create a student’s well rounded view about life. Nothing in life is evenly distributed. Life is what you make of it. We are fortunate here in the US to have opportunities. We can be anything we want to be. Did you ever that saying "Seize the day?" It means just what it says, make everyday day in your life count. The decisions you make dictate where you are going to be in life. Some of the ideas like race, age, and sometimes religion are already predetermined for students and people. Fertility, wealth, and the option to participate in higher education is definitely a result of the student’s decisions throughout life.

Another topic the author writes about is diversity. He goes on to say that "the nature of race is changing." Let’s face it, everything in life changes. It either changes for the better or it changes for the worse. Again, it’s a result of the decisions a student makes throughout life. We as future teachers have to understand that we cannot change the world. We can change the way a student feels about a particular subject through the information that we provide them, but ultimately that student will make their own decision about how they feel. It’s like the old saying, “you can lead a horse to water, but you can’t make the horse drink it.” I as a future teacher can provide the tools to the student, but it is up to the student to follow through and use what we provide to achieve their individual goals. It is a natural reaction of all teachers, at least I would hope, that the teacher is there to provide any instruction or information that the student needs.

He talks about Tiger Woods and how he checks 4 different races or ethnicities on the census forms. Listen, not even the census is perfect. One thing is for sure, there are always going to be choices in life, whether it is on the census form, when you walk into a restaurant and choose what you want to eat, or even to elect the next president of this country. It’s up to the individual. Again, it’s the choices a student makes in life that will dictate where he/she is later on. All we can do as teachers is provide the tools and the student has to look at the big picture and facilitate the action.

The author goes on to talk about differences in world views. All of these views about the sense of time, the sense of family, the sense of hierarchy, are a direct result of how the student feels about what he/she is taught in life. The students, if taught correctly, will come to understand and hopefully see the big picture. It’s from that big picture where that student will hopefully put it all together and make the correct decision about what they want to do in life, where they want to be, and what they want to achieve.

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The Education Primer

It’s not surprising to me how some people would find this information to be known and some of it was mind boggling. If I take a moment to reflect on all of the years I went to school, I can say that the facts about white females as educators are correct. I can count on one hand the amount of male teachers I had. Why you may ask? It may be the female nature to nurture children. Most women have that natural ability to deal with children of all ages. They seem to have another sense. Men on the other hand have to work a little harder at it. Don’t get me wrong, I’m sure there are men out there that are better than women, but the majority of don’t have that extra sense.

There are alot of facts about the different demographics of our US schools in the Primer. There is alot of information in there that is good to know, but let’s look at the truth, the world changes, people change, why shouldn’t the diversity and class makeup of our schools change? Our own communities are ever-changing. When I take a look at the makeup of our townspeople over the last 20 years, it’s changed tremendously. Why wouldn’t it change? How can you stop it? You can’t! People make decisions in life that depict their future. Some of those decisions are based on their family, their education, their culture, and most of all there own life experiences. People and families come and go, therefore, our school children change with it.

The great thing about this is that the information can be used to see if there is need for improvement in our laws and policies. Do some of our schools need help from a national standpoint versus their local government, when it comes to funding? Should we make today’s school children aware of these facts so that they can see the big picture? I say this because I know from experience that every time an election in our town comes up a question comes up on the ballots about improving our community’s schools through the addition to the taxes we pay every year. Year after year people complain about the education system in our town but they don’t want to invest anything into them. What the majority of people don’t understand is that the costs for the education systems in the town are a very small part that makes up their taxes. If you were to educate the kids it may trickle to the parents to avoid assumptions. I can go on and on about the percentages and numbers in the Primer, but investing in our schools means investing in our children, our communities, and the future of the US.

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Speaking to Marvin the Martian

What our schools are like?

We have many different types of schools, including public, private, and charter schools. The majority of students attend public schools in the areas that they live. Nine out of ten students are educated in public schools and private schools educate 12%, so public schools are responsible for formally educating the majority of students. Our education system is based on 12 grade levels, where students must attend between 9 and 13 years, however in order to further their education at a college or university they must attend all 12. There are mandatory subjects in which students must study, including Math, English, and Science.

Who are our students?

Our students come from many races, backgrounds, and ethnicities. The percentages between them all are always changing, however by 2020 half of the nation's school age children will be children of color. More than 1/3 of public school students are from low-income families. Our students consist of those who are born in the U.S., immigrants, those with handicaps or disabilities, and those whose first language is not English.

Who are our teachers?

Our teachers are required to be well educated and have a degree in the subject area that they teach. The majority of our teachers are white females. Because of new laws that deal with education in our country, such as the No Child Left Behind Act, there are more demands placed on teachers and teacher requirements. For this reason there is a high turn-over rate in the teaching force.

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Reactions

Reactions...the first day of class, your peers in the class, the teacher, the atmosphere, the amount of work involved - good or bad. These are some of the things that are thought of moving on from semester to semester. Although it is easy for some, it may be difficult for others. The first day of class always gives me some jitters because I never know what to expect. Who are the other people in the class? Do I know them, do they know me, and have I taken class with them before? What is the teacher like? Is he/she going to be available if needed? What kind of teaching style does he/she use? What kind of atmosphere will the teacher along with the students, create inside the classroom? Is it going to interesting or is it going to be just another one of those classes you pay for and go to, but really don’t want to be there?

As I pose these questions, I look back into my earlier years of schooling. As I take a look back, these are the same questions that I had back then. I wonder if anyone else is sharing the same thoughts. Do the other kids even care? Do other students feel the same way I felt? How do they feel about their new environment, knowing they are only going to be there for a short time and then have to move on to the next semester or grade level, before having to experience it all over again.

As I continue through the journey of being given some of the tools to be a future teacher, I have to keep in mind how I felt and what I went through progressing through my years of school. I am sure that I’m not the only one that feels this way. I’m sure that some students go through this year after year. It reminds me that being a teacher doesn’t only mean that we present material, the students learn about it, and then they move on, being a teacher means much more. We have to accommodate the students that need accommodation. We have to invest extra time into the students that need it. We have to be there to pick up the broken pieces. Let’s face it, if there is 24hrs in a day we have the students for a better part of it. It’s almost as if their teacher is going to be their mentors through life along with the student's parents, of course. It is the teacher’s investment in the students that will make the future for everyone safe, positive, and enjoyable.

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