Problems in American Education - Part 3: A Preview Outline

I hope some of these topics whet your appetite. They are some of the issues I would like to address with my unvarnished, seat-of-the-pants opinions. Take a look. Maybe you can figure out where I am likely to go with some of them and you can start sharpening your own opinions to take me on.

- The myths related to ability grouping

- Elitism in education
Public vs. Private
Parents owning children - the sense of entitlement
Inequality in a democratic country

- Pushing kids too early - vicarious and counterproductive

- Grades - an imprecise science at best

- Boards of Education and the Constitutional responsibility for education

- Public support for education - What happened to the covenant?

- Parents may be the biggest problem

- The problems related to the career path for educators and leadership

- What is curriculum? Is there really a definition?

- Every place needs a mission

- Teachers’ unions / associations and the concept of professionalism

- Nutrition and the lunch program. Does curriculum stop in the classroom?

- Role of sports and school spirit

- Middle school vs. Junior High School

- Providing a real-life education
Student Team Learning
Performance based assessment
Structure
Differentiated instruction

- Progressive vs. Permissive

- Passive individualization - Why not?

- Computer assisted instruction