Improving Education in a Tough Economy

Last week, several of us attended the San Francisco School Alliance Benefit Luncheon where Secretary of Education Arne Duncan addressed the crowd. While Duncan touched on his plans for the nation and his views on education, the central message was clear: Not for decades will we have the unique opportunity that we do now to improve education. Duncan cited the current administration and Congress along with a $46.7 billion proposed Education budget and over $100 billion in ARRA funds as some of the reasons why.

Secretary Duncan is right — the time really is now. If we can’t make real strides with this kind of momentum and the resources that are available, what will it take for progress? With that said, I think it’s important to remember that money and resources simply provide us with leverage to work more effectively for change. At GreatSchools, we believe that parents are a pivotal factor in ensuring that our kids are prepared for higher education, work and life. Our hope is that parents will join us in taking advantage of the rare opportunity that we find ourselves with today.

What do you think? Is there a silver lining for education in this recession?

Comments

[Angel on May 28, 2009 at 10:24 PM]

It'll be hard to look for a silver lining if you're a high school student who can't take summer school through their high school and can't take summer school at the community college.

While I am eager to see ways to break down traditional barriers to education reform (unions, bureaucracy, etc.), I feel for students who are feeling it on all sides.

[sfmom on June 09, 2009 at 01:45 PM]

Great link about the Madoff of education, Arne Duncan - http://schoolsmatter.blogspot.com/search/label/school%20privatization

[Jill Wallace on June 20, 2009 at 05:53 AM]

We must always keep our sights, souls and hearts attached to the silver lining. It keeps us fighting for our children even in the face of hopelessness.

Very few educators and school districts address parents with firm and compassionate measures. America's track record is that we've written off parents because no one wants to deal with them, many are afraid of the power parents have, and the attitude that schools can do "it" teach better than parents - "we don't need their help". After 16 years in the field, now more than ever...we must address parents and hold them accountable. Will positive reform happen overnight...? Maybe, probably not in many cases. However, we can begin with reforming the attitudes and belief systems that parents have regarding education being or not being the most important tool for all children.

We should continue this dialogue.

[Carol Cooper on June 21, 2009 at 05:08 PM]

I agree. In our school dist. the teachers tell you they want your imput, then when you try to talk to them they make you feel like they are not listening. I teach in a private preschool program and we have to constantly be aware of the importance of our parents - and let them know they count.

[lisaelaine@cox.net on July 06, 2009 at 11:41 AM]

Here is something all teachers and parents should know about.

A single mother frustrated with dismal education funding has started an auction and classified ads online shopping site that raises money for schools.

The free and low-cost advertising and selling site www.mainstreetfair.com contributes a percentage of its income to schools of the seller’s choice including public, private, charter and others.

The site's creator is the mother of an 11-year-old student in California's school system. She began Main Street Fair to provide supplemental funding for schools when people do what they like anyway--get rid of stuff they don’t want.

Main Street Fair also gives college students a break: It doesn’t charge to list books.

The easy-to-use website has categories for most everything, from free stuff to electronics to used cars. Main Street Fair is also capable of bulk uploads of a thousand or more listings to the site in seconds. This is especially helpful for stores and manufacturers with a lot of inventory to sell.

[George on July 06, 2009 at 11:59 AM]

I just went through this website and created an account in less then five minutes so it is very easy to use and it helps schools. That is why I will use it now, instead of Ebay.

[E. Smith on July 07, 2009 at 07:58 PM]

I find it interesting that the topic of student discipline in the classroom is never mentioned as a possible root cause of the national academic failure in public schools.To continue to blame parents is a losers backdoor.Today's teachers don't want to hurt feeling, and approach their extremely demanding jobs... if done right,through emotional wantings. Children sense that weakness and foment all that can be conceived to interrupt the exchange of information..aka.. teaching. Thus, when it comes to test, exam time failure is the result. Now, for being so nice, emotionally involved and undemanding of the students in the classroom the teacher now has the compounding of a not so good grade. Not good for the emotions... right?Some have said,"get rid of testing" and all will be good with the children's emotions. The process is education, not replacing that duty/ obligation by producing emotional black-mail artists and ultimately very disfunctional people. Reason and order make for strong human interaction.

[Jessica Maurer on July 28, 2009 at 04:20 PM]

I am a recent graduate with little experience in the classroom. Although I do not have suffieient classroom experience, I am aware of the challenges teachers face in today's economy. That challenge drives me to continue researching and learning new ways to improve education for students. Great teachers do not rely on money and resources to create an effective learning environment. Great teachers collaborate with parents, working together to ensure students are prepared for life outside the classroom.

[John on July 29, 2009 at 08:22 AM]

Main street fair might be a great help to the schools that have been slashed by our politicians, I will be using it!

[John Stallcup on July 30, 2009 at 10:05 AM]

The economy creates more of an opportunity for parents to begin to integrate proven, effective, low cost programs into their students daily education "practice". Budget cuts mean less special ed, larger class size, and less summer school. Whether you have a first grader learning to read (www.headsprout.com) or a student of any age learning math (www.mathscore.com and www.heymath.com) there are resources available that supplement the learning experience, improve academic achievement and don't cost much.
Headsprout comes with a money back guarantee, Mathscore is a Kumon clone online for far less money, and Heymath is used by 85% of Singapore's students (Singapore is ranked #1 in the world in math achievement by TIMSS).

[College Singapore on September 16, 2009 at 11:26 PM]

Interesting post ! Great hard work is done to improve educational resources in tough economies , key focus is increased global demands and public concerns , hence parents need to motivate children on higher education .