A New Way Forward for U.S. High Schools

Three ways U.S. high schools are failing their students

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June 10, 2011 RSS Feed Print
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3. Technology is outdated and sparse. In many schools across America, technology is years and years behind consumer and corporate America. At home, students live in a digitally rich, high-tech environment that comes to a screeching halt once they enter their school buildings, stifling innovation. [Check out the 25 best apps for iPads, iPhones, and Droids.]

The alternative: Ensure high schools incorporate the latest digital and online educational tools. This includes: taking advantage of the potential in online courses; adopting new Internet-based instructional and assessment platforms to measure students' strengths and weaknesses and customize instruction accordingly; recognizing the collaborative power of social networking tools; and providing teachers with more ongoing, comprehensive professional development in education technology.

As a nation, we must come together and re-examine our previous notions of what high school is and does—and how it does it—and do a much better job of providing the knowledge and skill sets our young people will actually need to navigate and succeed in the 21st century. The undeniable fact is this: If we were designing our high school system from the ground up today, it would almost certainly not look the way it does now. To forge ahead, we must start anew.

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education policy,
K-12 education

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I never attended collage but I provided a stimulating home environment for my children. My oldest two attended a state collage after graduating from a public high school and acquired advanced degrees. One has an English PhD the other a law degree. My youngest son attended a small church school that used the A.C.E. Christian curriculum. He then attended the local junior collage for two years. He was waiting for his girlfriend to graduate high school and choose a collage to attend. He then applied and was easily accepted to that same collage.

I expected a lot out of my children and encouraged them to do well in school. My wife and I sacrificed time and money to see that they had the materials and home life to be well prepared for school. My children were lucky that computers were my hobby and I was an early adapter for new technology. In 1985 my daughter was able to write her English reports on my computer and my son was able to use a statistical program he wrote on his computer to win a blue ribbon at his high school science fair.

I do believe that there is a digital divide and students without the money for equipment and parents who care about technology will have a difficult time doing collage work. My son will be going to collage with a laptop, a high performance gaming computer and an Android smartphone. Any child that hasn't learned to use the internet for research and communication will be seriously handicapped in a collage environment. Applying to a collage and arranging financing would be almost imposable with internet access and most communication with the teachers is by e-mail.

Dan M of FL 5:09AM June 24, 2011

The answer to the above issues can easily be addressed and problems solved by implementing a cirriculum of preferential learning. I have developed a Preferential Learning Theory that has undergone a test run in one lesson plan for Advanced Auto Shop at grade level 10-12. It was a great success.

I have designed a curriculum which places students at the grade 9 level in programs within the cirriculum in subject areas as a major which is one they would like to develop in academically. It assesses students finding their preferences and opening up possibilities that are available in career goals. This points students in a direction they find to their liking while at the same time supplies adapts academic lesson plans to meet preferential subject matter. It has the ability to fulfill all academic requirements and beyond what is required by state boards contingent on the performance of the student. It should go without saying that, when a student is working on something they prefer which can lead to a career in a field they enjoy, they will have a high likelihood of academic success because they will be motivated to do so in order to gain the reward of achieving their goals.

In education motivation is imperative and preparation for college or the workplace can best be found by directing students toward something they have a natural ability to perform well at or are attracted to and will work hard to obtain the necessary abilities to perform well at.

I am currently a student at USC in the MAT program and I am going to be dropping out. My reason is that USC has no interest ion looking into the merits of the theory i have briefly described here. USC has a restrictive approach to education and is moving education int this country away from success in the global environment which is today's world. USC is stuck in the status qou stagnation pool and will slowly deteriorate unless that get on track and fast.

Kermit Greer of CA 1:14AM June 11, 2011

My child was humiliated by counselors at her school for not wanting to go to college. She was given inappropriate paperwork, made to attend college fairs, and queried every day until she told me what was going on and I called the school. She is in trade school now with others who wasted their time and money going to college only to end up in trade school studying what they love to do. I was the opposite. I had to fight to get my college education. I believe deeply in education and the opportunities it affords. But for a child who is not in love with school and for whom the idea of attending college is depressing, I feel we as a society lack the creative insights to channel these children toward their futures. And even though she chose a different path, she was not at all college ready. But she knew how to take a test.

Cynthia of NJ 4:32PM June 10, 2011

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