A modest proposal for saving the students of St. Louis

M Elizabeth W.

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A modest proposal for saving the students of St. Louis

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Education is important to students on many varying levels. Education not only predicts the quality and longevity of one's life, but also indicates an individual's potential socioeconomic attainment, the quality of personal and romantic relationships, and one's involvement in society. These things considered, it is understandable why the nations' eyes fell on St. Louis, MO on March 23, 2007 when the city's schools were stripped of accreditation and the school board disbanded; another victim of the infamous No Child Left Behind (NCLB) legislation.

Introduction.
NCLB, the heart of President Bush's 2000 election campaign.
The is one simple, cost-effective, and immediate remedy to the St. Louis problem.
Lareau 2004 findings on the qualities of middle class childhood.
1. Pre-kindergarten programs.
2. Elementary school learning.
General assumptions of what makes a good elementary education.
New challenges presented by schools for students to face.
Programs aimed at controlling behavior or fostering positive thinking.
The intellectual and academic obstacles poor and minority students face.
Conclusion.

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[...] of the population are of a racial minority,[5]) many of its students are poor or homeless. Coming from an academically- deficient background, these students do not need an equal education to middle-class students, but a superior one to level the playing field, including longer school days and years, better teachers, and a curriculum that addresses all deficiencies, social, psychological, and emotional as well as educational[6]. To break into the middle class and out of poverty, students must learn how to behave in and think with the attitudes and values of that socioeconomic culture. [...]

[...] In 15 minute daily lessons performed for the duration of the school year, children are taught a core curriculum focusing on positive actions creating positive results and other pro-social behavior, with additional optional lessons on drug use prevention and conflict resolution, among others. There are also classes for parents and the community to help extend the curriculum into the home. While it sounds like the ineffective like self-esteem ideas of the late Eighties and early Nineties, Positive Action actually seems to work. [...]

[...] To combat this, first the new St Louis district will dispense with middle school, creating combined K-6th grade and 7th through 12th grade schools, so that some physical and emotional maturation has occurred, with 4-6th grades breaking up into four distinct subjects with different teachers in order to prepare students for the changes of high school in a familiar setting. Additionally, upon enrolment, Ana and her classmates would go on a parent-student open house at the new high school, where parents can walk with their children as they try out the new class schedule and meet the new teachers without the older students and frantic rush of the school day adding stress to the overwhelming feelings associated with starting a new school. [...]

[...] (2006) Report urges changes in the teaching of math in US schools. New York Times Online. Retrieved 13 September 2006 from http://www.nytimes.com/2006/09/13/education/13math.html Mosteller, F. (1995) The tennessee study of class size in the early school grades. Critical Issues for Children and Youths 113-127. Saulny, S. (2006). Home schoolers content to take children's lead. New York Times Online. Retrieved 28 November 2006 from http://www.nytimes.com/2006/11/26/education/26unschool.html Sharif, I. & Sargent, J. D. (2006) Association between television, movie, and video game exposure and school performance. [...]

[...] (2007) State takes control of troubled public schools in St. Louis. New York Times Online. Retrieved 3 April 2007 from http://www.nytimes.com/2007/03/23/education/23state.html Hirshey, G. (2007) Pushing back at bullying. New York Times Online. Retrieved 29 January 2007 from http://www.nytimes.com/2007/01/28/nyregionspecial2/28rbully.html Kremer, M. (date unknown) The role of randomized evaluations in making progress towards universal basic and secondary education. Mimeo. Harvard University: Cambridge, MA. Kirp, D. L. (2004). The way we live now: 11-21-04: Idea lab: Life way after Head Start. New York Times Online. [...]

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