Raising the Bar

"Two-thirds of U. S. children attend schools in states with mediocre standards or worse."
~The Thomas B. Fordham Institute.

I think one of the major problems in schools today is setting standards. The content being taught must be taught at a level that is challenging, interesting, and helps student's gain important life-long skills. In this fast paced world, the U. S. is falling behind because every state's varies on their educational standards and benchmarks are different. Despite NCLB, which tried to increase standards of achievement, a recent article from Times magazine ("How to Raise the Standard in America's Schools" by Walter Isaacson) explains that schools are actually lowering their bar for success. In this way, schools to appear above average on NCLB tests while in reality, way below average performance. Instead ,schools need to raise the bar and have high and clear expectations for their students. Not only will this produce better studenst, but it will also motivate them to learn while preparing them for a competitive economy.

If schools expected more from each and every one of thier students, I am sure achievement and learning will increase. I was an honors student in my high school and took 2 or 3 AP classes each year. These classes were difficult, however, because they challenged my learning I was motivated to work harder to be successful in these classes. My regular classes bored me most of the time since the class moved at a much slower pace. Thus, when I did homework for the class (if I had any at all), I whipped through it quickly just to check it off my list. I was more interested in doing the homework I really had to work at. The difference in standards between AP and regular classes at my high school were astounding!! The honors students were more than adequately prepared for college and the competitive world. I would argue the regular kids were not as much. This is unfortunate. I believe that schools need to change this standard. All students need to be challenged, whether they are a "middle of the road" kid or an honors student. I sincerely believe that if teachers push their students and expect high quality work, that students would be more motivated to perform at that level. Regardless of whether a student is doing the work for a grade (extrinsic motivation) or out of interest (instrinsic motivation), a higher standard would teach the student more because they would have to work harder to achieve the grade they aspire too. In the long run, this would also play out well for our country: allowing us to keep up with the ever-changing world. As Barack Obama said to Congress recently, "This is a prescription for economic decline, because we know the countries that outteach us today will outcompete us for tomorrow."

Thus, raising the bar has short-term and long-term benefits. As teachers, our goal is to give students a depth of knowledge and help them understand thier place in this world. Teaching with low expectations does nothing; in fact, this strategy is more harmful than good. We need to teach students that challenging goals and tasks are the most worthwhile and fulfilling ones to pursue. This has to start in the classroom, and it has to start now. So go on, take a risk, and raise the bar!