How do we strengthen the infrastructure of our schools and provide a better education system for our youth?
360837
Sounds like you are preparing a speech.  Still, your point about where the money is to come from is well taken.\n\nI say scrap the whole idea of public schools, SELL the infrastructure to entrepreneurs and let them start private schools.  Honestly, what with all you pay in taxes, and supplies, and fees, and so on, a good private school could be run.  And face it, the public schools have become vast propaganda and indoctrination machines, teaching kids that the only way to see the world is through the eyes of the Politically Correct.\n\nDo you know where the term Politically Correct comes from?  The old Soviet Central Committee, meeting in Moscow, had one person (and he had a staff, I am sure) whose job title was sort of ideologue.  (It was something in Russian, of course.)  And what he said was Politically Correct for the Communist party was correct -- because there was only one legal political party.\n\nWhich American party wants you to treat it as the only one there is?  Let's see; which one is Politically Correct?
626425
Make the dominant peer pressures positive.\nStrongly positive school ethos, engagement of school with pupils lives and experiences, involvement with the local community.\nSchools can be very influencial places that promote strong allegiances.
1141983
I think this is a very good idea.  You need to start with the administration of the High School and the targeted elementary schools, if you want to get anywhere.  You also might be able to bring something like this into a local Boys & Girls Club.
1135392
youths particularly students
792189
you could look at our national curriculum attainment targets.. but I don't think you would be any more clued up. \nI would try to put what you want in kid language ie/communication, knowledge and understanding etc, and then think about how well they have done it. \nThat way, you and they understand it.
390687
if we spent more money on education, kids would learn more and probably want to learn even more than before and become independent and smart and think for themselves. After that these kids grow up and all have rational opinions on politics and religion and have a great understanding for all things... thats trouble right there...
332223
The last several decades in our nation have witnessed growing concerns that our educational system is not adequately preparing all of our citizens to develop the skills and knowledge they need to live and work successfully in today's complex society (National Commission on Excellence in Education, 1983). Calls for change have centered on the need for schools to provide opportunities for students to engage in activities that promote in-depth understanding, critical thinking, creative problem solving, and the ability to use knowledge in real-life settings (Darling-Hammond, 1993).\n\nIn response to these concerns school improvement efforts have proliferated, aimed at all aspects of the educational system - school structures, organization, governance, and leadership; family and community involvement; as well as curriculum content, instructional methods, individual and system-wide assessments. While all of these initiatives are important, many have been undertaken leaving some basic assumptions about teaching and learning intact, assumptions that have not been sufficiently informed by current understandings of how students learn.\n\nMany commonly accepted educational practices have been influenced by ideas of teaching from the past, based on traditional behaviorist views that teaching is primarily an act of "telling" - supplying students with facts and information in much the same way that an empty glass is filled. While these practices have been successful at producing proficiency in the lower-order skills measured on many tests, they have generally met with little success in developing the kind of knowledge and abilities that\n\nstudents need in real-life situations (National Assessment of Education Progress, 1981).\n\nIn contrast to this transmission-of-knowledge model of teaching, newer understandings of how people learn present a conception of teaching that focuses on developing "thinking" students who understand and can use what they learn. This conception is termed "constructivist" because it sees learning as a dynamic internal process in which learners actively "construct" knowledge by connecting new information to what they already know, rather than as a process in which learners are passive recipients of information transferred to them from external sources. This newer conception's emphasis is on developing students' capacities for analysis and problem-solving, rather than on having them "cover the curriculum" in the most efficient manner possible. Rooted in the assumption that all human beings have a deep drive to make sense of the world (Carini, 1987), constructivism sees learning as motivated by interest and shaped by individuals' cultural and linguistic backgrounds as well as their different learning styles and strengths (Carini, 1986; Gardner, 1983). From the perspective of the constructivist view, learning is supported by multiple experiences and social interactions, rather than by solitary drill and rote memorization (Dewey, 1916, 1956; Piaget, 1973,1980; Piaget & Inhelder, 1969; Vygotsky, 1978). It is a nonlinear process that requires extended periods of time to visit and revisit ideas until they are organized into coherent, stable, and generalizable understandings (Bruner, 1966; O'Brien, 1987).\n\nBecause constructivist principles are based on knowledge of learning, they provide a good starting place for school improvement efforts aimed at supporting students to become better thinkers, creators, and problem-solvers. Without such a focus, reform efforts run the risk of merely "reforming again, again, and again" (Cuban, 1990), focusing on the surface structures of schooling but leaving the central problems untouched.\n\nThis article describes constructivist teaching, highlighting some of its essential\n\nelements. It also discusses some of the challenges that constructivist teaching poses for teacher development. It demonstrates how a c
459488
I will answer this by pasting an article. I beleive its the best way:\n\nFOR a very long time, our society has been plagued by different kinds of maladies like discrimination, exploitation, oppression and poverty. Because of this, several solutions have been made and offered in order to eradicate or, at least, alleviate them, but only one has been proven and tested to be the most effective - education. \n\nSarvepalli Radhakrishnan, former president of India (elected in 1962), believed that education possessed the power to alleviate all maladies affecting our society. "Education," he opined, "is the process of giving the individual, knowledge and skills which he should apply in his life."\n\nIn his remarks to the National Assembly of Lesotho in Maseru, dated 28 August 2002, UN secretary general Kofi Annan had this to say: "One of the prerequisites to fighting poverty in the long term, as study after has shown, lies in education. We know that in the course of the past century, countries committed to universal primary education - for boys and girls - far more successful in escaping poverty. They have enabled their people to lead more fulfilled, productive lives. They have given their people the chance to make better use of democratic opportunities." \n\nIn school, as well as in our very homes, we have learned that, in life, there are three (3) basic necessities for survival, to wit: food, clothing, and shelter. To these three, we may add education as the fourth. \n\nObserving the same view, Georges J. Danton, French revolutionary leader (1759-94), said more than two (2) centuries ago: "After bread, education." \n\nFor his part, Oscar Arias, in his speech during the annual conference of the Global Alliance for Transnational Educate (Gate) held in San Josi, Costa Rica, dated 08 October 2001, emphasized: "Education is the most basic necessity after those that are vital to life itself - food, clothing and shelter. It is education that lifts people out of chronic poverty in which they are constantly struggling to fulfil basic needs like these." \n\nIndeed, there is a direct link that connects lack of educational opportunities and poverty, and this has been shown many times over. \n\nDuring the "War on Poverty" in the 1960s, Lyndon B. Johnson, the 36th US president (1963-1969), said poverty has many roots, but the tap root is ignorance. \n\nOn the other hand, while speaking on the occasion of the "World Literacy Day," dated 08 September 1999, James D. Wolfenson, World Bank president, said: "Literacy is pivotal to human progress. All agree that the single most important key to development and poverty alleviation is education. Adult education, literacy and lifelong learning must be combined with the fundamental recognition that education of women and girls is central to development." \n\nThis link holds true for the other forms of maladies affecting our society. This is so, because, aside from being the most effective solution to poverty, education also plays a very crucial role in strengthening the very foundation of the protective walls surrounding the halls of democracy and liberty. It protects and defends the weak from the abusive hands of some individuals or families who sits on the throne of power and wealth. \n\nQuoting former Indian President Sarvepalli Radhakrishnan once again, he said: "Education should be liberating and life giving." \n\nJohn Adams, the first vice president (1789-97) and the second (2nd) president (1797-1801) of the US said liberty could not be preserved without general knowledge among the people. \n\nEchoing the same sentiment, John F. Kennedy, the 35th US president (1961-63), said liberty without learning is always in peril, and learning without liberty is always in vain. \n\nIn this connection, the words of Walter Lippman, a political commentator, are also enlightening. He said no amount of charters, direct primaries,
428715
Yes.  We need to make sure the kids are learning, and are employable, or at least ready for the next step.
295490
To impart education to developing minds and create a better tomorrow not only for an individual but also for the whole world.
1015213
How about a school for underprivileged kids so that they can get the discipline and quality education that their middle class counterparts have.
1008209
Get a better education and get a better job.
222286
Develops the student's mind so that they are more intelligent, and sensible in their everyday life.  Education also helps them grow and mature into responsible people.
249015
Here is some of the thinking at the website I've attached. \n\n"The “more is better” approach is common to government projects.  The logic is that because education is good in principle, and schooling is the way to create education, more schooling will necessarily create more education. Thus it follows in current logic that, in light of the evidence that education is not consistently occurring, more schooling should succeed where less has failed."\n\nThere are valid arguments on both sides.  Countries such as Japan and China place much more value on structured education than we do in the western world.\n\nPersonally, I don't think there is one correct answer to the question.  For students who don't have a positive and stimulating home environment, a longer school day and a longer school year may be a very good option if it is done in a constructive manner.  However, what about the students who are exposed to positive learning experiences outside of school?  Do they need a longer school day?\n\nNo simple answers.
389659
Local school district headquarters should be able to provide that.
961255
Yes, I'm sure your school can help you with this.  Just go ask the principal or a teacher.\n\nTry to learn something.  Your generation is going to be leading our world someday.
1184944
Every human being should have the opportunity to make a better life for themselves. Unfortunately, too many children in the world today grow up without this chance, because they are denied their basic right to even attend primary school. A sustainable end to world poverty as we know it, as well as the path to peace and security, require that citizens in every country are empowered to make positive choices and provide for themselves and their families. This can only be achieved if all the children of the world are given the chance to learn in a high-quality schooling environment at least through primary school.