2. The purpose of this plan is to developing an innovative education
system.
Currently over a million of the students who enter ninth grade fail to
graduate within four years. In fact, about 7,000 students drop out
every school day. Perhaps this statistic was acceptable fifty years
ago, but the era in which a high school dropout could earn a living
wage has ended in the United States. Dropouts significantly diminish
their chances to secure a good job and a promising future, once the
decision is made to quit school.
To rid the current education system of the current problems will be to
restructure the current class room set up, evaluate individuals
learning styles and the effect of after school activities.
3. Learning Styles: From K-3rd grade students should be evaluated on their learning styles and
their abilities to retain information.
New IEP system: Don’t make a IEP a bad thing, make the IEP for every student, use it as a
developmental tool.
Assessing Motivation: From 4th-8th grade assess student’s motivation for success and
action.
Developing Expectations: From 9th-12th grade develop expectation for graduation from
staff, parent and student.
Classroom Structure: After the development of the new IEP and learning styles
system, change the class rooms to match students and instructors that learn and instruct the
same.
Afterschool activities & Statistics: The review the Union contracts and look were
adjustments and compromise can be made to decrease the massive expense of the Union and
create and save jobs.
Implementation Chart
4. What is the best way to learn: The best way for a person to learn depends on
the person, of course. It is well know that people have different leaning styles
that work best for them. The best approach for an instructor to take is to
address a variety of learning styles with their teaching plan. It is also helpful to
encourage students to understand their preferred leaning style. Individuals
assume that by the time students reach the college level that they have figured
out the best and most productive way to study to retain information.
Providing the right environment conducive to learning: The classroom
environment can also have a big effect on the amount of learning that occurs.
Here again, people are different and have different environmental preferences.
Nevertheless, understand what effects the learning process is important to
know. Some of the common learning styles and environmental factors that
should be considered when attempting to create the best learning conditions
are listed below:
5. Learning Styles DESCRIPTION
Most students learn best when there is a logical sequential, delineated lesson that provides the objective and
systematic steps to do the assignment. This type of student benefits from the use of rubrics so that they can
Structure of Lessons
better follow lectures and assignments. However, some students do not like much structure and appreciate
being given choices and allowed to be creative.
Some students benefit greatly from group activities and other do not. For those who are peer learners, pair them
with another student when possible. For those who are self learners do not force them into a group/peer-
Sociological
learning situation all the time. Cooperative learning is an important learning tool but some students are more
introverted than others and may have difficulty participating in group activities.
Some students learn best by listening. Auditory learners do well with lecture, class discussions, etc. While
Auditory lecture is considered the least effective teaching method, some students learn best by simply listening. These
students may also be more sensitive to outside noises.
Visual learners benefit from a variety of ocular stimulation. One example would be the use of colors. These
students like images and written information. They like to be able to read instructions or the text on their own
Visual
to increase their understanding. When studying it is helpful for these student to use different color highlighters
or pens as they are reading and taking notes. These students may also be more sensitive to visual distractions.
Most people learn best with hands-on activities, but some gain a lot more from it than others. Some students
Tactile really increase their learn potential when they are give they opportunity to do something by themselves
Especially in a science classroom there should be plenty of opportunities to learn by doing.
6. Environmental Factors DESCRIPTION
A formal setting would be the traditional desk and chair or possibly a table. An informal setting would be the floor, a
couch, a beanbag, etc. Every student’s brain will not function the same in the same postural position. So when you see
Formal vs. Informal
a student slouching in a traditional desk or chair, it may simply mean that they would learn better in more of a
informal setting.
Some students find sound distracting and some find it calming. It may be beneficial to have several study areas
Noise vs. Quiet
established. One where the noise level is kept to a minimum and one where some background noise is present.
Room temperature also plays a key role in learning. If a student is too cold or too hot, they will have more of a hard
Temperature time concentrating on what their learning task is. It is recommended that the classroom temperature be cool if
possible. This way those who do not like being cold can simply wear another layer of clothing and be comfortable.
Everybody’s eyes react differently to light. Some students may need to sit by a bright reading lamp while others may
Bright vs. Dim
get a headache when too much light is present. A light level that all students find comfortable should be sought.
Some people need to have continuous movement as they are studying, such as tapping there fingers or foot on the floor,
Kinesthetic fooling with their hair, using a stress ball, or chewing gum. This is absolutely natural but if they are not alone studying,
make sure they do not distract others.
The human body is built to move and it does particularly like to sit still for long periods of time. Have students to
stand, stretch, and take short breaks as needed during studying. It is good to study in 20-30 minute increments with a
Mobility
brief break between each block of time. Research has shown that it only takes 30 seconds to rest and recharge the
brain.
7. The suggested way to implement these new learning styles takes the
pressure off of the student and the teacher for the first 4 years of
development, so instead of trying to get A, B, C‟s and so on and so
forth, the new system will be focused on how the student‟s learn to prepare
them for the grades of 4th-12th.
To implement this plan the school system will have a new I.E.P system for
all of the students not just the special education. The new I.E.P system
will track the learning style of ever student in every subject. It will track
their behavior patterns and achievements. Just imagine if every teacher
had information on ever student that was set to come into their class room
everyday. The teachers know if they have an achiever and or an under
achiever in their classroom. They know who can help them in the class
room and who will need extra help in the class room.
8. Classroom set up:
The new I.E.P. and learning style system will help the school system
set up the class room to meet the needs of all students. I think it
would be beneficial for the student and teachers to have it set up
where if I am in a math class and I am a visual learner that everyone
in the class room is a visual learner‟s, so the teacher can develop a
course were the visual learners can get the full information from the
course. Next if it was not cost effective to break each class down into
different learning styles, but they can combine certain learning styles
1, 2, or 3 different styles in one class.
9. Effect of the systems:
The effect of the new system will be better class room grades and
behavior, if a student is getting information in the form that is the
most effective to him/her then grades will be better. Next, sometimes
all of the things put in place can not change certain students, but with
the development of this new system it can eliminate the “stupid
student” and what I mean by this that most bad behavior comes from
a student not being involved in class, not getting the information and
feeling less than the other students that get it, therefore making fun
of the other students that do good it and making it seem as being
smart is bad.
10. Motivation is the process whereby goal-directed activity is instigated
and sustained. From the 4th grade-8th grade this is where we now
develop motivation of the student. This is were we set goals and
reward when these expectations are meet. For the early grades
motivation can be something as simple as setting the goal of no
interruption during class for the whole day for at least 3 days out of
the week and the reward is a pizza party. For the higher grades this is
were you reward them with setting goals and when they meet these
goals they are allow to go to the spring dance, participate in
sports, cheerleading and other in school and after school activities.
This is currently active in the school now but it can be revamp to
where the student sets their own reachable goals to then give some of
the responsibility to the student.
11. From 9th-12th grade develop expectation for graduation from staff, parent and
student. This is the stage where we prepare students for life after high school.
During this stage we prepare students for careers and or higher education then
careers. I think that today in our educational system there is to much weight put on
testing, there are individuals who could teach you the legal system front to back
but it took them 2-4 times to pass the BAR exam, so I really think more weight
should be put on knowledge retention and can they re-teach what they have
learned.
When setting expectation from 9th grade we find out what would they like to do
after high school, if someone wants to be an architect you will have that student
take more math courses than another student who wants to be a scientist. Next
after finding out where they want to go set them up with the course work to let the
see what is expected to see if that is what they want to do. The third is to bring
back home economics, auto shop and tool shop and courses of that nature.
Finally for the students who want to go to college, they should be prepared during
the second half of their 11th grade school year, so they can prepare for
SAT/ACT‟s, college visits and parents being more involved with these choices
also.
12. Improving Children’s Grades and Academic Achievement: Children whose out-of-school time includes 20-35 hours of
constructive learning activities do better in school.
Increasing Children’s Interest and Ability in Reading: Tutoring can also lead to greater self-confidence in reading,
increased motivation to read, and improved behavior.
Improving School Attendance, Increasing Engagement in School, and Reducing the Dropout Rate:
Students who spent even one to four hours a week in extracurricular activities were 60 percent less likely to have dropped
out of school by 12th grade than their peers who did not participate.
Increasing Homework Quality: The structure of an after-school program can make homework part of students‟ daily
routine. Also books student need to be able to bring books home, I don‟t know how many times parents with young
students call me to ask for help when helping their child with home.
Increasing Aspirations for the Future: By giving children role models and the tools they need to succeed in school,
after-school programs can help children realize their full potential.
Improved Behavior in School: Research shows that children who participate in after-school programs behave better in
class, handle conflict more effectively, and cooperate more with authority figures and with their peers.
13. Better Social Skills: Research shows that children with the opportunity to make
social connections in after-school hours are better adjusted and happier than those
who do not have this opportunity.
Improved Self-Confidence: Programs can provide the opportunity for youth to
gain self-confidence through development of caring relationships with adults and
peers.
More Effective Use of Funding: After-school programs can help school districts
save money over the long term because of decreased student retention and special
education placements.
Greater Family and Community Involvement: Many after-school programs
depend on and draw upon parent and community volunteers. Research show
that when families are involved in schools, students do better.
14. Who is dropping out: Overall, far too many students are not graduating on time with a regular
diploma; low-income and minority students fare the worst in the dropout epidemic.
Each year, approximately 1.2 million students fail to graduate from high school, more than half
of whom are from minority groups.
Where Are Students Dropping Out: A relatively small number of chronically
underperforming high schools are responsible for more than half of the nation„s dropouts.
Approximately two thousand high schools (about 12 percent of American high schools) produce
more than half of the nation„s dropouts.
Why Do Students Drop Out: While there is no single reason that students drop out, research
indicates that difficult transitions to high school, deficient basic skills, and a lack of engagement
serve as prominent barriers to graduation. Most dropouts are already on the path to failure in the
middle grades and engage in behaviors that strongly correlate to dropping out in high school.
15. What Are the Costs of Dropping out of High School: Dropouts suffer from reduced
earnings and lost opportunities; there is also a significant social and economic cost to
the rest of the nation.
Can earn on average about $260,000 less than a high school graduate. Dropouts from
the Class of 2008 alone will cost the nation more than $319 billion in lost wages over
the course of their lifetimes. Dropouts from the Class of 2006 could have saved more
than $17 billion in Medicaid and expenditures for uninsured health care over the course
of those young people„s lifetimes. If U.S. high schools and colleges raise the
graduation rates of Hispanic, African American, and Native American students to the
levels of white students by 2020, the potential increase in personal income would add
more than $310 billion to the U.S. economy.16 Increasing the graduation rate and
college matriculation of male students in the United States by just 5 percent could lead
to combined savings and revenue of almost $8 billion each year by reducing crime-
related costs.
Updated February 2009: Dropout factories produce 69 percent of all African
American dropouts and 63 percent of all Hispanic dropouts, compared to 30
percent of all white dropouts.6
16. Implementation Chart
Phase Restructuring: School board Implementation:
Developing Learning Styles Have the school board develop a new learning style
I
Develop new IEP system curriculum.
New Classroom set up Redefine IEP
Develop staff training for teachers to prepare for
change
Meet with parents and community about plan
Create motivation standards for grades 4th-8th Staff must develop motivation guidelines for staff
II
Develop expectation for 9th – 12th grade and students
Real college preparation curriculum Develop expectation guidelines
Reinstitute technical courses (Home Ec., Wood Shop Help develop college prep curriculum
and Auto Shop)
Pick a class and monitor from K-12 Secure funding
III.
Develop after school programs Create a monitoring system for this program
Develop new grading system on retention, Contact family of developing school
reiteration of material learned and testing Develop a class of students in the inner city and
suburban areas.
17. Conclusion
This plan may not be the answer to everything but it is a start, the development of a program of
this nature can really change the structure of the current school system and our place in the
world when it comes to education. Many student fail at school because now things are focus on
teaching a class a certain subject one way, but we know that people learn things differently, so
when students are not learning they are acting out. When students are taught a subject in their
learning style they become more interested and become a better student.
The emphasis that we place on test is a bit much, I can do the work not get the work, then
memorize it and take a test and get a A, but that does not help me in the long run because I
really don‟t get it. Next we have student who does the work and gets the work, but is a bad test
taker and then gets a bad grade on the test then he finishes the course with a C or D, but he/she
does really know the material, this is a problem. I really think that we need to develop new
grading system on retention of material, reiteration of material learned and testing on the
material.
Finally, I really think that with all of the problems we face in the current education system one
of the biggest factors my very well be the things that happens outside of school. A new
development of community and after school programs is a must, children need things to do,
parents are working long hours, making less money (some people) and the children are effected
by it.
