Two recent and somewhat related articles articulate the direction
we need to take. An Op-Ed in the Trenton Times, “Prepare Today’s Students for
Tomorrow’s Science” points to the need to design a science curriculum that provides
depth rather than breadth, and that emphasizes new STEM standards guided by the
Next Generation Science Standards. These standards integrate science and
engineering and seek to prepare students for the challenges created by a modern
world. As I’ve pointed out on numerous occasions, today’s CCCS require students
to learn too many chunks of information, which invariably becomes a futile
exercise in teaching given the real time necessary to both teach and assess to
make sure that true learning has taken place. This doesn’t mean courses like
Chemistry and Biology won’t be taught, but maybe they should no longer be
identified as the required coursework in science. Kids who need those courses
for college will undoubtedly take those courses as electives, while all
students will now learn the content that is most important for their futures.
A second story focused on the Boys and Girls Club of Mercer
County and their “More Than Hope” campaign to provide “a safe place for
students to learn when they are out of school.” The campaign plans to build a
STEM Center to enrich children’s’ understanding of STEM concepts. This commitment
to SEM learning is a great indication that stakeholders in the business and
non-profit communities are ready to drive this new emphasis on science that is
firmly linked to our future needs.
What is now needed is a concerted effort by education reform
PACs in New Jersey to pressure our legislators to revamp our State mandated
curriculum in science and, frankly, across the entire spectrum of our schools’
course offerings. Change is needed in not just STEM courses but in social
studies, Language Arts, and health.
I am personally interested in social studies, and would like
to start a new political action committee dedicated to a new curriculum that
emphasizes financial literacy and economics, health, nutrition, and fitness,
the Declaration and Constitutional rights, the 20th Century (interdisciplinary),
the Civil War, computer literacy, and essential reading, writing, speaking, and
research skills. If anyone is interested in joining this effort or simply want
to offer some ideas, please contact me at nlbrwn15@gmail.com
. It is only through pressure that we will be able to draw attention to the
huge failure that exists in our required high school programs and its assessment.
Personally, I think the curriculum itself may be part of the
reason why our inner city students do so poorly in terms of testing and
graduation rates. Students see and internalize the disconnect between what they
are required to learn and what they perceive as their needs, and that in turn
weakens the culture of learning every school needs.
I hope to hear from you, and I hope that we can
affect change soon. Our children’s futures are at stake
No comments:
Post a Comment