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This is my first artifact.
Western Governors University is an online based educational system as opposed to the traditional student cohort class model.

I chose this artifact, because it's concrete and gives exact reasons as to why to become a teacher. It addresses the specific reasons that becoming a teacher would be relevant to individuals considering the profession. Most individuals, when considering education - may have one or more reasons for considering the profession in the first place. This article gives reasons including: job security, sharing a love of education, and working with the world's youth.

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Teachers are the future. They are charged with teaching young minds and teaching future leaders. It's an exciting and crucial role in our society. But it can also feel overwhelming to take on this career. Educators are in charge of students all day, working to help learners with varying abilities grasp the same concepts. Teachers of K-12 students, whatever education subject or specialty they teach, are responsible for communicating specific curriculum to students. They introduce new concepts and provide strategies to help students understand these concepts better.

Teachers also help children with education on emotional and social issues, working to help them grow and develop as people and as learners. Teachers and student teachers act as role models for students. They help them understand how to behave in certain situations, how to get along with each other, how to be respectful and kind, and more. Teachers of older students work to help them be prepared for their future, finding passion for careers and interests that can fuel their jobs. They may also help students navigate the difficulty of change, growing up, and getting through the challenges of being a teenager. Teachers take on many responsibilities when they walk into the classroom, but there are many benefits for them as well. So why should you become a teacher? Learn more about the benefits from being a teacher, and how you can become one.

Simply put, we can always use more teachers in our classrooms. All across the country there is a shortage of teachers, for all ages and disciplines. This means there is currently a high demand for educators and now is a great time to earn a teaching degree. Districts around the country are working to reinstate teacher positions they may have previously let go, classroom sizes are getting smaller so there is a demand for more teachers, and currently teaching has a high level of attrition, so positions come available regularly. And while there is a high demand for new teachers, there is an extreme shortage for qualified prospective teachers to fill these roles. Less students are pursuing teacher education degrees. This boils down the fact that there are too many jobs, and not enough qualified teachers for these positions. Teachers will earn a degree and become a student teacher to help them prepare for the hard work of being a teacher. Student teaching is meant to help prepare teachers, and is key in helping them be ready for the career.

If you're a prospective teacher, there couldn't be a better time to get. your degree and actually become a new teacher. There are plenty of jobs, and affordable and flexible degree options that make earning a teaching degree easier than ever. Becoming a teacher has so many benefits and perks that make it a sought after profession.

Want to become a teacher?

WGU offers resources to help students on their journey to become teachers.

Education Career Guide

With a shortage of teachers around the country, pursuing a teaching career means you can enjoy job security. Because there simply aren't enough teachers, anyone who is qualified to teach is likely to be able to get a position. This is a great benefit to those who are looking for a career that enjoys lots of stability. Even in a recession or economic downturn, there will always be a need for teachers. Students will always need to be taken care of in the classroom, so teaching will always be an important and necessary profession. Additionally, teachers sign contracts for the entire year, so they can almost always expect they will have work for the entire school year, taking a load off of their mind and helping them feel confident and stable.

Teachers have a unique opportunity to make a difference in the lives of students. They interact with these learners every day, helping them discover new and important facts and ideas. Teachers are directly influential in a student's life-it's an important reason why many people choose to become teachers. They want to ignite a love of learning and see an opportunity to help students further themselves. They support their educational aspirations and help with their emotional wellbeing. Lesson plans can include important concepts about fairness, respect, and kindness. This is extremely important, and many teachers love the ability that they have to change lives and give students more than they could have expected.

Those who enjoy learning can find so much joy in sharing that passion with others. Teaching is a perfect outlet for educators who find learning inspirational and exciting, and what to share these lessons with others. Teachers are able to dedicate their entire lives to learning, and help others find that same spark. Teachers of older students who teach a certain skill or subject like English or physics often find they can focus on their passion and help students find a love for that subject as well. Teaching also involves lifelong learning-teachers are always working to find new technology, resources, and strategies to help their students. A history teacher will have to continually learn how history is influencing the current culture to make their lesson meaningful. A science teacher may find new technology or skill that helps them connect their subject to their students. Elementary school teachers need to continually find new studies to see the best way to help their students learn. Great teachers are passionate about learning, and a teaching career is ideal for those who want to share their passion with others.

Many teachers choose their profession because they love working with children. Kids are fun, interested, and full of curiosity. Teachers often find so much joy in working with children and young adults. Sometimes it can be difficult to work with children and young adults-they are passionate and not afraid to speak their mind, and they are also still learning social behavior. But for most teachers, there is a great benefit in getting to help young students see new things for the first time and think about things in a new way.

Additionally, many parents find that teaching is an ideal occupation for their needs. They are able to work during the same hours their own children are in school. They get holidays and summers off to spend time with their own children. This is one of the biggest benefits for teachers, and those who have their own children find this is a huge perk of the job.

Education isn't a stagnant profession. Things are always changing, evolving, and growing. Teachers can learn about new ways to connect with students, new strategies or activities. Things happen in the world around us that impact what educators teach in the classroom. Students differ every year and curriculum changes or new textbooks keep education interesting. Many teachers find that an education career path is always moving and growing, allowing them to also move and grow in the process. It's exciting for teachers to know that their days are never the same, that the years will be different, and that new things may always be around the corner. If you're looking for a profession that is always growing and evolving, teaching could be for you.

There are many great benefits to becoming a teacher. And WGU gives current and aspiring teachers access and options to pursue a degree in a way that works for them. Now is the time, get started on your educational journey now!

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If you're looking at different career options, you may be wondering if becoming a teacher is a good option for you. If you're interested in a career in education, it's important to look at the benefits it can offer. Learn why becoming a teacher may be a perfect career choice for your future.

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This is my second Artifact.
The Harvard Business Review, is an entirely owned subsidiary under Harvard University.

Too often, is the profession of Education taken for granted. Policymakers and other individuals of the like continue to make different laws that affect education, when they have little idea as to the little ins and outs that their policies entail. Teachers are consistently degraded and go unheard. They oftentimes work much longer hours than other professions for much less of a reward. There was a comparison between the process of becoming a Priest and becoming a teacher. Oftentimes - these professions are viewed as a "calling." With this artifact - it's clear that being a teacher, based on hard research, is becoming less and less lucrative, simply because teachers are being forced to do more with less. They're not being listened to, and yet are being expected to listen closely.

I chose this artifact - because it shows that despite what others may believe about the profession of teaching, it's most DEFINITELY a profession. It's something that requires countless certificates, degrees, and money spent at college only for those same teachers to be underpaid, overworked, and treated in an unprofessional way. Teachers still stick around, not for the money, or for their own job sake; but for the sake of their students. Their children are of the utmost importance to them - and teachers will always be known as doing whatever it takes to protect their children, at all costs.

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Teachers have had enough. Since March, schools in West Virginia, Oklahoma, Kentucky, Arizona Colorado and North Carolina have either been shut down or turned into sites of resistance. Poor pay, increased health care costs, and diminished pension plans are certainly core issues, but the tipping point may be that teachers are seeing their own experience be devalued by policymakers and other officials with little experience in the education field, and it's not improving the education of their students. In other words, teachers are balking at the erosion of their status as professionals.

Teachers have had enough. Since March, schools in West Virginia, Oklahoma, Kentucky, Arizona, Colorado and North Carolina have either been shut down or turned into sites of resistance. In Kansas, teachers are threatening to strike because their legislature continues to fund schools at a level the state Supreme Court has deemed unconstitutional. One Brookings Institute analysis projected that teacher actions could spread to another 11 states.

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When Did the U.S. Stop Seeing Teachers as Professionals?

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Teachers have had enough. Since March, schools in West Virginia, Oklahoma, Kentucky, Arizona Colorado and North Carolina have either been shut down or turned into sites of resistance.

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This artifact, is a bit smaller and won't be as representative on paper - but is from a personal experience that was chalk-full of experience and demonstrated to me, what a strong educator looked, sounded, and acted like.

Ms. Joanna O'neill was the teacher for 5-6 grade Social Studies when I was attending Lanikai Elementary. She was a tremendous educator and oftentimes incorporated her own viewpoints within her lessons. She was a beautiful educator and her philosophies oftentimes aligned with my own - that the students would always come first. She made projects that were specific to the child, and she also provided opportunity for every student to succeed, in their own special ways. She understood what was necessary for her students to learn - but never let that affect her. Now that I'm becoming an educator, she based all of her teachings based on experiences that she built from the years of teaching.

As a social studies teacher - she demonstrated many of the qualities that educators from the past had. She was a strong believer in students blazing their own path - but also wanted to make sure that she was still a leader. I found a large connection between reading about the philosophies of Egypt, Ancient Greece & Rome, and the Middle Ages, in the way she taught, which I'm guessing was only primarily because she was a history teacher.
Her perspectives and philosophies were all her own - and though I'm sure she learned all the things we're learning now - she learned to incorporate and recreate the lessons so that her students would be able to learn the same forms of history - but in their own respective grade levels.
To this day - Ms. Oneill is still the greatest teacher of Social Studies that I've ever had. She was influential, driven, and always focused on making her students better.

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KAILUA- (Hawaii News Now)- Students went straight from school to Kailua Beach today to decorate canoes for a paddle out to remember their beloved teacher Joanna O'Neill.

The flowers were all hand picked from homes, or Lanikai Elementary. That's where O'Neill taught 5th and sixth grade Social Sciences for 6 six years before she lost her battle one week ago with a brain tumor.

Students and staff are devastated. "We're all really upset" said former student Mia Shelbourne. "She was always full of life and always really happy. All of our favorite teacher."

"She really meant a lot to me" adds Mitchell Quinn. "She was one of my favorite teachers so I had to come out."

Art Teacher Kristi Petosa-Sigel says O'Neill had a spark and joy in her eyes that the kids loved. "She was just one of those favorite teachers that connected with the kids. She was creative and funny with them. She'd tell jokes. It was so inspiring watching her coming in just putting the hat on, her hair was falling out, and she's like you almost can't tell. She still was just beautiful and funny."

The 47 year old kept a brave face till the end for students and her son Casper.

Petosa-Sigel says the school saw a sign the day after she died. She recalls, "The kids had just gotten out of school and we had this rainbow all around the sun and it was like you know, she's okay."

Her school ohana, family, and community members will paddle out in Joanna's memory.

"I know the Facebook word has gone out and there will be a lot of people to celebrate her" says teacher Barb VanDerKamp. "We'll be there with the canoe to lead the way and sprinkle the flowers. It will be nice. Really beautiful."

"I think it's what she would have wanted" says her former student Mia Shelbourne. "She loved her students as if we were her own kids. I think that she really likes that we're all here and we're all just like one happy family."

Copyright 2013 Hawaii News Now. All rights reserved.

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Beloved Lanikai Teacher remembered with paddle out

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KAILUA- (Hawaii News Now)- Students went straight from school to Kailua Beach today to decorate canoes for a paddle out to remember their beloved teacher Joanna O'Neill. The flowers were all hand picked from homes, or Lanikai Elementary.

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I chose this specific article because it represents the solid viewpoint of the political aspect of education. Those who are in charge - or at the top, generally tend to be the administrators or principles.

It's easy to forget that most of these principles have a background in education and have had to teach before. This goes in detail, stating that having principles within the classroom, gives them the opportunity to be on the frontlines and to experience what it's like to be within the classroom themselves. I would imagine that it could become quite easy to forget about the work necessary that comes with having to be with the students day in and day out - and proposing the idea that these individuals are present. Within this article - there are also anecdotes given by various principles that participated in this activity - and explains how relevant this idea is. It can be applied to a broad view - that educators possess a certain viewpoint that can't be understood by the politically charged individuals who make and emphasize laws unless they're actually put in such a situation.

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Teachers Want Their Administrators to Teach. Here’s Why

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Principals and other education administrators should even be required to spend time teaching in the classroom, according to teachers responding to an EdWeek query.

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This artifact is important to the aspect of funding within education.

Throughout Chapter 8, there were various mentions of different ways to fund education - through tax dollars, and in some cases, through private donors. Education is a fundamental right - but that doesn't mean that every place receives the same amount of funding. This particular artifact makes this known - and uses an example of two places within Texas: Edgewood & Alamo Heights. One place is wealthier than the other - and receives much more funding; $5,000 per student more, type of funding - and its proven to have a positive effect on student performance by a wide margin.

Student performance goes hand in hand with money mattering to said school district. It doesn't just matter that a school may have more funding - if they don't use that funding for good. Investing and creating a good future for students is a necessity if they, especially lower income students, are to succeed. It was also mentioned that students in lower income and higher poverty rated areas had less access to core subject help resulting in poorer performance. However, the biggest reason that funding was important within education - was that it's nearly vital for districts, states, and the federal government to intervene and provide good programs and to help in minimizing inequities within these school districts. Without the help from all - schools will only continue to plummet. A school can have all the resources available - but if they don't know how to use said resources, or don't have the correct tools, those resources will eventually fade, having been unused and untouched.

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I thought this artifact captured the idea and the impact that social classes have not only within the classroom, but outside of the classroom too.

Social classes play a much larger role than just what people see on the surface. Whole communities that live in poverty, have the largest effect on the children/students that come from there. From test scores, to backpacks, to school lunches and malnutrition - all of these different factors play into the hardships that some students face - while others can simply only imagine.

Education is only as good as the things that support it. Education at its core is a basic human right - everybody is entitled to an education up to a certain degree, should they desire that. But what happens when education is "too expensive?" What if children can't afford those supplies, or good clothing? This can lead to bullying, or other types of social problems - which will only contribute to to further problems down the line.
These social problems also contribute to a sense of inequality. Some students don't have access to programs that other wealthier students have, some students may not have transportation - which will lead to late/tardy/absence from the classroom. All of these issues are discussed within this lengthy but informational artifact, which I feel demonstrates the Module 4 topics perfectly.

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Date Published:

2003

Full Text

Running head: SOCIAL CLASS IN PUBLIC SCHOOLS

Social Class in Public Schools

Jennifer L. Hochschild

Departments of Government and Afro-American Studies

Harvard University

Journal of Social Issues, November 2003

*Correspondence for this article should be addressed to: Jennifer Hochschild, Government Department, Littauer Center, North Harvard Yard, Harvard University, Cambridge MA 02138, E-mail: [ hochschild@latte.harvard.edu]. This article derives from (Hochschild & Scovronick, 2003). My thanks to Nate Scovronick for all his work on our joint venture, and to Elizabeth Cole and Joan Ostrove for their engagement and encouragement.
Contact Information, Not for Publication:
Phone: (617) 496-0181

Fax: (617) 495-0438.

Abstract

This article shows the pattern of socioeconomic class differences in schooling outcomes and indicates some of the causes for those differences that lie within the public realm. Those causes include "nested inequalities" across boundaries of states, school districts, schools within a district, classes within a school, and sometimes separation within a class. Urban public schools demonstrate a particular set of problems that generate differential schooling outcomes by economic class. The article also demonstrates ways in which class biases are closely entwined with racial and ethnic inequities. It concludes with the broad outlines of what would be necessary to reduce class (and racial) disparities in American public schools.

The American dream will succeed or fail in the 21 st century in direct proportion to our commitment to educate every person in the United States of America.

-- President Bill Clinton, 1995(Clinton, 1995: 617)

There is no greater test of our national responsibility than the quality

of the education we provide.

--Democratic presidential candidate Al Gore, 2000 (Gore, 2000)

Both parties have been talking about education for quite a while. It's time to come together to get it done, so that we can truthfully say in America: No child will be left behind.

-- President George W. Bush, 2001 (Bush, 2001)

That presidents and candidates were all saying the same thing is no coincidence. They were echoing what the American public said in survey after survey throughout the past decade: education is "the most important problem facing the nation" (e.g. CNN/ U.S.A. Today, 2000; Gallup Organization, 2000), or "most important in [my] vote for president" (e.g. ABC News, 2000; Kaiser Family Foundation & Harvard University School of Public Health, 2000; see also Wilgren, 2000). In the election of November 2000, fourteen states offered 24 measures about K-12 schooling for citizens to vote on directly. The Economist lectured Britain's former subjects that the next American president "will have to get to grips with... the public education system. This is America's last best chance to tackle" what it called the "failure" of public schooling ("And Now, Mr. President...", 2000: 27).

Citizens, politicians, and journalists are correct, at least about the importance of schools. Education largely and increasingly determines an individual's job choice and income (Danziger & Reed, 1999, p.16). It more and more determines whom one will marry (Kalmijn, 1991; Mare, 1991). It has more impact than any other factor, possibly excepting wealth, on whether one participates in politics, what one believes politically, and how much political influence one has (Verba, 2001; Verba, Schlozman, & Brady, 1995). It is the arena in which the United States has sought to overcome racial domination and class hierarchy, to turn immigrants into Americans, to turn children into responsible citizens, to create and maintain our democracy (Cremin, 1988; Gutmann, 1987; Kluger, 1975; Spring, 2000; Tyack, 1974).

In many ways public schools in the United States have responded to these aspirations. Compared with a few decades ago, dropout rates have declined (National Center for Education Statistics, 2002, tables 108, 109); children with disabilities are in school buildings rather than institutions that could be described as "human warehouses" (Braddock & Parish, 2001; McDonnell, McLaughlin, & Morison, 1997; National Center for Education Statistics, 2002: tables 53, 110); resources are more equally distributed ( Education Week, 2002; Reed, 2001; Rothstein, 2000); black children are not required by law to attend inferior schools for fewer hours a day and shorter school years than white children (Orfield, 1978; Salomone, 1986; Tushnet, 1987); overall achievement scores are up (National Center for Education Statistics, 2002, tables 112, 115, 124, 125). Most importantly perhaps, the gap in nationally-recognized achievement test scores between students with poorly- and well-educated parents has declined since the 1970s (National Center for Education Statistics, 2002, tables 112, 124).

Yet this progress has met limits. Hispanics drop out much more frequently than others, as do poor students and students in large urban schools (Driscoll, 1999; Rumberger & Thomas, 2000; Hauser, Simmons, & Pager, 2001; National Center for Education Statistics, 2002, tables 107, 108). Achievement scores have changed little in the 1990s; the gaps between black and white achievement, and between the scores of the highest and lowest achievers, have remained static or even risen over that decade (National Center for Education Statistics, 2002, tables 112, 113, 124, 125). Disadvantaged children continue to score roughly ten percent below the national average on NAEP tests while advantaged children score several percent above (author's calculations from data in National Center for Education Statistics, 2000c). Some urban schools seem to teach very little despite teachers' and students' valiant efforts (Anyon, 1997; Education Week, 1998; Hayward, 2000; Henig, Hula, Orr, & Pedescleaux, 1999).

Most importantly, adults' life chances depend increasingly on attaining higher education, but the number of young adults completing college has stalled since the 1970s and class background is as important as ever in determining who attends and finishes college (Ellwood & Kane, 2000; Kane, 2001). Over three-quarters of well-off young adults go straight from high school to college, compared with half of poor youth. Well-off students are also more likely to go to a four-year rather than a two-year college (Card & Lemieux, 2001; National Center for Education Statistics, 1994).

This article shows the pattern of class differences in schooling outcomes and indicates some of the causes for those differences that lie within the public realm. It also points out the implications of the fact that the poor in the United States are disproportionately African Americans or recent immigrants; class biases are closely entwined with racial and ethnic inequities. I conclude with the broad outlines of what would be necessary to reduce, even if we can never eliminate, class (and racial) disparities in American public schools.

Nested Inequalities

Disparities in schooling outcomes can be understood as two deeply embedded patterns of inequality. The first is a system of nested inequalities affecting all students. It begins with states. Children in Iowa, New Jersey, Massachusetts, and North Dakota have more than a 50 percent likelihood of enrolling in college by age nineteen, but children in Florida, Arizona, Alaska, and Nevada have less than a 30 percent chance (Hodgkinson, 1999, figure 2). Fewer than three percent of students in Wisconsin, North Dakota, and Iowa drop out of school; more than seven percent do in Louisiana, Arizona, Georgia, New Mexico and Nevada (National Center for Education Statistics, 2002, table 105).

Overall, about a third of the variation in students' achievement is determined by what state they live in (Murray, Evans, & Schwab, 1998; National Center for Education Statistics, 2000d, p. 40-42). But inequalities within a state can be just as severe. Connecticut provides unusually detailed evidence on this point. The district that spends the most provides almost twice as much per student as the district that spends the least. There are over 150 times more poor students in the poorest town than in the richest town; some districts have no minority students whereas in others virtually all students are non-Anglos; in some districts all students speak English at home whereas in others up to two-thirds of the students speak some other language with their families (Connecticut Conference of Municipalities, 1997, p. vii-ix). These disparities correspond to equally great differences in educational outcomes across districts: "On the Connecticut Mastery Test, the best performing municipality has scores nearly three times as high as the lowest scoring community.... In the worst-performing municipality, 49% of the class of 1995 dropped out during the four years before graduation; in the best performing community the drop-out rate was 0%. The rate of graduates who continue their education beyond high school ranges from less than 50% to 98%" (Connecticut Conference of Municipalities, 1997, p. viii). Many, although not all, of the indicators of class-based advantage or disadvantage correlate highly with the differences in educational outcomes. Districts with a lot of poor students have lower average test scores and higher dropout rates; districts with a lot of minority students, or a lot whose native language is not English, also have lower average test scores. (These districts are often the same.) The highest spending districts report high test scores, and some of the lowest spending districts report the lowest test scores, although the pattern in the middle-wealth districts is less clear (Connecticut Conference of Municipalities, 1997, p. 5, 10-12).

Third, schools vary within districts. In Yonkers, New York, for example, schools in the northern and eastern section were built relatively recently and have beautiful grounds and excellent facilities; schools in the southwestern section were built in some cases a century ago, with tiny playgrounds of cracked and slanted cement (or none at all) and dismal laboratories and libraries. It is not difficult to figure out the racial or ethnic and class composition of the students in these schools (Hochschild & Danielson, 1998). Yonkers is not alone. In New York City, funding for regular students in elementary schools varied by as much as $10,000 per student in the late 1990s; per capita operating funds were particularly low in schools with many poor or immigrant students. In some New York City grade schools all of the teachers are certified, and in some the pupil/teacher ratio is well below ten; in others, only two out of five teachers are certified or the ratio of students to teachers is well over 20. Schools with a lot of poor students or limited English speakers had significantly fewer certified teachers and higher student/teacher ratios. In some New York City schools, all of the students perform at least at the fiftieth percentile in reading tests, but in others barely one-seventh do (data on New York City are in Iatarola & Stiefel, 2003; see also Hertert, 1995; Rothstein, 2000).

Finally, children's schooling varies even within a school. Almost all high schools, many middle schools, and some elementary schools sort students by measured ability; well-off children, who are disproportionately white and Asian, almost always dominate the high tracks (Argys, Rees, & Brewer, 1996; Lucas, 1999; Mickelson & Heath, 1999). Students with disabilities or with limited English proficiency are not likely to be in high tracks regardless of their talents (August & Hakuta, 1998; McDonnell, et al., 1997). Students shunted into low-ability classes or nonacademic tracks frequently end up with poorly- or inappropriately-trained teachers, few resources, trivial curricula, and no accountability (Heubert & Hauser, 1999; Ingersoll, 2002).

Thus every student sits at the center of at least four nested structures of inequality and separation - states, districts, schools, and classes. Well-off or white and Asian parents usually manage to ensure that their children obtain the benefits of this structure; poor and non-Asian minority parents have a much harder time doing so (Mollenkopf, Zeltzer-Zubida, Holdaway, Kasinitz, & Waters, 2002). As a result, the United States has not witnessed the full equality of educational opportunity between classes that one would expect from all the reforms since the 1960s and from Americans' commitments to equality of opportunity (Hochschild, 1995). Analysts talk about "speed bumps on the road to meritocracy" (Hout, 1997, title) or "(re)emerging inequality in the opportunity structure going into the 21 st century," (Biblarz & Raftery, 1999, p. 249) or an "increase [in the] relative importance of social background for college entry" (Lucas, 1996, p. 511). Details vary in these analyses but the pattern is clear: the progress our nation made toward equal opportunity in schooling up until the 1980s has stopped and perhaps even reversed (see also Acemoglu & Pischke, 2001; Biblarz, 2000; Ishida, 1993).
Failing Inner City Schools
"We have kids without teachers, teachers without classrooms, and a district without a clue. The system is broken. Students and teachers are a forgotten priority here," says the president of the Los Angeles teachers union (White, 1999, p. 3). City schools like these demonstrate the other deeply embedded pattern of class disparities in schooling. Disastrous schools affect only a minority of children, but them very seriously; "for years it was like storming the Bastille everyday," reports one urban teacher (Olson, 1998, p. 1).

As there is with the system of nested inequalities, there is plenty of evidence pointing to the disproportionate failures of urban schools. More than twice as many students attend high-poverty schools in urban than in nonurban districts (Department of Housing and Urban Development, 1998, p. 16-17), but in some states, urban districts spend less per pupil than do nonurban districts (National Center For Education Statistics, 2002, indicator 56). Urban districts have larger classes and contain the largest schools ( Education Week, 1998, p. 19; National Center for Education Statistics, 2001, table A). Compared with suburban districts, teachers in city schools are less likely to be certified or to have studied in the areas that they teach, and more likely to leave before the end of the school year. In some years and for some subjects, it is hard to find any teachers at all to fill slots in urban schools ( Education Week, 1998, p. 16-17). Urban schools are more likely to have inadequate buildings, classrooms, and technology ( Education Week, 1998, p. 21; General Accounting Office, 1995). They suffer from much more administrative and behavioral turmoil and have a higher level of disruption, violence, and anxiety about safety ( Education Week, 1998, p. 18-19). All of the big districts with high dropout rates are in large cities ( Education Week, 1998, p. 13; Hochschild & Scovronick, 2003, p. 25-27; 61-63, 78-80, 84-87; National Center for Education Statistics, 2001, p. table 16).

From an educator's perspective, interactions among these characteristics can be overwhelming. The San Diego school district, for example, offered each of twenty failing schools $16,500 of extra funds in 1998. An evaluation of one such school then called for a full-time nurse, a full-time counselor, a parent room, a pre-kindergarten program, an adult literacy program, and an end to assigning teachers by seniority (a union regulation; Reinhard, 1998). Ninety percent of the children in this school are poor, 40 percent have limited English proficiency, many move frequently. Two of the twenty teachers are out on "stress disability," and a third are brand new. In the face of these substantial challenges, the principal claims that "we've pulled together, and we're going to do the best we can" (Reinhard, 1998, p. 15). But her chances of success seem slim, and the children in her school will probably have little chance to pursue their dreams or to share meaningfully in the responsibilities of democratic citizenship.

Thus the worst-off students and schools have a completely different educational experience from the best-off, with predictably different outcomes. Here is where class and race are most tightly entwined, since in the 100 largest school districts, almost 70 percent of the students are non-Anglo (compared with 40 percent of students nationally), and over half are poor or near-poor (compared with fewer than 40 percent nationally) (National Center for Education Statistics, 2001, p. 4-5). And the interactions among race and class are becoming tighter: during the 1970s and 1980s, "the gap in the quality of schools that blacks and whites attend has widened ... due entirely to a worsening in the relative quality of schools located in poor, inner-city areas and in schools that are less than 20% white" (Cook & Evans, 2000, p. 747). In fact, black students in nonurban schools actually did better during this period, even while black students in urban schools did worse (Cook & Evans, 2000). Similarly, during the 1990s, the least accomplished quarter of fourth grade readers lost ground in NAEP tests, while the most accomplished improved their test scores. The top scorers were mostly white, the low scorers were disproportionately black and Latino boys in poor urban schools (Zernike, 2001).

Increasing Inequality among Communities

Both patterns of class disparity - nested inequalities among all students, and utterly disastrous schooling for a few students - are made worse by the fact that socioeconomic separation across the society is growing, even as racial and ethnic separation is slowly declining (Abramson, Tobin, & VanderGroot, 1995; Rusk, 2002). Residential separation between well-off and poor Americans declined in the 1950s and 1960s; by 1970, the typical affluent American lived in a neighborhood where two-fifths of the residents were also affluent. But residential separation rose as the wealthy moved to outer suburbs, so that by 1990, the typical affluent American lived in a neighborhood where over half of the neighbors were also affluent (Massey, 1996, p. 396-399). Conversely, the proportion of poor people living in poor neighborhoods in inner cities increased from 55 to 69 percent over the same twenty years. From 1970 to 1990, every one of the 48 largest cities, from the poorest in comparison to its suburbs (Hartford) to the wealthiest compared with its suburbs (Greensboro, North Carolina), became poorer in relation to its suburbs (Madden, 2000, p. 3-7). The very poorest Americans have become even more concentrated; the 100 largest cities' share of the nation's welfare recipients grew from almost 48 percent in 1994 to over 58 percent in 1999 (Allen & Kirby, 2000).

Not surprisingly given these demographic changes, in the decade after 1982 economic disparities between school districts rose, whether measured by household income, poverty rates, or rates of housing vacancy (Ho, 1999). In my view, if leaders of the American system of public schools truly sought to promote equal opportunity, they would enact policies to offset these growing disparities. And sometimes they do, as we have seen in the context of efforts to promote desegregation of schools, to equalize funding across wealthy and poor districts, and to improve test scores of poorly-achieving students. But too many policies have the effect if not the intent of reinforcing inequality and helping to maintain acute deprivation, as I demonstrate in the next section.

Policies That Reinforce Inequality

Poor children bring many problems to school that more affluent children usually avoid, all of which affect their readiness to learn and their ability to take advantage of what they are taught. These problems include poor health and nutrition, greater family instability, more frequent moves, less safe communities, fewer books and educational resources in the home or neighborhood, a greater likelihood of having parents or other caretakers who have little formal education and/or speak little English, and anxieties about racial or ethnic discrimination (Anyon, 1997; Brooks-Gunn, Duncan, Klebanov, & Sealand, 1993; Garfinkel, Hochschild, & McLanahan, 1996; Pogue, 2000). If policy-makers seek to reduce class disparities, they must attend to these problems, for which the educational system cannot be blamed. Nevertheless, public schools could do much more than they do to offset the harms that poor students bring to school. In particular, three features of schooling correspond to the system of nested inequalities and worsen the disadvantages of poor urban schools, thereby reinforcing social class inequities. They are financial inequality across states and districts, disparities in the quality of teaching across districts, schools, and classrooms, and excessive ability grouping and unequal curricular offerings across schools and classrooms.

Financial Inequities: The nation as a whole spent about $7,080 per student in 2001. Controlling for regional cost differences, the most generous states were New Jersey at $9,360, New York at $8,860, Connecticut at $8,800, and Wisconsin at $8,740. The most abstemious states, with the same controls, were Utah at an astounding $4,580, Arizona at $5,010, and California at $5,600. In six states, virtually all of the students attended school in districts with per pupil expenditures at or above the U.S. average; in an additional six states, six percent or fewer of the students enjoyed similar levels of resources (all data in Education Week, 2002, p. 86-87).

Befitting a structure of nested inequalities, disparities in funding across districts within a state may be almost as great. Some states have very slim bands of inequality; Delaware, Florida, Iowa, and West Virginia show less than eight percent variation among all districts around the average-spending district. But in other states the variation around the average-spending district is huge -- 33 percent in Alaska and close to 20 percent in Vermont, Montana, North Dakota, and New Hampshire (the measure here is the coefficient of variation; data are adjusted to control for local cost differences and weighted for student needs [defined as poverty and special education]; all data in Education Week, 2002, p. 88-89). In New York and New Jersey, disparities between the schools in the top and bottom deciles of funding grew dramatically in the two decades after 1973-74 (Schneier, 2001, p. 229). That trajectory was reversed in New Jersey in the 1990s; we do not know how typical these two states are.

In my view, more money is not all that is needed to improve schooling outcomes for poor children, and I, like others, have observed schools with few resources doing a fantastic job of teaching poor children. But usually more money is necessary if not sufficient to provide better schooling; it enables preschool, smaller classes, better libraries and labs, higher-paid teachers, newer textbooks, art and music classes, professional development, and all the things that contribute to improved educational outcomes. It is unlikely that a parent chooses to move to a lower-spending district if she can afford to live in a higher-spending district, and districts never vie to spend less in the endless disputes in state legislatures over funding formulas. So money matters, although how and how much needs more careful consideration than we can give it here (for more on school finance reform and its effects, see Burtless, 1996; Hochschild & Scovronick, 2003; Ladd, Chalk, & Hansen, 1999; Ladd & Hansen, 1999; Ludwig & Bassi, 1999).

Quality of Teaching: The evidence is clear on the positive effects of good teachers and the harm that can be done by bad ones; in one study, elementary students taught for three years in a row by highly ineffective teachers ended up in the 45 th percentile or below on state math tests, whereas students with three particularly good teachers scored over the 85 th percentile (Sanders & Rivers, 1996; see also Bembry, Jordan, Gomez, Anderson, & Mendro, 1998; Mendro, Jordan, Gomez, Anderson, & Bembry, 1998; National Center for Education Statistics, 2000e, p. 5-7). As these studies suggest, the impact of poor teaching can be dramatic, cumulative, and difficult to reverse.

Yet students who live in poor districts, or poor students (often students of color) in a given district or school, are much more likely to be taught by less effective teachers, no matter how effectiveness is defined (Darling-Hammond, 2000; Education Trust, 2000; Puma & Drury, 2000; Rivkin, Hanushek, & Kain, 1998: 32; Wenglinsky, 2000). Schools with the highest levels of poverty and the largest proportion of minority students have twice as many new teachers as the best-off and whitest schools (Lankford, Loeb, & Wyckoff, 2002; see also National Center for Education Statistics, 2000e, p. 13-14), despite the fact that experienced teachers are more effective ( National Center for Education Statistics, 2000e, p. 13; Ogawa, Huston, & Stine, 1999, p. 661). Teachers are especially likely to leave high-poverty schools, which makes it difficult to develop a sense of community and a shared culture of learning (Recruiting New Teachers, 2000). Some studies assert the effectiveness of state certification and licensure requirements (Darling-Hammond, 2001; Darling-Hammond, Berry, & Thoreson, 2001; for counter-arguments see Abell Foundation, 2001; Goldhaber & Brewer, 2000) -- but more noncertified teachers work in high-poverty and/or urban schools than in their wealthier or suburban counterparts (Ingersoll, 2002). Even in the context of an overall decline in academic qualifications of new teachers over the past few decades (National Center for Education Statistics, 2000e, p. 7-10), students in poor districts are most likely to have teachers who themselves test poorly (Education Trust, 2000, p. 8). Minority children, students in high-poverty schools, and lower-achieving classes more often have teachers who have not majored or minored in the subject they are teaching, especially in math and science (Ingersoll, 2002). These are, however, the fields for which the relationship between subject area knowledge and effectiveness has been most clearly demonstrated (Goldhaber & Brewer, 2000).

The evidence continues. Schools, and especially classrooms, with high concentrations of poor or non-Anglo children have fewer and older computers, and less access to the internet (National Center for Education Statistics, 2000a). More generally, teachers in high-poverty or urban schools are more likely to report inadequate teaching resources ( Education Week, 1998, p. 21). In California, the number of unqualified teachers rose dramatically in recent years, mainly in classrooms with Hispanic, disadvantaged, or low-achieving students ( CSR Research Consortium 2002; Ogawa et al., 1999; Jepson & Rivkin, 2002).

The challenges here are as analytically simple as they are politically and organizationally huge; without a large number of qualified, dedicated, experienced teachers for poor children, and classrooms with reasonable resources for those teachers to use, the odds against their participation in the American dream are almost insuperable.

Ability Grouping and Curricular Offerings: Finally, in the fourth level of the structure of nested inequalities, students are separated by socioeconomic class as well as by measured ability into different experiences within a given school. Arguments flourish about the causes and consequences of tracking and ability grouping, but several things seem clear.

First, although tracking used to be racially discriminatory, by now "the claim of racial discrimination in group placement by teachers is not supported by research, once conventional indicators of merit or economic standing are accounted for" (Ferguson, 1998, p. 329). However, analysts almost universally agree that there is considerable discrimination in ability grouping on the basis of class, even controlling for achievement and other factors. The raw facts are startling enough - almost three times as many high-income as low-income students enroll in college preparatory tracks. In more sophisticated analyses, achievement and ability (typically measured by test scores, prior placements, and teachers' judgments) almost always show up as the chief determinants of students' placement - but class-based factors usually come in second (Dauber, Alexander, & Entwistle, 1996; Gamoran & Mare, 1989; Jones, Vanfossen, & Ensminger, 1995; Miller, 1995, p. 237-240; National Center for Education Statistics, 2000b).

There is a more worrisome problem with the practice of ability grouping. If achievement tests are racially biased, or if poor (especially poor black and Hispanic) children consistently receive the worst teaching and therefore learn the least, then the fact that measured prior achievement most strongly determines a student's placement is not reassuring to those concerned about equal opportunity in schooling or diversity in classrooms. So the congruence among poverty, minority status, and low quality of teaching becomes reinforced by ability grouping, even when it relies more on measured achievement than on teachers' (perhaps biased) judgments or parents' insistence.

The thorniest issues, however, present an even more severe challenge to the goal of equal opportunity: if grouping by ability harms the chances of many, even while benefiting some, its costs may be too high. The empirical literature on the effects of ability-based separation does frustratingly little to help resolve the issue of whether the costs outweigh the benefits, since careful studies show all possible combinations of results. Some find that all grouped students can benefit (Camarena, 1990; Epple, Newlon, & Romano, 2002; Epstein & MacIver, 1992; Ferguson, 1998; Figlio & Page, 2002; Lou et al., 1996; Valli, 1990). Others find that grouping makes little difference compared with other schooling variables, or that it reduces overall achievement levels (Gamoran, 1992; Slavin, 1990a; Slavin, 1990b). The most recent and methodologically sophisticated articles in this literature, however, find that students in high tracks benefit from grouping and students in low tracks are harmed, or at least are not helped (Argys, et al., 1996; Gamoran & Mare, 1989; Garet & DeLany, 1988; Lucas, 1999).

Two conclusions shine through this morass. First, contradictions in the research point to differences in practice that call for a careful policy choice. Experimental studies that control for most factors affecting students' outcomes show that, when curriculum and instructional methods are similar for all students, skill grouping by itself neither consistently helps nor harms students (e.g. Ferguson, 1998). But studies of actual school settings usually find that students in the low groups do worse than they should, even given their presumedly lower ability (Shepard, 1992). The proper debate, then, is whether educators should seek to abolish ability grouping on the grounds that it will never be fairly done, or whether they should concentrate on ensuring a challenging curriculum, equal teaching quality, and a fair allocation of resources across groups (Exchange, 1994).

Second, the contradictory research results imply that "decisions about grouping are preliminary and what matters most comes next: decisions about what to do with students after they are assigned to classes. Given poor instruction, neither heterogeneous nor homogeneous grouping can be effective; with excellent instruction, either may succeed" (Gamoran, 1993, p. 44; see also Ferguson, 1998; Oakes, Gamoran, & Page, 1992). As the most influential book seeking to abolish tracking put it, "the most significant thing we found is that generally our entire sample of classes turned out to be pretty noninvolving places.... Passive activities... were dominant at all track levels.... Any statements that can be made about differences between tracks... must be seen in this context" (Oakes, 1985, p. 129).

The deepest problem, then, is that too many students are poorly taught, and students in low ability groups - disproportionately poor students, who are disproportionately of color -- usually are the most poorly taught of all (Good, 1987; Ingersoll, 1999; Weiss, 1997). And these failures and inequities have long-term effects: the intensity and quality of secondary school curriculum have the greatest impact on completion of a bachelor's degree, a far greater impact than SES, ethnicity and race, and even test scores and high school class rank (Office of Educational Research and Improvement, 1999, Executive Summary).

The issue of curriculum quality points us toward "tracking" at the level of schools or districts rather than students. Middle schools in poor or non-Asian minority communities frequently do not offer algebra in eighth grade, even though it is essential for high-level mathematics in high school (Jones et al., 1995; Monk & Rice, 1997; Raudenbush, Fotiu, & Cheong, 1998; Spade, Columba, & Vanfossen, 1997). Poor schools are less likely to offer advanced mathematics or science courses, Advanced Placement (AP) courses, or honors English and history courses than schools in wealthier and predominantly white communities (Oakes et al., 1992, p. 589; National Center for Education Statistics, 1995, table A2.2b). Children of parents who have not attended college, who are disproportionately poor and nonwhite, are twice as likely to attend schools that do not offer algebra in eighth grade as children whose parents completed college (National Center for Education Research, 2000b).

In 1999, the American Civil Liberties Union (ACLU) filed suit against the state of California, claiming that "129 California public high schools with 80,000 students do not offer any AP courses; and 333 schools offer four or fewer. In contrast,... 144 public high schools in California offer more than 14 AP courses" (Sahagun & Weiss, 1999, p. A13). Small rural schools and schools in poor urban districts were least likely to offer AP courses, thus disadvantaging African Americans, recent Latino immigrants, and poor whites, especially since the University of California at Berkeley and UCLA weigh AP courses and their test scores heavily in admissions decisions. The general counsel for the state's department of education agreed that "this is a genuine equity issue and I think it will have enough political push to bring about a solution" (Bathen, 1999, p. M3). Prodded by this lawsuit, the College Board set up a program to ensure that all public high schools offer AP courses within a few years (currently 40 percent do not), and some schools are encouraging more students to take them (Viadero, 2001).

Directions for Public Policy

This is not the place to analyze in detail what ought to be done to reduce the patterns of nested inequalities and concentrated harms in public schooling; any serious policy change is enormously complicated, particularly in the diffuse and decentralized world of public schooling. Nevertheless, the outlines of the moves needed to weaken the link between social class and educational outcomes are clear.

Where it has been reasonably implemented, educating poor children with students who are more privileged, or educating them like students who are more privileged, has improved their performance and long-term chances of success (Kahlenberg, 2000; Rubinowitz & Rosenbaum, 2000). Quality preschool, individual reading instruction, small classes in the early grades, assignment to classes with peers who take school seriously and behave in ways that enable them to learn, and consistently challenging academic courses have been shown to help disadvantaged children achieve, just as they enable middle-class children to achieve (for reviews of this extensive literature, see Hochschild & Scovronick, 2003; Puma & Drury, 2000). Most importantly, qualified, knowledgeable teachers make a difference, as described above. Well-off children almost always attend schools that have most of these features; poor children too frequently do not.

An honest attempt to secure a good education for poor children therefore leaves policymakers with two difficult choices. They can send them to schools with wealthier children, or they can, as a reasonable second-best, seek to give them an education in their own neighborhoods that has the features of schooling for well-off students. The former has proved so far to be too expensive politically, and the latter has often been too expensive financially (for histories of and evidence on school desegregation and school finance equalization efforts, see Hochschild & Scovronick, 2003). After a decade of studying the subject, I conclude that if Americans really wanted all children to have a real chance to learn, they would

eliminate disparities in funding across states, districts, and schools and provide extra funding for the poorest schools and districts as needed;

provide the resources needed to overcome the social, health-related, and physical problems that poor children disproportionately bring into schools;

redistribute the teaching staff and enhance the quality, training, and deployment of all teachers;

implement clear standards for higher-order learning, with appropriate supports, and hold schools and educators as well as students accountable;

eliminate the forms of ability grouping with no demonstrated benefits and ensure that all schools and classrooms offer stimulating and difficult curricula;

redraw district and neighborhood assignment lines to ensure a broad mix of students across economic strata (and races or ethnicities) within a school.

The worst urban schools would be reconstituted or shut down, and the children in them dispersed among schools with a much higher proportion of middle class students.

Moving poor children into more affluent schools is not a panacea. When poor families move from deeply poor neighborhoods into communities with very little poverty, the children typically have more behavioral problems in school, even though their test scores improve (Ludwig, Ladd, & Duncan, 2001). African American students also report more racism among their new classmates and neighbors, and worry about holding their own socially in their new environment (Rubinowitz & Rosenbaum, 2000). These social and emotional difficulties warrant concern, but they pale beside the much larger problem of racial and class isolation; I think it would be a sign of enormous progress if our chief problem was encouraging poor and well-off children in the same school and classroom to engage with each other more effectively.

Similarly, improving the quality of schooling in impoverished schools is extraordinarily difficult. Educators within a school develop a culture, and some urban schools have developed a culture of failure (Payne, 1997). In others, educators focus more on workplace concerns, racially based frustrations, a search for power in their community, or other issues of real importance but remote from a focus on teaching and learning (Henig et al., 1999; Orr, 1999; Rich, 1996). These problems similarly warrant concern, but probably most urban schools suffer more from the less exotic problems of insufficient resources, lower quality teaching, and students' needs for intensive instruction. In any case, it would be worth finding out.

Public schools are essential to enable Americans to succeed, but schools are also the arena in which some children first fail. Failure there almost certainly guarantees failure from then on. Americans would like to believe that failure results from lack of individual merit and effort; in reality, failure in school too closely tracks structures of racial and class inequality. American schools too often reinforce rather than contend against those structures; that is understandable but not acceptable.

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Author Biography

Jennifer Hochschild is a Professor of Government at Harvard University, with a joint appointment in the Department of Afro-American Studies. She received a B.A from Oberlin College in 1971 and a Ph.D. from Yale University in 1979. She is the author of Facing Up to the American Dream: Race, Class, and the Soul of the Nation (Princeton University Press, 1995); The New American Dilemma: Liberal Democracy and School Desegregation (Yale University Press, 1984); What's Fair: American Beliefs about Distributive Justice (Harvard University Press, 1981) and a co-author of Equalities (Harvard University Press, 1981). She is a co-editor of Social Policies for Children (Brookings Institution Press, 1995). Prof. Hochschild is a Fellow of the American Academy of Arts and Sciences, a former vice-president of the American Political Science Association, a member of the Board of Trustees of the Russell Sage Foundation, and a member of the Board of Overseers of the General Social Survey. She has received fellowships or awards from the Guggenheim Foundation, the American Council of Learned Societies, the American Philosophical Society, the Spencer Foundation, the American Political Science Association, the Princeton University Research Board, and other organizations. She has also served as a consultant or expert witness in several school desegregation cases, most recently the on-going case of Yonkers Board of Education v. New York State.

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2003 Running head: SOCIAL CLASS IN PUBLIC SCHOOLS Social Class in Public Schools Departments of Government and Afro-American Studies Harvard University Journal of Social Issues, November 2003 *Correspondence for this article should be addressed to: Jennifer Hochschild, Government Department, Littauer Center, North Harvard Yard, Harvard University, Cambridge MA 02138, E-mail: [ hochschild@latte.harvard.edu].

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The first artifact I've chosen for this module - is the website from my own Elementary school - and their mission and goals. This is the school that I hopefully want to teach at.

When I was attending, this school - the curriculum was strongly based on Parent-intervention. Parents were regularly involved in the activities, but teachers still were the pioneers who provided a lot of educational fronts. What differentiated Lanikai from other public schools at the time - was that parent/teacher involvement.

One of the most important topics I took from this module, was Chapter 13 - the discussion of the Pendulum - and which way it'll swing.  The important topic I noticed - was the responsibility that people don't take. The pendulum continues to swing, and yet nobody takes ownership or or is accountable for their actions.

The difference with Lanikai - is that parents actively WANT and ATTEMPT to be a part of their children's learning. This artifact further demonstrates the hopeful learning that takes place within the classroom, because of parents willingness to help. This artifact also hopefully disproves the status quo of the pendulum swinging with nobody wanting to help, or nobody wanting to take accountability, despite their voiced concerns over their children's performance.

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The Ka'ohao School Mission, through combined efforts of staff, parents, students, and community, is:

To focus on the whole child by offering an integrated and challenging curriculum that reaches across the disciplines, which includes Physical Wellness, Technology, and an emphasis on The Arts

To empower students to meet academic challenges with enthusiasm and a willingness to solve real-world problems.

To create an atmosphere of cooperation, with respect for individual differences, the community, and cultural values.

To develop children who are confident and creative builders of their future.
To meet these goals, Ka'ohao School offers its students the following:
AN ENVIRONMENT that is secure and welcoming and that engages children's interest and celebrates their accomplishments.

A CORE CURRICULUM that exceeds state and national standards, is differentiated according to student abilities and interests, is aligned between grade levels and subject areas, and is inclusive of arts, technology, and physical development.

CLASSROOM INSTRUCTION that is student-centered and responsive to each child's needs, and that fosters inquiry, exploration, independent thinking, collaborative effort, and productive reflection on one's own work.

A COMMUNITY in which all participants-children, teachers, staff, parents, and board-are both teachers and learners and are mutually supportive.

TEACHERS, ADMINISTRATORS, AND STAFF who are creative, knowledgeable, focused on the welfare of each child, and appropriately certified.

FACILITIES AND RESOURCES that meet the needs of all students.

From DOE School...
Lanikai Elementary School opened its doors in 1964 as a Department of Education (DOE) school to serve this small seaside neighborhood originally known as Ka'ohao. By the '80s, many families were sending their children to private schools, and for a time there was discussion at the Board of Education of closing the school because of declining enrollment. The tide turned, however, when a handful of activist families expressed their willingness to try a public school-as long as they could be part of the governance structure and demand excellence in teaching, in curriculum choices, and in educational philosophy. Their vehicle for change was the DOE's recent School-Community-Based Management (SCBM) format, but the families found it was still too much a part of the one-size-fits-all DOE system.

...To Conversion Charter School
In 1994, the Lanikai SCBM Council, looking for "transformational leadership," brought on a visionary principal who understood the potential of charters. Two years later the school applied for and was granted "Student-Centered School Status," the name the Hawaii Legislature was using for charter schools. In 2000, the school was recognized by the Legislature as one of the state's first two conversion charters. During this time of change, the Board of Education loosened regulations on geographic exceptions, allowing more students from other communities to apply to our school. Our enrollment began to grow and today exceeds 330 students.

Ka'ohao-and all other charter schools-are public schools directly and individually accountable for compliance with many state and federal laws and programs, and they are governed by their own independent boards.

Curriculum and Assessment Today
Ka'oaho, like all public schools across the country, is accountable for meeting the state and federal regulations in regard to teacher qualifications and adequate yearly progress. Although charter schools may design curricula that support their particular thematic or philosophical approach, all students must take the annual Smarter Balanced Assessment (SBA) that tests student mastery of the Common Core State Standards. Our curriculum is based on the Hawaii standards and our students have performed exceptionally well on the state assessment.

Our students are privileged to attend five specials throughout the week: art, computer, library, Papa 'Ike Hawai'i, and physical education. Our students produce award winning art and endless examples of student work that support the classroom curriculum.

For the past several years, Ka'ohao has consistently met the national and state performance requirements and received recognition for excellence in the State of Hawai'i. We have also received national awards for our green programs. These kudos are a testament to the quality of our staff and our high expectations for our students.

Celebrating our Accreditation
It is with pride that Ka'ohao School celebrates our accreditation by the Western Association of Schools and Colleges - Accrediting Commission of the States (WASC-ACS). It was not an easy task! This quest started with a request for affiliation with WASC as early as January, 2006, and between then and now the whole staff and a loyal core of parent volunteers have spent countless hours exploring our practice to determine where it measured up, where it fell short, and how we could improve in organization, curriculum, instruction, student services, and use of our resources. The result is a fresh dedication to outstanding professional development for staff, alignment of curriculum across grade levels, and increased expertise in meeting individual student needs through differentiation in instruction. Our initiatives will bring steady growth in student learning and set both students and staff firmly on our vision:
"A Path to Excellence in Learning and Life."

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The Ka'ohao School Mission, through combined efforts of staff, parents, students, and community, is: To focus on the whole child by offering an integrated and challenging curriculum that reaches across the disciplines, which includes Physical Wellness, Technology, and an emphasis on The Arts To empower students to meet academic challenges with enthusiasm and a willingness to ...

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For this last module - I chose Japan.

Japan is a culturally rich environment, that is famous for having students perform well in educational activities - especially those rooted within STEM (Science/Tech/Engineering/Math).
As a descendent of Asian grandparents and a half Asian parent - the Japanese culture was heavily engrained into me from a young age. Pursuing a higher education was of the utmost importance - and getting good grades was a must.

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Curriculum Outline

The Japanese school system primarily consists of six-year elementary schools, three-year junior high schools and three-year high schools, followed by a two-or-three-year junior colleges or a four-year colleges. Compulsory education lasts for 9 years through elementary and junior high school. School exchanges during Japan Educational Travel are mainly implemented in junior high and high schools. For physically or mentally challenged students, there is a system called "Special Needs Education" to support special students to develop their self-reliance and thus enhance their social participation.

School Education Chart

Introduction to Schools in Japan

About Schools in Japan. An introduction mainly focused on standard junior high and high schools in Japan.

eventSchool Timetable

Public schools in Japan have classes five days a week, from Monday to Friday. There are also schools that have classes on Saturday. In junior high and high schools, there are six class periods each day, typically lasting 50 minutes for each. After classes, students clean the classrooms in shifts and then start their club activities. There are a variety of clubs such as cultural and sports ones.

An Example of School Timetable

eventAcademic Calendar

In principle, the school year begins in April and ends in March of the following year. Most schools adopt a three-semester system, with the first semester from April to August, the second semester from September to December, and the third semester from January to March. There is also a summer break (from the end of July to the end of August), a winter break (from the end of December to the beginning of January), and a spring break (from the end of March to the beginning of April).

An Example of Academic Calendar

eventSchool Organization

Each school has a principal, a vice principal, teachers, a school nurse, and other administration staff. As the chief executive, the principal assumes all responsibilities of the school, including the courses provided and related administrative work. The vice principal supports the principal to manage administrative affairs of the school and to be in charge of student's educational activities and curriculum as well. Furthermore, in order to ensure school's smooth operation, teachers take on various responsibilities, such as taking care of educational activities, students'school life, and employment guidance for students after graduation. Many schools also establish their own committees, for example a International Exchange Promotion Committee, and others.

Special Features of Japanese Education

About Features of Japanese Education.

eventRegarding the Level of Education

The level of Japanese education is high even by world standards. In OECD's Programme for International Student Assessment (PISA) aimed at fifteen-year-olds, Japanese students recorded high levels of achievement, particularly in science related areas. Educational activities outside of school also flourish, and programs leading to advanced education are implemented.

Enrollment in high schools, the second-half of secondary education, reaches over 90%, and the enrollments in college are also high reaching over 50%. Admission to high schools and colleges is mainly through entrance exams, held from January to March.

Source: OECD

location_cityForeign Language Education

English is a compulsory subject in junior high and high schools. There are also elementary schools that introduce English education from intermediate grade classes. In some high schools, apart from English, students are also allowed to take courses in Chinese, Korean, French, German, etc.

location_cityStudent Clubs

Student clubs are a characteristic part in Japan's school education. Under teachers' guidance, students with the same interests in sports, cultural activities, or fields of study voluntarily gather together after classes and on days off. There are also numerous student clubs revolving around Japanese traditional sports and culture, such as judo, kendo(Japanese swordsmanship), sado (Japanese tea ceremony), kado (Japanese flower arrangement), shodo (Japanese calligraphy), etc. Club activities also provide students with the chance to participate in school exchange and friendly matches.

Related Information

Learn About School Life in Japan
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STORIES
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JAPANESE EDUCATIONAL SYSTEM | JAPAN Educational Travel

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The Japanese school system primarily consists of six-year elementary schools, three-year junior high schools and three-year high schools, followed by a two-or-three-year junior colleges or a four-year colleges. Compulsory education lasts for 9 years through elementary and junior high school. School exchanges during Japan Educational Travel are mainly implemented in junior high and high schools.

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Some of the most important characteristics of Japanese Education that stood out to me from my research of this nation were:

1.) Manners
- Manners are of the utmost importance in Japanese society and are taught to children as young as 2!! Children learn the importance of manners like self-respect, determination, and understanding. Students at this age, are also taught gentleness, as they're gentle on animals and on themselves. The younger years for these students are focused less on examinations (which are in G.4) and are more focused on becoming a good person and building good character.

2.) Importance on cleanliness
- Many of the Japanese schools from Elementary to Higher Education do not have janitors. Students therefore are responsible for keeping their classrooms tidy and clean. This further builds upon discipline and is a skill that students are expected to have learned in their younger years. Skills like putting things back where you've put them, cleaning up after every small mess, and making sure you and your friends are being careful with materials, are heavily encouraged. These tasks are believed to teach these students the importance of teamwork, and to respect every environment they're invited into.

3.) Balanced Meals
- A students health is heavily dependent on the food they put within their systems. School-chosen chefs AND health professionals keep their food choices limited, and provide them with healthy foods to stimulate brain and body power throughout the day. Japanese officials know that if your body is powerful enough and fed the right things - your brain will follow and be able to work at its peak.

4.) After-school/Extracurricular Activities
- There is a heavy emphasis placed on the examinations that are life-determining for these students. Parents will oftentimes spend large sums of money to send their children to programs that are proven to prepare them for the college exams that will sort these students into their respective career fields. There is also an emphasis on "shadow education" which is the teaching of materials outside of the classroom that isn't learned during the normal school day, and it's a common sight to see students who are still studying and practicing even after a 8hr long school day.

5.) Uniformity
- The use of uniforms is something that I'm personally accustomed to. The Japanese have the idea down, that uniforms remove a social barrier that is placed between students who may have less than others. For that reason - these uniforms alleviate any societal pressure that students may face for their differing clothing patterns - so that all excess thoughts and mental capacity can be placed on examinations and schoolwork.

6.) Attendance
- Attendance at almost every Japanese school is 99.99%. That's a staggering number, especially in comparison to American numbers, which vary from state to state; from income to income and other varying factors. Japanese students value learning, and value hard work - and would rather not skip school, or be late to classes. The examinations are incredibly difficult, and require every last oz. of knowledge from the students - so being late is expected to be near if not at 0%.

These are just a few of the things I found incredibly interesting.

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Comparison between Education - US vs. Japan 

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Comparison between Education - US vs. Japan 

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It's very clear that the Japanese culture and country have drastically different educational views from the US.

The most prominent in my eyes, is the emphasis on attendance, as well as the providing of school meals that are healthy and beneficial. In the US - nearly 60% of students NATIONWIDE do not partake in breakfast. This is data across the entirety of grade level. Without necessary energy in the morning, the brain will always be in a constant state of "catch-up." This is something that Japanese officials have recognized. Japanese tests are much more rigorous and difficult than the US - and yet, students still seem to perform well. I think that it does have a great deal to do with the meals that are provided. The attendance in the US is at a high 92% - but when compared to the drastic 99% of students who are in attendance every day within school - it definitely leaves something to be desired.

Japanese education also places a heavy emphasis on STEM - and also produces students with incredible literacy in these fields, while also still producing students in the top percentile in English (a foreign language) and history.

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What can the US Learn from Japan? || What can the US teach Japan? 

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What can the US Learn from Japan? || What can the US teach Japan? 

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The US can learn a plethora of knowledge from Japan in terms of how to make education more accessible. A few of these would be:

1.) Providing healthy, beneficial Meals
2.) Offering extracurriculars that are more beneficial to student learning, and less on just "paying attention/watching" these children
3.) The necessity of uniforms within most Junior/High schools.
4.) Performance on examinations and the emphasis to do well on these is expected. Students, regardless of residence, income, or background are given equal chances to succeed for the most part - but it all comes down to determination and grit.

Japan can equally learn a bunch of beneficial things from the US

1.) Giving children breaks in between school days to allow for socialization - and to students to have an opportunity to get to know their classmates.
2.) Providing more support to students who wish to pursue arts careers. There is a heavy push for students to entire into STEM-related careers, but there isn't much support or backing for these students to pursue careers that emphasize creativity, or imagination.
3.) Critical Thinking is not pushed as harsh in Japan. The need for a rigid learning environment, that produces students who are regimented is emphasized - which leaves very letter free-thinking, or questioning of why topics/things are the way they are.
4.) Employing a team of principles or administrators who are passionate about providing the best possible education for their students. With a team, instead of just one Principal/Asst. Principal - the ability to cover more ground, and to address more needs for students could be more accessible.

Honestly - the educational system in Japan, seems to flourish much more than that of the US. The US can definitely take more after the Japanese system in terms of rigid instruction. However, the US boasts a large variety of free-thinkers and individuals who can see multiple points of view. This is definitely a tally for the US - in that their creative and imaginative individuals outnumber those of Japan.