The State of Michigan is acting wisely by creating cyber high schools for students that drop out. Drop outs, as pointed out in the article, face severe economic challenges. Often, being a drop is a precursor to jail time. Michigan, right now, cannot afford to have this economic loss and therefore, is addressing a severe problem.
It is absolutely essential that we lower our drop out statistics. Each student has the ability to learn and we must find a way to help that student grow. The article stated that high schools should focus not just on “extending learning time, providing challenging learning opportunities, aligning performance standards with college and career readiness.” Instead, they should focus “on transition from high school to college or a career.” It is imperative that I, as an educator, constantly bring real-world problems and issues into my classroom so that students know why they are doing a project, reading an assignment, or participating in a debate.
The article also made a great point that the online courses often have cross-curricular projects. Incorporating cross-curricular projects into all schools is necessary so that students begin to see the connections that all subjects have with each other. We cannot, in these current times, remain confined by our walls and teach just our subject. It is imperative that teachers collaborate and produce thought-provoking, challenging, cross-curricular projects and assignments that start to give students an idea about the world they are entering. This type of learning should also extend beyond the physical walls of the school. Online experiences can allow students to interact with the rest of the world.
Michigan is on target right now in battling the drop-out problem. We cannot sit by and watch it continue. The online courses will most definitely help not only the student mentioned in the article, but thousands of other students as well. This is an excellent program for Michigan and should be looked at by the rest of the nation. Finally, teachers of regular classrooms should examine the projects found in the cyber schools and incorporate them into their own curriculum.
As a mathematics teacher at the TBAISD Career-Tech Center it is our goal to connect all content to the students’ technical program. This is an arduous task, especially since I’m not versed in power equipment or construction! I work with the technical instructor to incorporate math content that relates directly to content students are learning. We’re finding that once students know the why or real world applications to mathematical concepts they are performing better on assessments. I agree with you that bringing real world situations into the classroom is essential to learning. Sitting by and watching dropout rates continue to rise is unacceptable and I agree with you that offering online course will not only benefit those at risk of dropping out but all students.
ReplyDeleteDrop outs are definitely at a disadvantage when it comes to economic opportunities in the work place. The dropout student highlighted in this article at least understands this, but unfortunately not all students grasp reality of not having a high school education. I like the idea of integrating real world applications into the classroom as this will show students what life is like beyond the walls of the classroom. If this tactic works then maybe more students would not consider dropping out. Having online education as alternative is excellent option for those students who have the motivation to work online instead of being stuck in a high school classroom.
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