Bill Gates was on Oprah in April 2006...



Oprah helped her audience hear from teachers about a better way of teaching.

WhatShouldStudentsLearn.com is like hearing two minutes of advice from twelve people who are making a difference. There are links for you to follow up if you want more information.

PARENTS

Here is your action plan.

This suggestion is coming from a teacher:

You have the power to put into action what Bill Gates and others are shouting about. Gates and others are pleading with the people of the USA to improve education by making schools smaller, building relationships

asking students to study in a way that is RELEVant to their lives.

There is an urgency!

step 1: Find a small school....and move your child into the small school.

Step 2: Write a letter to your child's current principal and school superintendent. The suggestions on this page cannot work instantly in a school of 1000 or 2000 students. The ideal size is at least 100 and less than 400 students.

Parents: The quickest way to grab the attention of your local school district is to pull the kid out and put your child in a charter school. Make it clear that you are pursuing the advice of Bill Gates. When the school district subdivides the large school, you will consider re-enrolling your child in a school that has no more than 300 students.

Step 3: Educate the teachers. Most people don't know about the urgency (see Thomas Friedman). Ask teachers in the small school to visit the links on this page, especially to read Dr. Hetland's tips for a successful use of portfolios.

Work with the teachers to help them transform "standard homework" into a habit of building a portfolio -- and use the portfolio (or file) to buld a relationship with the student.

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Steve McCrea produces all sorts of video and prints for commercial use.

1-954-646-8246

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PARENTS can get involved with school.

Step 4: Ask for ALTERNATIVE TESTS (instead of the FCAT). (see Gardner)

Don't kill high stakes testing...just offer an alternative.... Work with the teachers to help them transform "standard homework" into a habit of building a portfolio -- If individuals indeed have different kinds of minds, with varied strengths, interests and strategies, then it is worth considering whether pivotal curricular materials could be taught AND ASSESSED in a variety of ways.

There are other suggestions (go to What Should Students Learn.com) but the real revolutionary work from the point of view of the parents is to move your child into a small school until the big school is dubdivided.

Move your child. Find a small school. You'll be ready to go on a vacation, to explore a rainforest in Peru and learn where Belize is. Imagine finding your dream vacation or a house in Fort Lauderdale, and all you needed to do was to talk to other people about your child's progress in a school. It could happen.

Comments: mistermath@comcast.net or SteveEnglishTeacher@yahoo.com

SteveMcCrea

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