reflection 8

American education was greatly influenced by reform. There were many reform reports and the majority arrived in three waves that continues to influence the American society today. The third of the wave of reform started in about 1988. At this time advocates for the reform felt that school should be full service schools. At these full service schools, students would be provided with a network of social services, health care, nutrition, counseling, transportation, and even parent education. They felt that the school board would be replaced by a board of children’s advocates. People who were dedicated to the well being of children instead of people who focused on making a school better. Also, there would’ve been a children’s policy which would be focused on responding to the multiple needs of children opposed to the school policy which is focused only on education. In the late 1990s the full service schools that were opened in New York, Florida, and California were all opened long after hours to provide different community services. The second wave of reform began in 1986 and was lead by teachers and professors like John Goodland and Theodore Sizer. These educators believed that the students were covering far too many topics and not getting an in-depth study on the topics. They also believed that teachers should have more control in the classrooms. They also believed principal’s role should be strengthened. The schools had a lot of poor academic performance and teaching was considered bland-like. The most dominant reform of the three major reforms began in 1982 and is still happening today. This reform held onto the idea that educational value and quality could be waived by having a certain set of standardized tests for both teachers and students. Many large corporations were complaining that the society needed better training like basic math and reading skills. At this point, it was said that schools weren’t meeting the nation’s economical and technical needs. Critics had even pointed to how low the scores were from American students in math and science on international tests. This reform is still an avid one in today’s society. The state of Florida has implemented certain general requirements for graduation from high school. In order to receive a valid and accredited diploma, each student must pass the FCAT, which is the state’s standardized test. The reform will continue to be the most dominant of them all primarily because the nation’s needs are constantly changing and they are changing rapidly. The economy is going to always request that certain general knowledge come with the employees of corporations. In turn, we, as a nation, is going to have to change the standard requirements for graduation. I remember my mother’s form of motivation was somewhere along the lines of “If you don’t stay in school sooner or later you won’t even be able to get a job at Burger King without a degree.” What if it does lead to that in the future?



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