A catch up on education reform

The American education system is in crisis. Faculty downsizing across all levels and piling student debts that jobless graduates are unable to repay have called for more aggressive reforms to the educational structure. However, when talks about the nation’s policies took place earlier this year, the solutions suggested to clarify the sector’s bleak future were a little less assuring than hoped for.

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Rather than recommend ways on how educational facilities could meet the demand for more teachers or better standards, the government simply recommended that schools and colleges "narrow student choice." While a far cry from the tradition of encouraging the nation’s young minds to explore new and alternative ideas, the suggestion is backed by the premise that students will be more likely to complete their university degree if they are already on track as soon as they start college.

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Influential people in the education sector, the likes of Frank Biden, might agree to this proposal. Biden is a vocal advocate of alternative learning methods, particularly those that focus on developing individual strengths. His approach aligns with the recommendation’s philosophy that students ought to focus on preparing for their careers early in their education rather than garner superficial experience in various fields as a contingency for all possible courses before they finally select their major.

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Other policy changes included making it mandatory for schools to provide equal access to extracurricular athletic activities to students with disabilities. In this way, all students would have the opportunity to learn about “discipline, selflessness, passion, and courage” through sports.

More information about the developments in America’s education system can be found on this website.

Educating the youth on crucial factors to success

The future faced by today’s youth is filled with high technology, which makes it complex and extremely fast-paced. The current education system—with its emphasis on academic aspects—may prove inadequate as a means to help students keep up with the quickly changing trends and demands of the times. Hence, focus has shifted toward “noncognitive” factors as a crucial component of the formula for success in the 21st century.

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Noncognitive factors, as defined by the US Department of Education (ED), are independent of an individual’s intellectual capacity. They include attitudes, attributes, dispositions, social skills, and other intrapersonal resources. Giving more emphasis on these aspects means that formal education would incorporate character building into the almost entirely academic model followed today.

In a study entitled Expanding Evidence Approaches for Learning in a Digital World, the ED’s Office of Educational Technology analyzed the relevance of a set of noncognitive factors: grit, perseverance, and tenacity. The paper explained that these traits will play a significant role in helping a student enhance his or her capacity to withstand the challenges of higher education while keeping focused on the proper goals. These characteristics will also work with technical knowledge in the development of an individual who is equipped with both the know-how and the attitude of a potential success.

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The main impediments to incorporating noncognitive factors to formal education programs include the means to measure them quantitatively and objectively and the methods to impart them to students. But with the continued research on the matter, there is little doubt that concrete methodologies will soon be created to solve these concerns.

In spite of the degree by which formal education has developed, academic knowledge is often hardly enough in today’s world. The inclusion of noncognitive factors in formal curriculums is a good step to initiating holistic learning that will ultimately help foster individuals who are well-equipped with the capacity to adapt and succeed.

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Frank Biden is an advocate of alternative methods of learning that focus on an individual’s capabilities. More information about him is available on this Twitter page.

On homework: How to make sure kids do them

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Homework -- many adults must have hated them as children, but it is actually good for kids. Homework is given for many reasons, primarily as a means of extending a child’s learning space beyond the walls of the classroom. It also enhances a child’s time management and study skills. The US Department of Education’s official blog shares some tips on how to encourage your kids to do their homework:

Set up a good study place
Ideally, this place must be quiet and void of any distraction. You must keep television, toys, or the computer away, unless they are needed for the assignment. Ensure that the place is well lit.

Set a good example
Your child tends to imitate what you do. As your child is focusing on the homework, do something similar like reading a novel while your child completes her reading assignment.


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Teach time management
Be sure to schedule a “homework time” and teach your child to become more responsible about deadlines.

Teach independence
Do not spoon-feed your child with answers. Let your child work alone, but provide help when it is needed.

Teach your child how to tackle a challenge
Teach your child to recognize which questions are hard and which are easy. Have him or her do the hard ones first and save the easy ones for later.

Homework is not given to children for nothing. It helps develop certain skills, and presents an opportunity for you to be involved and to determine how much progress your child is making in school. It gives you time to bond, too.


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Frank Biden is an advocate for alternative methods of education that focus on learning. This Facebook page offers more updates on the education sector.

Realizing the true purpose of schools

For many professionals who are involved in the education sector, there exists a glaring error that needs to be remedied as soon as possible. The American education system, some education experts argue, has deviated from the path that it should be taking. It now exists as something that prepares students to be workers instead of encouraging them to be lifelong learners and productive members of a democratic community.


Nikhil Goyal, a student and the author of One Size Does Not Fit All: A Student's Assessment of School, argues that in spite of all the discussions on educational reform, the people involved often overlook one of the most obvious questions that need to be answered: What is the purpose of schools? And only after arriving at an answer to this question should education experts then try to define what good education is.

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The problem with the current attitudes toward education is that far too many people place an emphasis on the importance of good grades and of performance in class. It seems that many educators of today have chosen to place less importance on qualities such as creativity, curiosity, and the inclination for exploration and innovation. Many just aim to teach students to be better at remembering information, following instructions, and conforming to the rules and to traditions.

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It seems now, that there is much that needs to be changed both within the learning institutions and the nation that supports and is supported by the development of the education sector. When the nation learns to encourage young students to be lifelong learners, then it takes one step toward the realization of the true purpose of education and schooling.

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Frank Biden is involved in Mavericks High, an educational institution that provides alternative learning programs for at-risk and dropout students.

REPOST: School Security: Why It’s So Hard to Keep Kids Safe

Time Health & Family reports on School Security, a factor that many parents are now again considering due to the tragedy at Sandy Hook Elementary.

As children across the country returned to their first day back in the classroom since 20 first-graders and six adults were gunned down at Sandy Hook Elementary in Newtown, Conn., parents probably took a second look at the doors and fences that are supposed to keep their kids safe. If they hadn’t thought much about school security before the Sandy Hook tragedy, they are certainly thinking about it now.

I know I was. My youngest daughter typically files into school with her kindergarten classmates, her big backpack overwhelming her little body. On Monday, I walked her in. I hugged her, whispered “stay safe,” then continued on to the office. After Sandy Hook, I asked the secretary, are we rethinking school security?

At my daughters’ public school in Washington state, there is next to none. The front door remains unlocked throughout the day; visitors are supposed to sign in at the office but no one enforces that. (I know; I’ve skirted the policy myself many times when I’ve been in a hurry to drop off something they have forgotten.) The situation is even worse at my son’s school, where visitors enter without being seen by anyone in the office, which is tucked away from the entrance. His former public school in North Carolina swung to the opposite extreme: all guests were met at the entrance by a security guard, who photographed them and required an ID before printing out a badge that had to be worn while in the school. Meanwhile, in the New York school system, my aunt has to pass by surveillance cameras to reach the classroom where she teaches.

The Sandy Hook massacre has exposed security gaps and widely disparate safety procedures in public school systems across the country, highlighting a lack of across-the-board guidelines. Federal efforts to develop stronger emergency response plans, such as the Readiness and Emergency Management for Schools grants that cover security, have been financially curtailed in recent years, the Christian Science Monitor reports. To fill the void, National PTA and the American Academy of Pediatrics (AAP) are eager to issue guidance. It’s a matter that has long been open for debate: school security isn’t set by any one governing body; it’s decided upon by individual school districts. In the U.S., there are more than 13,000 so it stands to reason that policies vary widely, even within states. Some states, such as Florida, check visitors’ IDs against a national database of sex offenders; others also confirm that a court order hasn’t barred a parent from seeing a child. Many districts, including Seattle, don’t check IDs at all.

Ultimately, however, security often comes down to funding. “A lot of states were pushing for funding for school security and equipment and security audits, but when the economic bottom fell out in 2008, it all got put on the back burner,” says security consultant Steve Wilder.

Now, Friday’s unthinkable tragedy may have shifted priorities back to finding strategies for keeping kids safe. “It’s unthinkable that we have rules and regulations in all sorts of places but we can’t seem to find the money to protect our kids in their schools,” says Dr. Bob Block, immediate past president of the AAP. “What we want is for students in their schools to know they’re secure so they can focus their attention on lessons rather than looking over their shoulder to check out everyone who comes into their school.”

What could make that happen? Ideally, security experts say, schools should have a “man-trap,” a set of outer doors that leads to a vestibule with a screening point and a set of inner doors beyond which visitors can’t go unless they are vetted. Doors should remain locked, safety drills should take place without warning and parents should be informed of where they should collect their kids in an emergency.

All schools should have reinforced plate glass and “access control,” a term experts use to refer to limited entry. That means schoolyards should be completely fenced, as they are in the U.K., with visitors buzzed in through a central gate. That’s a particular challenge, say some administrators, since many schools are designed with an open-access philosophy to encourage learning and foster a welcoming atmosphere for students.

Such technology, along with reinforced ground-floor windows and doors is only a first step, however; staff training maybe be even more important. “We see some schools spending thousands of dollars on systems that ‘read’ access cards, but in the end the users are the breakdown,” says Wilder, who has performed security audits on more than 100 schools. “Inevitably someone props open the door to the kitchen or the gym.”

Drills are also a critical part of security preparation, but too many schools announce them ahead of time, giving teachers and students time to prepare. “Realistic drills are unannounced,” says Wilder.

Meanwhile, National PTA leaders are combing through various resolutions the organization has issued on school violence, mental health and gun control to decide which issues to prioritize: should they lobby for security guards in every school? Tougher gun-control laws? Adequate mental-health treatment for all students? “We’re trying to wrap our head around everything that’s happened, pull together our positions and figure out what we can do to move this conversation forward,” says spokesman James Martinez.

Three days after the Conn. shooting, the organization sent an email to its state offices alerting them of an upcoming advocacy plan: “Rest assured, we fully plan to engage our powerful network of nearly 5 million dedicated members to make a difference on this issue.”

Students may also play an integral role in ensuring their own security. Programs such as A.L.I.C.E. — Alert-Lockdown-Inform-Counter-Escape — encourage teachers and children to do more than lock the door and sit quietly if an armed intruder enters their school. Developed by a former SWAT officer, A.L.I.C.E. teaches students to fight back by throwing things at an attacker. About 300 schools and universities have adopted the program, its founder told ABC News, but it remains controversial.

Still, the AAP believes that students can serve as the first line of defense, much as schools have taught students to pay close attention when friends threaten suicide. Last week, for example, a student alerted authorities about a Bartlesville, Okla., high schooler who had researched the Columbine High School shootings and apparently planned to slaughter students in his school’s auditorium. That information led to the arrest of Sammie Eaglebear Chavez; he was charged with conspiring to perform an act of violence on Friday, the same day that alleged Sandy Hook gunman Adam Lanza charged into two classrooms. “The boy who turned him in had the courage and good sense to report that,” says Block. “Even in elementary school, older students should know that if they hear someone talking about having a gun in their locker, they need to tell a teacher. It’s not tattle-taling.”

No security measure is perfect; Sandy Hook principal Dawn Hochsprung — one of the first victims — had recently introduced a new system to lock the school’s doors at 9:30 a.m. and require office sign-in. That didn’t deter Lanza, who reportedly shot his way into the school. But some experts say that the additional time it took him to break past the locked door may have given teachers and students inside time to take cover. “There are no absolutes,” says Michael Dorn, executive director of Safe Havens International, which develops school-safety plans. “But you can significantly reduce risk.”

Even if school officials find a security strategy they feel is effective, they face one remaining hurdle — parents.  In one rural county, a superintendent has been trying for more than a year to get approval for every visitor to be individually buzzed in. “Parents haven’t wanted it because they say it’s creating a prison-like environment,” says Dorn, who declines to name the superintendent with whom he has been working. “But that was prior to Friday. That discussion will look very different now that we’re suddenly shocked to the core.”

Frank Biden remains involved with the Education sector through his work in Mavericks High Charter Schools. For more updates, follow this Twitter page.

Making education matter: Taking cue from the students' interests and circumstances

Sometimes, educators need to cut back on their use of traditional learning methods and take a look at the situations and the interests of their students to find novel ways to make learning more enjoyable and more relevant.

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Evidence of the importance of a change in approach can be found in the success of alternative learning institutions such as the Frank Biden-supported Mavericks High, which has schools designed to be simple, inviting, and reflective of a teen’s lifestyle, and the use of Skype in the classroom initiative, which grants teachers with a free and easy way to open up the classroom.

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In many alternative learning institutions, students who found themselves hindered by traditional learning methods are given a unique opportunity to earn a state-recognized diploma in a school environment that matches their pace of learning instead of leaving them unable to catch up.

Meanwhile, through alternative learning opportunities that take technology that the students of today are used to seeing and using in their leisure time, educators can keep their students more engaged with the lesson. It also fosters the sense of curiosity that is inherently within young students, giving them the motivation to pursue topics related to what they have just learned.

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With educators who are able to take into account the students’ interests and their situations in and out of school, the students are able to focus on their studies better and are empowered to take charge of their own future.

More updates on alternative education may be found on this Facebook page.

New York Times: A Class Where Opening Minds, Not Earning Credits, Is the Point

Many see education simply as the way to earn credits that would lead to future employment.  Read this article by Tamar Lewin, posted in The New York Times' website, about education as it should be seen--a means to open minds.



Tuvan throat singing was never in my repertoire. I had never heard of Tuva, a small Russian republic north of Mongolia. And until the third week of “Listening to World Music,” a free online course taught by a University of Pennsylvania professor, I did not know that the human throat was capable of producing two notes simultaneously.

Related Virtual U.: College of Future Could Be Come One, Come All (November 20, 2012) But after listening to a lecture on Tuvan culture and history and viewing throat-singing videos, I was hooked on the sound — a deep buzz saw with high overtone whistles — and was happy to watch the assigned 90-minute concert by a touring Tuvan ensemble. I wrote the required essay that night, the Tuvan steppes still on my mind.

Three days later, I was given five essays by classmates to grade. (With 36,000 students enrolled, peer grading was the only practical way that Coursera, the company offering the course, could assess students’ work.) I had my doubts about the process, but to my surprise, the process was interesting and useful and taught me as much as the lectures did.

Some of the essays were remarkably good, especially the first one I read, from a classmate who tackled a question I had avoided, on the view of Arjun Appadurai, a sociocultural anthropologist, that modernity necessarily means rupture. (Not what I was expecting from a world music course.) The classmate described her family’s migration experience, and concluded: “Appadurai says modernity is rupture, but I say it’s rapture.” Enraptured myself, I gave her the top score, a 10.

My own first score? A 4. I did not even get full points for writing style. Humiliating, but by the time we hit Tuva, I was getting 10s.

Grades were not the point, though. The course offered no credit, just a certificate for students scoring 70 percent (“with distinction” for 80 percent) — not so useful, given the underwhelming demand for world music expertise.

 As in other free MOOCs (massive open online courses), most of those who enrolled dropped out. The 36,000 in my course dwindled to 3,859 by the final week. But those who stuck with it did form a kind of community. A few weeks in, one student linked to a tribute song (“I Turn to You, Coursera”) on YouTube from the online forum. A Japanese version soon followed.

The course had its flaws. I did not get much out of videos in which teaching assistants “modeled” how to discuss the music. The production values were pitiful, with the professor displaying photos too small to see of her gumboot dancing time in South Africa or gesticulating like an inexperienced weatherman trying to point to the correct area on a map. And I was very aware of the potential for cheating, a common objection to online learning.

The final — 100 multiple-choice questions mostly taken verbatim from quizzes embedded in the lecture videos — took about 25 minutes. But the allotted time was 90 minutes, giving anyone so inclined a solid hour to look up answers on Google. And after complaints on the discussion forum about computer glitches and schedule problems, everyone got a second, then third, chance to take the final.

Often, I wished for more music and less politically correct discussion of exploitation, ethical music sampling and authenticity. And when the professor asked whether the Buena Vista Social Club’s “museumification” of a past era of Cuban music advanced or impeded our understanding of Cuba under Fidel Castro, it was good that she was not there to hear me yell “Who cares?”

But on balance, the seven-week course was mind-opening, a door to a new ethnomusicology adventure each week: sounds of Central African pygmies, Australian aborigines or South African bushmen. And long after the course ended, I am still working — on the subway, in the shower — on producing that growly Tuvan sound.