Death threat as a motivation technique
May 23rd, 2008
No charges will be brought against New Braunfels Middle School Principal John Burks for allegedly threatening to kill a group of science teachers if their students’ standardized test scores failed to improve, although all four teachers at the meeting told police investigators Burks made the statement.
Now imagine if some student at the school had said something along the same lines in a writing assignment. We would be hearing about zero tolerance all over the place. The student would be out of the regular classroom so fast it would make your head spin.
The sad part about this is that I bet if a mere, ordinary teacher were to have made some similar statement, he or she would be treated more like the student rather than the principle.
Honor Program Options
April 23rd, 2008
In general, I don’t think “starting off” at a community college to get a four year degree is a good idea for most people. This isn’t necessarily a criticism of the education quality at community colleges but rather a recognition that unless a student is especially focused and motivated, his or her chances for graduation are slim. However, a recent story in the Express-News reminded me that for many, the community college may be the only viable option.
Nonetheless, San Antonio College only has a 11.7% graduation rate for a four year degree in six years. If you find yourself at SAC for financial reasons (and the tuition is significantly lower than that of four year institutions) take advantage of the Presidential Honors Program.
A limited number of students are selected for this program every fall and spring semester. High school applicants are evaluated on the basis of high school GPA and class rank, SAT and/or ACT test scores, teacher recommendations and weight of academic load (number of math, science, social science, and humanities courses). Selected students are given a full scholarship (tuition and books). Those entering the program then take a mix of honors courses, contract courses, and regular courses to fulfill the requirements of the Honors program and of the students’ major. Graduates of the program can enter degree programs at universities in any field. The Honors program also helps place its students in universities and often can help students gain scholarship continuations into the Junior and Senior year.
Such a program is one way to get the attention and support you need to make it to the four year college. Some community colleges actually have agreements with other colleges where students in their honors programs can directly transfer into the four year university’s program. And given the graduation rate at some four year colleges, the honors programs is another way to prevent falling through the cracks.
The University of Texas at San Antonio’s six year graduation rate is only 30.2% compared to 75.1% for the University of Texas at Austin. Surely, however, the students in UTSA’s honors programs must have a higher graduation rate? Furthermore, the eligibility requirements for UTSA’s Honros College aren’t exactly daunting: graduation in the top 20%, ACT of 24, SAT (M+V) 1100.
I suppose this comes across as a back-handed compliment to the programs. Don’t get me wrong, I firmly believe that you can get a great education at either of these schools. But you would certainly be maximizing your resources if you pursued the honors options available at less selective schools.
Unfortunately, these programs can be hard to find. The honors program link shows up after the second click on the UT Austin website. It takes four clicks on the UTSA page and that’s only if you know to click on “Student Information Bulletin” and then “Admission to Colleges and Special Programs.” As for the program at SAC, so far I’ve only found it by doing a search on the website. I don’t know what links into it. Maybe it’s the administration’s way of keeping down enrollment.
In any case, for all those students who aren’t likely to get into UT Austin because of the top ten percent rule, there are probably some excellent honor programs which would serve them just as well.
What is being taught? What is being learned?
April 21st, 2008
Students at Medina Valley High School in Castroville say more of them spent the day in in-school suspension than in class because they chose to wear the color green to school after being told not to.
So now we know what’s important to students and that the school administration is more than capable of making a mountain out of a molehill.
“I wore green because they told me, ‘well, you can’t wear green’ and seeing as how wearing green is not against the rules, I’m gonna do it just to make you mad,” Holloway said.
Some suggested links for the students and administration:
Doing the math
April 15th, 2008
As a homeschooler, I know that money isn’t everything in education but it as Jaime Castillo points out, it certainly helps.
The 10-campus UC system, which is considered by some as the nation’s best collection of public research institutions, has five medical centers, three national laboratories, and Berkley and UCLA.
The UT System includes nine universities and six health science institutions. It has an annual operating budget of $10.7 billion.
With fewer campuses to feed, the annual budget in the California system is $18 billion.
You do the math.
How long do you think it will take the people of Texas to realize that sometimes, government spending is actually an investment? Even if UT Austin didn’t have to use the top ten percent rule, sooner or later, simply because of population growth in the suburbs of Dallas and Houston, the school would run out of space for all those who want to be admitted. What would the parents have done then?
Let me guess, if gpas are the same, preference would be given to applicants who attended the public school that spent more money per pupil. That should get them what they want and justify their higher home prices. If nothing else, I bet none of them would be blaming themselves for not demanding that their legislators increase state support for higher education.
From www.CollegeResults.org
Six year graduation rates for undergraduates
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