Barack Obama and the Fight for Public Education

2009 ◽  
Vol 79 (2) ◽  
pp. 385-395 ◽  
Author(s):  
William Ayers

In this essay, William Ayers calls for a more vital and effective public education system,one guided by the basic democratic principle that all human beings are of incalculable and irreducible value. Ayers argues that to achieve such a system we must reclaim schools from the industrial model of the twentieth century and build classrooms that respond to the broad and complex needs of the actual students who arrive at the schoolhouse door. Stories of the 2008 election punctuate his argument about the urgency of seizing this moment to disrupt the dominant framework defining public education reform. He calls on each of us to promote an alternative discourse as we simultaneously challenge and assist the Obama administration in envisioning and creating schools that more authentically reflect the ideals of a democracy.

2006 ◽  
Vol 76 (4) ◽  
pp. 461-473 ◽  
Author(s):  
ROD PAIGE

In this essay, former secretary of education Rod Paige depicts the No Child Left Behind Act (NCLB) as the culmination of more than half a century of urgent but largely unheeded calls for reform of the nation's public education system. He explains the rationale for the design of NCLB and responds to several criticisms of the legislation, including the notion that it is a one-size-fits-all mandate and that its improvement targets are unrealistic. He further argues that the nation's public schools must become more responsive to the needs of students and their families in order to remain viable. Finally, he contends that subsequent reauthorizations should stay true to NCLB's original goal of holding school systems accountable for equipping all students with the academic skills on which America's future depends.


2021 ◽  
Vol 13 (3) ◽  
pp. 29
Author(s):  
Ageila Ali Elabbar

Primarily based on the strategic pillars presented in the essential plan titled: "National Libyan Public Education Reform: Entire Transformative Strategies 2020–2026" (Published: November 2017), which proposed comprehensive bases for reforming Libyan public education as a reflection on the problems that the whole Libyan public/private education system have faced due to still-existing circumstances. It divided the entire reform strategy into six years of definite procedures designed to solve the revealed problems through gradual, ongoing actions. This essential plan was followed by a detailed executive paper on the same reverence plan titled "Contextualizing the First Two Years of the Libyan Education Reform Proposed Strategies (2020–2026): Targeted Candidates and Reflective Activities" (Published: May 2018), which explained in detail the projected (Phase I) actions of the first two years of the plan. (Phase II) of applying such a plan was explained in a paper titled "Employing the Subsequent Four Years of the Libyan Education Reform Strategy: Administrations and Contributors" (Published: January 2019), which extensively described the four executive years of the reform strategy with considerations to the constitutional laws or the existing educational regulations in the country.This associated project aimed to obtain a deeper understanding and awareness of the consequences and variables resulting from the remaining state instability for over (10) years (2011-2021) in general, and from (2017-2021) in particular, along with an assessment of the impacts of the coronavirus (COVID-19) on the whole educational system in Libya. This comprehensive work is a result of (16) months of field qualitative study (&), which predominantly depended on the pillars of the suggested plan to professionally determine whether the projected National Reform Plan for the entire Libyan education system is still valuable to apply, or if it needs to be modified, developed, or even changed in some of its aspects or in one/all its phases. The significance of obtaining this field work emerged after the increase of great challenges that revealed problems faced by/facing the entire State of Libya: for instance, the effects of civil wars, a prolonged time of sharp institutional division (East and West), and a tremendous deficit (damage) in most education infrastructures and interferences, in addition to the almost non-existence of QAs, CPD, research, technology, and teaching facilities inside public schools, universities, and even in the vocational sector. This is in addition to the deep effects of the continued lack of a clear policy of education and the approximate non-existence of a clear and authentic Vision, Mission, and Goals (VMG) or sequenced tactics of leadership and lifelong learning for educators, inspectors, social workers, education administrators, TAs, and university lecturers, etc.This field study uncovered profound problems in the entire Libyan education system, which might lead to a complete collapse or major failures if it remains as it is now. It also re-verified the still-valued proposed National Libyan Public Education Reform (NLPER) strategy in combination with contemporary innovative concepts, added stakeholders, and developed tactical leadership philosophies and active crisis management techniques, all to be contained in a developed (7) years of reform strategy and tactics instead of the (6) suggested years, which will immediately take place (the updated Reform Plan) as a response to the findings of this study.


1997 ◽  
Vol 11 (4) ◽  
pp. 426-442 ◽  
Author(s):  
Thomas R. Guskey ◽  
Ben R. Oldham

Comprehensive education reforms are crafted by legislators and policy makers to address multiple aspects of the public education system. Although individual components of such initiatives may appear promising, little thought typically is given to inconsistencies that may result from implementing multiple reform components simultaneously. This article describes some of the unintended consequences that have come about as a result of inconsistencies between and within components in Kentucky's systemic education reform. It is argued that policy makers must give serious attention to these inconsistencies and their consequences for modern reform efforts to succeed in bringing about the improvements for which they are intended.


2021 ◽  
Vol 4 (7) ◽  
pp. 34-43
Author(s):  
Muysin Dusaliev ◽  

The article highlights the problems and needs of the population for education as a result of the concentration of the Soviet government on the formation of a public education system in the spirit of its socialist ideas by creating new Soviet schools and increasing their number.In November 1918,the Soviet government of Turkestan decided to separate church from state and school from church. Although the existing private old religious schools were not completely banned by this decision, the creation of new Soviet schools and the increase in their number became more and more important. It is clear that this is a sign that the system is completely politicized. The schools were divided into two levels: the first level educational institutions included the first three classes, and the second level consisted of four classes. There was also a high school with three classes. Under the conditions of that time, more primary schools were opened in the country.This article discusses the current problem in the Soviet-era public education system under the Soviet government from 1994 to 1991, as well as the impact of this problem on today's education system


Author(s):  
Matías Sanfuentes ◽  
Matías Garretón ◽  
Juan Pablo Valenzuela ◽  
Rocío Díaz ◽  
Claudio Montoya

Chile is undertaking an ambitious public education reform, re-centralising the administration of municipal schools in larger territories. This reform is unprecedented, both for the size of the new intermediate-level services ( Servicios Locales de Educación Pública) and the escalation of their bureaucratic complexity, facing widespread organisational problems that cause high stress and labour suffering. We argue that improving emotional working conditions is necessary to accomplish pedagogical goals, but this dimension has received little attention. This article presents a follow-up study focused on school principals and professionals’ emotional and occupational experiences that have worked in the initial two-and-half years of one of the first Servicios Locales de Educación Pública created in the country. The qualitative analysis of interviews reveals how they make sense of organisational dilemmas while crafting solutions for facing structural shortcomings of new institutions. We understand their extraordinary commitment as ‘philanthropic emotional work’, driven by genuine care for children and the nation's future. However, in this effort, they also experience labour suffering and work overload, which may compromise their well-being and the long-term accomplishment of this reform's goals. These observations highlight the need for a reflexive improvement of this reform, recognising emotional work as a valuable resource but unsustainable without appropriate institutional support.


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