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Nebraska was among 40 states to recently submit an application to the U.S. Department of Education for a portion of the federal Race to the Top funding available to help states advance academic learning.
Nebraska's proposal was developed by my office along with Commissioner of Education, Dr. Roger Breed, and his staff. We worked closely with superintendents, teachers, parents, school board members, and others in developing our proposal. It outlined projects that fit within our long range vision for strengthening education in Nebraska.
Nebraska has a more coordinated group working together on education issues than ever before. The Nebraska P-16 Initiative is one coalition involving business and education leaders and policy makers who are helping address a number of goals for improving education.
We are making progress. In mid-January, the State Board of Education and I approved the first update to Nebraska's high school graduation requirements in more than 25 years. The changes strengthen core curriculum requirements so that every Nebraska high school student graduating completes a more rigorous curriculum with a minimum of four years of English and three years of math, science and social studies.
Updating graduation requirements ensures that by the 2014-15 school year, every school district will meet this standard. The new requirements urge school districts set higher, more rigorous expectations for students.
Nebraska's Race to the Top proposal was drafted to help make progress on a number of education priorities that include: helping Nebraska students reach higher levels of academic achievement, dramatically reducing learning gaps, and ensuring more of our students graduate from high school and attend college in Nebraska.
One idea outlined in our Race to the Top application is to create a Nebraska Virtual High School. The University of Nebraska-Lincoln has an excellent independent study program that we hope to build on by creating a more interactive and dynamic online menu of classes ranging from foreign languages to advanced math and science courses. A virtual high school could help engage students who learn better outside the classroom, in addition to helping students ready to move at a faster pace by providing access to advanced placement and college-level courses.
The first phase of Race to the Top funding will be announced in April. In the meantime, I want to encourage teachers, parents and education leaders across the state to consider the opportunities available today to transform our schools and provide a better education to Nebraska students.
One example is that while the demands placed on students have changed dramatically in the past 100 years, our American education system continues to rely upon a century-old school calendar. Examining ways to change school schedules and calendars in order to give students more learning time is a worthy endeavor. Other areas for reform include: seeking to involve parents in school and classroom learning, lowering student truancy rates, providing college students with a shorter path to graduation, and redirecting resources to make student achievement a top funding priority.
I want to thank everyone who worked on Nebraska's Race to the Top application. Strengthening education will improve the opportunities available to our students, while also creating more economic opportunities for our state.
With the changes taking place in technology, communications and the ability to do business in countries around the world, now is the time to build an education system that meets the needs of modern students competing in this modern world.
Comments
Sir, If you desire to strengthen the Education System, and help develop better citizens, simply re-institute the requirement of teaching the Holy Bible, as a Social, and Moral Guide, much like the laws dictated back when Nebraska became a State.
You can feed the student all the leaves, and flowers from the top of the Education Bush, but if they do not have a sound Social and Moral Root System, they soon Wilt, lose their Spirit, Pride, and Luster.
In Service to Messiah, Jesus. Arley Steinhour
So you want a theocracy in place similar to Iran?
Teach whatever you want at home but it has no place in public schools. A better alternative would be vouchers and you can choose whatever school you want. A school big on theology go for it. I would prefer one big on science, math and economics. Others might prefer a more liberal arts approach. Simply giving people choice and competiton would do more for education than any federal goodie bag that has been taken from us half stripped away to feed huge burocracies and then a small portion returned.
So this is why the NE Legislature has re-writen the state truancy laws, is harassing ordinary families and good students after they've missed a mere five absences...and now with the addition of LB 463 which is making it's way through committee now the state will go even further diverting fifty percent of the Learning Community funds to the enforcement of truancy and law enforcement...and on and on!!!
From a parents perspective there are tons of unintended consequences that will come from this well meaning effort that could have serious effects on families. Our kids have practically no time at home as it is, and free time in a child's life is almost extinct in our "modern world". These types of education initiatives are not adding to the quality of our kids lives and education. I believe that the main reason America is "falling behind" is because of the breakdown of the american family. Kids drop out and get fail educationally when they have weak family support.
I feel like my parental rights are being stripped away in the name of modern progress and that family centered communities are a relic of the past. Kids who could explore and play and tumble around on the floor with mom are something you see in re-runs of Andy Griffin. What is happening too us? Is this what we want? Really, more school, more nanny state politics that presumes a "government knows best" role in our families.
I have had it! People talk about the days of American innovation and greatness as though they are days of the past and bemoan the sad condition of our education system, saying we can't produce the next Henry Ford or Edwin Hubble. Didn't the great american innovators come out of the Andy Griffin days when boys ran free for hours after school ankle deep in mud catching bullfrogs at the river banks.
This is America...what made us great will keep us great. The fuel has always been individualism and hard work built on the bed rock of strong family centered communities and a moral society. The greatness we're reaching for didn't come out of high tech high schools or ivy league halls, it comes from the solid character that is built in the halls of a happy home.
One of my favorite quotes, "One of the surest ways to recognize real education is by the fact that it doesn't cost very much, doesn't depend on expensive toys and gadgets. The experiences that produce it and the self awareness that propels it are nearly free." (John Taylor Gatto, "Dumbing Us Down")
The proposals made in this article sound good until you look at them under a magnifying glass and contemplate there implementation...and then what you see is the air being sucked our of our family life with no time left over for kids to "keep important appointments with themselves and their families to learn the lessons in self-motivation, perseverance, self-reliance, courage, dignity, and love -- and lessons in service to others, too which are among the key lessons of home and community life. Thirty years ago these lessons could still be learned in the time left over after school...Our kids have no time left to grow up fully human!"
To those that would say the Governor's plan is the best way to produce kids who can compete, and that we have no other options...I would say if that's true then we will certainly fail, because if the family continues to fail at this rate nothing else will matter much anyway. "No large scale educational reform is going to work until we repair our damaged children and our damaged society until we force open the idea of "school" to include family as the main engine of education. If we use schooling to break children away from parents -- then make no mistake -- we're going to continue to have the horror show we have right now."
..."The only thing that I have heard or seen of someone publicly shaming someone is when they call the CPS for someone chastising their child in public for bad behavior. Everyone knows that positive and negative social views, and morality is learned in the home, long before a child becomes an adult, and responsible for his or her own behavior.
Why is it today more then ever before, parents are publicly attacked and badgered for their role in teaching their children values, morality, and differences between right and wrong. If I see a mother swat her child on the rear for throwing a tantrum in Wal-Mart I say hooray for her. Time out once you get home is not working.
Everything starts at home. Sad thing is, it is very hard to have a parent at home to teach children during their free time in this day and age. Lifestyles today cost too much for a single income family to survive, so both parents are out breaking their backs all day, and coming home to their children, too tired to put forth full effort and attention. I commend those that are at home working with their children at all times, for they are the ones that are growing positive societies, one person at a time."...
This is a quote from an earlier topic about education. I agree with you Stephanie...It begins at home, people MUST give their children attention at home, if they do not, we will continue to go downhill.
It isn't about how much time kids have to learn in school, it is about, how much learning kids are being allowed during that time. How much quality teaching is happening during that time, and also, how much support parents are giving the teacher for those children that are not performing to expectation.
This is a quote I heard from a mother just the other day about her child. The child's teacher said he was not doing his homework in class when he was told to, so his punishment was 1 new worksheet every 10 minutes he did not do his homework; His mother said quote; "Well it is his responsibility to do his homework, so if he doesn't get it done that's his fault." She does not make him do his homework, and will not support the teacher in her quest to have him work in class, which is a critical part of learning.
There are too many children being raised by others today, and the sad thing about that is usually others have too many children on their hands to pay proper attention to each individual's needs.