School Choice

Education Reform

My whole life I have been frustrated when things are not they way that I think they should be. I started a life long habit of sharing my political beliefs with a letter to the school cooks that included less than profound poetry on the quality of food served to us in the cafeteria. The letter got me kicked out of the lunch line for 1 week. A letter to my teacher on the effectiveness of her method started a back and forth corresponded into different teaching philosophy that lead me to Ivan Illich and his book De-schooling Society. This experience in 9th grade with a thick skinned English teacher lead me to a work on the details of how my school would work better whenever I became annoyed with something a teacher did brainstorm with myself new ways of addressing the problems.

I had plans of going into schooling, but in the back of my mind I could hear my uncle saying, how can you teach others how to make it in the world, until you have?

Possible Ideas for Schools

Bill or Rights

1. No student has to do anything for a grade, that does not further his education.
2. Students, if treated incorrectly have a right to trial by peers.

Schools and Business

1. Schools should embrace Businesses as partners.
2. Schools must embrace the virtues of a competitive market place. Much of the world's knowledge is locked up in Businesses. Businesses have a lot to offer schools, and schools have a lot to offer businesses. Businesses would benefit by cooperating with schools by having bragging rights, advertisement rights, recruiting rights.
3. Kids need to know that they are going to have to fit into a business atmosphere. Business leaders could give students encouragement to gain a better education.
4. Teachers must be familiar with the business world.
5. Schools should let business people from the community teach classes, weather they have a teacher's certificate or not.
6. Set up an exchange system with businesses where teachers go to work for businesses some times, and business people come in and teach
7. We should let businesses advertise on anything that they donate. We are not communists. For instance

*Paper, Pencils, Chairs, Computers.

*Have a list of things the school needs.

Libraries

Ideas:

1. Schools should have a place where people can just study a subject. Provide a test and let them get credit for a class.
2. Let students stay in library to study after school. Announce. Ask teachers to be all together to, if they have to stay after school. Provide music. Teachers can grade papers, detintion. Let them use computers. Let star-bucks go on the schools, were people hang out and talk.

Test:

Ideas:

1. Have a section of info they will have to know. Easy things that everyhone has got to understand. Could tell them befor hand what they would have to know

Teachers

1. Teachers can all stay together in their own corner, or they can stay so kids can talk to them. They can bring music, food, ext.