School Board Representatives

Tonight we had the pleasure of listening to a discussion by two members of the Decorah school board. I never really knew what a school boards functions were, so it was very interesting. I learned they really only have two functions:(1)Create policies (2)Hire the superintendent. However this takes up a good amount of time and should not be looked down upon.

Many questions were asked regarding their views on the NCLB act, and their answers were fascinating. It was refreshing to finally hear some good things being said about the whole policy. They feel as though the Decorah school district has truly embraced NCLB and it has worked in many positive ways for the teachers and students. True, it makes things a little more costly, but in the end, they are evaluating and have a more solid ground to work from when creating policies and putting teachers into classrooms.

Jim brought up the rising concern of the United States falling behind in academics, compared to many eastern cultures. Immediatley I was annoyed. I hate bringing so much competition into education. However, I really enjoyed the response given. Eastern countries grow children to be academically sound, and that is about it. In the United States there is more focus on the student as a whole. We create more well-rounded people. Academics, social connections, and activities are all stressed as important, instead of only one main focus in academics.

All around, the discussion went very well, and kept my attention. It gave me hope for the schools I will soon be teaching in!

Debate on Education Proposal

Tonight we had a mock town meeting, discussing the opinions different groups in the community have on a new education proposal.

Each group stood and shared their arguments for or against the proposal. Let's just say: it got a little heated.

I appreciated the debate because it was nice to hear that many of my classmates agreed with how I feel about education. Generally, most of us disagreed with the proposal. I feel that teachers need to be accountable for what they are teaching, which means there must be some form of assessment given. However, the pressure should not be on the students, because there are so many variables to how each individual student will react.

I left the lecture feeling frustrated, not knowing what Knick and Langholz actually believe about the proposal. I guess at this point, it doesn't really matter what they believe because as an individual I've already chosen my beliefs.