Mike

    Whose Interests Should Schools Serve         Michael McNulty-Bobholz   <span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman','serif'; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%;"> <span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman','serif'; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%;"> <span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman','serif'; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%;"> <span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman','serif'; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%;"> <span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman','serif'; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%;"> <span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman','serif'; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%;">Contemporary Education Issues <span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman','serif'; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%;">Education 610 <span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman','serif'; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%;">Dr. Patricia Williams <span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman','serif'; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%;">January 25, 2011

<span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman','serif'; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 200%;"> As discussed in the textbook, // Critical Issues in Education //, current issues within our educational system rely on a spectrum of political and educational viewpoints. Within the spectrum, there are egalitarians, liberals, conservatives and elitists. Each one of these viewpoints is critical in order to explain our political and educational environment. Although inactive in the political arena, I consider myself a liberal within the educational field. <span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman','serif'; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 200%;"> As a liberal, I am not afraid of government involvement. I know that government involvement is critical in order to, as mentioned in the textbook, “…achieve every desirable aim” (Nelson, Palonsky, & McCarthy, 2010, p. 41). These aims, best described as dreams or aspirations, are not only limited to our American freedoms, but include matters of equity and justice such as our social and civil rights and responsibilities. <span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman','serif'; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 200%;"> As an educator, I believe that government regulations continue to improve the current state of affairs within education. If not for governmental policies such as No Child Left Behind, schools would have little motivation to achieve more or seek out new alternatives in order to meet AYP or other educational standards. I learned this early in my career as a teacher within the Head Start program. As a governmental agency, Headstart challenged school districts to improve the status quo. As a result, school districts are able to identify learning disabilities much earlier in the children’s schooling and currently Head Start and the Early Childhood programs have begun sharing classrooms and employing a team teaching approach. <span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman','serif'; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 200%;"> As a liberal, I become frustrated when individuals choose to live by the status quo. Our culture encourages people to take the quickest and easiest route. We want instant gratification instead of putting in the effort. However, I have seen first hand how governmental interventions have changed how educational agencies function. Government interactions should be viewed positively and encouraged as much as possible.

=  Bibliography    = Nelson, J. L., Palonsky, S., & McCarthy, M. R. (2010). //Critical Issues in Education: Dialogues and Dialectics// (7th ed.). New York, New York, USA: McGraw-Hill. <span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman','serif'; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%;"> <span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman','serif'; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%;"> <span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman','serif'; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%;"> <span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman','serif'; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%;"> <span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman','serif'; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%;">School Choice: Family or Public Funding <span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman','serif'; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%;"> <span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman','serif'; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%;"> <span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman','serif'; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%;"> <span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman','serif'; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%;"> <span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman','serif'; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%;"> <span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman','serif'; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%;"> <span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman','serif'; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%;"> <span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman','serif'; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%;">Michael McNulty-Bobholz <span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman','serif'; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%;"> <span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman','serif'; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%;"> <span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman','serif'; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%;"> <span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman','serif'; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%;"> <span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman','serif'; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%;"> <span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman','serif'; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%;">Contemporary Education Issues <span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman','serif'; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%;">Education 610 <span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman','serif'; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%;">Dr. Patricia Williams <span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman','serif'; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%;">January 25, 2011

<span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman','serif'; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 200%;"> “Families’ financial situations, not their commitments to their children, determine the amount of educational choice they have…If a family lives where that match does not exist, and they cannot afford to move to a better district, their relative poverty deprives them of the freedom to choose their children’s school” (Nelson, Palonsky, & McCarthy, 2010, p. 54). Although not support by the previous Pennsylvania Governor Ed.Rendell, a school voucher program would be ideal for an urban school district like Philadelphia instead of the current practice of parents not being heard by school administrators and “past the prime” teachers. The voice of the family would finally be heard and help support the functions of the educational team. <span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman','serif'; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 200%;"> In today’s economy, the family unit has a multitude of financial pressures that truly affect the family unit. According to the 2000 census, the median income of a family in Philadelphia was $30,746, with Hispanic and African American families collecting a median income between $8,969 - $13,145 (Median Household Income by Age, 2007). This limited income has to cover household and medical expenses as well as possible childcare expenses necessary for parents to work. In the current economic times, individuals have either lost their jobs or have not had an increase in their standard of living expenses even though daily expenses such as food and gas continue to increase dramatically. <span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman','serif'; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 200%;"> The current practice in the Philadelphia school system is to rely on the parents to seek services outside the school. Parents become lost in the medical and social service arena with little or no direction from the experts within the school. For example, the school requested that my son, who has high functioning autism, have a shadow during transition periods of the day. Although both parents offered to come in and help with transitions, the principal requested to seek services through the local medicare program in order for the school to be paid for such services. The shadowing was done by a community person who had no college degree and insisted that my son needed to be more organized. During a recent Individual Education Plan discussion, I was asked to sign a form allowing the school to submit a request for payment for any outstanding services; despite the fact that shadowing is no longer needed. <span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman','serif'; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 200%;"> Consumer satisfaction would definitely change if the voucher system was put into effect. Currently, the family attending the local public school has only two alternatives: provide homeschooling in which one of the parents would need to stop working or pay the tution to the school of choice and go into further debt. Although I reside in Northeast Philadelphia, our family has contemplated a move to a district that would provide our son with better programs in place to handle his disabilities. Unfortunately, our current financial situation does not allow for this option. <span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman','serif'; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 200%;"> The voucher system would force schools to run like a business by listening to their consumers, parents, and providing a quality product, well-rounded, intelligent students who will live the American Dream. The teachers, administrators, support staff and families will need to work as a unified team. Counselors, teachers and school administrators would no longer talk down to parents. The legitimacy of any problem would not be questioned as each student would be viewed as a possible gain or loss of income for the school. Unlike other areas in Pennsylvania, Philadelphia does have the mass transportation system that could support a voucher program and allow students to choose from an array of schools from religious to trade institutions. <span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman','serif'; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 200%;"> Implementation of the voucher program would not be without problems. Most importantly, students are the key to the voucher program. Student need to have the willingness and desire to learn. If the desire to learn is there, the voucher system will take our families in Philadelphia to places never thought possible. <span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman','serif'; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 200%;"> =  Bibliography    = //Median Household Income by Age.// (2007). Retrieved January 22, 2011, from ePodunk Inc: http://www.epodunk.com/cgi-bin/incomeOverview.php?locIndex=14656 Nelson, J. L., Palonsky, S., & McCarthy, M. R. (2010). //Critical Issues in Education: Dialogues and Dialectics// (7th ed.). New York, New York, USA: McGraw-Hill. <span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman','serif'; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%;"> <span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman','serif'; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%;"> <span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman','serif'; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%;"> <span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman','serif'; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%;"> <span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman','serif'; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%;">Financing Schools: Equity or Disparity <span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman','serif'; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%;"> <span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman','serif'; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%;"> <span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman','serif'; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%;"> <span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman','serif'; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%;"> <span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman','serif'; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%;"> <span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman','serif'; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%;"> <span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman','serif'; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%;"> <span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman','serif'; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%;">Michael McNulty-Bobholz <span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman','serif'; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%;"> <span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman','serif'; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%;"> <span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman','serif'; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%;"> <span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman','serif'; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%;"> <span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman','serif'; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%;"> <span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman','serif'; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%;">Contemporary Education Issues <span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman','serif'; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%;">Education 610 <span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman','serif'; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%;">Dr. Patricia Williams <span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman','serif'; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%;">January 25, 2011

<span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman','serif'; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 200%;"> In the words of our textbook’s authors, “The goal of those who established the American public school system was to provide education for all American children in a way that all those who benefited from their training would share the financial cost” (Nelson, Palonsky, & McCarthy, 2010, p. 61). The question to be answered is who exactly should pay the bill for the American Dream. Current practices in Philadelphia cannot remain the same. Centralized funding through the state needs to be instated in order to repair the inequality that students in the Philadelphia School system receive versus the suburban school districts. <span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman','serif'; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 200%;"> The local government currently determines the funding for the education of our youth. Although out dated, the statics from 2005 -2006 indicate that the Philadelphia school system spends approxiately $11,078 per student in comparison to the median of $13,205 (School Spending Per Student in Southeastern Pennsylvania, 2007). Although minimal, the city of Philadelphia has failed to address the current loophole of uncollected school funding stemming from property tax abatements. According to Dr. Kevin Gillen, Econsult Vice President and Wharton Research Fellow at the University of Pennsylvania, as of August 2008, there were 8,951 such abated properties in Philadelphia (2008, p. 3). Since these properties are excluded from the allocated money used to educate our youth, the Philadelphia School system lost approxiately $99,159,178, with the cost per student in 2005-2006 equaling $11,078 (School Spending Per Student in Southeastern Pennsylvania, 2007). This money could definitely have been used effectively by teachers and administrators if transferred equally throughout the state. <span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman','serif'; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 200%;"> Differential spending on each student’s education does not only affect the student, but also future educational opportunities one pursues. This is quite evident in a small urban university such as Holy Family University. Students come from various tracks and academic programs from the many districts in and around Philadelphia. It is assumed that students will vary in knowledge, skills and awareness of social issues. In the last few years, professors have mentioned that students are typically underprepared and thus the programs or courses needed to be modified to better meet the needs of the students. Additional remedial programs have become necessary, often supported through grants as well as life-skill programs such as First-Year. The goal is for student’s to seek the necessary services soon rather than later in their college years. <span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman','serif'; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 200%;"> The textbook’s antagonistic position remarked that corruption would become rampant if large sums of money were to be given to schools in the poor neighborhoods. Not only limited to Philadelphia, corruption has no boundaries. People have been charged and prosecuted for corruption of money in the state, federal and local goverments. Individuals have been indited in small communities as well as various social service agencies. Unlike local governmental agencies, state programs have many more “checks and balances” mechanisms in place than the current local programs. For example, the state of Wisconsin funds various Head Start programs throughout the entire state, in addition to the federal sponsored programs. If a Head Start program is state funded, the director of the program submits periodical operation reports to the Wisconsin Department of Public Instruction. In addition, program site visits are performed periodically often with little or no notice. In contrast, federal programs submit no additional paperwork, except for the traditional Head Start paperwork completed in both state and federal programs, and would experience a site visit every 10 years as an overall program evaluation. <span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman','serif'; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 200%;"> I truly believe that a state run program would not be anything worse than the current situation. It is the American Dream to have an education that will take one into whatever fields an individual wishes to pursue. Unless changes are made, Philadelphia will remain behind the suburbs school districts. <span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman','serif'; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 200%;"> =  Bibliography    = Kevin Gillen, P. (2008, August). //PHILADELPHIA’S TEN-YEAR TAX ABATEMENT.// Retrieved January 22, 2011, from Econsult: http://www.econsult.com/articles/041609_Abatement.pdf Nelson, J. L., Palonsky, S., & McCarthy, M. R. (2010). //Critical Issues in Education: Dialogues and Dialectics// (7th ed.). New York, New York, USA: McGraw-Hill. //School Spending Per Student in Southeastern Pennsylvania.// (2007, Summer). Retrieved January 22, 2011, from Philadelphia Public School: The Notebook: http://www.thenotebook.org/summer-2007/07106/school-spending-student-southeastern-pennsylvania <span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman','serif'; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 200%;"> <span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman','serif'; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 200%;">