Here is an infographic with some stats on the state of the schools.  If you have concerns, the best thing you can do is contact your local school district officials and attend local school board meetings. Also, be sure to get adt home security; with all the drop outs wandering the streets, it’s likely you’ll need it.  They are all open to the public.

There are some cases when a person simply must resort to college loans, but if there is any other way around it, it’s preferable to avoid them whenever possible.  Students do not enjoy the same consumer protections as those who receive other types of loans.  Your best bet is to continue living at home during your college years, attend a community college with lower tuition and more grants and scholarships available, and then transfer to a college close enough to commute to and from.

For more reasons why student loans are evil, click to expand the graphic image below:

Success as an online student depends on matching the right people with the right opportunities. Self-motivation, flexibility, and a good work ethic are needed to make this a success. Virtual students have to be self-starters. That is something that can’t be argued, because non self starters just won’t make it in an environment where there is no one to give them guidance.

Participating in online learning opportunities is valuable as a credential for entering today’s marketplace. It conveys a sense of one’s ability to work in a world where technological literacy is not optional.  The competition is stiff out there for the best paying and most secure jobs, and students who have had little to no experience with online learning environments are less likely to have a good experience adapting to that lifestyle later in life, and are remarkably less likely to land jobs in technology related fields.

Computers aren’t going anywhere, but students who study online using them are all over the place.  The statistics can’t say too much in favor of a strong background in distance learning experiences and the practical use of tech from social media to office suites.  Using the technology all around us is what sets great students apart from the ones who will likely end up in dead end, low paying jobs with little opportunity for advancement.

How do you encourage your youngster to get excited about online learning?  Make it part of their life from an early age, then help them to follow through as they grow.  Even if your local school district doesn’t have any virtual classroom opportunities, you can find them elsewhere online to keep your student in the loop.

One headline we shouldn’t be reading this week is more information about how teachers, administrators (such as principles and their assistants, and even district level leaders,) and even state Department of Education employees have cheated their schools into false success on the standardized tests that are required by the federal No Child Left Behind law.  Standardized tests are one of the most crucial and controversial means of measuring a student’s progress.  They are often inappropriately used to judge a teacher’s competence, a school district’s  success or a state’s commitment to the educational goals outlined by the federal government. Unfortunately, these tests are often not reflective of any of those things.

Teachers cheat as well as principals, according to some academic studies. Why this happens and how frequently are unknown, and the punishment varies from state to state, as do the tests themselves.  In some cases, cheating may cost school districts in terms of money spent for retesting, or through the loss of jobs by officials who have been deemed guilty of such ethical violation.

Because teachers mostly proctor their own students’ tests, it can be a real temptation for some educators to “help” some students out.  Although many state laws require an extra, volunteer proctor from outside the school system be present, there are hardly enough volunteers to help with this.

There are many reasons why students get to the end of the school year, and find they do not possess adequate knowledge to pass the controversial standardized tests, for which, by the way, there are no nationally established standards or methods for teaching.  It seems a very futile fight indeed, to hold students accountable for instruction they are likely not even receiving, and to expect teachers to impartially stand by while students are subjected to two to four hour testing sessions in each major subject at the end of each school year, truly lost and ill prepared.  One theory is that in an effort to maintain high standards that come with federal dollars, many school districts are assisted by state departments of education in “Teaching the Test” rather than educating students.  The real losers here are the students.

It’s already July, and for many school students across the country, summer has been well under way since the second week of June.  With nearly a month out of school, one thing on every teacher’s mind and, hopefully, the minds of some concerned parents as well, is the question:  are the children reading enough during summer break?  By this time of the summer, unless some daily reading was scheduled from the beginning, the answer is probably “no.”  That doesn’t mean there’s no hope for getting back on track, however.  This is definitely one of those better late than never scenarios.  Here are some facts to help motivate you to keep your kids reading during the rest of summer.

One of the most reliable indicators of whether a child will return to school in the fall ahead of his grade level, or having falling behind, is the frequency of summer reading. Children who own their own books read more during the summer than children who borrow books from the public library, and there is some indication emerging that students who own e-books that can be read on tablets and iPod touches are more likely to read than students who own traditional books.

The summer reading that is most often lost, also referred to as a summer reading setback, is a problem for children in low income families. As much as three months of reading achievement is lost by theses low income students between June and September of each year on average, while students in middle class family environments tend to stay about the same.  This could be a factor relative to the ownership of books theory posited above, so purchasing personal books for low income children might help reduce the amount of setback faced by these students.

Reading outside of school is essential to building a successful relationship with books.  If children get the idea early in life that reading is an experienced confined to academic environments, they will continue to live that way themselves and will be less likely to read unless they feel it is required.  This means less reading for recreation, and less chance of pursuing one’s own interests through reading.  Some students may be interested in learning more about various types of herbal incense, for instance, as an introduction to a possible vocation in homeopathic medicine — but because she only reads in a school setting, she might never branch out and discover this on her own.

So keep the kids reading all summer for a more successful fall.

One on one learning. In today’s world, schools are seriously overcrowding. Students do not receive proper one on one time with instructors, and it’s surely not the fault of the teacher. Some children do not need a whole lot of attention to take in what is being taught, yet there are many children that require extra time and attention to take it all in. When a student is in an online setting, then it feels like it is more of a one on one environment.

On pace learning. People learn at different paces. It is impossible to say that all children learn the same things in the same time period, and online learning makes it easier for advanced children to move on, and those who need to spend some extra time on things can do so. It also helps to eliminate distractions which may be the main reason that a child falls behind in the first place.

No bullying. Bullying is serious, and thankfully more and more people are standing up against it in order to help to prevent it. If your child is still fearful of bullying, then an online classroom environment may be the very best place for him or her to learn. That way they do not have to be a victim or witness bullying first hand.

There are still activities. Many people do not know that online public schools for students from kindergarten to a seniors in high school can still participate in activities even though they attend school online. Sports, arts, and other clubs are available regardless of whether they go to seated classes or attend through an online outlet.

Honestly I’ve always wondered the same thing. I know that I don’t care if the students have their phones or mp3 players as long as they are on silent and the mp3s are only used during long tests or something constructive. I can’t stand to have quiet around me so even I have a radio I like to turn on from time to time to just get rid of the insanely quiet atmosphere. The students never seem to mind my rules as they don’t really have a choice and a single student messes it up for everyone if they disobey them. That seems to get them to enforce the rules themselves. Nothing is worse than when kids can’t eat/drink/chew gum/listen to music during tests or anything else because one student doesn’t listen when I told him to do something.

So far, since I have set things up, I have had a spotless classroom because in order to pack up 5 minutes early they need to clean their desks and immediate floor around it. If they want music during the hour+ tests then they have to have a CD player or viewer-less mp3 player that you can pick up from any store for about $10 so there is no chance of cheating. If they want to be able to eat, drink, and chew gum they have to have something that doesn’t drop powder or crumbs. Drink has to be in a sealable bottle. And gum must not be seen while chewing and needs to be placed in a waste bin afterwards, that seems to cut down on both the amount of gum under chairs and hearing the gum chomping.

If they break the rules the first time they get a warning. The second time they lose privileges for the day. Third time they lose privileges for the week. They have never broken the rules the forth time and because of that I have become the teacher of the year. Not only can I keep my students in line better and get better results out of them but I also have their respect and affection.

Sarah Johnson, a concerned parent of NC school children, expresses it best:  ”It means our kids are going to get left behind. More kids in a classroom means less attention from the teacher, and students are going in with more and more problems than ever before.  How is this going to work?  Aren’t North Carolina schools already in enough trouble?”

Johnson makes a good point.  Concern continues to mount about the future of our nation’s brightest kids, since they are the ones most commonly overlooked in public schools anyway.

“We are living in an age, in the public schools, where bright students are not adequately challenged but students who might be better suited for technical tracks are given disproportionate attention.  The pressure is on to show growth in these students, and unfortunately that means the bright ones — the doctors, scientists, and humanitarians of the future, will be a little dimmer than those of generations past.”  This quote comes from a concerned educator who will not be named.

Kaye McGarry, a fiscally conservative Charlotte-Mecklenburg School Board member, believes the state budget is at least heading the right way, if not getting there.

“I think the state’s done a very good job and we need to live within our means,” said McGarry Saturday.

Among the education budget cuts outlined by the state:

• $13.3 from dropout prevention programs
• $42 million for instructional supplies
• $92.2 million from textbook purchases
• unspecified amounts from staff development, student testing, and support programs including counselors and school sanitation workers.

Perhaps the budget cuts in North Carolina are representative of endemic cuts across the nation — a nation with no common standards for educational proficiency.  It is time for change.  Many educators and parents alike would love to see more choices in the form of education students have available to them.

“Charter schools are a good idea,” said James Gaston, III. “People in public education, public schools, balk at that.  But it’s the truth.  We need more choices, more private schools that parents from all kinds of backgrounds can have access to for their kids.  If that means government funding of private schools, then that’s what it means.”

Charters are a controversial topic in education.  It will be interesting to see where we are one year from now with budget cuts and other issues.

• 47% of teachers have their Master’s degree or higher which is probably higher than you yet they receive a salary that is probably half what yours is.
• The average ratio of kids in the schools around here is 25 students to 1 teacher. When is the last time you not only watched but cared for and taught 25 kids?
• 11% of the students in the US don’t even speak English. That must make spelling and grammar classes difficult, huh?
• 33% of teachers let the schools know that the building and it’s structural problems interfere with your kid’s education. There isn’t enough money to keep the schools maintained or even provide proper AC during the hottest days recorded lately. Therefor nothing is done but delaying your kids or giving them a pass to go on even without knowing a thing.
• 9% of students in the US drop out in high school and you let them. That’s after you give us your 2cents worth about them being geniuses.
• There is an increased rate of schools simply closing down because they can’t meet the needs of anyone with a budget that doesn’t account for anything but second hand books in a second hand library with under payed teachers that get more stressed out each day with the possibility of losing their livelihood.
• Teachers have the Single most stressful job in the world. It has been quoted as such for the past 10 years. Each year is worse than the last because as you decrease what can be used to educate your kids and increase how many kids each teacher has to educate you decrease their chances of getting the material and decrease their chances of becoming anything in life.

The world is truly becoming the survival of the fittest as only the kids who have a drive to learn and a drive to figure things out with minimal guidance needed from a teacher will be able to pass in the near future. I hope your kids are truly geniuses, for their sake–like you keep screaming they are–because if they aren’t they will fail and the world will gradually get dumber and dumber. Teacher should be able to afford luxuries like cable internet bundles and fancy vacations. After all, they deserve it!