Understanding and Applying Standards

When I started this module I was pretty clueless about standards, unpacking and backwards mapping and everything, but now I feel a lot more confident in my understanding of these strategies.  Since I have never taught before, it was all a little new to me.  I have experience in setting goals and making goals S.M.A.R.T., but not when it comes to providing those for a class.

When I found the standards I was looking for, they seemed pretty straight forward.   Since I am starting out as a PE teacher, standards aren’t too tough to meet and plan.  After unpacking the standard and backward mapping it, I found it was more in depth than I realized.  I really enjoyed going into more depth for the standards and actually planning what needs to be done to accomplish this standard. 

The unpacking of the standard helped me identify each part of the standard.  It also helped me analyze the verbiage that the standard used, which provides a base for what lessons should follow. The backwards mapping I really liked as well.  It breaks down the standard even further and helped me determine what I wanted the students to learn, and how to teach that.  It provides a full lesson plan to complete that standard, which is an important goal for a teacher.  The standard objectives were a little bit of a challenge for me.  With my standard, there’s only so much depth I can get into with 5^th graders.  I think it will depend on the class, but once I start reaching I will have a better idea of how deep I can take the subject.  Once I figured out how to write SMART objectives, I was able to determine objectives for the standard. 

I really liked this module and I learned a lot about standards and good strategies to use to achieve those standards for your class.  I think it might be a little different in PE, but I can still use the same principles like backwards mapping and unpacking.  I’m excited to get started and use this in the classroom.  

Influence of National and International Organizations

Student Debt Crisis

This week was the student debt week of action, so I decided I would address this topic.

Since I came out of college a little less than 2 years ago, the student loans and tuition are something that I have faced pretty recently. When applying for college I didn't know what to do, my parents made enough money so I couldn't receive financial aid, but I had to pay for myself if I wanted to go to college. I figured the best way to go was to get a scholarship of some sort. I didn't have very much success at first, but then applied for the Naval Officer Reserve Training Corps program. I was accepted and I had to choose if I wanted to have my college paid for, but participate in the ROTC during college, and then serve 5-10 years after I graduate. I decided this was my only option to attend college, so I accepted it and joined (I was medically discharged after a year and a half). Because of all the extra classes and activities the ROTC requires, I had to end up taking five years total, and they only covered four. So I did have to take out a loan for one year, and I am paying it off still, I can only imagine people who have to pay for four years.

This country needs to do something about higher education. Now days it is harder and harder for people to afford college, but it’s harder and harder to get a job if you don’t have a degree. The student loan debt for the nation is topping 1.3 trillion dollars. It is affecting more than 40 million families nationwide. Some people are graduating from college with 6 figures in debt, and unable to find a promising job (Myers, "Pushing forward to fight rising student debt").

A quote from future educator Brittany Jones before the U.S. Senate Budget Committee really sums up how a lot of people are feeling; "Student loan debt has been the driving force of my decisions for the last eight years of my life, and according to my current repayment plan, it is projected to be for the next 25 years of my life, well into the years when I should be planning a retirement. It should not be that way. "

A couple examples of former students who are struggling really puts things into perspective.  One example is Latechia Mitchell, a second-grade teacher with $60,000 in student loans. She and her husband, who has an additional $25,000 in student debt, are raising two children and living paycheck to paycheck, unable to save, pay for high-quality child care, or take advantage of summer programs for the children. While she loves her job, Mitchell is not sure she'd have chosen to be a teacher had she understood how deeply she'd be affected by long-term debt.  Sharon Williams is also struggling: An army veteran, widow and mother of two, she enrolled in the University of Phoenix to advance her career and support her family. Despite the for-profit college's promises, she got less financial aid than was initially promised. The federal employee discount she was to receive never materialized, she had no access to instructors and was unable to transfer credits. "I spent my money on a bogus education," says Williams, and she is still paying for it. (Myers, "Pushing forward to fight rising student debt").

Here are some proposed solutions to deal with student debt and college affordability:

- Enhancing federal loan forgiveness programs for those who choose careers in public service including teachers and expand them to include ALL faculty at colleges and universities
- Increasing need-based federal aid and federal aid to minority-serving institutions
- Helping students get their degrees faster by reinstating year-round Pell Grants
- Allowing federal student loans to be refinanced when interest rates decline instead of balancing the budget on the backs of our students
- Streamlining federal loan repayment plans to create a single, income-based option with affordable monthly payments for struggling borrowers
- Restoring federally subsidized loans for graduate students

("College Affordability")

These are all great solution ideas, but it doesn't matter if people don't take action and actually stand up for what they need and for what millions of Americans need.
There are examples of students trying to fight back and have their debt reduced. Some are taking a stand and fighting back, especially against for-profit universities. They have launched the Protections and Regulations for Our Students Act; which is designed to protect students from predatory, deceptive and fraudulent practices, particularly in the for-profit college sector. The act is designed to address the need for stronger regulation of the for-profit school industry. Currently, for-profit schools enroll just 13 percent of all post-secondary students but account for nearly half of all student loan defaults. They allocate about 23 percent of their revenue to recruiting and marketing, 19 percent to profit, and just 17 percent to academic instruction. And 72 percent of them produce graduates who earn less, on average, than high school dropouts.(Myers, "PRO Students Act cracks down on predatory profiteers")

Our country needs to figure out a better solution for people who want to go to college and can't afford it. At this rate, we are adding more student debt every second, and its not letting up. Education should be something the government helps with; a more educated society, makes a better off society.

SOURCES

Myers, V. (2015, April 28). Pushing forward to fight rising student debt. Retrieved May 1, 2015, from http://www.aft.org/news/pushing-forward-fight-rising-student-debt

Myers, V. (2015, May 1). PRO Students Act cracks down on predatory profiteers. Retrieved May 1, 2015, from http://www.aft.org/news/pro-students-act-cracks-down-predatory-profiteers

College Affordability. (n.d.). Retrieved May 1, 2015, from http://www.nea.org/home/degreesnotdebt.html