Franklin Schargel’s Blog

It appears that schools get blamed for so many things, the failure of the economy, poor reading and writing, the inability to produce productive workers, etc.  I was drawn to this article by  Walt Gardner. I hope you enjoy it as much as I did.  Franklin

[Read more…] about Stop Blaming Schools

Explore Knowledge Academy in Nevada, has a 1-to-1 ratio of iPad tablets to students.  Students as young as kindergartners use the iPad to learn traditional subjects in math, English, social studies, and science.

Here are the 10 iPad applications used by educators at the public charter school and recommended for other schools and families with iPads.
[Read more…] about 10 Educational Apps From Explore Knowledge Academy

Franklin is being interviewed on schoolbriefing.com on what it takes to be successful in schools.

https://www.schoolbriefing.com/3426/improving-school-success-and-raising-achievement/?code=schargel

As a result of the release of the film Bully, my publisher asked that I write a White Paper on the subject.  You can access the PDF by going to the link below. Please disseminate it to anyone who can use it.

[Read more…] about Bullying

Dr. Harold Shinitzky is a colleague and a friend who is the co-author (along with Dr. Christopher Cortman) of “Your Mind:  An Owner’s Manual For A Better Life:  10 Simple Truths That Will Set You Free.” Harold is the 2009 recipient of the Florida Psychological Association Distinguished Psychologist Award and the 2009 FPA Outstanding Contributions to Psychology in the Public Interest Award.  He has also developed positive peer-oriented prevention programs for high-risk youth.

Making a difference in the lives of children, students and future leaders is the prominent goal of all prevention programs.  The Social Black Belt (SBB) is a research-based youth prevention curriculum derived from Your Mind: An Owner’s Manual for a Better Life.  Upwards of 1.3 million children dropout of school on an annual basis.  That is equal to the size of the city of San Diego.  The consequences of dropping out include lower lifetime wages, increase in criminal behavior, shorter lifespan.  All too often children have to combat a myriad of life challenges.  Navigating this maze may lead to poor decisions and unhealthy choices.  The foundational philosophy of the SBB and the evidence that research reveals is that it is far more beneficial to address an issue rather than wait for it to become a problem.  An ounce of prevention is worth far more than a pound of cure.  As with the martial arts black belt, an individual does not look for trouble but is able to handle trouble when it present, the Social Black Belt fosters the development of adaptive coping skills to life’s challenges.

The SBB deals with a broad-base of preventive topics which have been associated with pro-social behaviors.  These include Feelings Identification, Boundary Setting, Assertiveness, Conflict Resolution, Unhealthy Behaviors, and Emotional Healing.

The SBB has been developed to be a User-Friendly youth prevention curriculum that can be implemented in the schools, faith-based organizations or within a community program.  There are three components;

1. Teachers Guide provides daily lesson plans, topics, rationale, materials needed and handouts
2. Student Manual provides the lesson plans, topics and rationale as well as the handouts
3. Parent Guide which bridges the gap between school and home provides topic list and lesson plans, as well as fun-filled Family Activities that expand upon the school-based lesson plans.

The evidence-based results indicated that the students involved with the SBB achieved statistically significant increases in their Knowledge, Attitude and Behaviors.  91% of the students, teachers and administrators recommended the SBB for all students to participate in this course.

For more information about the Social Black Belt Youth Prevention Curriculum or to schedule an educational training program contact Dr. Shinitzky via email at [email protected] or call 727-560-2697 or contact Dr. Cortman via email at [email protected] or call 941-485-8586

The 2012 report update of Building a Grad Nation: Progress and Challenge in Ending the High School Dropout Epidemic, released March 19 by the Alliance for Excellent Education, America’s Promise Alliance, Civic Enterprises, and the Everyone Graduates Center at Johns Hopkins University, shows that the nation continues to make progress, with more than half of states increasing graduation rates.

The report also reveals that the number of “dropout factory” high schools””those graduating 60 percent or fewer students on time””decreased by 457 between 2002 and 2010, with the rate of decline accelerating since 2008. The number of “dropout factories” totaled 1,550 in 2010, down from 1,634 in 2009 and a high of 2,007 in 2002. The number declined by 84 between 2009 and 2010. As a result, 790,000 fewer students attended dropout factories in 2010 than 2002.

Key Report Findings

• The national graduation rate increased by 3.5 percentage points between 2001 and 2009 from 72 percent to 75.5 percent in 2009.
• The South and the suburbs saw the largest declines in the number of “dropout factory” schools with 410 and 171, respectively, between 2002 and 2009.
• Contrary to 2008-09, progress in towns and rural areas stalled in 2009-2010.
• The following states saw the greatest change, decreasing the number of “dropout factory” schools by more than 50 between 2002 and 2010:  Texas (-122); Florida (-62); and Georgia (-54).  These states increased graduation rates during this period as well.
• If each state had a graduation rate of 90 percent, 580,000 additional students would have graduated in the class of 2011, increasing the GDP by $6.6 billion and generating $1.8 billion in additional revenue as a result of increased economic activity.
• The lagging states are Arizona, Arkansas, California, Connecticut, New Jersey, Nebraska, New Mexico, Nevada, Rhode Island and Utah””all states with lower high school graduation rates in 2009 than in 2002.

Parents, colleges and political figures have told children that they should go to college and they will receive high paying jobs.  But increasingly that is not happening for many college graduates.  Part of the problem, obviously is the weak economy and the highest unemployment rate for those ages 16-29 since World War II.

But a recent study published by the Association for American Colleges and Universities, “Academically Adrift:  Limited Learning on College Campuses”, places the blame elsewhere.  The report places the blame on what is being taught. The report states that colleges and universities are not teaching basic skills.  If the students are to succeed, student achievement must be raised state 87 percent of employers.  Sixty-three percent say that recent college graduates do not have the skills they need to succeed.  And in a different study, employers say that entry-level writing skills are deficient.  Gains in critical thinking, complex reasoning and writing skills are either “exceedingly small or non-existent for a larger proportion of students.”

The nonprofit American Council of Trustees and Alumni has rated schools according to how many core subjects are required.  A review of more than 1,000 colleges and universities found that 29 percent of schools require two or fewer subjects.  Only 5 percent require economics.  Less than 20 percent require U.S. government or history.

A recent Roper Organization study found that nearly half of recent graduates don’t think they got their money’s worth from attending college.

Many colleges continue to build dorms with flat-screen televisions, tanning salons and new stadiums. With the added costs entailed in going to college, it would appear that the money should be used to improve the rigor of studies for the students, their parents and the nation.

According to a recent survey of residential broad-band service, 35 percent of all Americans -including 17 million children – live without access to broadband service.  Only 46 percent of low-income households with children have broadband internet compared to 66 percent of all households.  According to the survey, cost is holding households back from adopting broadband.

The Internet access group Connected Nation, revealed that 7.6 million children in low-income households are without broadband.  That means no Google, no Wikipedia, no personalized learning, no checking emails and no Facebook.

Conservatives will argue that children do not need high speed internet.  But the survey indicates that these children will have less chance at graduation and a greater chance at not being able to be employed.