Franklin Schargel’s Blog

As non-Hispanic white people become a smaller part of the U.S. population, it becomes an even greater concern that minorities tend to not do as well economically. According to the Working Poor Families Project Hispanics and African-Americans though an increasingly larger segment of the workforce, will remain under prepared and underpaid.

According to the Casey Foundation, by 2018 children of color will represent the majority of children in the nation, and by 2030 the majority of the workforce will be people of color.  These two minority groups are the ones who have the most difficulty succeeding in school and have the highest percentage of school dropouts.

Most of the new jobs in the 21^st century will be created in STEM industries ““ Science, Technology, Engineering and Math.  Yet according to many reports, America is falling behind in creating STEM jobs.

However, in his recent book, “Falling Behind: Boom, Bust & the Global Race for Scientific Talent”, Michael Teitelbaum (Senior Research Associate at Harvard Law School) shows that the U.S. has been through at least five STEM-related cycles since World War II.  In each instance, alarms about a perceived shortage of STEM workers led to federal action to stimulate STEM research and education. But after the government’s stimulus ended, we were left with a surfeit of people with STEM degrees but no work commensurate with their training.

Far from “falling behind,” Teitelbaum shows that the U.S. currently has a surplus of people with STEM education. After surveying the research, he writes that America “produces far more science and engineering graduates annually than there are S&E job openings””the only disagreement is whether it is 100 percent or 200 percent more.”

Furthermore, interest groups that want more STEM education, research funding and workers know how to capitalize on that belief to get politicians to enact the policies they want. Even through there is nothing approaching a crisis, they keep lobbying as if we have a dire one.

In spite of this, the U.S. Department of Education has projected job growth in STEM ““ related fields from 2010-2020:

Mathematics ““ 16%

Computer systems Analyst 22%

Systems software developer 32%

Medical Scientist 36%

Biomedical engineer ““ 62%

 

 

 

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The Roanoke Times reports an 11-year-old was suspended from school in Virginia after school officials in late September found what they believed was a marijuana leaf in his backpack, along with a lighter. (A suit filed in the case alleges the assistant principal found “crumpled leaves.”) The boy, identified only as RMB, was suspended for 364 days for alleged “possession of marijuana,” and he faced charges in juvenile court. Turns out, however, that three tests found the leaf wasn’t pot at all, and the juvenile charges were dropped, But things with the school weren’t so simple: Only today, six months after the case began, has RMB been able to return to class at a different school, and he remains on probation. That time away has taken a serious toll.

The son of teachers, used to be an easygoing, upbeat child. Now he gets panic attacks, suffers from depression, and fears authority figures. After a disciplinary hearing, his mother tells the Times, “he just broke down and said his life was over. He would never be able to get into college; he would never be able to get a job.” He’s being treated by a psychiatrist, and his parents have launched a federal lawsuit against Bedford County Schools and the county sheriff’s office. But the suit could face a hurdle when it comes to the school’d zero tolerance drug policy It also bans “imitation controlled substances,” defined as a “pill, capsule, tablet, or other item which is not a controlled substance.” In the meantime, it remains unclear how the leaf got in RMB’s bag.

Another student in Virginia  (6-year-old) was suspended for shaping his hand like a gun.

 

In 10 countries around the world, no more than half of the poorest girls enter school, and in 10 countries, nine out of ten of the poorest young women have not completed school, according to the EFA GMR World Inequity Database in Education.

Average years of education for the poorest 17 -22 year old females:

1.  Somalia  0.3

2.  Niger  0.4

3.  Mali  0.5

4.  Guinea  0.5

5.  Guinea-Bissau  0.8

6.  Yemen  0.8

7.  Central African Republic  0.8

8.  Burkina Faso  0.9

9.  Pakistan  1.0

10.  Benin  1.1

In 10 countries around the world, no more than half of the poorest girls enter school, and in 10 countries, nine out of ten of the poorest young women have not completed school, according to the EFA GMR World Inequity Database in Education.

Percentage of poorest females aged 7-16 who have never been to school:

1.  Somalia  95%

2.  Niger  78%

3.  Liberia  77%

4.  Mali  75%

5.  Burkina Faso  71%

6.  Guinea  68%

7.  Pakistan  62%

8.  Yemen  58%

9.  Benin  55%

10.  Cote d’Iviore 52%

 

 

 

A new report issued by Teachers College of Columbia University, written by Michael A. Gottfried and Seth Gershson and issued on May 1, 2015 concludes that student absences do matter.  “When students are not in school, we believe that they miss out on learning opportunity and forgo valuable social/developmental activities.  When they return to school they are said to be behind and often feel alienated.  Moreover, student absences may affect teachers and classmates by disrupting routines and causing teachers to spend time helping student to “˜catch up’ following an absence spell.”

 

Before deciding what to do, we need a solid research base with which to make evidenced-based decisions. The report analyses two studies one from elementary and middle school data from the Philadelphia School district which estimates the relationship between absences and test scores. A second longitudinal report on third through fifth grades was done in North Carolina’s public schools to study the association between student absences and academic achievement.

 

Both studies found evidence of statistically significant negative effects of student absences on academic achievement.  The North Carolina studies found that 10 additional absences reduce math achievement by about 6% of a test-score standard deviation, while the Massachusetts study find an even larger harmful effect of student absences.

 

What Works?

 

The research reaffirms earlier research that argues that chronic absenteeism is a systems problem that needs to be addressed in the early grades and not merely in the middle or high school level. “While reducing absences has the potential to improve academic achievement, with relatively low program costs. Little is known about what interventions and educational inputs improve student attendance. Improving primary school students’ attendance may be particularly important, as school disengagement and chronic absence problems can occur as early as the first grade.   Improving attendance in primary school may improve attendance in secondary school, postsecondary education, and untimely in the labor market. The study concludes that primary school teachers have significant effects on student absences.”

In case you missed it –

 

Excuse the vulgarities.