Conversation on Education – Youngstown, OH
Remarks and observations by Phil Frye
I attended the conversation with the Governor on September 2, 2008 in Youngstown, OH at Youngstown State University. Governor Strickland began the discussion by stating his mission statement on education. Basically, he emphasized that every child should have the opportunity to succeed and that there should be a learning environment that fosters creativity. He bases this philosophy from the theory that the jobs in demand today are totally different than the jobs in demand from twenty years ago. He stated that because no one knows what jobs are going to be in demand in the future so we need to focus our education on teaching children to be creative and dynamic. He also touched on how we should focus on small groups and independent learning, since these are skills valued by employers. From his mission statement he continued stating his six principles of education. These include: strengthening of the education system in the state must start at the public school level, emphasizing a direct connection between education and the economy (stronger schools mean more jobs come to the area and vise versa), recognizing the strengths we already have, great teachers can be resources for students and co-workers, striving to reach a more specific education program so each student can learn, and finally testing and assessing to recognize strengths and weaknesses of schools and teachers and make them more accountable.
The floor was open for a brief discussion after Governor Strickland offered his thoughts. Then he continued on some topics, which were brought up in previous forums, to be reformed. Two major topics included focusing on a more interdisciplinary approach with more hands on learning, and potentially replacing the Ohio proficiency tests with a more international test that focuses on critical thinking, open ended questions.
I was not called on to speak during these two brief discussions but found some of the information being presented to be informative. I could not help but think that most statements given could be related to physical education. There was a comment made about teaching the whole student. This is exactly what physical education does. We focus on all three domains everyday (cognitive, psychomotor, and affective). It would not be impossible to make our physical education classroom interdisciplinary in nature.
After the main discussion we broke up into small groups to converse in more detail things that we would like to see change. I had majority support in my small group that there needs to be more emphasis on physical education by increasing the minutes required to graduate. It needs to mandatory for students to take physical education and have the same emphasis as the major subjects. I also feel that all teachers need to be held more accountable. I see it all too often a teacher merely getting by and not teaching to cover the standards or not having quality instruction going on. Another subject that was brought up in our small group was the proficiency testing. We felt that it limited the students’ and teachers’ ability to be creative because there is so much pressure to pass. I also feel that this has become a downfall of art, music, and physical education. If there were a standardized test to assess students’ knowledge in physical education, there would be more emphasis on it and less cuts. However, there is not test and therefore it takes a backseat to the subjects that are tested.
This experience was a very positive one for me. I was not sure what to expect walking into the room, but now I know more about how teachers feel about our education system. I encourage all of you to let the Governor know how you feel about our education system and what you would do to change it for the better. You can leave your comments at www.conversationoneducation.org and also watch all of the conversations that have taken place throughout the state. For those of you who reading this blog please continue to stand up for what you believe in, continue to fight for our profession, encourage and recruit others to join your cause
