text:
The American School/Cultural Differences in Schools

The American school has come quite far in the past four decades, but still has some way to go. It has been 36 years since fifteen-year-old Elizabeth Eckford walked through a group of raging whites to attend Central High school in Little Rock, Arkansas. Today the overt influence of the Ku Klux Klan is gone, and racial tension has died down, but cultural differences still play a huge roll in certain student’s education. This is one of the most serious issues in the school systems of the United States today.

There are several different and effective ways we can help minorities in the community. One of the most serious issues in the United States today is how to meet the educational needs of culturally diverse students. If our old habits of education continue, millions of students, mostly poor Asian, Native American, Hispanic, and African American students will not get the education necessary to obtain a healthy lifestyle in the United States. We need to start thinking about the child’s education early in their lifetime. It is said that differences in academic performance appears early in the education setting. Students from low economic backgrounds and many children of color consistently achieve below the national level in mathematics and language skills. The gap widens as children progress through school. Gradually, the chance of academic success disappears for poor and minority students (Alexander & Entwisle, 1998, P.1). Early childhood is the best time to intervene in the schooling of these children if we expect to change the outcomes of their futures. A lot of individuals make wrong assumptions about minority students. Some people might think there is something wrong with poor children or children of color and that their genes are not as developed as others. This is wrong. Some children are at risk for unhealthy development because of the downfalls due to living in poverty or in troubled families, most poor and minority children develop normally and their families are able to carry out the necessary childhood functions. Poor and minority students range of learning capabilities is just as broad as other children's. The explanation for the differences in school performance lies in the difference in life experiences between groups. Children of different cultural backgrounds do not encourage the same beliefs and values as other children therefore; they don’t pay attention to the same skills. Most schools ignore the difference between children, their experiences, and their beliefs. These schools are not utilizing their full ability. It is mostly white, middle class teachers teaching way different from the values and learning styles of their students. Citizens commonly overlook the Childs education in its most developing years.

By the time children reach the age of five, they have learned a great deal. They have reached maturity by mastering their own language, having relationships with friends and family, and how they understand to react to familiar situations (Kagan, 1991). Poor and minority children might meet the typical educational requirements for their home and other surroundings, but when placed in school, it’s a lot harder for these children to adapt to the school atmosphere. When the children enter school, the teachers assume these qualifications have already been met. That is a huge problem. Certain children from different cultural backgrounds might not be as well equipped with this information. This is where the community fits in. The children need to be ready for all aspects of school. School readiness can be increased by higher quality preschool education and day care. Children should come to school ready to learn. If they fit into their families and communities, then we know that they are good learners. We only need to worry about the small minority of children who have handicapping conditions or who live in extremely hazardous environments and therefore, have not learned what their community teaches.

When a child’s previous knowledge and skills do not prepare him for a new setting, like school, it is extremely hard. A child may be developed in their home environment, but yet unable to adapt easily to a school environment or succeed at the academic tasks valued by teachers (Kagan, 1991). Children become what they live. Cultural patterns of interaction guide the growing child, but they also become the root for their definitions of themselves. When adults and children do not share common experiences or hold common beliefs about the meaning of experience, they are quick to misunderstand cultural interchanges (Bowman, 1989). Some teachers do not appreciate the real similarities and differences between their understanding of the world and that of children and families who come from different backgrounds. That is why we need to further educate the teachers of America. Most teachers in the United States come from a rural background and don’t understand the learning habits of minority students. We need to hire teachers with experience in cultural studies.

Standardized testing of young children demonstrates the danger of using white, middle-class children as the gauge for judging other children. It is not coincidence that poor and minority children are common in certain types of special education and at-risk programs. Standardized tests do not separate culture from development. The child may know something else that is equal in knowledge, but if he or she does not know what’s on the test, we assume that there is something wrong.

Racism also contributes to conflicts between schools, poor and minority children and families. For example, when schools represent an Anglo centric and middle-class viewpoint, students and their families often feel devalued. This experience is common to many Spanish speaking children. Instead of building children's confidence and self-esteem, school compromises their learning ability by rejecting their language and culture. Even more serious, by degrading the culture of poor and minority children, teachers encourage a threatening cultural choice: identify with family and friends and stay out of the school, or embrace school and face social isolation. The result is that many young children go for family and friends and end up without an education. Teachers are victims of their own past experience. Teachers, like all of us, make generalizations about other people, ideas, and events on the basis of their past experience and knowledge. Considerable research documents that teachers have difficulty incorporating new visions of reality that conflict with their own personal beliefs and experience (Ball, 1989). When met with disagreement, teachers stick to their own "meaning making" theories, forcing students to not get the correct education. This often makes students mad and frustrated with their teachers and administrators, sometimes leading to negative impacts on the student’s future education.

Some minorities just simply won’t give any effort towards the schooling system. Mostly African Americans, Hispanic, and Native Americans are the minorities that this applies to. These groups are more likely to avoid learning skills associated with the white middle class, since their efforts will not pay off with the same opportunities that the other students will obtain (Ogbu, 1992). Consequently, they develop a poor education. The preschool and primary years are critical ones if children are to be successful in school, and we must carefully review the treatment of children during these years. School readiness can be increased by higher quality preschool education and day care (Kagan, 1991). One way of making a difference would be to change how schools interact with other community organizations. Relationships with social services, parks, libraries, day care centers, and homes are very important when it comes to the minorities’ education. Any school that is not making a relationship with these organizations cannot seriously claim to be focusing on educational success for all. Another remedy to the situation is to listen to the voices of the minorities. It is very important that minority communities feel a better sense of ownership on school standards if they are to help in preparing their children (Kagan, 1991). Involvement by parents and community members from these minority groups is crucial for making a change. A last and final suggestion would be to further educate teachers and schools for a better understanding of the minority students. Teachers and the schools really need to get involved in all the different communities and community organizations. This would give the minorities a much better chance to succeed in the classroom and pursue their future education. The kind of change we want to have accomplished is not easy. It will require a lot of skill and effort from all of us if it is to happen. Unless we speak out about the relationship between culture, development, and education, we cannot hope to provide the kind of schooling needed to carry us safely into the future.


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text:
Clock and Data Recovery/Miscellanea

Unit step responses from the (jitter) transfer functions
The unit step response can be obtained from the (jitter) transfer function as follows:
 * take the (jitter) transfer function that is in the s domain  (maybe using r in lieu of s/ωn to simplify the notation, i.e. scaling ωn to 1 )  : its reverse transform (that is a function of t) is the unit impulse response.  (The transform of the unit impulse is just a constant 1 in the s domain.)
 * multiply the (jitter) transfer function by the transform of the unit step function, that is 1/s
 * inverse-transform into the time domain, i.e. obtain the USR. (Note: when the change of scale property f(s/a) → a*F(t*a) is used, it does not apply to the factor 1/s coming from the unit step, because the step is a unit step!)

1st order, type 1 loop

$$\tfrac{Y(s)}{X(s)} = \tfrac{1}{(\tfrac{s}{\omega_n} + 1)}$$ = $$L\Big\{$$Unit Impulse Response$$\Big\}$$ $$\tfrac{Y(s)}{ s X(s)}=\tfrac{1}{s}\tfrac{1}{(\tfrac{s}{\omega_n}+1)}= \tfrac{1}{s}\tfrac{\omega_n}{(s+\omega_n)}$$ = $$L\Big\{$$Unit Step Response$$\Big\}$$

$$\int\limits_{0}^{t}\omega_ne^{-\omega_n t} dt =\omega_n\left |\tfrac{e^{-\omega_nt}}{-\omega_n} \right |_0^t$$ $$ = {\color{blue}1 - e^{-\omega_n t}} $$

2nd order, type 1 loop

$$L\Big\{$$Unit Impulse Response$$\Big\}$$ = $$\tfrac{Y(s)}{X(s)}$$ $$ = \tfrac{1}{\left ( \tfrac{s^2}{\omega_{n2}^2}+\tfrac{2s\zeta}{\omega_{n2}}+1\right ) }$$ $$L\Big\{$$Unit Pulse Response$$\Big\}$$ = = $$\tfrac{Y(s)}{sX(s)}=\tfrac{1}{s}\tfrac{1}{\left(\tfrac{s^2}{\omega_{n2}^2}+\tfrac{2s\zeta}{\omega_{n2}}+1\right)}=\tfrac{1}{s}\tfrac{1}{\left(\tfrac{s}{\omega_{n2}}+\zeta \right)^2+\left(1-\zeta^2\right)} $$ $$L^{-1}\Big\{\tfrac{1}{s}\tfrac{1}{\left(\tfrac{s}{\omega_{n2}}+\zeta \right)^2+\left(1-\zeta^2\right)}\Big\}=\int\limits_{0}^{t}\omega_{n2}\tfrac{e^{-\zeta\omega_{n2}u}\sin{\sqrt{1-\zeta^2}\omega_{n2}u}}{\sqrt}\, du \,\!$$ $$=\tfrac{\omega_{n2}}{\sqrt{1-\zeta^2}} \left | \tfrac{e^{ax}(a\sin{bx}-b\cos{bx}) }{a^2+b^2}\right |_0^t$$ $$=\tfrac{\omega_{n2}}{\sqrt{1-\zeta^2}} \left | \frac{e^{-\zeta\omega_{n2}x}(-\zeta\omega_{n2}\sin{\sqrt{1-\zeta^2}\omega_{n2}x}-\sqrt{1-\zeta^2}\omega_{n2}\cos{\sqrt{1-\zeta^2}\omega_{n2}x})}{\omega_{n2}^2\zeta^2+ (1-\zeta^2)\omega_{n2}^2} \right |_0^t $$ $$=\tfrac{ \left [ e^{-\zeta\omega_{n2} t}(-\zeta\sin{\sqrt{1-\zeta^2}\omega_{n2}t}-\sqrt{1-\zeta^2}\cos{\sqrt{1-\zeta^2}\omega_{n2}t}) -e^{-\zeta\omega_{n2} 0}(-\sqrt{1-\zeta^2}) \right ]}{\sqrt{1-\zeta^2}}$$ $$=\tfrac{\left [ -e^{-\zeta\omega_{n2} t}(\zeta\sin{\sqrt{1-\zeta^2}\omega_{n2} t}+\sqrt{1-\zeta^2}\cos{\sqrt{1-\zeta^2}\omega_{n2}t})+\sqrt{1-\zeta^2} \right ]}{\sqrt{1-\zeta^2}} $$ $$={\color{red}1 -\tfrac{ e^{-\zeta\omega_{n2}t}\left ( \zeta\sin{\sqrt{1-\zeta^2}\omega_{n2}t}+\sqrt{1-\zeta^2}\cos{\sqrt{1-\zeta^2}\omega_{n2}t} \right )}{\sqrt{1-\zeta^2}}}$$

2nd order, type 2 loop

$$ \tfrac{Y(s)}{X(s)} = \tfrac{(s\tau_z + 1)}{(s^2\tfrac{\tau_z}{G}+s\tau_z + 1)} $$, $${\tau_z=\tfrac{2\zeta}{\omega_{n2}}}$$ $$\tfrac{Y(s)}{X(s)}$$ = $$L\Big\{$$Unit Impulse Response$$\Big\}$$ $$ = \tfrac{\tfrac{2s\zeta}{\omega_{n2}}+1}{\left ( \tfrac{s^2}{\omega_{n2}^2}+\tfrac{2s\zeta}{\omega_{n2}}+1\right ) }$$ $$\tfrac{Y(s)}{sX(s)}=L\Big\{$$Unit Step Response$$\Big\}=\tfrac{1}{s}\tfrac{\tfrac{2s\zeta}{\omega_{n2}}+1}{\left(\tfrac{s^2}{\omega_{n2}^2}+\tfrac{2s\zeta}{\omega_{n2}}+1\right)}=\tfrac{1}{s}\tfrac{\tfrac{2s\zeta}{\omega_{n2}}+1}{\left(\tfrac{s}{\omega_{n2}}+\zeta \right)^2+\left(1-\zeta^2\right)}$$ $$L^{-1}\Big\{\tfrac{1}{s} \Big( \tfrac{\tfrac{2s\zeta}{\omega_{n2}}}{\left(\tfrac{s}{\omega_{n2}}+\zeta \right)^2+\left(1-\zeta^2\right)} + \tfrac{1}{\left(\tfrac{s}{\omega_{n2}}+\zeta \right)^2+\left(1-\zeta^2\right)} \Big) \Big\}$$ $$= L^{-1}\Big\{ \tfrac{2\zeta}{\omega_{n2}} \tfrac{1}{\left(\tfrac{s}{\omega_{n2}}+\zeta \right)^2+\left(1-\zeta^2\right)} \Big\}+USR_{2.1}$$ $$=\tfrac{2\zeta\omega_{n2}}{\omega{n2}}\ \tfrac{e^{-\zeta\omega_{n2}t}\sin{\sqrt{1-\zeta^2}\omega_{n2}t}}{\sqrt{1-\zeta^2}} + 1 -\tfrac{ e^{-\zeta\omega_{n2}t}\left ( \zeta\sin{\sqrt{1-\zeta^2}\omega_{n2}t}+\sqrt{1-\zeta^2}\cos{\sqrt{1-\zeta^2}\omega_{n2}t} \right )}{\sqrt{1-\zeta^2}} $$ $$= 1 +\tfrac{ e^{-\zeta\omega_{n2}t}\left ( 2\zeta\sin{\sqrt{1-\zeta^2}\omega_{n2}t} - \zeta\sin{\sqrt{1-\zeta^2}\omega_{n2}t}-\sqrt{1-\zeta^2}\cos{\sqrt{1-\zeta^2}\omega_{n2}t} \right )}{\sqrt{1-\zeta^2}} $$ $$= {\color{green}1 +\tfrac{ e^{-\zeta\omega_{n2}t}\left ( \zeta\sin{\sqrt{1-\zeta^2}\omega_{n2}t}-\sqrt{1-\zeta^2}\cos{\sqrt{1-\zeta^2}\omega_{n2}t} \right )}{\sqrt{1-\zeta^2}}} $$

The three cases are plotted together here below, using parameter values primarily to allow a meaningful comparison.

It should be emphasized that the value of ζ used for the second order loops in this figure is lower than the values used in practice.

Architectures of just order 1 and 2? Not by chance!
There are just two orders of CDR architectures that are used in actuality.

They can be identified by the order of their jitter transfer functions: This “a posteriori” result can be associated elegantly with an “a priori” mathematical theory.
 * 1) first order, for the phase aligner CDR, (that was introduced at the beginning of the book);
 * 2) second order, for both the possible types 1 and 2, (that were also introduced in the same page).

It is known that any possible transfer function can be well approximated by a rational function of the complex frequency “s” (i.e. by the ratio of two polynomials in s). A rational function in turn can be represented by a partial fraction expansion:

F(s) = $$\frac{\sum_{i=0}^m b^i s^i}{\sum_{i=0}^n a^i s^i}$$= $$\frac{\sum_{i=0}^m b^i s^i}{\prod_{i=1}^r (s+p_i)^n_i}$$ = $$ b_n + \sum_{i=1}^r \sum_{k=1}^{n_i} \frac{c_ik}{(s+p_i)^k}$$ F(s) = $$\frac{\sum_{i=0}^m b^i s^i}{\sum_{i=0}^n a^i s^i}$$ = $$ b_n + \frac{c_{11}}{(s+p_1)} + \frac{c_{22}}{(s-\sigma -j\omega)(s-\sigma +j\omega)} +$$ more complex terms (the denominator polynomial has $$n_1$$ roots equal to $$p_1$$, $$n_2$$ roots equal to $$p_2$$, ..., $$n_r$$ roots equal to $$p_r$$ where $$\textstyle \sum_{i=1}^r \textstyle n_i$$ = n) which –in simpler terms- means that a CDR can be made with a first order loop, or with a second order loop, or with a product/sum of them.

Common engineering sense dictates that a design be “as simple as it can be made”. .

Therefore just one of the simplest possibilities will be chosen:
 * a constant $$b_n$$ is a flat jitter transfer function, and not a real choice;
 * a first order (jitter) transfer function will be the choice when the prime considerations are a simple implementation, a quick response (=acquisition) and a high resilience to parameter drifts and non-linearities;
 * a second order (jitter) transfer function will be the choice when either the low frequency performances (steady state error = d.c. phase error ; rejection of low frequency generated noise; ..) or the high frequency performances (tight bandwidth for input jitter filtering) are prime concerns. The 2.2 will be selected in the first case, the 2-1 in the second.
 * any other (inevitably more complex) possibility does not offer much more performances while it makes the circuit more sensitive (often too sensitive) to parameter variations and to small non-linearities.

The three fundamental models are further developed in three dedicated chapters :
 * 1) 1st order (type 1) PLL
 * 2) 2nd order type 1 PLL
 * 3) 2nd order type 2 PLL.

What they are
Some modelling and simulation programs have been developed to verify the content of this book. Each of them includes as output a time and/or a frequency diagram, that have been used as figures in this book. They based on simple calculation sheets, that have been written with free software programs for calculation sheets (Apache Open Office and/or LibreOffice), and are available to the reader as free software pieces.

Some of these calculation files (the earliest) can be found and downloaded clicking on:

 * PLL Simulator 11 21 22 linear PhComp Rev 3.3 August 21 2011

 * PLL Simulator 11 21 22 bang-bang PhDet Rev 3.2 August 29 2011

 * PLL 11 21 22 linear small signal models of Jitter transfer, error, tolerance and noise Rev 1.0 August 13 2011

They run on any standard PC.
 * The first in the list simulates the signals inside a PLL circuit based on a linear phase detector.
 * The second in the list simulates the signals inside a PLL circuit based on a bang-bang phase detector.
 * The third in the list models the magnitudes of the jω functions of the small signal linear model of the circuits simulated in the first program in the list.

Each of the three programs covers the three main topologies of a PLL: 1st order (type 1), 2nd order type 1 and 2nd order type 2.

'''Later and more specialised versions (like the ones used for most of the time and frequency diagrams in the book) can be provided on request. '''

Purpose
Didactic, to:  identify and point out the fundamental blocks of the PLL, and consequently of the clock recovery part of the CDR.  Each block is identified in its function, its input/output connections, its characteristic and its main limitations (= its inevitable non-linearities). The simulated structure is the complete structure of a PLL.  understand the overall PLL (= clock recovery) operation. get familiar with the formulas and equations that constitute the mathematical model (and with their implementation in the simulator or modeling calculation sheets). introduce the concept of discrete time, as actual PLLs are often made with digital, discrete-time circuitry. In fact this tool:
 * only uses 1500 or 3000 time or frequency steps,
 * uses difference equations in form of recurrence relations. See also: Difference_equations for the formulae used in the simulation of the loop filter and of the VCO.

How they are made
Each file includes some description sheets that give a lot of details on how the software is constructed.

These details help understand and even modify the calculation sheets.

The reader is invited to take advantage of those pages as much as of those that do the actual computations.

Each block simulated follows the description that can be found inside this book, that is repeated and further detailed in the explanation sheets of each software piece.

Limitations
These programs are simple tools and are correspondingly limited. Necessary cautions are related to:
 * The period of the received line pulses does not coincide with the time step used in the simulations. The latter is -in most of the possible cases- significantly longer.
 * The only frequencies that appear are the frequencies that characterize the loop operation. They are the only ones that are really simulated or plotted.
 * The line frequency shall always be -for the cases you want to simulate - significantly higher (typically 10 or more times higher) than any frequency significant for the loop operation.
 * The programs only use either 1500 or 3000 time or frequency steps.
 * A PLL is simulated, not an entire CDR. The simulator will show events like :
 * stuttering of the phase error as the input sinusoidal variations (that represent mostly the intersymbol interference jitter) trick the phase comparator back and forth across the tooth edges of the sawtooth characteristic;
 * clock slips, that are easily detected when the PLL ends tracking a signal parallel to the input signal, but with a gap that is multiple of the comparator range.
 * The simulator programs will not be able to show:
 * bit errors, because the simulations do not consider the input bit stream, but only its phase;
 * loop gain variations (consequence of variable input transition density, or of non linear gain of the phase detector). This is because of the same reason already mentioned for the point above.
 * Some time simulations investigate the acquisition phase of PLLs with non-linear phase and phase/frequency detectors.

See: The CDR phase comparator and the following pages for more considerations and for time diagrams generated with these simulators. In spite of the many limitations, these tools are valid and complex enough to assist the average electronic engineer towards a better comprehension of the PLL operation inside a CDR.

Burst-mode upstream: 20 to 50 transitions for locking into an incoming burst. Case of the 2.5 Gbps US/ 1.25 Gbps DS GPON
http://www.itu.int/rec/T-REC-G.984.2/en ITU-T Rec. G.984.2
 * The example of GPON is more significant than EPON could be, because:

 * GPON specs are more demanding in the burst acquisition phase, and
 * GPON specifications define the fastest burst-mode receiver (in acquisition) that be still good in locked state performances, at the frequencies of the optical access applications.

Physical Layer Overhead

 * In the GPON defined with 2.5 Gbps downstream and 1.25 Gbps upstream, the upstream burst is allowed as many as 96 bits for the so-called Physical Layer Overhead (Plo).
 * These bits are meant to allow for the detection of the burst appearance, for the phase lock of the CDR circuit and for the precise identification of the beginning of the reception of information bits of the burst (= burst delimiting function).

Allocation of the bits of the Plo to the OLT functions

 * The first 32 bit times of the 96 are allocated to generate the guard time between bursts.
 * 16 of the 32 are allocated to mask the transient of extinction of the remote transmitter of the previous burst.
 * The following 16 are allocated to give margin against the transient of activation of the remote transmitter that takes over and sends the new burst.
 * The last 20 bits of the 96 are used for the burst delimiting function.
 * During the intermediate 44 bits of the 96, the remote transmitter in the ONT sends a preamble pattern that provides maximal transition density for fast level and clock recovery functions.
 * Depending on implementation choices the OLT receiver may be allowed as many as 50 transitions since the start of the burst (p1=0, p2=0, p3= 10 repeated 22 times, plus some initial pulses of the delimiter), or as little as 20 transitions, to achieve lock. The figure that follows shows an actual possible transient in the latter case.

title: Clock and Data Recovery/Miscellanea


text:
The American School/Public vs. Private Schools

Today education is a complex and or compelling topic that is often debated. Questions about school quality, accountability, curriculum, and teacher training arise each day, and we explore them in the newspapers and during political debates. Even the distinction between public and private schools is no longer as straightforward as it once was. It may well be that a local public school is a better educational match for a child, than that of an exclusive private school with a national reputation and a price tag to match. Some research shows that private schools tend to have superior academic programs in comparison to public schools; however, this is not always the case. There is a wide variety of factors that may influence parents’ decisions to sending their child to either a private or public school. These factors may include; academic reputation, religious views, location, costs, and school size. Some differences between the two schools are obvious and clear, others tend to be overlooked or unseen at times. Should this debate try to figure out what establishment will produce a better student? Or should the argument contemplate which school creates a better person? The first American private schools opened during the colonial era. As the colonies began to develop, many began to adopt mandatory education policies. This widespread trend became popular in most colonies in the 1640s and 1650s. Virtually all of the schools opened as a result were private (Wikipedia, 2005). Private schools date back to the schools opened by Catholic missionaries in the sixteenth century. These Catholic schools were the start of a private education revolution. At this time there was no public school system which gave no basis of comparison to the quality or productivity of a school. In some places denominational schools were basically public schools, operated with goals of promoting faith, knowledge, making good citizens of the church and commonwealth. However, the priests of the Catholic Church disagreed with some of the ways religion was taught outside of their private establishments. For example, other schools gave readings from the King James Bible, which is not used by the Catholic Church. These differences put a spark to the fire of the religious private school movement. By the end of the colonial period the institution of school was firmly rooted on the American continent. However, nothing resembled the modern concept of free, universal schooling (Thattai, 1999).

Many aspects of the American private school differ from that of a public school. Private schools are run in a closed door manner, which most believe boosts their academic stature. It also provides flexibility to create specialized programs for students. For example, private schools may use art or science in all classes. They can develop a customized system for assessments, although many choose to use standardized tests. Most people are drawn to the alternative curricula that private schools have to offer. Another aspect of religious private school is which specific religion the establishment is based on. Obviously this is one of the biggest factors that differentiate one private school from another. Seventy-nine percent of all private schools were found to have a religious affiliation. Thirty percent were affiliated with the Roman Catholic Church and forty nine percent are based on other religious groups. The remaining twenty two percent were nonsectarian. Although Catholic schools accounted for thirty percent of the total number of private schools, they enrolled forty eight percent of all private school students. Keep in mind that the Catholic school is the oldest form of school to date. For the most part, trends in the locations of private schools are constant throughout America. Most private schools are located primarily in central cities and the urban fringe, or large towns. Only eighteen percent of private schools were found in rural areas, which is not the case with most public schools. When thinking about the downfalls of a private school, the first thing that most people will look at is the cost. Private schools are funded through tuition, donations and private grants. Therefore, it is obvious private schools cost more than the public schools. On average, the tuition fees for private day schools in the United States is close to $12,000 for grades 1 to 3, $13,000 for grades 6 to 8, and $15,000 for grades 9 to 12. More often than not, these costs will not cover books or school supplies. People choose to pay thousands of dollars a year in hopes that their child will strive at a higher level of academics, be in a safer environment, and hopefully adopt some religious beliefs along the way. A major difference between private and public schools is the size of the school and the number of students. The average American private school has a mere one hundred and ninety three students. Another way to look at this is to see that eighty percent of private schools have less than just three hundred students. A smaller school will no doubt have a more controlled academic setting in the classroom, which also provides an easier system of discipline. Small schools have some disadvantages as well, such as providing a fewer set of programs and services. Private schools are known to be more demanding and controlling; this isn’t quite the case when it comes to a public school in America (Great School Staff 1.2).

Until the 1840s, school systems were localized and available only to wealthy people. Reformers who wanted all children to benefit the education process opposed this. These reformers fought for the case that public schooling could create good citizens, unite society and prevent crime and poverty. As a result of their efforts, free public education at the elementary level was available for all American children by the end of the nineteenth century. By 1918 all states had passed laws requiring children to attend at least elementary school (Great School Staff, 2003). The first publicly supported secondary school in the United States was founded in 1635. The attendance in secondary schools was very little because the curriculum was specialized and difficult. A demand for more intelligence and skills within the labor force led Benjamin Franklin to start a new kind of secondary school. Franklin established, the American Academy which was established in Philadelphia in 1751. American high schools eventually became more prominent. The rise in American high school attendance was one of the most shocking developments in the U.S. education system during the twentieth century. As the twentieth century progressed, high school was becoming more and more important to society. The effects that the history of public education took on shaping America in the early years of the twentieth century are often overlooked. Likewise, things like The Great Depression, wars with other countries, civil rights movement, student protests and the numerous political events within the country all had their effects on the education system. All of these, plus more were key ingredients to the efforts in shaping the American public school (Thattai, 1999).

American public schools are built around the beliefs of everyone is welcome and no child will be left behind. Public schools are schools that are provided by state and federal funding. Ninety percent of the children in America attend a public school. Obviously, there are many more public schools to give education to American students than their private counterparts. Public school systems vary greatly in their academic reputation. For all those quality, above average public schools that exist, there are also those that perform under the bar (Clayton, 2005). A drawback for most families is that students must go to the public school that their home is zoned in. Considering that if the school a student is zoned in is one of the lower quality of schools, produces a big reason why a child would be sent to a private school in the area. When thinking about the religious stature of a school, a person will not be considering a public school. This is because the American public school is not religiously affiliated. Locations of public schools around the country are not that consistent. They are widespread, scattered, and more prominent in higher populated areas. As mentioned before, families are either within the zoning district of the public school they want or they aren’t. If you aren’t, you’ll need to consider relocating your family in order to get your children enrolled in your public school of choice. Perhaps the biggest reason an American student is attracted to a public school is the cost, this is because it’s free. A public school is able to do this from its financial support by the state from taxes and federal funding. School size is usually directly related to the density of the population in the surrounding area. An average size public school is around five hundred and thirty five students. Only twenty nine percent of public schools have less than three hundred students. A disadvantage of larger classes is that it will most likely cause teachers to give less attention towards each individual student. On the flip side, a larger student body could produce better programs and more diversity. No matter how good or bad the curriculum of a public school is, it will remain the most popular choice for students nationwide. This is simply because it is free, convenient, and open to the public; a normal standard of schooling (Clayton, 2005). When comparing public schools and religious private schools in America, there are many differences between the two systems. Some factors favor one type of school and some favor the other. Perhaps the most controversial attribute between a public and a private school is the academic reputation of the school. Most people will place a private school ahead of the public school system when it comes to the academic standards. As time progresses however, more and more research raises the question that public schools may be making up ground on private schools. Comparing the two academically is not so easy, but is usually done through standardize tests. This is a big reason why this debate will not only continue, but may be adopting somewhat of a snowball effect. If any family or student is taking the religious views of a school into consideration, than a private school will be the only choice. Public schools in America have no religious views and will deny no student admittance based on his or her beliefs. In the battle of convenience of the location of a school, the public school system takes the cake. With locations widespread all over the country and the adaption to more schools in heavily populated areas, it is obvious why public schools are better located than private schools. Not to mention the convenience that the public school system provides a form of transportation for all students within the zoned area. Seeing that our nation is revolved around money, cost is a major factor in anything people do. Considering costs of private schools are upward from ten thousand dollars a year and that the public schools policy is free for all students indicates a financial benefit for a student enrolled in the public school system. Finally, the last major factor differentiating private and public schools is the size of the student body. Public schools are, on average, at least twice the size of private schools. This arises some benefits of more students and also some disadvantages. This makes the size of the school factor a tossup, depending on what the student wants to obtain from his or her schooling (Clayton, 2005).

Religious private and public schools in America are different in many ways, yet they share a fair amount of similarities. When comparing the two there are major factors that must be considered; academic reputation, religious views, location, costs, and school size. These attributes of a school make it difficult to be in favor of one school over the other. Perhaps the most significant factor in determining which school has the upper hand is looking not at the school’s system, but at what the student is looking to obtain throughout their schooling experience. Because of this there will never be a clear answer to which education system produces a better student. Some people’s perspectives will point at a free, less disciplined, larger public school. Others may favor a costly, religious based, smaller private school. No matter what happens to the views of the American people on education, the school system may always be a school divided.

Should faith based schools be eligible for government money? In what ways can privatization of education go too far? Does a private school or public school produce a better student? Which school would produce a better person? Do you think that the selective curriculum of private school helps or hurts students? Do public and private schools receive an equal amount of money per-head?


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The American School/Charter vs. Public Schools

History of Charter and Public Schools
In 1991 the first charter school law in Minnesota was approved; the school was developed according to three basic values: choice, opportunity, and responsibility for results. By 1995 there were 19 states that adopted the charter school law. However, the term “charter” was believed to have originated in the 1970s by an educator named Ray Budde. He suggested that a small group of teachers be given contracts to facilitate new approaches by the local school board. In Philadelphia in the late 1980s, there were a number of schools-within-schools called "charters”, which were referred to as choice schools. Public education was in existence in the 1600s in the New England colonies; however, the national system of education was not started until the 19th century when Jefferson suggested an education system. He wanted public education to be under the control of the government, free from religious biases and available to all people no matter their social status. As of 2006, there were 4,000 charter schools opened in the United States, the District of Columbia and Puerto Rico; however, there are 10 states yet to have a charter school law passed.

Purpose of the Charter School
Charter schools operate in a different manner than traditional public schools. All charter schools seem to have the same purpose. The main purpose is having an alternative means within the public school system in to increase innovation in learning creative ways outside the traditionalism of the public system. Another purpose is having the teachers, both new in the system and ones that have experience, be responsible for their own education program and teaching methods. Teachers and student both get the opportunity to explore new ways of learning through education this system.

Charter schools are the fastest growing innovation resulting from education policy to challenge the public schools notion. Chartering sometimes caters to the needs of the community by providing after school activities and programs to keep the student connected to the instructors while increasing their performance in academics and to aid in keeping students out of trouble with authority. For example Drew Charter School in Atlanta, Georgia is attached to their local YMCA program that serves the physical education for the school.

Differences in state laws bring wide diversity in the organization, operation, and philosophies of charter schools. Some states give charter schools considerable autonomy, while other states exercise more control. The charter sponsor may be a school district, college or university, state education agency, teachers, parents, or other community members.

Pros and Cons of Charter School

There are many benefits to attending a charter school, one main benefit is that innovative systems allow for a unique way of educating. Because of school choice the parent and the student are more likely to be involved in the commitment to the school. Another pro to a charter school is the competition. Charter schools must work to maintain their academic performance, student’s retention, and finances. Another pro to charter schools act as a catalyst for improvement of the public system. One common con to charter schools is that they are funded by the government. Nevertheless, they have the potential of closing if they don’t make the numbers in the areas mentioned above. And finally the biggest debate with charter schools is that they do a better job of reaching students than public schools, because of their style of teaching and educating. The charter schools system allows for teachers to be creative in their own work. Along with the environment being welcoming and encouraging to both the parents and students there are a few downsizes to the of charter school for example the financial jeopardy the school could fall under or even potential of not making numbers. Either way it goes the pros and cons challenge people to do a true comparison of the school system they would put their children into. See a video clip at: http://youtube.com/watch?v=eLcm1pACtEM

Advantages and Disadvantages of Public Schools
Ever since the 19th century, public education was the main foundation of education for children. Just like charter schools, public schools have advantages and disadvantages to their system. First and foremost public education is free, since taxes pay for the child’s education. Another advantage of public schools are the various extracurricular activities, trained personnel/administration, and offering of scholarships and continual education to college. Public education also offers transportation to and from school that is hard to come by in charter schools. The few example of advantages expressed indicate that public education has been providing students with an equal amount of thumbs up whether then thumbs down for the education.

One disadvantage to public school is that parents’ don’t have a say in the curriculum because of the general standard set by the government as a result innovative thinking is squashed. Another disadvantage is the large classroom sizes that can be disturbing to the student in need of the extra attention and to teachers that desire to reach all their students. One pro and con is that parents are required to have students from age five to seventeen attend school (2000). It's a pro because children need education to advance in society, even if it is basic reading comprehension and math. The con to requirement of attendance in today’s society is many school systems lack the adequate material to teach students, therefore, most of the teachers' efforts well fall short because of time and the restriction to the curriculum.

Comparative funding of Charter and Public Schools
Public schools are funded by the government, while charter schools are funded through sponsors and grants. According to the National Center for Education Statistic and the Common Core of Data that collects public and secondary education expenditures and revenues data, approximately $487.6 billion dollars was collected in revenues in 2005 fiscal year. The expenditures totaled $424.6 billion also in 2005. Seventy percent of the funding was spent on instructions and instructional-related activities, while only eighteen percent was spent on the operation of the schools. The public schools system received about $8,000 per pupil for both secondary and elementary education. On top of the $8,000 for each pupil, the schools received an additional $5,000 for education and educational-related activities. The dollar amount for each pupil varies from state to state. For example the expenditures in New York schools may receive about $9,000, while schools in Utah may be given $3,000 per pupil.

Federal support for charter schools began in 1995 with the authorization of the Public Charter Schools Program (PCSP), administered by the U.S. Department of Education (ED). Charter schools are mainly funded by grants/sub-grants and sponsors; however, in 1965 there was a federal act called the Elementary and Secondary Education Act that obligates charter schools to meet accountability requirements to obtain financial assistance. Unlike public education, charter schools are awarded grants on a three-year cycle instead of year to year like public schools. The grant amount was given out in 1995 was $6 million which then increased to $218.7 million in 2004 because of the growth of charter schools. Just like the public school systems, charter schools use a majority of their funds on instructional materials.

No Child Left Behind
Charter schools are subject to the No Child Left Behind act (NCLB) act because they are funded under the Elementary and Secondary Education Act (ESEA), Title 1 and considered public schools. NCLB’s main objective is to have students “proficient” in the basics. The charter school law requires accountability; thus schools have to produce an adequate yearly progress report (AYP) similar to the public school. Therefore, charter schools must make satisfactory improvement each year toward the goals of NCLB. Charters have to keep in contact with the State Education Agency (SEA) to make sure they are meeting AYP standards to determine if individual schools are in need of improvement. This comes as an advantage to parents who want to switch their children to schools that are meeting the State Education Agency and the Local Education Agency (LEA) satisfactory progression. The same goes with public schools that fall under Title 1. There are certain guidelines to follow that may hinder a system or boost morale. The biggest competition that comes from NCLB is the fact that charter schools are making the grade faster than public schools. There are some charter schools that don’t make AYP; therefore, just like public schools, they receive an in-need-of-improvement pass and parents are contacted to give them the choice of relocating their children to another school in their district for the following school year. http://abcnews.go.com/search?searchtext=CHARTER%20SCHOOL&type

Summary
Public and charter schools are not much different. The biggest difference is the innovative style of education encouraged in charter schools. Each system has its downfalls, whether in students, location, teachers, or administrators. However, there is the common goal of educating children with the basics needed to survive in society. The No Child Left Behind Act of 2001 is making it even more challenging for both systems to compete for student and parent attention in their districts. Financial assistance has aided charter schools to accomplish their goals of making a school system without many boundaries. Along with the cooperation of students, community, and the commitment from parents, many charter schools have been able to jump the hurdles of traditionalism. Today, school systems are having a harder time keeping students in school than keeping them out. I believe if students were given the opportunity to be part of the process of education and tell what they would like out of the educational board then students wouldn’t be reluctant to attend. The educational system has quite a way to go before it reaches a status where no one is truly left behind.

Questions

 * 1) Do charter schools have sports and extracurricular activities like other schools? Yes, some schools do offer alternative activities while others do not.
 * 2) What kind of educational background do teachers need at charter schools? Just like public schools, teachers have to be licensed in the state they are working in and other prerequisites depending on who the charter school is being sponsored by.
 * 3) Are special education classes offered in charter schools? Depending on the school because charter schools are partially funded by the state board of education it makes them responsible for giving services to special needs children. The problem with that is the school may not have a certified teacher to teach the student.
 * 4) Are standardize test scores higher in public schools or charter schools? Surprisingly they can fall short of public schools in certain states and districts. Read this article link from a newsletter for more information http://www.post-gazette.com/regionstate/20010324charter2.asp
 * 5) Are school uniforms required? Yes and no, like we have seen in some of the footage, some charter school students did have uniforms on. Many charter schools administrators’ believe it unifies the students, ushers a degree of honor and a good method of promoting the school’s image of focused education.


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Cookbook:London Fog

| Beverages

London fog (also known as Vanilla Tea Misto or an Earl Grey Tea Latte) is the name of a drink which originated in Vancouver, British Columbia, Canada, although the creator remains unknown, among several claims. One such claim is from Buckwheat Cafe on 4th Avenue in Vancouver (now closed) when in December 1996 a regular customer, Mary Loria, who was pregnant and couldn't drink coffee asked for an alternative. Another is from the Island Coffeehouse in Langley, Washington, a non-profit student run organization, where it was originally made with Peppermint Tea in 2006. However, patrons of Starbucks in Calgary, Alberta have asked for this drink since the winter of 2004, coincidentally when Loria was visiting family. It is common in Washington and Oregon, as well as in BC's lower mainland and throughout British Columbia and Alberta. Canadian Second Cup cafés also carry the drink.

The "London Fog" was recently the subject of an investigation on the Canadian Broadcasting Corporation's afternoon show Freestyle.

Ingredients

 * 1 bag Earl Grey tea
 * ½ cup boiling water
 * 16 oz milk (2% or whole)
 * 1 shot vanilla syrup

Procedure

 * 1) Add the boiling water to a mug along with the tea bag. Let steep for 2–4 minutes to achieve optimum flavor—the result is an Earl Grey tea concentrate.
 * 2) Heat up milk. Access to a steamer is preferred. Mix in vanilla syrup.
 * 3) Add hot milk to the tea as desired. Adjust components according to taste.

Notes, tips, and variations

 * Oregon Mist: Replace the Earl Grey tea with green tea and the vanilla syrup with amaretto; popularized by the Glenwood restaurants in Eugene, Oregon.
 * Manchester Fog: Replace the milk with soy milk.
 * Dublin Fog: Replace the Earl Grey tea with Irish breakfast tea.
 * Bangalore Fog: Replace the Earl Grey tea with a chai tea blend; created by Kavya Raman at Roosters Coffeehouse, Carleton University, Ottawa ON; also known as a Bombay Fog (coined in Concordia-Loyola's Second Cup, Montreal, QC).
 * Atlantic City Fog: Replace the Earl Grey tea with with rose tea; created by Alexis V. Juneau at MCB Quantico, Quantico, Virginia.
 * Winter Fog: Reduce the vanilla syrup and add clover honey to taste.
 * Maui Fog: Replace the vanilla syrup with coconut syrup.
 * Tokyo Fog: Replace the Earl Grey tea with matcha green tea.
 * Cape Town Fog: Replace the Earl Grey tea with rooibos tea
 * Nanaimo Mist: Replace the vanilla syrup with almond syrup; accredited to Ravenna.
 * Oxford Haze: Replace the Earl Grey tea with English breakfast tea and the vanilla syrup with hazelnut syrup.
 * Victoria Fog: Replace the Earl Grey tea with lavender-scented tea.
 * Montreal Fog: Replace the Earl Grey tea with yerba mate, and add hazelnut syrup.
 * London Smog: Add a shot of espresso.
 * Mexican Fog: Replace the vanilla syrup with agave syrup.
 * Halifax Fog: Replace the vanilla syrup with Nova Scotian maple syrup.
 * Savannah Fog: Replace the vanilla syrup with lavender syrup.
 * Seattle Fog: soy misto (½ water, ½ soy, steamed) with 2 pumps of vanilla syrup and one pump of hazelnut syrup, in 2 bags of Earl Grey Tea.
 * Durban Fog: A cross between a Cape Town Fog and a Bangalore Fog; basically the same as a London Fog, but replacing Earl Grey with Rooibos Tea and adding a pinch of tea masala.
 * Fog on the Tyne: Variation on the London Fog; start with a cup of hot milk, add a heaped spoonful of sugar, drop in an Earl Grey tea bag, and let it diffuse directly into the milk for 30–60 seconds.

title: Cookbook:London Fog


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The American School/The Forces That Shape Curricula

Defining "Curriculum"
First of all, what is a curriculum? What is its purpose in the educational system? A curriculum is a syllabus that creates a general guideline for the education of students. It includes what subjects should be taught, as well as specific goals to be met by teachers and students in the duration of those courses. It ensures that all students receive an adequate educational experience, one that allows them to use their knowledge and understanding of core subjects to be successful in life, whether in post-secondary studies or in the job market. For example, the online credit requirement newly integrated into the Michigan Merit Curriculum, is designed to give students the opportunity to learn how to use the internet in conducting research and completing homework in an effort to give the students the knowledge and experience needed in a society that values technology in college and the work place.

The Role of Federal Government
The Federal government is responsible for developing laws which mandate a minimum level of requirement for every school district in the United States. This includes passing legislation that requires schools to conform to national standards; often as a requirement for continuing to receive federal funding. Federal legislation gives general guidelines that are to be followed by State legislators as well as local school districts as they develop the curriculum and make decisions regarding how the curriculum should be implemented. The US Department of Education (USDE) was created in 1980, and is the federal government’s educational department. Their mission is “to promote student achievement and preparation for global competitiveness by fostering educational excellence and ensuring equal access” to resources (http://www.ed.gov/about/landing.jhtml?src=gu). The USDE establishes policies on federal financial aid for education and distributes and monitors those funds. They also collect data on America’s schools, focus national attention on key educational issues, prohibit discrimination and ensure equal access to resources. The federal government also holds a supportive and guiding role to State governments and local school districts. This legislation is meant to assist these groups in creating and maintaining an effective curriculum. Many laws have been passed that impact today’s curriculum. These laws are aimed at supporting the efforts of state governments and local school districts and also to provide a guideline for required action, especially among local school districts that are falling behind the nation in standardized test scores and other measures of school accountability. One law that has a direct bearing on today’s curriculum is the No Child Left Behind Act of 2001. This law has been the source of much controversy and has implemented many new standards into the public school curriculum.

No Child Left Behind Act:
This law was passed to raise school accountability and literacy standards across the country. According to the White House press release website, the bill was meant to provide and require:

 * 1) Accountability for results
 * 2) Unprecedented state & local flexibility & reduced red tape
 * 3) Focusing resources on proven educational methods
 * 4) Expanded choices for parents (http://georgewbush-whitehouse.archives.gov/news/releases/2002/01/20020108.html).

Schools are required to hire highly qualified teachers and show improvements in test scores on standardized achievement tests in order to continue to receive federal funding. The controversy around this law is centered on the possibility of some school districts “teaching to the test” in an effort to improve standardized test scores. It was believed that children were not getting a comprehensive educational experience because they were being taught only those things that they would be tested on. Another issue of controversy is whether NCLB is providing all of the things that it is supposed to and whether it is in fact leaving children behind by its new requirements. This law is currently undergoing a revision. The government intends to revise the law in the following ways:

 * A stronger effort must be made to close the achievement gap through high state standards and accountability.
 * Middle and high schools must offer more rigorous coursework that better prepares students for postsecondary education or the workforce.
 * States must be given flexibilities and new tools to restructure chronically underperforming schools, and families must be given more options.

By making these changes, the government is hoping to make the law more effective in closing the achievement gap that exists between racial minorities and whites, as well as low socioeconomic groups and their more wealthy counterparts. Giving students more rigorous standards better prepares them for college and the job market, and ensures that all children in every school district across America receive adequate coursework. States must also have the resources and flexibility to create and implement curriculum standards that work for the state and its local districts.

The Role of State Government
“Under the U.S. Constitution public education is a responsibility reserved to the states” (California State Government Guide to Government from the League of Women Voters of California: About Public Education, June 2008). State governments are largely responsible for creating the basic outline and guidelines of public school curriculum. They develop a standard for the types of subjects taught, as well as the number of credits required of each of those subjects. States provide course expectations and guidelines as an assistive measure to local school districts. States have control of setting the main body of the public school curriculum. On a fundamental level, states are responsible for determining what constitutes a credit and developing guidelines and content expectations for determining if a student has completed a course successfully. Although this is ultimately determined by local school systems, the state is involved in setting the guidelines for this determination.

States are also responsible for determining which subjects will be taught and the number of credits per subject required for graduation. For instance, Michigan recently adopted a new set of standards for graduation, called the Michigan Merit Curriculum, which makes the Michigan public school system one of the more rigorous educational systems in the country. “The Michigan Merit Curriculum defines a common set of required credits for graduation and provides educators with a common understanding of what students should know and be able to do for credit (Michigan Department of Education: Frequently Asked Questions, November 2006). These new requirements include:

 * Four years of English
 * Four years of Math
 * Three years of Science
 * Three years of Social Studies
 * Two years of Foreign Language
 * One year of Physical Education, and
 * One online course (not necessarily for credit)

These requirements shape the curriculum of local school districts throughout the state of Michigan. Schools are required to implement these standards into their curriculum and all students must take these classes in order to graduate from high school. These standards are considerably more rigorous than any previous standards set by the state. Michigan developed these standards to give students a more comprehensive education and to ensure that they are taking rigorous courses in high school that can prepare them for the future. The state views these requirements as fundamental for future success in college and the job market. One of the most innovative additions to the new Michigan curriculum is the online course requirement, explained below in further detail.

Online Course Requirement
This requirement is a reflection of the growing trend in the utilization of technology by businesses and universities in their daily operations. It is imperative that students be knowledgeable about and comfortable using technology such as computers, the worldwide web, and various types of computer software. The online experience is defined as, “a structured learning activity that utilizes technology with intranet/internet-based tools and resources as the delivery method for instruction, research, assessment, and communication” (Michigan Department of Education website). Today’s youth routinely utilizes technology in their daily lives so why is it necessary to implement it as a course requirement? “While students informally develop technology skills and gain experience through their media-rich lives, an online learning experience will require them to complete assignments, meet deadlines, learn appropriate online behavior, and effectively collaborate with others in an instructional setting” (Michigan Department of Education website).

The Role of Local School Districts
Local school systems are charged with the task of implementing the standards of the curriculum set forth by the Federal and State governments within their own school system. This requires that local school systems “…align curriculum, determine what constitutes a credit, establish a credit award system, identify assessments, set school calendars, select and purchase textbooks, etc. Local school boards and districts will continue to have flexibility to determine “how" to implement these new graduation requirements and when students have earned the credits” (Michigan Department of Education: Frequently Asked Questions, November 2006).

Local school systems are given flexibility in determining how to meet State curriculum requirements. This means districts may implement “alternative instructional delivery methods such as teaching certain subjects in certain years, district partnerships, online courses, dual enrollment, [and] community college partnerships” (Michigan Department of Education: Frequently Asked Questions, November 2006). Implementing new standards may also mean hiring new teachers, navigating around scheduling conflicts, and finding a way to manipulate limited resources to accommodate the new requirements. Local school systems must also establish the number of total credits required for graduation (including the required credits set forth by the State, as well as electives requirements set forth by the school system itself).

Assessing Credits
Local school systems have the authority to determine if students have successfully completed the course and should be granted credits for that class by determining the type of assessment given and the time of that assessment. Assessments can be developed by the local district or by the state. “While the law requires a district to base a student's successful completion, at least in part, on student performance on subject area assessments, the amount the assessment counts toward a student's total grade is up to the district” (Michigan Department of Education: Frequently Asked Questions, November 2006). This leaves the decision of determining whether students have successfully completed curriculum requirements up to the local school district, following guidelines initiated by the state.

The Role of Today’s Society
As society has evolved, education has had to change also. A more competitive job market and the emphasis on a global economy, has led many to pursue post-secondary education through skill centers and universities. Americans are competing in a global market, one where it is important to be able to gain an advantage through comprehensive educational experiences. Because of this global competition and the requirement of most jobs that employees possess some form of higher education, legislators have begun to implement standards meant to aid students in the process of furthering their education by giving them a solid foundation of knowledge and experience during high school. “States are implementing and developing strategies to increase student participation in rigorous college preparatory courses, better align expectations between high school and postsecondary education, hold these systems accountable, and ensure students graduate from high school ready for college or the workplace in the global economy” (National Governors Association: Policy Position).

States are finding it necessary to pass more rigorous standards to not only give students a better education, but one that will more appropriately prepare them for the future. For example, “to ensure Michigan's students have the skills and knowledge needed for the jobs of the 21st Century global economy, on April 20, 2006, Governor Jennifer M. Granholm signed into law a rigorous new set of statewide graduation requirements that are among the best in the nation” (Department of Education, Copyright: 2001-2007, Michigan.gov). Advances in technology and the importance of computers in the workplace was a driving factor in the decision of Michigan legislators to implement the online course requirement in their curriculum. This requirement is meant to give the students of Michigan an edge in the university classroom as well as the job market.

Society is changing the way that legislators and educators are developing the curriculum by requiring the implementation of rigorous standards. These standards include a wide range of subject matter, including foreign language and online requirements.

The society in which one lives has a direct impact on the type and number of courses that are necessary for an adequate education. Students in today’s world must be knowledgeable and have appropriate experience with technology, world cultures, as well as more traditional subject matter to be successful.

Conclusion
The Federal government is responsible for passing laws that govern the national standards for public education. These standards are required for the continuance of federal funding. State legislators and state Departments of Education often work together to develop detailed guidelines of required subjects, standards, and goals for high school students. They develop state assessments to test students on these standards and to measure their comprehension of the subject matter.

Local school districts are required to adopt standards set by the Federal and State government and to determine how best to implement them. It is the local school district’s responsibility to determine if students have successfully fulfilled the requirements of a course and should be granted credit for it. It is also up to individual school districts to set the minimum number of credits required for graduation.

Society has also played a major role in the shaping of public education curriculum. Advances in technology, a more competitive job market, and an increased need for post-secondary education have driven the need for more rigorous curriculum standards.

The curriculum is a vital aspect of the public school system. It ensures that all students receive an adequate education, are held accountable for learning required material, and gain a knowledge base that provides them with the ability to achieve. Many forces are present in the shaping of public school curriculum. Federal, State, and local school districts all have a major stake in the success of American students, as they are the key to the continuation and success of our society. Students must be prepared to meet the demands of today’s culture. The curriculum of public education reflects this need by implementing standards that are rigorous and innovative, recognizing the need for change to better prepare students for a progressive world. Curriculum standards will continue to evolve as public opinion and community and educator expectations adapt to provide America’s students with the fundamentals necessary for their achievement.

Questions
What are the most common curriculum choices for high schools? What types of liberal arts and electives classes do they offer to students? Why are physical education and other liberal arts electives being cut from many curriculums? Are they considered less important than core subjects, such as math and science? If education is a function of the state, why does the Federal government intervene? Should the Federal government set national standards for all schools? What would be the advantages and disadvantages if national standards were created?


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The American School/Sex Education

In 2006, President Bush sent a bill to congress with a proposed thirty-nine million dollar increase in funding for schools that taught “abstinence-only until marriage” sex education. A recent review of federally funded sexual education prepared by Henry Waxman (D-Ca) in 2005 showed that two-thirds of the programs had distorted information about abortion, contraceptives, and gender stereotypes. Backed by no credible evidence, one school went as far to claim that five to ten percent of women became sterile after an abortion. Another school incorrectly claimed that the Human Immunodeficiency Virus (HIV) could be contracted through sweat and tears. A proposed medical accuracy requirement was attempted to be added on to the legislation, however the effort fell on deaf ears.- (Melling, 2005) In 2007, after a congressional evaluation had been completed, the results of the multiyear surveys proved that there was no difference in how sexual education is taught in classrooms.- (Trenholm, 2007)

Abstinence-Only Education Censors Vital Health Care Information: According to Merriam Webster abstinence is a voluntary forbearance of a something usually food but in this case sex. In abstinence-only education, two-thirds of all teenagers are having sex before marriage. (Kaiser, 2002) Ventura (2006) estimates in 2002, an estimated 757,000 pregnancies were accounted to 15-19 year olds. Approximately 9.1 million STD’s/STI’s, nearly half of the new STD’s/STI’s in the US, were occurring in people under the age of 25. (CDC, 2001) The numbers are recently on the decline, but not enough to take away from how these programs have failed in relations to their purpose.

Because abstinence-only can only teach children not to have sex, there is a severe shortcoming in the teaching of protection and contraceptives. According to Zabin, (1986) after a school in Baltimore began to provide condoms for those who would use them, the pregnancy rate dropped an astounding thirty percent in the first 28 months alone! Contraceptives have shown to be very effective, not only in regulating a menstrual cycle, but also protecting against pregnancy. In abstinence-only, contraceptives use cannot be taught, as the focus must be complete abstinence. Critics argue that if contraceptives were taught, then it would increase the amount of teenage intercourse, although studies show the exact opposite.- (Pardini, 2001) “It is not realistic that all teens are going to remain abstinent. Withholding information will not change that.”-(Mills, see Pardini, 2001) Mills feels that withholding information can be harmful, even deadly. Abstinence with contraceptives and protective methods makes the most sense in protecting children. Coupling this technique, along with thorough family comprehension, will delay first- time intercourse and help prevent the contraction of STDs/STIs.

Students' View on What Should be Taught
A blind online survey, performed within a global teenage puberty Question and Answer online community, revealed what kids wanted to be taught about sex education. This site allows children between the ages of 13 and 19, and also twelve year olds with parental consent, to ask questions and get the answers not provided to them through sex education programs at school. The question that was asked was, “What would you like to see taught?”  Responses demonstrated that education about protection was severely lacking. Objective reasons about what to do if such things occurred, like a broken condom, STDs/STIs, pregnancy, HIV, and AIDs were most common. Education involving things like contraceptives, the morning after pill, and where to find condoms, should be taught in sex education classes and this compensates for that.

Videos are one thing that can be used to discuss sex education with children. Although informational, they do not give the same type of effective information that a thorough conversation with a responsible adult would. “Some schools show a few movies and hand their kids a tampon and a stick of deodorant and tell them to make it their best friend.”-(Govteen, 2007) There is a consensus that showing kids pictures of infested genitals and lying to them about condom failure rates is not the way to teach. Scaring and scarring young kids is not needed and does not work as often as a thorough explanation given by an understanding adult.

Anatomy is another topic of discussion that needs to be addressed. A serious lack of understanding exists, and needs to be fixed. Every day, girls and boys question themselves as being normal or not, because they grow at a different pace than the others they are growing up with. The online global teen community mentioned that the earlier development component has approximately 34,000 members. Most of those teens question whether they are as developed enough or at the right speed. Over the course of January 1, 2007 to September 29, 2007, over 2,000 posts had been on the topic of boy’s’ penis size alone. - (Govteen, 2007) Boys also question circumcision rates; and whether they are or are not cut themselves; bringing in approximately 1,300 questions. - (Govteen, 2007)

Girls tend to accept their development a bit more than boys, as their development is a bit more public than that of boys. This is not to say they have questions just the same as boys do, but they are just in different terms as they have different parts as boys do. Girls worry more about breast size, periods, and appearance. Development in girls varies individually; and it is highly noticeable when girls grow. Menstrual cycles are hard to predict, for the first year of so, and so is the frequency. However, they are usually preceded by a pre-menstrual cycle; where girls endure cramps, bloating, fatigue, and increased irritability.

With the onset of puberty, teenagers begin to experiment sexually. Besides condoms and contraceptives, the teaching of masturbation should also be considered, however careful consideration should be undertaken. A video or demonstration is inappropriate, but a pamphlet or text would do just fine. Children of both sexes go through hormonal swings during this time, and would be less tempted to partake in intercourse if they knew how to relieve their sexual tension and urges.

Teacher's Ideas and Responses
“I am in favor of teaching students how to protect themselves and have safe sex. I want them to be able to make safe decisions,”- (Lenca, Interview September, 2007) says Mrs. Cecile Lenca, a fifth grade teacher at a Midwest Elementary School. Upon this explanation, one can assume that there are teachers who want a variety of lessons being taught, not just the option of no touching.

Mrs. Lenca has had forty hours of training in reproductive health. She has taught reproductive health to her students for many years. When this chapter is taught at the Midwest Elementary School, parental permission forms are passed out asking if it is okay to teach their children reproductive health. Mrs. Lenca makes sure that she maintains her student’s confidentiality and comfort during her teaching. Students are required to hand in pieces of paper after a lesson, just in case their more uncomfortable questions still remain. Not all pieces of paper returned have a question. Most just say “Hi,” but some are legitimate questions that need more attention. “We must remember they are children and are very influential”-(Lenca, 2007).

The top answer from parents when it comes to teaching their children about sex is, “Just say no.” Does it work?

“No, because this is the real world. It is better for girls to realize the pressure that boys will put on them to have sex. It is better for boys to know how to control their sexual drives. Students need to know what is out there to prevent a child from being conceived if they have sex. Students need to know how to prevent diseases. Protected sex is a necessity in today’s promiscuous society”-(Lenca, 2007).

What should be taught in schools? Ninety percent of America’s parents think that sexual education should be taught in schools, but are unsure at to what is appropriate. Should we move away from abstinence-only?

“There is nothing wrong with abstinence. Do I believe ninety percent of people used abstinence before marriage? No. Therefore, students need to know more. The problem comes with what to teach. Ministerial groups say abstinence, Catholics say procreation, and therefore masturbation is out and wrong, homosexuals want their beliefs taught. Since public schools are for everyone, are we opening Pandora's Box in which we have to teach all the above and more? What is the parent’s role in this? Is it truly a responsibility of schools to teach this? I am in favor of teaching students how to protect themselves and have safe sex. I want them to be able to make safe decisions.” - (Lenca, 2007)

Summary
America’s schools need to take another look at how sexual education is taught. A balance of abstinence and what to do if something were to go wrong. That’s what should be taught; albeit difficult, it has to be done. Teaching sexual education one way is only one way, when it could be taught several ways, is preposterous and ignorant. Since the public feels that an education on this subject should be taught in our schools, why are we teaching them only one side of the story and not how to protect themselves if the situation arises? Shouldn’t a public education be as rounded as possible? Should we not teach them what to do in case of emergencies? Should we ignore the facts? The information is right in front of us. Will our government take action or will an ugly public debate gain more and more speed? Will the reproductive health program, that is most needed by our children fade into the distance as our youth has?

Questions

 * What age do you think Sexual Education is appropriate to be taught?
 * "Personally I believe that the parents and teachers need to get together and teach the children the parts of the body at a young age, as young as six. Reproductive processes need to be taught at an early middle school age just as or before puberty takes place.  This is the time where adolescence takes over and hormones flood the body at a pace never before seen in their bodies. At this age they can now learn what will and could happen when they do have intercourse and if they have a problem during that time."

 * What do you think, should there be a balance sex-ed. at home and at school?
 * "I think that at a time before the subject is taught at school there should be a meeting with the parents and a discussion should be had over what needs to be addressed and what not to address. When the child comes home from school they should have one on one discussions with their parent’s’ or guardian and discuss any questions not answered at school.  This way if the child is nervous to ask their parents they have a teacher to ask and vice versa if they can’t ask their teacher."

title: The American School/Sex Education


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The American School/Sports in Public and Private Schools

This country has long been an athletic nation; the competition gets to the very heart of American values and illustrates the concept that if you work hard you will be rewarded. For this reason, sports have been a mainstay in American culture. The school systems, both public and private, implement athletic programs to keep their students active and healthy. This paper will endeavor to explore the differences and similarities in the participation rate and demographics of those students who are active in these extracurricular activities; it will contrast female and male participation, as well as different ethnic groups and socioeconomic status all under the framework of the basic public-private division.

Sports in Relation to American Life
Sports in relation to American life is much bigger than any other type of activity found in America because there is; “No other single type of activity brings people from completely different social, economic, political, religious, and racial backgrounds to participate in common, directly, or indirectly, as school sports and other co-curricular activities” (Jeziorski, 1994, p 30). Bringing people together is very important for the nation as a whole because America is such a mixed nation. Knowing this, sports and its inclusion of any race or background continues to this day to bring people of America together than segregate. Under the banner of sportsmanship, these differences become insignificant.

Another relation to sports, America, and education are the sets of rules. In every country, there are laws that you have to abide by to be a good citizen. Sports help define this fact and allow students and participants to understand this basic structural principle. “During a sports contest, student-participants are presented rules that are defined and sanctions that are enforced immediately upon violation of those rules” (Jeziorski, 1994, p. 27). As schools prepare students for the outside world this skill and understanding is very important to their success as American citizens and as people in general. some of the sports are Basketball, Volleyball, and Cross Country.

Competition and cooperation
Both are fundamental to democracy. And it is very important in our free enterprise economic system that these principles be properly integrated and practiced by citizens as part of the socialization process within our schools. Competition is at the very base of our political system of electing our officials” (Jeziorski, 1994, p. 37). With the American economic system and the very values which this country was founded upon, competition remains to this day to be the driving force of its culture. The search for the best is not limited to athletic competition but in the market between business and consumers. Products, politicians, American Idols, and the job market are all examples of the competitive nature of this country, and the sooner a student can realize this and become accustomed to this type of social interaction the better they will be able to survive in this country.

For where I am from (Russia) we do not contribute it in our daily lives unless our perfection is a particular sport, nor do we contribute it to our private or public schools curriculum seeing is are schools are separated for scholars and schools for athletes. I was shocked when I came to this country that whenever I told someone that I am from Russia their first question to me was if I play or played hockey. Maybe it is because of the stereotype that most Russians play hockey but there are many examples or stereotypes about Russians that do not pertain to sports whatsoever, which tells me that most Americans think of sports more than other things. I am not trying to stereotype at all because I have been to numerous countries and sports are at the least of their concerns. Of course people from other countries admire their country’s popular sport but I guess we are not as able to think of it so much because life in other countries is not as easy as it is in America. There are many examples in everyday life in America that I figured out why sports are so popular.

One example is television. From sports channels, to sports related commercials, to the drive of being better at something than another person is what drives a person to think about sports all the time. If it is all around you, you will have no way to escape it and as much as you hate it in the beginning if it is around you so much eventually you will fall victim to being a sports addict.

Another example of why sports are so big in America is because of the number of sports teams there are. In other countries you would usually have one country team and one club team for all the major sports. In America almost every major city you go to there is a certain team for some sport. And as much as it is in people hearts to be patriotic to something they will like a team from their city that they never watch or even like the sport the team is in they will instinctively root for that team because the team represents their city. This opens up the cause and effect for the person in time to eventually like the team and the sport. I have a great example about something like that. When I came to this country I hated baseball and football and never wanted to watch it. But through out time I began liking the baseball and football team from my city just for the sole purpose because they represented my city. I never watched any games and never wanted to. But later down the line I just wanted to see what I was rooting for and started watching them knowing in my head that I hate these sports. The team and sport was around me so much that I had to watch it just once and just like all before me got hooked on it.

The last and final example on why sports are so big is because of the private and public schools. In many other countries there were schools for either scholastic students and sports athletes and at a young age you were put in either or on what you were better at or what your strengths and weakness were. So the majority of the children that were put in the academic schools as opposed to the athletic schools never got the opportunity or interest to be in a sport or like it. In America though it is different, any school you go to either if it is public or private, sports is included into the curriculum raging from just gym class to actual sports teams you can play on. It was not just open to particular kids that were chosen but any child at any age or year can join a team, not saying that he would play but join it and get interested in the sport. Schools out of everything play a very important role in America of why sports are so big here. Although sports in schools play roles for all types of kids there are schools that offer more and have more money to fund sports, than some other schools. The example of this that I will be talking about in this paper is the difference between private sports and public sports.

Break Down of Public and Private School Attendance and Extracurricular Sports
Public Schools are very different than Private schools in attendance and extracurricular ranging from the number of students, funding, and the eligibility for each school. Since public schools are state owned schools, meaning that any child in the area of the school they live by can go for free, as opposed to private schools that require the parents or guardians to pay for their student to go there, is a large gap in the number of student that go to each one. “There was also a considerable difference in sports participation rates among school types. Approximately 75 percent of private school students (both Catholic and other private) indicated participation in sports at some level, while over one-half of the public school students reported the same. As SES and parents’ education rose, participation rates in academic clubs, sports, hobby clubs, and music increased” (Ingels, 2005, 70). This fact helps illustrate both the divide in income for students and their undertaking of extracurricular activities, when it comes to the question of enrollment in public versus private schools. Because of the more specific schedule and higher expectations one encounters in a private school environment the push for extracurricular activities is higher and therefore the students, usually of privileged backgrounds, are more likely to partake in all the athletic offerings of their institution.

The graph below shows the percentage of sophomores in 2002 that attended public schools as opposed to private catholic schools and other private schools. This graph shows the high percentages of students that attend high school in America are usually in public schools as opposed to private schools. Since public schools are open to any student and private schools tend to charge for admission for the students that attend it there is a huge gap in the number of students in each school. Funding in public school is provided by the state and the taxpayers. The gap between the number of those enrolled in public has gone from nearly identical enrollment, 283,000 to 247,000 public to private in 1955 to a larger comparative gap, 954,000 to 607,000 public to private in 2005, enrollment in 4-year degree granting institutions (NCES, 2006). The number of enrollees to private colleges has only doubled in fifty years whereas the number of students enrolled in public institutions has more than tripled, which would significantly strain the resources of the educational system.

This creates the gap in which public schools and private schools differ in the number of extracurricular sports they have to offer for their students because of their budget, which brings me to my next point.

Extracurricular sports in private schools are usually better off then public schools because the average student has to pay a lot more for a year to go to that school as opposed to the public school where the average student does not have to pay out of pocket. One reason is because private schools' curriculum is much more tougher than public, and private schools tend to be more religious schools meaning that they will only choose people that they think are well qualified and will be a asset rather than a liability to their school whereas public schools do not have this opportunity because anybody may attend. Things like drugs and the area that the school is in plays a large role in the type of students they will have. If you have public schools in the heart of a crime infested area of a city the school will not generate many scholars or athletes because of the lives of the students outside of school. This is different for private schools because of the requirements and tuition needed to attend a private institution and even if the schools were given the same group of kids that attended, the greater access to resources and staff gives the private schools academic as well as athletic advantage over public schools. Some schools get used to playing each other and become enemies.

Gender Differences
Gender is a huge topic on sports for private and public schools. An official for the National Collegiate Athletic Association, Judith M. Sweet states that “…based on the number of women who are playing sports at the high-school level, I think there's still more room to increase participation in college. There's a dramatic difference in resources provided to men's and women's teams for recruiting. And the facilities have improved, but my sense is that there is still a gap in the quality, in comparison to men's teams” (Lipka, 2006). The federal government has intervened in the world of sports by introducing Title IX which supports equality in sports between men and women mandating that for every male sport there be a female sport as well. This development came out of the equal rights movement and gender equality movements of the seventies.

But with the age of time and the changing of views on many values and influence from other countries woman began to break out of the house mom mould and not only start going into the work place but the athletic place too. One huge occurrence in America that kind of paved the way to woman being in sports was because of WW2. When all the men went off to Europe or Asia to fight the war woman were, in turn, put in the work place and were further included in sports. This as time progressed made woman more confident to stand out and put out their voice to be heard, universal suffrage as it is called. Nowadays, women are as active in sports as much as men are. Public and private schools almost all have woman and men sport teams. This differs though with public and private schools because of the religious aspect, however the ratio of men to women participation is still low. Judith Sweet says: “Interestingly, when you look at the participation opportunities that are available nationally, they're still at 41 percent for female athletes. So while there may have been an increase in the female student population, we're still a long way even from 50-50” (Lipka, 2006). College and high schools for woman sports differ a lot when it comes down to public and private schools and the number of women who play sports. Because of that people are much understanding about things like gender races in sports.

Race Differences
Out of all the races looked at in the 2002 Sophomore study, only Blacks and American Indian/Alaska Natives, (55% and 54.6% respectively) had a participation rate comparable to whites (57%) (Ingels, 2005). It was not until the rights movement though that African Americans were allowed to play sports with white people and now they are very active in the world of sports. As opposed to public and private sports I believe there are a lot more in public schools than in private for two reasons. Even though private schools can recruit minorities and give them scholarships to go to the school if they cannot afford it, often too few minority youth have these opportunities. Given the economic situation in the inner city, the access to private schools is usually nonexistent and the public schools are overextended. Another issue regarding private school enrollment of minority students is the basic differences in the religious affiliations of those attending, Catholicism is the primary denomination of private schools and many minorities tend to be in different denominations further alienating that population.

Conclusions
In conclusion, there are many differences between public school sports in relation to private school sports. Gender, race, attendance, and extracurricular subjects that I briefly mentioned in this paper are just a couple of topics that differ between the two. Sports is also very good for everybody’s future because “Athletes were more likely than sports nonparticipants to expect to earn a 4-year degree or higher (78 percent for athletes versus 64 percent for nonparticipants), and none sport extracurricular participants were likewise more likely to hold this educational expectation than their nonparticipating counterparts (79 percent versus 64 percent)” (Ingels, 2005, 71). Sports will be the highlight of American culture for years to come, because of its important role in American life.