CARDINAL CORNER: ALEX GEORDAN

America’s public schools can be traced back to the year 1640. The Massachusetts Puritans established schools to teach basic reading, some writing and arithmetic skills and cultivate values that serve a democratic society (history and civics implied).

I thought it would be a good idea to show our community how public education has changed, and one might even say morphed, into an enormous responsibility for all of us as stakeholders. Take a few moments to read the following and reflect on how our profession/responsibilities have changed since its inception.

• From 1900-1910, the state’s public schools added:

Nutrition

Immunization

Health (Activities in the health arena multiply every year.)

• From 1910-1930:

Physical Education (Including organized athletics)

Practical Arts/Domestic Science/Home Economics (Including sewing and cooking)

Vocational Education (Including industrial and agricultural education)

Mandated School Transportation

• In the 1940s:

Business Education (Including typing, shorthand and bookkeeping)

Art

Music

Speech

Drama

Half-day Kindergarten

School lunch programs

• In the 1950s:

Expanded Math & Science

Safety Education

Drivers Education

Expanded Art & Music

Foreign Language Requirements

Sex Education

• In the 1960s:

Advanced Placement Programs

Head Start

Title I

Adult Education

Consumer Science (Purchasing resources, rights and responsibilities)

Career Education (Occupational options, entry level skill requirements)

Peace, Leisure & Recreation Education (Love those 60’s)

• In the 1970s:

Drug and Alcohol Abuse Education

Parenting Education

Behavior Adjustment Classes

Character Education

Special Education (Mandated by federal government)

Title IX (Greatly expanded athletic programs for girls)

Environmental Education

Women’s Studies

African-American Heritage Education

School Breakfast Programs (Now some schools feed America’s children two-thirds of their daily meals throughout the school year and all summer. Sadly, these are the only wholesome meals some children receive.)

• In the 1980s:

Keyboarding and Computer Education

Global Education

Multicultural/Ethnic Education

Nonsexist Education

English-as-a-Second-Language and Bilingual Education

Teen Pregnancy Awareness

Hispanic Heritage Education

Early Childhood Education

Jump Start, Early Start, Even Start and Prime Start

Full-day Kindergarten

Preschool Programs for children at risk

After-School Programs for children with working parents

Alternative Education

Stranger/Danger Education

Sexual Abuse Prevention Education

Expanded Health & Psychological Services

Child Abuse Monitoring (A legal requirement for all teachers)

• In the 1990s:

Conflict Resolution and Peer Mediation

HIV/AIDS Education

CPR Training

Death Education

America 2000 Initiatives

Inclusion

Expanded Computer and Internet Education

Distance Learning

Tech Prep and School to Work Programs

Technical Adequacy

Ohio Achievement Assessments

Ohio Graduation Tests

Post-Secondary Enrollment Options

Concurrent Enrollment Options

Goals 2000 Initiatives

Expanded Talented & Gifted Opportunities

At Risk and Dropout Prevention

Homeless Education

Gang Education

Service Learning

Bus, Bicycle, Gun & Water Safety

Charter Schools

• First Decade of the 21st Century:

No Child Left Behind

Bully Prevention

Anti-harassment Policies

Expanded Early Childcare and Wrap-Around Programs

Elevator and Escalator Safety Instruction

Body Mass Index Evaluation

Organ Donor Education and Awareness Programs

Personal Financial Literacy

Entrepreneurial and Innovation Skills Development

Media Literacy Development

Health & Wellness Programs

Race to the Top

Standards Based Report Cards

Common Core

Third Grade Guarantee

STEM, STEAM and STEMM Education

(Science, Technology, Engineering, Math) (Add Arts) (Add Medical)

Formative Instruction & Assessments

Open Enrollment

School Choice

End of Course Exams

Student Learning Objectives

Student Growth Measures

Ohio Superintendent, Principal and Teacher Evaluation Systems

This list does not include the addition of multiple, specialized topics within each of the traditional subjects. It also does not include the explosion of standardized testing and test-prep activities, or any of the reporting requirements imposed by the federal government, such as four-year adjusted cohort graduation rates, parental notification of optional supplemental services, comprehensive restructuring plans, and reports of Adequate Yearly Progress.

Now, you might be able to see the importance of the partnerships needed between the families and community to educate students for personal success.

(Alex G. Geordan is the Canfield Local Schools Superintendent. Neighbors will publish his monthly column one Saturday a month during the school year. To comment, send feedback to neighbors@vindy.com and it will be forwarded to Mr. Geordan.)