The Different School Models

Institution:

Name of Student:

Different schools have different ways of improving the potential of their students and ensuring proper comprehension of the curriculum. The effectiveness of the administered methods determines the level of performance of the individual students and that of the school as well. This, as a result, leads to varying school models. In this paper I will highlight the major differences between school models of publicly owned and privately owned institutions basing the facts on the interviews I conducted on the teachers of Burlington Christian Academy (a privately owned school) and Graham High School (a publicly owned school). Both schools are located in North Carolina.

Graham High School has a student enrollment of about 830 and 64 teachers. This means that the student-to-teacher ratio is 13:1. On the other hand Burlington Christian Academy has a student enrolment of 600 and 15 teachers making the student-to-teacher ratio to be 1:15. The first school has a lower student-to-teacher ratio regardless of the fact that it is a public school and the second school is privately owned.

The most important issue that Graham High School currently faces in ensuring that students meet their potential is school drop outs. There has been an increasing number of drop out cases in this school from last year’s figures of up to about 20%. This is alarming as the students who drop out of school end up not achieving their academic goals. Burlington Christian Academy’s success on the other hand is hindered by the irregular class attendance of the students. In some cases, even parents have been observed to help their children in skipping classes by calling to falsely inform the school that their child is sick. This hinders effective curriculum coverage as those students who don’t report to school won’t learn the new concepts taught while they were away.

The issue of school dropout is being addressed by encouraging the parents and students to be more engaged in the curriculum. For cases of inadequate finances to finance the students, scholarships are awarded to bright but needy students. The weak students are also provided with additional support through the remedial classes so that their areas of weaknesses can be addressed and transformed into strengths. For the poor class attendants, their parents are made aware of this vice and advised to encourage their children to form a positive attitude towards school. The curriculum is also to be filled with fun activities and co-curriculum activities also emphasized among the students.

Technology, in both schools, is used to improve the quality of teaching in the classes. PowerPoint presentations are used to create a visual of what is being taught. E-libraries are used to make the curriculum books readily available especially for research purposes. In literature classes, movies or plays about novels can be watched during class time to enhance comprehension of the plot. Emails are also used to deliver assignments and plagiarism software helps the teacher ensure that the work delivered is original and not a copy of someone else’s work.

Both the teachers who I interviewed agreed on the fact that mathematics was the subject that the students needed the most support in mastering. Most students are weak in this subject area and while others have the potential to excel in it, they have formed a negative attitude either towards the subject or their teachers that limit their chances of performing well in this subject. They agreed that the negative attitude should be corrected and more practice of test assignments to be done as well.

The changes in teaching, according to the Burlington Christian Academy’s teacher were that nowadays technology has greatly affected the student’s ability to learn and the teacher’s ability to teach the students. More use of technology results in better understanding among the students she said. This was not the case in the past. According to the Graham High school teacher, the changes in teaching that he noted were that girls have increasingly been better at mathematics and that more of them are usually able to grasp the subject better than the boys. They however both agreed that the most important skill to be taught was self-discipline. This would greatly affect the success of any student.

Another thing they agreed on was that the teaching in their classrooms involved both the teachers and students and was not in the form of a lecture where the students would sit and wait for the teacher to speak. It involved the exchange of ideas between the two parties whereby corrections were made and additional information given to either of the parties. Students play an important role in the teaching and learning process. They act as litmus paper as they are the test for whether or not learning has taken place and with which quality it took place. Teachers also play an important role. They supervise and act as team leaders during the teaching and learning process. For the process to succeed both stakeholders must work hand in hand.

Problem solving, learning, creativity, decision making and critical thinking were listed by both teachers as 21st century skills. According to the Graham High school teacher, the major issue the school faced was lack of adequate counselors to guide the students on the right paths during social and ethical dilemmas. Another issue was inadequate funds to support the co-curriculum activities thus no emphasis was put in talent development. According to the Burlington Christian Academy’s teacher, the major issue faced in the school was the school bus services. Parents complained that the buses picked the children too early and therefore most of them could not make it to the bus stops in time.

School A School B Differences Similarities

Type of school Public Private Yes no

Demographics 830 students 600 students Yes No

Student-to-teacher ratio 13:1 15:1 Yes No

Key issues Inadequate counselors

Inadequate funds School bus services Yes No

21st century skills Creative thinking, critical thinking, decision making Learning and creativity Yes No

Role of technology Improved learning experiences Improved learning experiences No Yes