Governor Ted Strickland is taking the “if it ain’t broke don’t fix it approach” to Ohio’s public education system. But he’s also going a step further. He’s trying to rethink it. Wednesday, Strickland visited Akron North High School to talk with teachers, administrators and business professionals from around the area about what it will take to give Ohio’s education system a boost. “We have to foster creativity and innovative thinking ... (because) we don’t know what jobs will be in demand 20 or 50 years from now,” Strickland said. Strickland engaged those in attendance by asking for ideas, input and feedback about what it will take to ensure that Ohio’s kids receive an education that rivals any in the world. Connie Ramser, a special education teacher in the Jackson Local School District, believes the problems don’t lie within the system. “We have good schools in Ohio,” Ramser said. The problem, she said, are ever-changing mandates on state and federal levels. “Competency testing became proficiency testing which became achievement testing,” Ramser said. “As soon as you have a good model it goes out the door.” If education is going to improve, according to Ramser, it is not because of better testing. Teachers need to be able to spend more time with their students to understand individual learning styles and meet their individual needs. But that can’t happen within the current school day or school year structure. “How are you suppose ...
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Governor Ted Strickland is taking the “if it ain’t broke don’t fix it approach” to Ohio’s public education system. But he’s also going a step further. He’s trying to rethink it. Wednesday, Strickland visited Akron North High School to talk with teachers, administrators and business professionals from around the area about what it will take to give Ohio’s education system a boost. “We have to foster creativity and innovative thinking ... (because) we don’t know what jobs will be in demand 20 or 50 years from now,” Strickland said. Strickland engaged those in attendance by asking for ideas, input and feedback about what it will take to ensure that Ohio’s kids receive an education that rivals any in the world. Connie Ramser, a special education teacher in the Jackson Local School District, believes the problems don’t lie within the system. “We have good schools in Ohio,” Ramser said. The problem, she said, are ever-changing mandates on state and federal levels. “Competency testing became proficiency testing which became achievement testing,” Ramser said. “As soon as you have a good model it goes out the door.” If education is going to improve, according to Ramser, it is not because of better testing. Teachers need to be able to spend more time with their students to understand individual learning styles and meet their individual needs. But that can’t happen within the current school day or school year structure. “How are you suppose ...