Education Reform

In class, we read an article about Tacoma schools replacing half of their staff because they are low-performing, and we talked about the east coast school that is completely shutting down. I feel the government is making the right decisions when it comes to what to do with those schools. If the schools aren't meeting standards, then changes need to be made.
If Olympia High School wasn't meeting state standards, then I would do the same things to it that are being done to the other schools mentioned above. If Olympia High School was closed down or half the staff was fired, it would be a sad experience, but if the school isn't performing up to standards, then changes need to be made. It's alright to think about what you want to do, until it's time to start doing what you were meant to do.
I just hope that the government doesn't get carried away with what they're doing, and start closing down every school that doesn't perform up to standards. There are other ways of trying to fix the problem of under-performing schools. When your only tool is a hammer, all of your problems start to look like nails. The government needs to keep an open mind and make sure that the changes they set in place are truly going to help the students, because the students are the ones that need to be helped.
Here is a great website that addresses the topic of how a school closure affects your neighborhood, the major aspects of education reform, and offers parents guidelines for personal involvement: http://www.projectappleseed.org/reform.html

-Mark Twain