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<DIV><FONT size=4>Ron,</FONT></DIV>
<DIV><FONT size=4></FONT> </DIV>
<DIV><FONT size=4>Thank you for posting this.</FONT></DIV>
<DIV><FONT size=4></FONT> </DIV>
<DIV><FONT size=4>For the sake of possibly starting a meaningful discussion
consider:</FONT></DIV>
<DIV><FONT size=4></FONT> </DIV>
<DIV><FONT size=4>Schools from kindergarten onward should teach and urge the
practice of the 6 R's.</FONT></DIV>
<DIV><FONT size=4></FONT> </DIV>
<DIV><FONT size=4>In addition to reading, writing, and arithmetic there are
other 3 R's which in the real world are perhaps just as important,
briefly:</FONT></DIV>
<DIV><FONT size=4></FONT> </DIV>
<DIV><FONT size=4>1. Reasoning: Critical
thinking.</FONT></DIV>
<DIV><FONT size=4></FONT> </DIV>
<DIV><FONT size=4>2. Resourcefulness: Problem analysis
and solving of all kinds of problems and the inculcation of</FONT></DIV>
<DIV><FONT size=4> using these skills
habitually.</FONT></DIV>
<DIV><FONT size=4></FONT> </DIV>
<DIV><FONT size=4>3. Relating:
Non-manipulative skills needed to get along successfully with
others.</FONT></DIV>
<DIV><FONT size=4></FONT> </DIV>
<DIV><FONT size=4><BR>Art Deco (Wayne A. Fox)<BR><A
href="mailto:deco@moscow.com">deco@moscow.com</A><BR></FONT></DIV>
<DIV>----- Original Message -----
<DIV>From: "Ron Force" <<A
href="mailto:rforce@moscow.com">rforce@moscow.com</A>></DIV>
<DIV>To: <<A
href="mailto:vision2020@moscow.com">vision2020@moscow.com</A>></DIV>
<DIV>Sent: Wednesday, April 27, 2005 5:12 PM</DIV>
<DIV>Subject: [Vision2020] High School Survey</DIV></DIV>
<DIV><BR></DIV>> Press Release<BR>> <BR>> April 19, 2005<BR>>
<BR>> Governors Seek Input from 10,000 High School Students<BR>> NGA
Launches Online ''Rate Your Future'' Survey in Ongoing Effort to<BR>>
Redesign America's High Schools<BR>> <BR>> WASHINGTON-- By the end of this
school year, the National Governors<BR>> Association (NGA) hopes to survey
more than 10,000 high school students on<BR>> their expectations and
frustrations about America's high schools and how the<BR>> work they do
affects their futures.<BR>> <BR>> Part of NGA Chairman Virginia Gov. Mark
Warner's yearlong "Redesigning the<BR>> American High School" initiative, the
survey is an opportunity to bring the<BR>> student voice into the education
reform debate. Students stand to benefit<BR>> the most from this reform
movement and NGA strongly believes their input<BR>> should frame the
discussion so every high school student can graduate<BR>> prepared for
college or a high-skilled job.<BR>> <BR>> Launched in February, the
survey, which is available at<BR>> <A
href="http://www.rateyourfuture.org">www.rateyourfuture.org</A>, will help
governors gain valuable insight into<BR>> today's high school experience.
Governors want to hear if students think<BR>> high school is relevant to
their own futures. This survey is about getting<BR>> all students -- the
overachievers, underachievers and everyone in between --<BR>> involved in
this dialogue.<BR>> <BR>> "The voice of the students has been missing in
this conversation about high<BR>> school reform that has been going on among
the experts and policymakers,"<BR>> Gov. Warner said. "The Class of 2005 may
have the best ideas we need. If the<BR>> students we are trying to help don't
see the value of redesigning high<BR>> school, we are wasting our
time."<BR>> <BR>> This month, NGA received preliminary results from the
"Rate Your Future"<BR>> survey's first 1,200 student respondents. The initial
findings are telling.<BR>> Even though America's high school students say
they are adequately prepared<BR>> in basic reading, math and science skills,
statistics show they are<BR>> alarmingly unprepared to handle the demands of
college and work in the 21st<BR>> century. Moreover, more than a third of
them say their high schools are not<BR>> properly preparing them in many
areas critical to their future success.<BR>> <BR>> For example, about one
third of students don't feel their schools are<BR>> adequately preparing them
to think critically, analyze problems and<BR>> communicate effectively.
Moreover, 43 percent don't believe they are gaining<BR>> practical and
essential life skills while in high school.<BR>> <BR>> The results reveal
students fail to understand that mastering an<BR>> academically rigorous high
school curriculum, especially during senior year,<BR>> will not only help
them excel in college, it also will help them graduate<BR>> from college on
time and make them a more attractive candidate in today's<BR>> increasingly
competitive job market. Other major initial findings of the<BR>> study
include:<BR>> <BR>> * Students strongly sense high
school is not adequately preparing them<BR>> for their future, and a third --
including those most at risk of dropping<BR>> out -- feel overlooked by their
high school.<BR>> * Students recognize the importance of
senior year, but 49 percent want<BR>> it to be significantly more meaningful.
They say high schools are lacking<BR>> the practical programs and skills that
could help them better prepare for<BR>> college or a job. Meanwhile 29
percent characterized senior year as a "waste<BR>> of
time."<BR>> * A large majority, 59 percent, would work
harder during senior year if<BR>> their school offered more demanding and
interesting courses.<BR>> * One-third rate their schools as
doing a "fair" or "poor" job of<BR>> "giving them the skills to
succeed."<BR>> * Three in five students (60 percent) rate
their high schools either<BR>> "fair" or "poor" in preparing them for a
career or trade. Likewise, 57<BR>> percent believe their school does a "fair"
or "poor" job of preparing them<BR>> for the future by providing them with
tools to learn a trade or skill.<BR>> * About one-third of
students say their high schools are doing a "fair"<BR>> or "poor" job in
preparing them for college. Only a quarter say their<BR>> schools do an
"excellent" job.<BR>> * Three in 10 students say their high
school does a "fair" or "poor" job<BR>> challenging them academically and
nearly 70 percent say teachers have high<BR>> expectations for only "certain
students."<BR>> <BR>> NGA will release the survey's final results shortly
before the nation's<BR>> governors gather in Des Moines this summer for the
97th NGA Annual Meeting.<BR>> <BR>> ###<BR>> <BR>> Printed from the
NGA web site.<BR>> <BR>> <BR>>
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the Palouse since 1994.
<BR>>
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href="http://www.fsr.net">http://www.fsr.net</A>
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href="mailto:Vision2020@moscow.com">mailto:Vision2020@moscow.com</A><BR>>
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