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Problem Area: Problems of Education
Online Activities
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Go to the sites listed and find the specific areas mentioned in the capsules below.
- American Council on Education
This is the homepage of the ACE, which was founded in 1918 and works for equal educational opportunity and strong higher education. It has approximately 1,800 members, including accredited, degree-granting colleges and universities. The site includes information about ACE, governmental relations, ACE programs, products & services, upcoming events, and the hot issues of today.
Click on Eye on Washington. Here, you will find information on recent legislation that affects colleges and universities in our nation. As a college or university student, what vested interest do you feel you have in terms of this type of legislation?
- U.S. Dept. of Education
This is the homepage of the department. A helpful list of DOE sites is included, based on the most frequently visited topic areas. Included on the list: FAFSA (Student Aid Application), Title IV School Codes, Direct loans, and a student guide to financial aid. This site links to other education sites, such as the national educational Goals 2000, A Teacher's Guide to the U.S. Department of Education, and the Office of Bilingual Education and Minority Languages Affairs, the Office of Special Education and Rehabilitative Services Programs, and the National Professional Development Program.
- A related site is the Office of Safe & Drug-Free Schools.
Here, you will find a variety of documents and reports concerning the very controversial issue of safety in our nation's schools. Do you think that the U.S. Department of Education is doing its part to improve the situation and help to combat the problem of violence in our nation's schools? Why or why not?
- National Education Association (NEA)
Homepage of the NEA, the largest teacher's organization in the U.S.; includes access to information on lobbying efforts in Congress and educational research.
Click on About NEA. Read the descriptions of this organization's mission. Do you think the nation's teachers receive enough credit for their efforts? Do you think teachers are underpaid or overpaid?
- American Federation of Teachers (AFT)
Homepage of the AFT, a national teacher's union concerned mainly with labor issues.
Click on the AFT Reports; then click on ‘GOOD NEWS/BAD NEWS for Teacher Salaries’. The AFT is one of the largest teachers' unions in the United States and is mainly concerned with labor issues. This organization's leaders believe that teacher salary increases are necessary in order to prevent a teacher shortage crisis in the years to come. Do you agree with the AFT's stance on this issue? Why or why not?
- Education Week
Homepage of a weekly newspaper devoted to education news. Includes extensive coverage of issues and problems in education. Read some of the articles that appear on the site. Which of these are issues that you expected to see on the site? Which issues are ones that you hadn’t realized needed to be addressed?
- National Parent Information Network (NPIN)
Home page supported by the ERIC Clearinghouses on Elementary and Early Childhood Education at the University of Illinois and Urban Education at Columbia University; access to information on parenting and educating children.
Click on About NPIN. What are your reactions to the mission of this organization? What kinds of problems do you perceive in terms of problems that confront preschool education today? If you have preschool-aged children, what are your major concerns. If you are not a parent of a preschool-aged child, what do you think would be your concerns?
- National Association for the Education of Young Children (NAEYC)
Homepage of the largest professional association for early childhood educators; includes links to information about issues and problems of preschool education.
Click on About NAEYC. The NAEYC is the largest professional organization for childhood educators. What are your reactions to the mission of this organization? If you are currently a parent or one day anticipate that you will have children, what do you believe the primary focus of the NAEYC should be?
- National Board for Professional Teaching Standards (NBPTS)
A system of national teacher certification developed through the Carnegie Corporation.
Click on About the National Board. Do you believe that teachers should be certified on a national basis? Why or why not?
- Association of Teacher Educators (ATE)
An organization dedicated to teacher education reform.
Click on ‘Governance’ and then click on ‘Mission Statement & Goals’. The ATE is the only national, individual membership organization in the nation that is devoted to the improvement of teacher education. Were you satisfied with your teachers throughout your elementary and secondary educational experiences? If you felt something was lacking, what was it?
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