Improving Learning for Baltimore Children
Why are Students Failing Elementary School?
Younger children tend to get more distracted and focus less on the lesson at hand and this can happen because of short attention spans. This can lead to failing grades, flunking out of school, missing chunks of vital information and missing opportunities. I think this could be solved by involving more hands on learning and teaching could help kids focus more and be more interested in the subject.
What does BCPS Have to do With This?
BCPSS has changed its grading policy as of May 2022. Every kid in Baltimore City that has failed their grade, will instead of receiving an "Fail" or "Unsatisfactory", will instead acquire a "Not Completed" or" No Credit". Because of this many kids who did not pass the school year will still be allowed to move on to the next school year without learning anything or understanding anything, which could cause more failing students.
How Do failing Students Still Move on to the Next Grade?
The city has moved students on even when they're not passing and don't understand crucial material they need for their future success. The city is currently being investigated for this.
The fail rate of each class in the second semester.
Source: https://www.cbsnews.com/baltimore/news/new-report-shows-failure-rates-doubled-or-tripled-during-second-semester-at-most-maryland-public-schools/
How many students each school on this list changed their grades from failing to passing.
Source: https://foxbaltimore.com/news/project-baltimore/baltimore-city-schools-leaders-claim-to-be-unaware-of-pressure-to-change-grades
Solution
How can We Help Students Learn Better in Class?
Different learning styles often are ignored for the "look and listen". But some students work in different ways.
There are 3 different learning styles in the classroom, auditory, kinesthetic and visual. the most commonly used learning style is visual, but we need to account for all of our students' needs. I wrote the essay linked at the top of the page to educate teachers and parents on the different learning styles and how they can implement them.