Demographic and Socioeconomic characteristics of a community shape the Curriculum of that school

Demographic and socioeconomic characteristics cannot shape the curriculum of school systems. All it does is give statistical facts and numbers. To find out what shape the children are in, we must look at the teachers and parents. The statistical facts and numbers may give an idea of how the curriculum should be formed but it does not really show if this is what those students "really" need. The teachers and parents can supplement the curricula to improve students’ performances. They are the ones who truly know what the students really understand and do not understand based on the performance in the classroom with the teacher or the parent at home reviewing the homework assignment with the child. “Studies show across the board that parental involvement matters…kids whose parents are involved with their education actually have higher grades… Numbers for parental involvement stay high through elementary school, at about 95 percent...for the Meridian School District. That number drops off sharply to about 50 percent of parents in middle school. The number drops even lower in high school.”(Huff, 2006)

The problem comes from the “Federal statistics [showing] that test scores are typically low among schools with a majority of students who are Hispanic and poor" (Gersema, 2006). An Arizona study showed that is not really the case because in the 12 schools that were studied "third- and eighth graders surpassing the statewide averages for reading and math had several factors in common. They included: Working individually with students to help them overcome their struggles with concepts; Routinely assessing students' skills and targeting their weaknesses; Sticking with a consistent academic improvement plan; Having a strong principal who works closely with teachers…” (Gersema, 2006)

The schools have to be sensitive to the students' educational needs. “Detroit's Southeastern High School [conducted] an experiment to see if more ninth-graders could make it to 10th grade without dropping out or failing… little more than half of the ninth-graders "graduated"… These programs are designed to ease students into the pressures of high school by putting them in smaller settings with more individual attention... “(Pratt & Khatri, 2006)

“At the institutional level, we need to… embrace the full diversity of society in our classrooms… We need to examine more rigorously what we are doing in the name of English education and stop participating in procedures and promoting policies that can harm our students, even if it means breaking some rules…At the individual level, we can work with our students to maximize their ability to express the complexity of their thoughts in words and to practice expressing those thoughts verbally, especially when it comes to emotions, rather than acting on angry, violent impulse…[so create] a "slam," which is a combination of poetry and performance art. Slamming poets perform a "set" of two or three of their own poems. Randomly selected members of the audience judge…Slam poems are judged as much on content as on dramatic delivery.” (Bruce & Davis, 2000)

“The most effective actions teachers can undertake-and the one with the most enduring results-is to create in their classrooms a climate of civility politeness or courtesy.... A school curriculum including nonaggressive conflict resolution and problem solving could lower violence, but these skills have to be taught explicitly. We believe a climate in which nonsocial behavior is handled effectively will minimize its occurrence over the long haul. …” (Kauffman & Burbach, 1998)

Reference

Archdiocese of Washington. Education. Retrieved July 4, 2008 from http://www.adw.org/education/edu_whoweare.asp.

Bruce, H.E. and Davis, B.D. (2000). Slam: Hip-hop meets poetry--a strategy for violence intervention. English Journal, 89(5), 119-127. Retrieved July 4, 2008 from http://proquest.umi.com/pqdweb?index=0&did=53634521&SrchMode=1&sid=1&Fmt=6&VInst=PROD&VType=PQD&RQT=309&VName=PQD&TS=1215214191&clientId=11123.

Kauffman, J.M. and Burbach, H.J. (1998). Creating classroom civility. The Education Digest, 63(6), 12-18. Retrieved July 4, 2008 from

http://proquest.umi.com/pqdweb?index=1&did=26125732&SrchMode=1&sid=3&Fmt=6&VInst=PROD&VType=PQD&RQT=309&VName=PQD&TS=1215214276&clientId=11123.

Pratt, C. and Khatri, S.S. (2006). Dropping the Dropout Rate: Freshmen-only schools working. Knight Ridder Tribune Business News,1. Retrieved July 4, 2008 from http://proquest.umi.com/pqdweb?index=0&did=1062120551&SrchMode=1&sid=9&Fmt=3&VInst=PROD&VType=PQD&RQT=309&VName=PQD&TS=1215214479&clientId=11123

Gersema, E. (2006). Hispanic majority schools able to curb low test scores. Knight Ridder Tribune Business News,1. Retrieved July 4, 2008 from http://proquest.umi.com/pqdweb?index=0&did=1013722661&SrchMode=1&sid=10&Fmt=3&VInst=PROD&VType=PQD&RQT=309&VName=PQD&TS=1215214631&clientId=11123.

Home School Legal Defense Association. Retrieved July 4, 2008

from http://www.hslda.org/laws/default.asp

Huff, J (2006). Get involved in your kids' education -- even if it seems they don't want you to. Knight Ridder Tribune Business News,1. Retrieved July 4, 2008 from http://proquest.umi.com/pqdweb?index=8&did=1115817481&SrchMode=1&sid=12&Fmt=3&VInst=PROD&VType=PQD&RQT=309&VName=PQD&TS=1215215455&clientId=11123.