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I was especially struck by this line when I thought back to Ch. 5 in Mathison - Defining the Social Studies Curriculum. It lists the goals of Goals 2000: Educate America Act. The first thing listed is "All children in America will start school ready to learn". The reality is that not all students start school ready to learn or at least at the same place. As this newspaper article acknowledges, many poor children enter less prepared for school than those with wealthier parents and this is, in some cases, despite some having access to learning programs. Would an influx of new funds from such a bill create a more organized and directed early learning strategy? And if so, I wonder how educators can really help parents take advantage of the available services.

I think a plan for reaching out to parenst will be a crucial step in making this worthwhile. Communities need to provide the structures that would enable to parents to take advantage of these options and that might include adult education or parenting classes, too.

"In early March, The Daily Show with Jon Stewart featured former Supreme Court Justice (and current CMS co-chair) Sandra Day O'Connor discussing the importance of the civic mission of schools. Click to watch the video."

My thesis draws heavily from this report. It's fantastic. "Written and endorsed by more than 50 scholars and education practitioners, The Civic Mission of Schools report summarizes the status of and need for civic learning in schools, kindergarten through 12th grade. It analyzes trends in American political and civic engagement; identifies promising approaches to educating students for democracy; and offers recommendations to educators, policymakers, government officials and funders."

I find this a difficult claim to deny, especially given the fact that global relations are becoming closer and closer due to changing technologies.

Maybe it allows students to learn at their own pace, but I feel that having a teacher present would encourage more interaction and allow teachers to quickly pick up on areas of struggle.