Who We Are and What We Are Doing

     Education is one of the pillars of society that affects every single person.  In order for the community to achieve success, it is vital that every individual receives a useful and fulfilling education.  Yet this basic necessity of society often falls short of needed expectations.

      The three of us (George Bailey, Joey Cowan, and Zach Long) chose to investigate public education in the US, particularly in the Houston Independent School District, because it is a matter of immense importance for everyone that students receive a useful education.  In the 1950’s, public schools in the US were among the best sources of free education in the world.  However, over time public education programs in this country have fallen behind those of other developed nations.  Even though dropout rates in the US have been slowly decreasing, they remain high compared to what is expected for a developed nation.  Minority and low-income students remain highly susceptible to low high school graduation rates.  In 2008, African American and Hispanic graduation rates were significantly lower than the Caucasian rate.  In light of these trends and the fact that only 85% of Americans receive a high school diploma, the term “Education Crisis” is not far from the mark. 

     To start off our investigation, we watched "Waiting for Superman," a documentary following five students from across the country applying for positions in magnet schools.  This movie made us realize the inequality of opportunity based on a student's socioeconomic background and the zip code they live in.  The system should not force students to attend the schools they are zoned to, because every school is inherently different and may not adequately serve every child's needs.  "Waiting for Superman" illustrated the helpless nature of children facing the school system's inequalities and raised our awareness of the complexity of the problem we have decided to investigate.

     Through independent research and interviews with people inside and outside HISD, we hope to develop an understanding of the problem.  We will meet with people from a variety of school types and review the research and solutions proposed by other investigators.  Weighing the pros and cons of each solution and comparing them with the opinions of those interviewed, we will arrive at our own solution.  As we continue our research, we will post our findings on this blog to record the opinions of those we meet and consolidate the myriad of proposals for the improvement of the education system.

--George, Joey, Zach