According to President Barack Obama, America will never be able to succeed during the 21st century unless the people will do a much better job in educating their children. This is what spurred the creation of the RTT or Race to the Top program that has been designed for promoting systemic reform and embracing innovative approaches in the learning and teaching in the different schools all over the United States. Backed with an investment of a historic $4.35 billion, all reforms within Race to the Top aim to help the students of America to graduate fully prepared not only for college but also for their career, enabling them to have an edge over other workers, no matter they might be in the world.
However, despite the promising reforms of this program, a lot of critics are saying that this will not actually do much change in the educational system. Will Race to the Top really bring advantages or will only create different disadvantages?
The Pros of Race to the Top
1. Attract and Keep Great Leaders and Teachers
It will be done through expanding an effective support to all principals and teachers, improving and reforming teacher preparation, changing the teacher compensation, retention and evaluation policies for encouraging and rewarding effectiveness as well as working to make sure that the most talented of teachers will be placed in subjects and schools where they are most needed.
2. Design and Implement High Quality Standards
This is done through encouragement of the states to work hand in hand toward the creation of a system of the common standards in academics that will help build career and college readiness, including the assessments designed for measuring the higher order thinking skills and critical knowledge.
3. Effective Approaches and Innovations
Use effective approaches and innovation for turning the struggling schools around through asking the states to transform and prioritize the constantly low performing schools.
The 2 Cons of Race to the Top
1. Civil Rights Groupd Criticizing Program
Groups on civil rights are criticizing the program’s competitive and market based competitive implementation strategy. For them, if education is considered as a civil right, the students in the winning states must not the only ones that will get the chance of learning within high quality environments.
2. Implementing RTT
Will highlight the educational approach that relies heavily in competition. Once the states with big communities of color, including Texas, Mississippi, Louisiana and California are going to be left behind in the competitive grant process and a significant numbers of the brown and black children who will have to meet the goal of being a leader will also be left behind.
How Do You Feel About Race to the Top?
It is true that the educational system will have to be improved for the betterment of a nation but it seems that Race to the Top is lacking in some areas. How do you feel about this particular program?