Are we living up to the Rose Standards in our schools? Why or Why not?
Respond to one other person.
Reference: 7 Rose capacity standards. (These standards are used to determine what a sufficient and "suitable" education is for funding purposes in the Kansas funding lawsuit.)
Communication/Basic Skills
- Rose Capacity 1: Sufficient oral and written communication skills to enable students to function in a complex and rapidly changing civilization;
Civic and Social Engagement
- Rose Capacity 2: Sufficient knowledge of economic, social, and political systems to enable the students to make informed choices;
- Rose Capacity 3: Sufficient understanding of governmental processes to enable the students to understand the issues that affect his or her community, state, and nation;
Physical and Mental Health
- Rose Capacity 4: Sufficient self-knowledge and knowledge of his or her mental and physical wellness;
- Rose Capacity 5: Sufficient grounding in the arts to enable each student to appreciate his or her cultural and historical heritage;
Postsecondary and Career Preparation
- Rose Capacity 6: Sufficient training or preparation for advanced training in either academic or vocational fields so as to enable each child to choose and pursue life work intelligently; and
- Rose Capacity 7: Sufficient levels of academic or vocational skills to enable public school students to compete favorably with their counterparts in surrounding states, in academics or in the job market.
I think the Rose Standards can be addressed through College Career Ready standards. I do think the local district is addressing these standards. But…of course there is always more that could be done to increase student learning and achievement.
ReplyDeleteWe actually discussed this in August at our fall staff meeting; the local teachers through all seven standards were addressed through the curriculum.
That's great that these standards were addressed at your school. This is the first I have heard of the Rose Standards. I don't think all of the Rose Standards are really addressed through the CCRS. If they are, they may just be touched on, not really emphasized.
DeleteI'm glad that all seven standards are being addressed. I think that will help graduates immensely after college. It's good to hear that some districts are addressing these life skills and realizing that they are so important.
DeleteI really feel they don't need to be in the testing standards I think they need to be taught at least through high school, if not middle school as well all the way up to graduating high school. Some of these kids live for the day or the moment and don't think far enough ahead of what they are expected to be or become as young adults.
DeleteYep I was there at that inservice and the only one that our group kind of thought we were dropping the ball on was the vocational skills area. I wished we were able to be like magnet schools and let the kids run a business or work outside of the school during the day (like a job shadowing) so they can get a taste of what work is like. I know I know, expenses involved would be not feasible. We do have a young entrepreneur class that does market and sell things once or twice a year and those students are learning huge skills that I never had the chance to learn at their age.
DeleteMy first question is what is the definition of 'sufficient levels'? My idea of sufficient level may be different from someone else's idea of sufficient level. Standardized tests alone are not ideal for showing that. Some of the Rose Standards are addressed by the Common Core standards but when it comes to knowledge of the arts and cultural heritages, I don't think the schools really address those Rose Standards. Most of the emphasis in schools are math, reading and now writing. While these areas are important, not all students will be great at these areas. They may be better in the areas of history, different cultures or the arts, but these options are not always available. I also see emphasis on knowledge on governmental processes as lacking. I think back to my days of high school government classes and history classes. I did enough to get a good grade but ask me more about the government process and I may be able to give the basics but not in-depth information. The students will learn what they want to learn, especially at the high school level. If we can make it interesting and memorable, they are more likely to remember those things but if they just read and listen to lectures, they won't remember much. We need to get information to them in the modes that they learn the best in.
ReplyDeleteI don't believe that schools are doing an adequate job of teaching these standards. These standards are the exact skills that students need as they enter college or the work force and they do not possess them. If I were a high school administrator I would suggest a Rose Standards year long class for Juniors or seniors that is required before graduation. I would also encourage each general ed class to incorporate at least 4 of the standard capacities in their curriculum. I really like the concept of Rose Standards and believe that it should be much more prevalent in schools.
ReplyDeleteI have never heard of the Rose Standards until now. But I agree with Jeri, it looks like these can be addressed in CCRS. Like Heather also said, what is the measurement used to determine sufficient and suitable? Standards like this need to start at the kindergarten level and work all through the grades, K-12. This will take an entire generation for the Rose Standards to produce (or not) well-rounded graduates. I think everyone is struggling with how to educate 21st century learners; what does the 21st century classroom look like, how does technology fit, what do students really need to know, and other questions teachers are constantly asking themselves. I wonder if educators thought this way about how to educate 20th century learners, 19th century learners, etc... Or is it just us?
ReplyDeleteI agree Carol that these standards need to start at the kindergarten level. One of my frustrations is when students are in high school and lack knowledge that should have been learned in third, fourth, fifth grade. I'm talking about a large amount of typical gen ed students; not the kiddos we serve.
DeleteI too, have never heard of the Rose Standards before now. Honestly, the administrative focus in my school district for the last year and a half has been on passing a bond to build a new elementary school. It looks like our school districts are going to be held accountable for this....I think our school is addressing the first four, somewhat and vocational classes definitely address the last two.
ReplyDeleteI think the Rose standards are being addressed in our school district but I do feel there is room for improvement. For example, there should be some type of class or concept on money management. We are addressing math too much to juniors and seniors, and for those who may not pursue a secondary education those kids need to take some classes in money management, or all graduating seniors should take some type of money management class before they graduate.
ReplyDeleteI agree with students needing to take a money management course. My daughter took a personal finance class as an elective. In my opinion, it was one of the most worthwhile courses she took in high school. I wish my other two daughters would have taken it.
DeleteTyce, I agree about the money management course. So many students (of all ability levels) graduate completely unaware of how to balance a checkbook or compute interest. These skills become very important, especially when they begin taking out student loans and applying for credit cards!
DeleteWhat a great idea! That is something that is definitely not covered anywhere and is a needed skill once kids leave high school. It would be a great addition to any curriculum in any district.
DeleteI agree Tyce, I encourage a personal finance in most courses of study, in years it is available.
DeleteI had not heard of these standards, but I feel my district is addressing these especially in the high school. There are vocational options for students not wishing to attend college. The only standard I feel my district is lacking in is written communication. I feel it is better in some grade levels since Common Core standards have been implemented.
ReplyDeleteCommon Core is setting the standard for written an oral communication higher than it has been in quite some time. I would personally like to see more schools adopt vocational programs - I personally feel that the more students experience the work force and are given a chance for independence and leadership... they have a greater opportunity for success.
DeleteI feel that yes we do address all these standards some we address more or better than others but that may be due to where we are located in the nation or geographically in our own state. With College and Career Ready Standards I don’t feel we have a choice if we teach or don’t teach these things they are part of the curriculum. I do get tired of our government comparing us to China and testing our students to death because I feel it is counterproductive.
ReplyDeleteAmy,
DeleteI agree that our location hinders our ability as much as lack of funding. There are a number of technology items that I know I had in school growing up that my husband who lived in NE KS did not, but he lived near Topeka and Lawrence where he was able to access more and more meaningful opportunities.
I would think that we, for the most part, prepare our students successfully for life after the K-12 system, and meet the Rose Standards. However, there are two standards that I feel we could improve upon.
ReplyDelete"Rose Capacity 2: Sufficient knowledge of economic, social, and political systems to enable the students to make informed choices;
Rose Capacity 3: Sufficient understanding of governmental processes to enable the students to understand the issues that affect his or her community, state, and nation."
Our students, myself included, are not as familiar with the government as they ought to be. Many times they jump on the bandwagon because that is what is popular, as opposed to really knowing the issues. Perhaps it is because we are so far removed from our government. If there was a way to make government (and discussions of government and political issues) a part of every day life for students they might be more apt to form their own opinions, to make informed decisions, and understand issues that affect them.
I would agree with you on this...our knowledge of government is often what popular opinion or the media wants it to be. We don't generally hear the whole story or see the whole interview so are left forming opinions on half truths.
DeleteI agree with your comment about better understanding our government. Your post reminded me of the clips they show on the Tonight Show, Letterman, etc. where an interviewer asks random people questions like why they're voting for a particular candidate or what stance on certain issues they agree with, and the person being interviewed has NO CLUE why they're voting the way they are. And by no means am I trying to insinuate that I know everything there is to know about our government, but things like that are still frustrating to me when I see them.
DeleteThis is my first knowledge of the Rose Standards and I find them pretty vague to be used in a court system to determine adequate funding for schools....sufficient knowledge and understanding, not sure how you put a score on that. I am intrigued by them, however, as only one is directly related to reading/math/writing. I primarily work in elementary/middle school settings and these 3 skills are what I see being the primary focus of education today. There are teachers that go above and beyond to teacher the science, health and social studies....but if those are not being tested that grade level, it might not get the attention it deserves. The districts I work in are well on their way to meeting the Rose Standards but continue to have much work ahead!
ReplyDeleteI think the Rose Standards is just one more way for the government to stick their nose in farther to continue to control all aspects of our lives. It's just a fancy name assigned to stuff WE ARE ALREADY AND HAVE BEEN DOING FOR YEARS for someone somewhere to make more money off of our hard work in the classrooms. And as far as using them for school funding, at this time, school funding is a pretty sore subject in Kansas, especially with our re-elected governor saying he's going to dip into our KPERS fund to cover other areas!
ReplyDeleteYep I'm negative today and I apologize, but sometimes I say what others are thinking and I won't apologize for that. Ok, I'm hopping down from my soapbox and putting down the megaphone.
Believe that my district is attempting to cover these standards but to sway the are being done "sufficiently" that would probably be stretching it a bit. The very first one - written and oral communication... when the high school English classes are only requiring 250 words for an assignment and only 1min presentations, no I don't think that we are quite there yet. Understanding that quantity doesn't mean quality... but I don't know any topic can be sufficiently covered in 1min.
ReplyDeleteWill increased funding help with that, probably but I think the funds need to be spent on professional development as much as anything else. Living this far away from universities and large corporations does make a difference in our own scope and sequence. Being able to travel to visit schools that are putting innovations in place or going to conferences where we can see how various technologies can be used... Our own ability to continue learning will help our students as well.
I believe that many of these standards are being addressed in public schools today. I think there are areas that could be better addressed, but the Common Core Standards have helped schools come a long way toward helping students acquire 21st century skills. There are so many things that schools could be doing better, especially when we look at what other schools are doing. However, I see improvements and changes that are slow in coming, but they are good changes for students and for education.
ReplyDeleteI'm glad that I'm not the only one who hadn't heard of these standards before. Who gets to define what a "sufficient and suitable" education looks like? It seems to me that this could vary from district to district. I think that our district is doing well addressing these standards and addressing the Common Core standards. I think one area that always needs improvement is written communication. This is a struggle in all grades in our elementary school, and I can imagine that it is difficult at the high school as well. School funding is such a hot button in all districts right now...and it is scary to think that it might get cut further.
ReplyDeleteI agree written communication is low because they want to use the abbreviations and have no idea what a period or capitol letter means. If they do they choose to ignore the rules.
DeleteI think the pendulum is swinging back to more vocational education and writing. In a lot of ways, our students receiving special education services receive more vocational preparation, through work experience, job coaching, etc. than their regular education peers. They also tend to be from families where kids have jobs before they are out of high school. Written communication has taken a back seat to reading in the post No Child Left Behind years, and we seem to be seeing that impact in high school students now. Cuts in arts education at early elementary are also showing impact at middle school and high school levels. I think the KCCRS are a step in the right direction towards making informed civic decisions. I too would hate to be in the position of trying to litigate "sufficient".
ReplyDeleteOne standard that I feel we’re probably lacking on (and just because it seems like teachers talk to me the most about it) is the written communication piece (and maybe even oral communication, to an extent, when kiddos get accustomed to hiding behind a keyboard). While technology is great, I feel like this has probably negatively impacted students’ writing abilities. Writing in abbreviations so it fits into 140 characters or less, having your spelling/grammar automatically corrected, and being able to just speak while a machine composes what you’re saying have all had an effect on how students actually write now. And whether it’s good (Students are learning to adapt and are keeping up with our fast-paced technological world) or bad (Pencil/paper writing is becoming a lost skill), it is what it is, and I don’t think things will be reverting back to how they used to be anytime soon.
ReplyDeleteI do think this is addressed through the college career and readiness standards. I think that for school systems they are doing what they can to prepare these kids for a world outside and to have tools to guide them. I feel one of the pieces that is low is the communication. Students have come accustomed to writing and talking like they are on social media. They are not talking in complete and understandable sentences even in High school. Students rely on the technology devices for auto correction but do not know how to correct it themselves. There grammar has became horrible in the academic world.
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