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What to Do About These Six Things

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Inside Today’s Elementary Schools

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Abstract

This chapter digests the six things presented in Part II. These six things are essentially about separation and diversion. There is a huge wall that divides schools from the wider public, experts from laypeople/parents. There is also an excessively large number of services schools perform that dilute their educational effectiveness and endanger their financial health. The chapter proposes two different solutions to the problem of separation: a reimagined elementary curriculum and a renaissance in parental engagement. The new curriculum would not seek to impose a rigorous college prep curriculum on all students, but teach an exciting and relevant set of skills to prepare students for democracy and healthy adult living. Proposals for increased parental engagement include required service hours and parent education programs. The chapter concludes by examining six concrete things schools can do to regain focus and eliminate diversions: stop as many non-academic services as possible, simplify the curriculum, fully fund Individuals with Disabilities Education Act, implement a zero tolerance discipline policy, bring in the home to support school discipline, and eliminate unnecessary red tape and paperwork for teachers.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Department of Psychology, University of West Georgia, Carrollton, GA, USA

    James J. Dillon

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  1. James J. Dillon
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Correspondence to James J. Dillon .

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Dillon, J.J. (2019). What to Do About These Six Things. In: Inside Today’s Elementary Schools. Palgrave Macmillan, Cham. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-030-23347-1_13

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