Reflection # 2

Reflection # 2

Education as perceived in the earlier days was focused mainly on providing knowledge, the rote way, in the core academic subjects, and strict discipline was used to keep the children focused(Katz,1972), does this approach work even today is being debated by all in the field of education.

There is research based evidence that a mismatch exists between what the schools provide and the need; due to changes in cultural, social and linguistic diversity, and this is evident from the performance of students as compared to the academic and behavioral expectations. Is education keeping pace with the constantly changing society that is being heterogeneous, this is bound to happen and it should not be a matter of surprise to educators; because the environment that students are growing up is constantly changing.

The order of the day is split families, single parents, technology, prevalence of sex, drugs, violence and countless other factors contribute to the changing face of today's youth. Ingersoll and Leboeuf (1997) concluded that high quality, alternative programs provided by professional staff can decrease truancy  and act as deterrents to poor behavior, minimize suspensions, expulsions and will be able to enhance higher academic success.

The desire to provide alternative education programs in the United States began as early as 1925 by exploring different approaches to  providing education to high risk students, some who had even dropped out of school. Over time, there has been a significant increase in the number of alternative schools; such as charter , court, detention and magnet schools.

Fitzsimons Hughes and her colleagues (2006) provide three different types of settings that serves a specific population of children and youth. Type 1 Serves mainly gifted or advances students who have engaged in substance abuse, who are pregnant or with a history of truancy. Type 2 serve students on a short term basis for those that pose serious discipline problems and are court mandated due to serious behavioral infractions at school. Type 3 serves children and adolescents with serious emotional or behavioral problems. This approach is good as the alternative program should meet the different needs.

Finally for any program to be successful and sustain Quinn and Rutherford(1998)   identify six components as essential to quality alternative programs (a) good procedures for conducting functional assessment of academic and nonacademic behavior;(b)flexible curriculum for academic, social and life skills;(c)effective and efficient instructional strategies;(d)good transitional programs that provides smooth transition from alternative to mainstream settings;(e)comprehensive systems that provides alternative educational services and external community base services;(f) adequate resources and professional staff, who are passionate about serving such students.