OPINION

Your opinion, please! I think schools have a responsibility to teach students to be productive members of society. Not only does that include providing an understanding of laws, taxes, the judicial system, the draft, and the voting process, but also the ability to work towards improving their community and the lives of all citizens. Schools should provide their students with an understanding, as well as an ability to think critically of social, political, and economic issues in the local, national, and international fronts. This should involve a historical perspective, as well as current issues. ||
 *  || What subjects should our schools emphasize? ||
 * Bingaman, Tracy A. ||  I may be old fashioned, but I believe students really need to get an emphasize on the basic subject matters such as math, science, social studies, and English. One thing that I think schools are lacking in their math departments though is teaching students on how to manage their money. Working in the financial realm so many people do not know anything about money and how to handle it. With the way our society is now many students miss out on some of the basic things that mothers and fathers had at one point been teaching to their children like cooking, building things, exc. From what I have seen and experienced is that parents expect schools to teach students some of those basic things and schools don't emphasize what I believe are the most important subject matters. I think students need to know how to cook and such, but I think schools put too much of an emphasize on them. ||
 * Ericsson, Kristen K. ||  Our schools should encourage high school students to focus on what they might want to do for a career. In my opinion, schools should allow students to pick a subject emphasis of his or her choosing and create a schedule around their preferred subject matter. Students should still be required to take basic levels of coursework in every subject area, but would be given advanced classes in their preferred subject. I think by encouraging students at an earlier age to try and discover their career paths, students would be better prepared for college, which might save a great amount of time and money that goes into an unprepared college education. ||
 *  || Should we be primarily concerned about preparing academically proficient individuals for higher education? ||
 * Evelsizer, Ross J. ||  I think that while preparing individuals for higher education is extremely important, it should not be the primary focus. Personally, the lessons that I learned that apply directly to everyday life I hold more valuable than most information coming out of any textbook. Examples of this would be accountability through homework etc, communication skills, etc. While it would be ideal if everyone were headed down the path of higher education, it is naive to think that higher education is for everyone. Preperation for higher education can be incorporated into daily lessons without interfering with the overall objective which is preparing students to contribute and advance the overall well being of society. ||
 * Geistfeld, Matthew J. || Only being concerned about proficient individuals would be a mistake. Maybe everyone will not go on to be on the Dean's list at some college, but everyone does need to make a living. Nearly every job in the world needs some form of undertanding by the employee. That is not even including people who have special needs. No one should be deprived of learning something new everyday. As long as children come into a classroom and desire teachers to show them something new, every child should be taught without question. I do not disagree about considering those students who are academically proficient either. Those who wish to reach higher education should be able to take classes that test their intellect. Those who do not want to take those higher classes should not be denied a basic education if that is what they desire. ||
 * Gloede, Gina A. || If educators only worry about the future of students who perform well in school, who will think about the future of students in SPED? As a grad student in SPED, I think it is so important to prepare any student for college who wants to attend a postsecondary school and who have the dedication. Although most students in SPED will not go on to college, educators still need to focus on their needs whether it is for employment or a postsecondary education. If we only focus on the "academically advantaged" students, we will forget about our other students and their abilities, which may be attending college. ||
 *  || Should we be producing individuals with marketable vocational skills? ||
 * Ihler, Michael D. || Marketable vocational skills are good to have, but I do not believe that just having vocational skills are enough. Students should have a wider education base rather than just having vocational skills. Many skills are needed in the working force, so vocational skills are good. I just do not think that having marketable vocational skills are enough. Yes individuals should have marketable vocational skills but that's not all they should have. Having a good educational base is important as well. ||
 *  || Should schools be addressing social justice issues? ||
 * <span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif; font-size: 110%;">Medill, Amber L. || <span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif; font-size: 110%;"> I think that social justice issues should be addressed to an extent. It should not be the main focus in school. Children need to be aware of what social justice is but having to much focus on it will lesson other important knowledge that is related to their career out of high school. I do think that social justice issues needs to be taught to individual's but I'm not sure if school is the place to do so. Going into social justice in depth could raise issues among families as well because in many cases it is in what certain cultures believe. ||
 * <span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif; font-size: 110%;">Michel, Casey R. || <span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif; font-size: 110%;"> I don't believe schools should be addressing social justice issues. There are a few reasons for my thinking this way. First off, in my opinion, school should be used for building a solid foundation of knowledge that students can take with them into either college or their career, or both. I think touching on social justice issues goes deeper than what students need to be learning about. Also, I think that students in high school or below, especially in South Dakota, don't have enough exposure to cultural differences to be able to understand these issues. Rather than talk about social justice issues, I think schools should be more concerned about simply educating students on different cultures, races, religions, ethnicities, etc. That way students can understand why these different people act or believe the way they do, and when they gain more exposure to different people they will be able to better understand these social justice issues. ||
 * <span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif; font-size: 110%;"> || <span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif; font-size: 110%;">To what extent should schools address persistent social problems such as substance abuse and healthy living? ||
 * <span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif; font-size: 110%;">Miller, Ashley M. || <span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif; font-size: 110%;"> Schools should not be expected to petsistnetly address social problems during the school hours on a daily basis. A lot of the issues should be responcible by the parent or guardians at home. However, a zero tolerance policy should be demonstrated in the schools so that students know what to expect if they break the rules. Also a time should be set asside a few times a year for speeches and other demonstrations to show the negative effects they may have on the body. ||
 * Miller, Carolyn D. || I don't know that schools should actively adress these issues on a daily basis. I do feel that the students should be informed of the schools policy and how there is zero tolerance for substance abuse. I do think if an adult suspects some sort of substance abuse it should be brought to the correct persons attention...such as thecounselor, principal a trusted teacher.etc. I also feel there should be active programs throughout the year that show the results of habitual abuse, there is no better deterrent than seeing what drugs can do to you mentally as well as physically. ||
 * <span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif; font-size: 110%;"> || <span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif; font-size: 110%;">Should there be standardized expectations for all learners, or should there be a focus on the development of the unique potential of individuals? ||
 * <span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif; font-size: 110%;">Neiman, Leslie E. || I think that there should be certain standard expectations for all learners. Teachers should be able to teach their students well enough to know these certain standards that will help them excel later in their education. However, there are those students who might take a little longer for them to fully and completely understand the certain subjects, but they should still be able to meet these expectations. There should be certain things that a student must be able to fully understand before being able to move on. otherwise they could potentially struggle later on when the topic goes more in depth. ||
 * <span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif; font-size: 110%;">Reiss, Anthony J. || <span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif; font-size: 110%;"> Ideally there should be a focus on the unique development of individuals. But the way our schools are currently set up that is not possible. We have a lot of students to graduate in a very limited amount of time. I think that standardized expectations for all learners is the next best thing. ||
 * <span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif; font-size: 110%;"> || <span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif; font-size: 110%;">To what extent should schools be developing moral and ethical character? ||
 * <span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif; font-size: 110%;">Roeder, Joseph D. || I think that there should be great extent on pushing showing kids very good universal morals and ethics. I feel that their are some very nasty/mean kids out there these days, and just like when I was in k-12 not to long ago, and unfortunatley lots of kids do not have good role models out side of the classroom, so teachers and administrators should be showing and teaching kids manners, not allowing kids to talk back to elders in a negative way, teaching them their please and thank-yous. I think some of the problem is just in the teachers attitudes in the classroom, if kids have no positive role model at home, then have a bad teacher (along the lines of outlook/attitude) it will only make a kid even less plesent in the "real-world." ||
 * <span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif; font-size: 110%;">Shull, Mary-Lyn || <span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif; font-size: 110%;"> I think that schools should "remind" kids of their moral and ethical manners and enforce them in their classrooms. It really is not the teacher's or faculty's job to actually //teach// their student's those values, but it is important that student's know that just because they're in school it doesn't mean they can act out our be disrespectful. Student's may know they can't disobey their parents at home or make a scene, but they may think that because they're in a different environment away from their parents that they can get away with doing so to classmates and teachers. That's where teachers come in, they show the student how to behave publicly. Like Joseph said, student's need to be shown the behavior before they can be expected to do it themselves. However, teachers/faculty can only go so far, the rest is really up to the student's parents. ||
 * <span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif; font-size: 110%;"> || <span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif; font-size: 110%;">What should the schools do to prepare individuals for their citizenship responsibilities? ||
 * <span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif; font-size: 110%;">Stricherz, Abby R. || I think this is a very important aspect of school, and it is important that teachers find ways to incorporate these lessons into everyday teaching. One way my high school did this was by offering classes like General Business and Consumer Math. These specific classes taught students how to use business or math skills in everyday situations; paying taxes is a citizen responsibility that could easily be taught in General Business. Government is also a good class to emphasis the responsibility of voting and registering for the draft. Business Law would be a good time to bring up the responsibility of serving on a jury or as a witness. These are just a few examples of bringing in the responsibilities while remaining on task; there are many other ways it can be done. The main thing is that teachers need to be aware of the responsibilities and willing to be creative to find an interesting way to teach them in class. ||
 * <span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif; font-size: 110%;">Tvedt, Ryan W. || <span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif; font-size: 110%;">
 * <span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif; font-size: 110%;"> || <span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif; font-size: 110%;">Should we have to pay for extra curricula activities? ||
 * Van Stedum, Ann || I do believe that we should have to pay form some of the costs of extra curricular activities, although, I also believe that it is necessary to have scholarship programs available for families who are unable to afford to pay for these activities. There are many expenses that come along with extra curricular activities, such as travel, equipment, etc. I think that every child should have the opportunity and should even be mandated to be in at least one extra curricular activity, as I think that kids who are involved in sports, debate, music activities, etc. do better in school. ||
 * <span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif; font-size: 110%;">VanKekerix, Erin M. || I believe that alot of schools have to have kids pay towards some of the activities because they don't have enough money in the budget. I don't think that it is that big of a deal to have to pay towards the activities, however I do think that the school should have money set aside for kids whose parents can't always afford to pay fees to be in certain activities. I don't think that it is fair for kids to not be able to play sports or be involved in other things because their parents can't afford it. Kids that are involved in activities seem to learn more responsibilty at a quicker age than those who aren't involved in things. ||
 * <span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif; font-size: 110%;">Wald, Timothy J. || <span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif; font-size: 110%;"> I think it is getting to that point in the rural state of SD. The conferences have teams scattered all over the state and travel expences cost the district dearly. This comes as an expence to taxpayers and the property taxes keep going up and up. Participants should have to pay for some of the expense. Some program needs to be in place for those students who can't pay. ||
 * <span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif; font-size: 110%;"> || <span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif; font-size: 110%;">Should all students be required to pass a state test to get diploma? ||
 * <span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif; font-size: 110%;">Whitney, Megan P. || Thirteen years of school with around 175 days in each school year equaling 2,275 days of school over the course of a student’s public school lifetime. One single test that decides if all your hard work and dedication over the course of four years in high school, three years in middle school, and six years in elementary school has all paid off. So do I believe that all students should be required to pass a state test to get a diploma? I respond with a firm and very passionate No. One test cannot measure a student’s lifelong potential. What about those students that love music, art, shop and home economics? What happens if on the day of the test the student is sick or something about their day is just off and they do poorly on the test? I believe that receiving your diploma should be based on your overall grades during your high school career with a main focus on your senior year. ||
 * Wilson, Vanessa R. || While I think that it is important that each student be accountable for a foundation of knowledge, I do believe that it is important to allow students to excel in the areas which are of value to them personally. I do not think that it is appropriate to give a standardized type test to students to determine if they graduate. There is a great deal of discretion which goes into a teacher passing or failing a student. There is also the value of grading a student based on their own ability levels. To limit a student to being required to pass a generic test or hinder their ability to pursue further education in the field about which they are passionate would be a disservice to both the student and society. ||
 * <span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif; font-size: 110%;">oWilts, Ashley J. || <span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif; font-size: 110%;"> ||
 * <span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif; font-size: 110%;">Dr. Fiegen || <span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif; font-size: 110%;"> ||