1. Bullying
No matter what your age, the chances that you were bullied, or were a bully, are high. Children are children and don’t change drastically, even as decades go by. However, in today’s modern society, it’s a sad fact that bullies are keeping up with technology. No longer able to monitor children solely in the classroom and on the playground, teachers and administrators have to monitor children through social media sites like Facebook and Twitter, and be aware of bullying via text message. Because the laws are still vague when it comes to social media, many schools are writing policies and procedures regarding cyberbullying into their student handbooks.
2. Technology
It will still be another decade before we have teachers that have grown up with the same technology as their students. As it stands today, we have students in classrooms who are far more technologically advanced than their teachers. Students used to be entertained when a teacher rolled a television cart into the room and played a movie. An overhead projector was a stunningly modern piece of machinery. Today, teachers have to be more creative than ever to keep their students’ attention.
3. Too Many Children
As budgets shrink, class sizes grow. We expect our teachers to give the same quality education to 30 students as they gave to 15. If you’ve ever been in a classroom full of 30 children for 15 minutes, let alone a day, you’ll know that this task is next to impossible. With inclusion programs, general education teachers are expected to teach average students, gifted children and children who need accommodation in a single classroom.
4. Parent Involvement
For many teachers, it seems as though there is no happy medium when it comes to parental involvement. There are parents who can’t stay away, and parents who refuse to participate. Finding ways to encourage parents to participate in their child’s education, in a manner that supports learning, has been frustrating teachers for decades. Unfortunately, there has been on solution found that has worked across the board.
5. Funding
Many new teachers are shocked to find that the bulk of their classroom supplies will be paid for out-of-pocket or not purchased at all. As funding is cut, teachers are not only losing jobs, but classrooms are being merged, extracurricular activities are being eliminated and arts programs are being done away with. Many districts are using outdated textbooks; some are even asking children to share because there are too few to go around. Until the general public starts passing school levies, and the government steps up and provides adequate funding, the ones who will suffer are the students.
Ask any teacher and you’ll be given an arm’s length list of issues facing public schools in America. It’s unfortunate that a country that many consider to be the most powerful in the world, is so inadequately supporting the education of its future.
Nicole Morgan is a mom and career counselor, she blogs for mastersineducationguides.org where you can find information about masters of education programs. She enjoys finding her students unique career opportunities!
Showing posts with label Public education. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Public education. Show all posts
Tuesday, May 7, 2013
10 Major Challenges Facing Public Schools
Published May 07, 2012
Written by Grace Chen
Are our public schools in a state of crisis? Learn about the 10 biggest problems with public schools today, both from the perspective of the administrators and the teachers
Few would argue that the state of our education system has plenty of room for improvement, but developing a plan to take schools in the right direction is easier said than done. The first challenge lies in identifying the underlying problems that are keeping students from learning today. This challenge, in part, is due to the fact that the problems may change considerably depending on who is labeling them, whether it is students, parents, educators or lawmakers. Consider this list of 10 major challenges facing public schools currently, based on the perspective of many involved in the world of education today.
Classroom Size
Many areas of the country are facing classrooms that are literally busting out at the seams. A report at NEA Today two years ago discussed how schools in Georgia, in the midst of major funding cuts for schools, had no choice but to lift all class size limits to accommodate students with the faculty the school system could still afford to keep. Most teachers agree that they cannot effectively teach every student in a classroom, if the class size exceeds about 30. Yet, there are many larger classrooms across the country today that boast many more students than 30 every day.
Poverty
Technorati reported last fall that 22 percent of the children in the U.S. live at or below poverty level. Students living at or below poverty level tend to have the highest dropout rates. Studies show that students who do not get enough food or sleep are less likely to perform at their full academic potential. Schools know these truths firsthand, and despite efforts to provide students with basic essentials, there is not enough to go around, according to teachers, administrators and lawmakers.
Family Factors
Family factors also play a role in a school’s ability to teach students. Principals and teachers agree that what is going on at home will impact a student’s propensity to learn. Divorce, single parents, poverty, violence and many other issues are all challenges a student brings to school every day. While some teachers and administrators try to work with children in less than ideal family environments, they can only do so much – especially when parents are often not willing to partner with the schools to provide for the children.
Technology
Kids Health Guide reports that students are more technologically advanced than many teachers today, putting instructors at a decided disadvantage in the classroom. However, a student’s love of technology also tends to distract him from his schoolwork, according to NEA Today. When teachers don’t have the techno-savvy to compete with those devices, by bringing education and technology together, it can be difficult to keep students’ interest and attention to properly teach new concepts.
Bullying
Bullying is not a new problem, but it is one that has a profound impact on the learning aptitude of many students today. Technology has given bullies even more avenues to torment their victims – through social networking, texting and other virtual interactions. Cyberbullying has become a major issue for schools, as evidenced by the number of suicides that can be directly traced to bullying events. The fact that laws are still fuzzy regarding cyberbullying adds to the challenge – since parents, teachers and administrators are unsure of how to legally handle such issues.
Student Attitudes and Behaviors
Many public school teachers also cite student attitudes, such as apathy and disrespect for teachers, as a major problem facing schools today. A poll from the National Center for Education Statistics cited a number of years ago that problems like apathy, tardiness, disrespect and absenteeism posed significant challenges for teachers. These issues were seen more frequently at the secondary school level, rather than the primary grades.
No Child Left Behind
Many students, parents and teachers see No Child Left Behind as a detriment to the public education environment today. NEA Today quotes Kansas special educator Shelly Dunham as saying, “Testing, testing, testing, what is the point of testing? Do we use the data to remediate those who do not measure up? No!” Many teachers believe they are forced to teach to the annual standardized tests, and activities like recess and lunch have been cut way down to make more time for academics in light of the new testing procedures.
Parent Involvement
Many teachers believe there is no happy medium when it comes to parental involvement, according to the Kids Health Guide. Some parents won’t be seen for the entire school year, no matter what sort of issues might arise. Others never seem to go away, hovering over the child and teacher and interfering with the education process. There are ways parents can become involved and support their child’s education at the same time, but teachers don’t always get that level from parents.
Student Health
Obesity has reached epidemic proportions in the U.S., and the same poor eating habits that led to the obesity problem may also be contributing to lower student achievement. Obesity also increases a student’s risk for other conditions, like diabetes and high blood pressure, which could result in higher absenteeism and more academic issues.
Funding
Budget cuts have created huge problems for most public schools in recent years. Less funding means smaller staffs, fewer resources and a lower number of services for students. While some argue that throwing more money at the education problems won’t make them go away, others assert that lack of funding caused many of the problems in the first place.
There are many problems in public schools today, but identifying those issues is half the battle. With a laundry list of challenges to face, now is the time for educators, parents and lawmakers to come together and begin to find solutions – for the benefit of all students in public schools today.
Many areas of the country are facing classrooms that are literally busting out at the seams. A report at NEA Today two years ago discussed how schools in Georgia, in the midst of major funding cuts for schools, had no choice but to lift all class size limits to accommodate students with the faculty the school system could still afford to keep. Most teachers agree that they cannot effectively teach every student in a classroom, if the class size exceeds about 30. Yet, there are many larger classrooms across the country today that boast many more students than 30 every day.
Poverty
Technorati reported last fall that 22 percent of the children in the U.S. live at or below poverty level. Students living at or below poverty level tend to have the highest dropout rates. Studies show that students who do not get enough food or sleep are less likely to perform at their full academic potential. Schools know these truths firsthand, and despite efforts to provide students with basic essentials, there is not enough to go around, according to teachers, administrators and lawmakers.
Family Factors
Family factors also play a role in a school’s ability to teach students. Principals and teachers agree that what is going on at home will impact a student’s propensity to learn. Divorce, single parents, poverty, violence and many other issues are all challenges a student brings to school every day. While some teachers and administrators try to work with children in less than ideal family environments, they can only do so much – especially when parents are often not willing to partner with the schools to provide for the children.
Technology
Kids Health Guide reports that students are more technologically advanced than many teachers today, putting instructors at a decided disadvantage in the classroom. However, a student’s love of technology also tends to distract him from his schoolwork, according to NEA Today. When teachers don’t have the techno-savvy to compete with those devices, by bringing education and technology together, it can be difficult to keep students’ interest and attention to properly teach new concepts.
Bullying
Bullying is not a new problem, but it is one that has a profound impact on the learning aptitude of many students today. Technology has given bullies even more avenues to torment their victims – through social networking, texting and other virtual interactions. Cyberbullying has become a major issue for schools, as evidenced by the number of suicides that can be directly traced to bullying events. The fact that laws are still fuzzy regarding cyberbullying adds to the challenge – since parents, teachers and administrators are unsure of how to legally handle such issues.
Student Attitudes and Behaviors
Many public school teachers also cite student attitudes, such as apathy and disrespect for teachers, as a major problem facing schools today. A poll from the National Center for Education Statistics cited a number of years ago that problems like apathy, tardiness, disrespect and absenteeism posed significant challenges for teachers. These issues were seen more frequently at the secondary school level, rather than the primary grades.
No Child Left Behind
Many students, parents and teachers see No Child Left Behind as a detriment to the public education environment today. NEA Today quotes Kansas special educator Shelly Dunham as saying, “Testing, testing, testing, what is the point of testing? Do we use the data to remediate those who do not measure up? No!” Many teachers believe they are forced to teach to the annual standardized tests, and activities like recess and lunch have been cut way down to make more time for academics in light of the new testing procedures.
Parent Involvement
Many teachers believe there is no happy medium when it comes to parental involvement, according to the Kids Health Guide. Some parents won’t be seen for the entire school year, no matter what sort of issues might arise. Others never seem to go away, hovering over the child and teacher and interfering with the education process. There are ways parents can become involved and support their child’s education at the same time, but teachers don’t always get that level from parents.
Student Health
Obesity has reached epidemic proportions in the U.S., and the same poor eating habits that led to the obesity problem may also be contributing to lower student achievement. Obesity also increases a student’s risk for other conditions, like diabetes and high blood pressure, which could result in higher absenteeism and more academic issues.
Funding
Budget cuts have created huge problems for most public schools in recent years. Less funding means smaller staffs, fewer resources and a lower number of services for students. While some argue that throwing more money at the education problems won’t make them go away, others assert that lack of funding caused many of the problems in the first place.
There are many problems in public schools today, but identifying those issues is half the battle. With a laundry list of challenges to face, now is the time for educators, parents and lawmakers to come together and begin to find solutions – for the benefit of all students in public schools today.
What Do Americans Say Is the Biggest Problem Facing Public Schools?
The media's fascination with tales of failing schools, rubber rooms, and kids waiting for 'Superman', would certainly have you think that's the case. According to the 44th annual Phi Delta Kappa/Gallup Poll of the Public’s Attitudes Toward the Public Schools, Americans actually see a lack of financial support as the biggest problem facing their community schools.
Indeed, for a third year in a row, 71% of poll respondents say they have trust and confidence in the nation's teachers. But 43% of parents and 35% of Americans in general say money is the biggest issue. A decade ago in 2002, just 17% of poll respondents cited a lack of funds for schools as a problem. Back then Americans felt the biggest problems facing schools were overcrowding and discipline issues like fighting, gangs, and drugs. Now only 14% of Americans think those things are big problems.
PDK/Gallup says the response to the question (the first asked and posed in an open ended manner so that respondents aren't influenced by suggested responses or subsequent questions) "documents the single most significant shift in American public opinion regarding their schools."
It's not surprising that this shift has happened given how severely education budgets have been gutted over the past few years. Since the start of the recession, school districts across the country have endured multiple rounds of teacher layoffs, cut instructional materials, fired school librarians, shuttered libraries because there's no one to staff them, and slashed critical arts programs. Kids are emptying their piggy banks to keep teachers on staff, and they and theirparents have been turned into salespeople, constantly fundraising so schools can buy supplies and keep math coaches around.
What's encouraging, however, is that although many of our political leaders continue to slash funding for public education, that's not what most of us want. A full 97% of Americans believe it's "very or somewhat important to improve the nation's urban schools" and two out of three said they'd be willing to pay higher taxes to accomplish that. While there are clear political divisions—only 41 percent of Republicans are down for raising taxes to support schools compared to 80 percent of Democrats—these poll results reveal that there's a growing recognition that we can't have champagne dreams for our children's education if we're only willing to fork over beer money.
Indeed, for a third year in a row, 71% of poll respondents say they have trust and confidence in the nation's teachers. But 43% of parents and 35% of Americans in general say money is the biggest issue. A decade ago in 2002, just 17% of poll respondents cited a lack of funds for schools as a problem. Back then Americans felt the biggest problems facing schools were overcrowding and discipline issues like fighting, gangs, and drugs. Now only 14% of Americans think those things are big problems.
PDK/Gallup says the response to the question (the first asked and posed in an open ended manner so that respondents aren't influenced by suggested responses or subsequent questions) "documents the single most significant shift in American public opinion regarding their schools."
It's not surprising that this shift has happened given how severely education budgets have been gutted over the past few years. Since the start of the recession, school districts across the country have endured multiple rounds of teacher layoffs, cut instructional materials, fired school librarians, shuttered libraries because there's no one to staff them, and slashed critical arts programs. Kids are emptying their piggy banks to keep teachers on staff, and they and theirparents have been turned into salespeople, constantly fundraising so schools can buy supplies and keep math coaches around.
What's encouraging, however, is that although many of our political leaders continue to slash funding for public education, that's not what most of us want. A full 97% of Americans believe it's "very or somewhat important to improve the nation's urban schools" and two out of three said they'd be willing to pay higher taxes to accomplish that. While there are clear political divisions—only 41 percent of Republicans are down for raising taxes to support schools compared to 80 percent of Democrats—these poll results reveal that there's a growing recognition that we can't have champagne dreams for our children's education if we're only willing to fork over beer money.
Top 10 problems with public schools
1) Teacher’s Unions – This is the biggie, so it belongs at the beginning. Teacher’s Unions are just as bad as all the other unions out there. They shelter the lazy and incompetent and at the same time discourage and beat down the eager and hard-working. Kick the unions out of the schools, move to merit- and performance-based wages like most other private business, and you’d quickly separate the good teachers from the bad. Then get rid of the bad and hire new teachers who have plenty of ambition and energy.
2) Lack of discipline (corporal punishment) – Look, I don’t like the idea of someone spanking my kids without me knowing about it either. But, you have to admit, there was a lot more respect and learning happening back when the kids all thought that paddle in the principal’s office could start swinging at any time. Looking back, I can’t remember that paddle or the one on our bus ever getting used, but we THOUGHT they could, and that’s all that mattered. Somewhere along the way we not only took away the ability for teachers to punish our kids, but we opened our big mouths and told our kids they were untouchable. We were supposed to handle the punishment ourselves in exchange – too many of us didn’t. It’s time to make our kids behave.
3) Focus on the basics – Kid’s reading, writing and arithmetic skills are just pathetic. Yet, they can tell you all about being “green” and saving the planet. We’ve lost focus on the building blocks of our education. I found out this week that my 8-year-old is doing pilates and yoga at school. Between that and various assemblies and Covey skills, not a whole lot of time is left over to make sure kids can read and write well.
4) Social programs intertwined with school – Some of the schools in our area have gotten involved in programs where kids can get breakfast at school. The idea is that kids aren’t getting fed at home, so let’s feed them at school, right? Seems like a good idea on the surface, until it backfires, like all socialist programs do. In this case, the program makes it EASIER for the parents to NOT feed (neglect) their child, and have them eat at school instead. Of course, the more kids in the program, the better for the school running it, as social programs are typically funded by participation counts. Most people don’t realize this, but many sources of funding in a typical public school are directly determined by free and reduced lunch counts. Schools actually benefit by trying to get as many kids onto the free and reduced lists as possible, because the state gives the most funding to the schools that appear to be the poorest.
5) Rules have gone by the wayside – Teachers are letting kids chew gum in class, get up and walk around without asking, talk to their friends in class, goof around in the hallways… Dress codes have loosened so that boys can walk around with their pants halfway down their butt and girls can look like crack-whores from COPS.
6) The public school system is far to focused on student’s age. Kids are put into rooms based on how old they are, with usually no bearing on ability or skill level. Yes, some schools have limited gifted programs and pretty much all have “special ed” for the challenged, but more need to forget the emphasis on age and group by learning level. Teachers would find teaching easier, kids would learn faster.
7) Public schools are falling into the non-competition trap. No-one wants any kid to feel “bad” about themselves because they didn’t win the race, or game, or contest. Smart kids are made to feel guilty and ostracized, while the average kid is held up as the model for the rest. Well, guess what? The real world doesn’t reward average, it rewards the best and the brightest. Who’s going to explain to the average kids why they aren’t getting the promotions?
8 ) Public schools are teaching our kids that it’s okay to fail. A few years ago, our system implemented a new policy that allowed any kid to re-take any test once. All they had to do was ask, sit through a study session after school, and then take the test after school. Again, seems reasonable, right? Give the kid a second chance in case they blow it, right? Well, tell me what incentive any kid has now to work hard and study for the first test? Why should they? They’ve always got the safety blanket waiting for them. “I think I know the material, I’ll take the test and see what happens. If I fail, THEN I’ll spend time studying.” Sorry, real life doesn’t usually offer us second chances, do-overs or rewinds.
9) Public schools are teaching our kids to be lazy. Teachers accept late assignments without penalty. I know a kid that has 15 missing assignments in one class. They just needed to be turned in before the end of the semester. There was no penalty at all for being late.
10) Public schools push one-sided revisionist history, IF they teach any real history at all. Critical information is conveniently glossed-over to emphasize other points. In public school history, there were no violent indians, only the South had slaves, and all slave-traders were white. Yes, this country has some tough history to explain, but overall we’ve had a positive impact on the world and THAT should be the emphasis
2) Lack of discipline (corporal punishment) – Look, I don’t like the idea of someone spanking my kids without me knowing about it either. But, you have to admit, there was a lot more respect and learning happening back when the kids all thought that paddle in the principal’s office could start swinging at any time. Looking back, I can’t remember that paddle or the one on our bus ever getting used, but we THOUGHT they could, and that’s all that mattered. Somewhere along the way we not only took away the ability for teachers to punish our kids, but we opened our big mouths and told our kids they were untouchable. We were supposed to handle the punishment ourselves in exchange – too many of us didn’t. It’s time to make our kids behave.
3) Focus on the basics – Kid’s reading, writing and arithmetic skills are just pathetic. Yet, they can tell you all about being “green” and saving the planet. We’ve lost focus on the building blocks of our education. I found out this week that my 8-year-old is doing pilates and yoga at school. Between that and various assemblies and Covey skills, not a whole lot of time is left over to make sure kids can read and write well.
4) Social programs intertwined with school – Some of the schools in our area have gotten involved in programs where kids can get breakfast at school. The idea is that kids aren’t getting fed at home, so let’s feed them at school, right? Seems like a good idea on the surface, until it backfires, like all socialist programs do. In this case, the program makes it EASIER for the parents to NOT feed (neglect) their child, and have them eat at school instead. Of course, the more kids in the program, the better for the school running it, as social programs are typically funded by participation counts. Most people don’t realize this, but many sources of funding in a typical public school are directly determined by free and reduced lunch counts. Schools actually benefit by trying to get as many kids onto the free and reduced lists as possible, because the state gives the most funding to the schools that appear to be the poorest.
5) Rules have gone by the wayside – Teachers are letting kids chew gum in class, get up and walk around without asking, talk to their friends in class, goof around in the hallways… Dress codes have loosened so that boys can walk around with their pants halfway down their butt and girls can look like crack-whores from COPS.
6) The public school system is far to focused on student’s age. Kids are put into rooms based on how old they are, with usually no bearing on ability or skill level. Yes, some schools have limited gifted programs and pretty much all have “special ed” for the challenged, but more need to forget the emphasis on age and group by learning level. Teachers would find teaching easier, kids would learn faster.
7) Public schools are falling into the non-competition trap. No-one wants any kid to feel “bad” about themselves because they didn’t win the race, or game, or contest. Smart kids are made to feel guilty and ostracized, while the average kid is held up as the model for the rest. Well, guess what? The real world doesn’t reward average, it rewards the best and the brightest. Who’s going to explain to the average kids why they aren’t getting the promotions?
8 ) Public schools are teaching our kids that it’s okay to fail. A few years ago, our system implemented a new policy that allowed any kid to re-take any test once. All they had to do was ask, sit through a study session after school, and then take the test after school. Again, seems reasonable, right? Give the kid a second chance in case they blow it, right? Well, tell me what incentive any kid has now to work hard and study for the first test? Why should they? They’ve always got the safety blanket waiting for them. “I think I know the material, I’ll take the test and see what happens. If I fail, THEN I’ll spend time studying.” Sorry, real life doesn’t usually offer us second chances, do-overs or rewinds.
9) Public schools are teaching our kids to be lazy. Teachers accept late assignments without penalty. I know a kid that has 15 missing assignments in one class. They just needed to be turned in before the end of the semester. There was no penalty at all for being late.
10) Public schools push one-sided revisionist history, IF they teach any real history at all. Critical information is conveniently glossed-over to emphasize other points. In public school history, there were no violent indians, only the South had slaves, and all slave-traders were white. Yes, this country has some tough history to explain, but overall we’ve had a positive impact on the world and THAT should be the emphasis
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)