Education in America is failing. Teachers are being asked to perform miracles in a system that no longer works.
- People who have never been in a classroom are making policy and curriculum decisions. Anybody in administration or policy-making, whether in state or federal government positions, needs to have been once an educator with at least 20 years of experience.
- Teachers are not paid enough for their work and do not feel valued. Although some hold master’s and doctorate degrees, they barely make it from one month to the next, and many have extra jobs to supplement their income.
- We are one of the few countries that educate all children. We do not need to be compared to countries that do not provide exceptional services.
- A lack of family stability has led to teachers becoming all things to the students in their classrooms. If students’ basic needs (Food, water, shelter, security) are unmet, they cannot learn. It is not the family‘s fault for this. I am by no means pointing a finger. Still, society has become so stressful that parents do not have the energy to focus on their children because they are worried about providing those essential needs for their families.
- Discipline needs to be addressed in some way. Educators are not there to teach students how to behave. They are there to educate. Administrators are afraid of addressing discipline issues due to the possibility of being sued. So many times, the behavior is never corrected.
- Parents should have a choice of where their child goes to school. This will improve parents’ involvement in the schools and force failing schools to step up and make necessary changes.
- Standardized tests are not used for their intended purposes. Data is critical but does not need to be gathered by one specific test. You have to use several different assessments to get a true sense of a child’s improvement. Assessments should only be used to see if there are gaps in a child’s understanding or development and if changes to the way instruction needs to be made to meet the needs of that child. It should never be used to compare one child to another, state to another, or country to another.
I could add a lot more suggestions. But I think this is enough for a start.