10 Critical Issues Facing Education

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    10 Critical Issues Facing EducationBy Peter DeWitton January 23, 2014 8:49 AM

    During my leadership training at the ollege o! "aint #ose $ too% a &lass 'ith Jim

    Butter'orth (my mentor) &alled riti&al $ssues* Jim 'as a +ora&ious reader, an assistant

    &ommissioner !or the e' -or% "tate .du&ation Department, !ormer superintendent,

    and an ama/ing pro!essor* All o! those &omined 'ith a 2 hour &lass led to some o!

    the est edu&ational dis&ussions $+e e+er had*

    .+ery 'ee% 'e 'ere reuired to read &hapters !rom +arious oo%s (i*e* ullan, "enge,

    5argrea+es, #ee+es and 6reenlea!), and numerous stories !rom .du&ation 7ee%s print

    &opy* $t opened up our 'orld !rom the &lassroom 'e 'ere tea&hing in, or the s&hool 'e

    'ere leading* he &lass rought together uilding leaders, tea&hers, s&hool

    psy&hologists and so&ial 'or%ers !rom uran, suuran and rural settings 'ho 'ere all

    trying to !inish their degree in leadership*

    $ too% the &lass 10 years ago, ut ne+er !orgot aout the importan&e o! dis&ussing

    issues, e+en i! they 'ere di!!i&ult and the people in the room held di!!ering opinions* As

    edu&ators 'e should al'ays e ale to deate our pro!ession* he prolem 'e ha+e, as

    does anything that in+ol+es politi&s, is that 'e &annot seem to mo+e !or'ard together*

    here are state and national leaders so &onsumed 'ith eing right that they &annot, and

    'ill not, udge*

    5ope!ully, all o! that 'ill &hange this year* A!ter the past !e' years o! in&reased

    a&&ountaility, udget &uts, arguments and in!ighting, 2014 'ill e a di!!erent year !or all

    o! us***and $ hope !or the positi+e* $n edu&ation there are some +ery large issues that 'e

    ha+e to &ontend 'ith, and they are not all aout a&&ountaility and mandates*

    Top 10 Critical Issues

    riti&al issues are those issues that are important to edu&ation* hey are the arriers

    that get in the 'ay, or the important elements that 'e need to !o&us on in order to mo+e

    !or'ard and o!!er etter opportunities to our students*

    http://blogs.edweek.org/edweek/finding_common_ground/http://blogs.edweek.org/edweek/finding_common_ground/http://blogs.edweek.org/edweek/finding_common_ground/
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    Common Core State Standards 4 states may ha+e adopted the standards ut

    around a do/en states are a&%ing out or &onsidering a&%ing out o! using them*

    #egardless o! ho' people !eel aout the ommon ore they ha+e led to many hot

    deates aout edu&ation, and 'ill &ontinue to do so in 2014*

    Student Learning "tudent learning is e+erything !rom di!!erent path'ays to

    graduation, en&ouraging student +oi&e in student learning, and en&ouraging them ha+e

    a pla&e at the tale !or larger &on+ersations aout their edu&ation (;isa

    ielsens Innovative Educator blog that !o&uses on student +oi&e)* "o o!ten 'e !o&us

    on tea&hing, ut its learning that matters most*

    Technology .+en a!ter all o! these years te&hnology is still a hot utton issues* "ome

    people lo+e it and use it !la'lessly e+ery day, 'hile others hate it and dont see 'hy they

    need to e !or&ed to use it at all* $n addition 'hat ma%es it &ompli&ated is that some

    s&hools seem to ha+e endless resour&es, 'hile other s&hools ha+e to use 'hat

    'ealthier s&hools disregarded as old* 7hether its M

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    $igh Sta"es Testing ot sure i! you ha+e heard o! this e!ore ut s&hools a&ross the

    &ountry ha+e to gi+e high sta%es tests to students* "ome start it in %indergarten, 'hile

    others egin in 3rdgrade* $n most states they are tied to tea&her@administrator e+aluation

    and that 'ill no dout &ontinue to e a ig deate this year* here need to e di!!erent

    methods used to assess student learning, and none o! it should e high sta%es*

    School Leadership $! you go on 'itter, you 'ill !ind hundreds o! s&hool leaders 'ho

    &onsider themsel+es Lead Learners* his is +ery important e&ause they see the

    important part they play in the li+es o! their students, tea&hers and sta!!* $n addition,

    s&hool leaders understand that they &an ha+e a positi+e or negati+e impa&t on their

    s&hool &limate, and too many still ha+e a negati+e impa&t*

    Pre%service Teaching Programs 5o' &an 'e get the est tea&hers into our

    &lassrooms 'hen so many politi&ians and poli&yma%ers &ry that s&hools are !ailing

    Cnder those &ir&umstan&es, 'ho 'ould 'ant to go into the pro!ession Additionally, pre

    ser+i&e programs need to impro+e e&ause many o! the graduates do not seem

    prepared !or the pro!ession* he real uestion !or 2014 is ho' &an 12 s&hools 'or%

    'ith these programs to uild a &ommunity o! learners 'ho are prepared !or the

    pro!ession A little less a&&ountaility tied to testing 'ould go a long 'ay to impro+e this

    issue*

    School Climate A !e' days ago "e&retary Dun&an and Attorney 6eneral .ri& 5older

    announ&ed ne' guidelines to stop the school to prison pipelineand impro+e s&hool

    &limate* his &riti&al issue is not ?ust aout ullying, ut aout &reating an in&lusi+e

    s&hool &limate 'here all students &an a&hie+e their ma>imum potential*

    Poverty% 7e %no' around 22E o! our students are li+ing in po+erty* 7e also %no' that

    many &hildren 'ho li+e in po+erty &ome to %indergarten hearing 1&' th o( the

    language (+o&aulary) that their 'ealthier peers e>perien&ed* Many o! the s&hools thattry to edu&ate these students la&% the proper resour&es, and the &ommunities 'here

    &hildren in po+erty li+e o!ten lac" the same resources that 'ealthier to'ns ha+e*

    =o+erty is an issue that is one o! the most &riti&al issues o! our time, in and out o!

    s&hools*

    http://www.ed.gov/news/press-releases/secretary-duncan-attorney-general-holder-announce-effort-respond-school-prison-phttp://blogs.edweek.org/edweek/finding_common_ground/2011/11/poverty_matters.htmlhttp://blogs.edweek.org/edweek/finding_common_ground/2013/10/a_community_effort_to_improve_literacy.htmlhttp://blogs.edweek.org/edweek/finding_common_ground/2013/10/a_community_effort_to_improve_literacy.htmlhttp://blogs.edweek.org/edweek/finding_common_ground/2013/10/a_community_effort_to_improve_literacy.htmlhttp://blogs.edweek.org/edweek/finding_common_ground/2013/10/a_community_effort_to_improve_literacy.htmlhttp://blogs.edweek.org/edweek/finding_common_ground/2012/08/poverty_matters_the_obesity_epidemic.htmlhttp://www.ed.gov/news/press-releases/secretary-duncan-attorney-general-holder-announce-effort-respond-school-prison-phttp://blogs.edweek.org/edweek/finding_common_ground/2011/11/poverty_matters.htmlhttp://blogs.edweek.org/edweek/finding_common_ground/2013/10/a_community_effort_to_improve_literacy.htmlhttp://blogs.edweek.org/edweek/finding_common_ground/2013/10/a_community_effort_to_improve_literacy.htmlhttp://blogs.edweek.org/edweek/finding_common_ground/2012/08/poverty_matters_the_obesity_epidemic.html
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    In the End

    7e ha+e many &riti&al issues !a&ing edu&ation this year, and the larger uestion should

    e***How are we going to work together to solve them $ stopped 'ith ten ut proaly

    &ould ha+e gone on 'ith a !e' more* What !ould you add to the list)

    Peter DeWitt* Ed+D+ is the author o( several boo"s including Dignity (or #ll,

    Sa(eguarding L-.T Students/01+ Cor!in Press* 2lipping Leadership Doesn3t

    ean 4einventing the Wheel/015+ Cor!in Press* School Climate Change/015+

    #SCD and the (orthcoming Collaborative Leadership, 6 In(luences That atter

    ost/016+ Cor!in Press+Connect !ith Peter DeWitton T!itter+

    10 a7or Challenges 2acing

    Public SchoolsCpdated Mar&h 03, 201F G y 6ra&e hen868

    http://www.corwin.com/books/Book237466http://www.corwin.com/books/Book237466http://www.corwin.com/books/Book243403http://www.corwin.com/books/Book243403http://www.ascd.org/Publications/Books/Overview/School-Climate-Change.aspxhttp://www.corwin.com/books/Book249055http://www.corwin.com/books/Book249055https://twitter.com/PeterMDeWitthttp://www.publicschoolreview.com/articles/authors/1http://www.publicschoolreview.com/blog/10-major-challenges-facing-public-schoolshttp://www.corwin.com/books/Book237466http://www.corwin.com/books/Book237466http://www.corwin.com/books/Book243403http://www.corwin.com/books/Book243403http://www.ascd.org/Publications/Books/Overview/School-Climate-Change.aspxhttp://www.corwin.com/books/Book249055http://www.corwin.com/books/Book249055https://twitter.com/PeterMDeWitthttp://www.publicschoolreview.com/articles/authors/1http://www.publicschoolreview.com/blog/10-major-challenges-facing-public-schools
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    Are our public schools in a state of crisis? Learn about the 10 biggestproblems with public schools today, both from the perspective of theadministrators and the teachers

    e' 'ould argue that the state o! our edu&ation system has plenty o! room !orimpro+ement* 5o'e+er, de+eloping a plan to ta%e s&hools in the right dire&tionis easier said than done* he !irst &hallenge lies in identi!ying underlyingprolems %eeping students !rom learning today* his &hallenge, in part, is dueto the !a&t that the prolems may &hange &onsideraly depending on 'ho islaeling them, 'hether it is students, parents, edu&ators or la'ma%ers*

    onsider this list o! 10 ma?or &hallenges &urrently !a&ing puli& s&hools, asedon the perspe&ti+e o! many in+ol+ed in the 'orld o! edu&ation today*Classroom Si9eMany areas o! the &ountry are !a&ing &lassrooms that are literally usting outat the seams* A report at.A odayt'o years ago dis&ussed ho' s&hools in6eorgia, in the midst o! ma?or !unding &uts !or s&hools, had no &hoi&e ut toli!t all &lass si/e limitsto a&&ommodate students 'ith the !a&ulty the s&hoolsystem &ould still a!!ord to %eep* More re&ently, air!a> ounty in Hirginiahaseen loo%ing into a proposal to in&rease &lassroom si/es in the !a&e o!signi!i&ant udget &uts* he Board o! .du&ation in"outh arolinais also

    'eighing their options in this area*7hen money gets tight, &lassroom numers are o!ten impa&ted* -et, mosttea&hers agree that they &annot e!!e&ti+ely tea&h e+ery student in a&lassroom, i! the &lass si/e e>&eeds aout 30* heir statements are a&%edup y resear&h* lass "i/e Matters&ites a study per!ormed y the ennessee"tar that !ound &lasses o! 1F1I students in grades 3 pro+ided oth longand shortterm ene!its to oth the students and the tea&hers in those

    http://neatoday.org/2010/09/13/top-eight-challenges-teachers-face-this-school-year/http://www.publicschoolreview.com/blog/class-size-state-regulation-of-class-sizehttp://www.washingtonpost.com/local/education/fairfax-schools-chief-calls-for-96-million-in-budget-cuts-proposal-increases-class-sizes/2014/01/09/8447ac78-796a-11e3-b1c5-739e63e9c9a7_story.htmlhttp://www.thestate.com/2013/10/09/3029483/sc-board-of-education-cool-to.htmlhttp://www.classsizematters.org/research-and-links/http://neatoday.org/2010/09/13/top-eight-challenges-teachers-face-this-school-year/http://www.publicschoolreview.com/blog/class-size-state-regulation-of-class-sizehttp://www.washingtonpost.com/local/education/fairfax-schools-chief-calls-for-96-million-in-budget-cuts-proposal-increases-class-sizes/2014/01/09/8447ac78-796a-11e3-b1c5-739e63e9c9a7_story.htmlhttp://www.thestate.com/2013/10/09/3029483/sc-board-of-education-cool-to.htmlhttp://www.classsizematters.org/research-and-links/
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    &lassrooms* Minority students, those li+ing in po+erty and male studentsappeared to ene!it !rom smaller &lassroom si/es the most*

    Povertye&hnoratireported last !all that 22 per&ent o! the &hildren in the C*"* li+e at orelo' po+erty le+el*Ameri&an 6raduatede!ines po+erty as a !amily o! !our'ith an annual in&ome le+el o! 23,0F0 or lo'er* Ameri&an 6raduate also&ites a report !rom the "outhern .du&ation oundation, 'hi&h sho's in 1Istates a&ross the C*"*, lo'in&ome students no' &omprise the ma?ority o!puli& s&hool students in those states* "ome estimates put po+erty le+els !orpuli& s&hool students at 2FE in the notsodistant !uture*"tudents li+ing at or elo' po+erty le+eltend to ha+e the highest dropoutrates* "tudies sho' that students 'ho do not get enough !ood or sleep areless li%ely to per!orm at their !ull a&ademi& potential* "&hools %no' thesetruths !irsthand, and despite e!!orts to pro+ide students 'ith asi& essentials,tea&hers, administrators and la'ma%ers %no' there is simply not enough togo around*

    2amily 2actorsamily !a&tors also play a role in a tea&herKs aility to tea&h students*=rin&ipals and tea&hers agree that 'hat is going on at home 'ill impa&t astudentKs propensity to learn* Di+or&e, single parents, po+erty, +iolen&e andmany other issues are all &hallenges a student rings to s&hool e+ery day*

    7hile some tea&hers and administrators try to 'or% 'ith &hildren in less thanideal !amily en+ironments, they &an only do so mu&h L espe&ially 'henparents are o!ten not 'illing to partner 'ith the s&hools to pro+ide !or the&hildren*Technologyids 5ealth 6uidereports that students are more te&hnologi&ally ad+an&edthan many tea&hers today, putting instru&tors at a de&ided disad+antage in the&lassroom* 5o'e+er, a studentKs lo+e o! te&hnology also tends to distra&t him!rom his s&hool'or%, a&&ording to .A oday* 7hen tea&hers donKt ha+e thete&hnosa++y to &ompete 'ith those de+i&es, y ringing edu&ation and

    te&hnology together, it &an e di!!i&ult to %eep studentsK interest and attentionto properly tea&h ne' &on&epts*e&hnology needs to &ome into the &lassroom to %eep up 'ith the learningdemands o! the 21st &entury* "&hools that are already &ashstrapped may !indan unsurmountale &hallenge in &oming up 'ith the !unding to ring&omputers and other !orms o! te&hnology into their &lasses* "&holasti&o!!erssome tips !or s&hool distri&ts that 'ant to !it the ill !or te&hnology, in&luding

    http://technorati.com/women/article/big-problem-faced-by-public-education/http://americangraduate.org/dropout-factors/povertyhttp://www.publicschoolreview.com/blog/new-u-s-census-report-shows-rise-in-poverty-kids-education-to-sufferhttp://www.publicschoolreview.com/blog/going-through-a-divorce-how-to-ensure-your-childs-continued-success-in-public-schoolshttp://www.neactionforhealthykids.org/what-are-the-top-issues-facing-the-us-public-school-system-today/http://www.publicschoolreview.com/blog/technology-in-public-schoolshttp://www.publicschoolreview.com/blog/technology-in-public-schoolshttp://www.scholastic.com/browse/article.jsp?id=3750588http://technorati.com/women/article/big-problem-faced-by-public-education/http://americangraduate.org/dropout-factors/povertyhttp://www.publicschoolreview.com/blog/new-u-s-census-report-shows-rise-in-poverty-kids-education-to-sufferhttp://www.publicschoolreview.com/blog/going-through-a-divorce-how-to-ensure-your-childs-continued-success-in-public-schoolshttp://www.neactionforhealthykids.org/what-are-the-top-issues-facing-the-us-public-school-system-today/http://www.publicschoolreview.com/blog/technology-in-public-schoolshttp://www.publicschoolreview.com/blog/technology-in-public-schoolshttp://www.scholastic.com/browse/article.jsp?id=3750588
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    e+erything !rom as%ing indi+iduals in the distri&t !or ig gi!tsN to going to Cn&le"am !or the !unding* he 'esite also suggests negotiating pri&es onte&hnology 'hen possile and allo'ing student to ring their o'n !rom home*

    =hotoBy $ntel ree =ress B-"A2*0, +ia 7i%imedia ommons.ullyingBullyingis not a ne' prolem, ut it is one that has a pro!ound impa&t on thelearning aptitude o! many students today* e&hnology has gi+en ullies e+enmore a+enues to torment their +i&tims L through so&ial net'or%ing, te>ting andother +irtual intera&tions* yerullyinghas e&ome a ma?or issue !or s&hools,as e+iden&ed y the numer o! sui&ides that &an e dire&tly tra&ed to ullyinge+ents* he !a&t that la's are still !u//y regarding &yerullying adds to the&hallenge L sin&e parents, tea&hers and administrators are unsure o! ho' to

    legally handle su&h issues*Student #ttitudes and .ehaviorsMany puli& s&hool tea&hers also &ite student attitudes, su&h as apathy anddisrespe&t !or tea&hers, as a ma?or prolem !a&ing s&hools today* A poll !romthe ational enter !or .du&ation "tatisti&s&ited that prolems li%e apathy,tardiness, disrespe&t and asenteeism posed signi!i&ant &hallenges !or

    http://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Kids_with_Education_Tablet_Computers.jpghttp://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Kids_with_Education_Tablet_Computers.jpghttp://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/2.0http://www.publicschoolreview.com/blog/public-schools-and-bullying-the-issues-and-the-solutionshttp://www.publicschoolreview.com/blog/should-public-schools-regulate-cyberbullyinghttp://www.publicschoolreview.com/blog/bullied-to-death-should-public-schools-be-more-responsible-for-mean-girlshttp://www.publicschoolreview.com/blog/bullied-to-death-should-public-schools-be-more-responsible-for-mean-girlshttp://nces.ed.gov/pubs93/web/93149.asphttp://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Kids_with_Education_Tablet_Computers.jpghttp://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Kids_with_Education_Tablet_Computers.jpghttp://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/2.0http://www.publicschoolreview.com/blog/public-schools-and-bullying-the-issues-and-the-solutionshttp://www.publicschoolreview.com/blog/should-public-schools-regulate-cyberbullyinghttp://www.publicschoolreview.com/blog/bullied-to-death-should-public-schools-be-more-responsible-for-mean-girlshttp://www.publicschoolreview.com/blog/bullied-to-death-should-public-schools-be-more-responsible-for-mean-girlshttp://nces.ed.gov/pubs93/web/93149.asp
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    tea&hers* hese issues 'ere seen more !reuently at the se&ondary s&hoolle+el, rather than the primary grades*:o Child Le(t .ehindMany students, parents and tea&hers see o hild ;e!t Behindas a detrimentto the puli& edu&ation en+ironment today* Although the &urrent

    http://www.publicschoolreview.com/blog/is-it-time-to-say-goodbye-to-no-child-left-behindhttp://www.publicschoolreview.com/blog/parental-involvement-is-key-to-student-successhttp://www.publicschoolreview.com/blog/parental-involvement-is-key-to-student-successhttp://www.publicschoolreview.com/blog/obesity-report-cards-should-public-schools-issue-fat-gradeshttp://www.publicschoolreview.com/blog/is-it-time-to-say-goodbye-to-no-child-left-behindhttp://www.publicschoolreview.com/blog/parental-involvement-is-key-to-student-successhttp://www.publicschoolreview.com/blog/parental-involvement-is-key-to-student-successhttp://www.publicschoolreview.com/blog/obesity-report-cards-should-public-schools-issue-fat-grades
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    =hotoBy .nglish: ;an&e pl* #yan M* Joyner P=uli& domainQ, +ia 7i%imedia

    ommonshe national s&hool lun&h mo+ement ;etKs Mo+eO has een 'or%ing to ringhealthier options into s&hool lun&hrooms a&ross the &ountry* A&&ording to

    the 'esite, the C*"* Department o! Agri&ulture released ne' guidelines in2012 to oost the nutritional uality o! the meals students get at s&hool*.>er&ise programs are also &oming to s&hools a&ross the &ountry to promotemore physi&al a&ti+ity among students o! all ages* 5o'e+er, it seems the&ountry as a 'hole still has a long 'ay to go to get on the road to etter healthon a large s&ale*2undingBudget &utsha+e &reated huge prolems !or most puli& s&hools in re&entyears* ;ess !unding means smaller sta!!s, !e'er resour&es and a lo'ernumer o! ser+i&es !or students* 7hile some argue that thro'ing more moneyat the edu&ation prolems 'onKt ma%e them go a'ay, others assert that la&%o! !unding &aused many o! the prolems in the !irst pla&e*here are many prolems in puli& s&hools today, ut identi!ying those issuesis hal! the attle* 7ith a laundry list o! &hallenges to !a&e, no' is the time !oredu&ators, parents and la'ma%ers to &ome together and egin to !indsolutions L !or the ene!it o! all students in puli& s&hools today*

    http://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:USMC-120214-M-MA421-288.jpghttp://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:USMC-120214-M-MA421-288.jpghttp://www.letsmove.gov/healthy-schoolshttp://www.publicschoolreview.com/blog/public-school-budget-cuts-translate-into-higher-costs-for-familieshttp://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:USMC-120214-M-MA421-288.jpghttp://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:USMC-120214-M-MA421-288.jpghttp://www.letsmove.gov/healthy-schoolshttp://www.publicschoolreview.com/blog/public-school-budget-cuts-translate-into-higher-costs-for-families
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