Right now, most school districts are trying to develop an effective plan for their returning students in the fall. Preparing for the unknown in school is no easy feat to undertake.
As a mom and teacher quietly watching from the sidelines, education has been an essential part of my life.
Education has an impact on everything we see, do, and believe in our world. From the basics of reading and writing to entrepreneurship and the economy, school is more than a home for academics.
Schools Today
In traditional schools (when we're not in a pandemic), students typically attend a regular school day according to age, grade-level, test score outcomes, and unique learning needs. Academically, a typical pattern of learning content, memorizing it, and taking standardized tests, for the most part, is still the way we run schools today.
Following this traditional way of teaching is no fault of educators. Many factors impact a child's education, from state and federal requirements to school boards and funding. Educators unfortunately, do not have a significant voice at this table.
We also have four generations of educators in the classroom today—those who grew up without a computer, and those who held the world in their pocket. The differences in each generation is so great, it can be difficult to get everyone on board with massive changes. Taking small steps in changing curriculum outcomes is always a good start.
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Making Small Changes Can Lead To Large Results
In effective schools, especially at the high school level, students have the opportunity to build long lasting relationships among their peers and educators. They learn and grow together. They can discover their passions, and take classes that suit their interests. They have a chance to grow, boost their talents, focus on career choices, shadow industries, have access to career guides and mentors, problem-solve, learn to question, debate, and discuss critical topics. They also learn how to work together and independently—while developing essential social and emotional skills.
Finally, an effective school sees each student as a whole child, and emphasizes positive developmental growth without the worry of constant grades and testing.
All of these experiences listed above help young adults become engaged and active citizens, and contributes to the world in meaningful ways.
Learning is a life-long journey that should never end.
The Economy
Education has a tremendous impact on the economy. According toInvestopedia, "A country'seconomybecomes more productive as the proportion ofeducatedworkers increases sinceeducatedworkers can more efficiently carry out tasks that require literacy and critical thinking.
In this sense,educationis an investment in human capital, similar to an investment in better equipment."
However, we must ask, “What type of education do our students need today for a strong economic future?”
Education In 2020
It is now the second half of 2020, and although we don't have to change everything about education, we have a unique opportunity to look outside of the traditional school walls, and bring in some new ideas that can change the future for the better.
Mental Health First
If we took this time right now, here are a few suggestions on how we could potentially make school a better fit for the times ahead.
Social and Emotional—Before anything, we must put Maslow's Theory in practice before Bloom's Taxonomy when students come back to school.
Institutions should provide social and emotional support immediately to ensure all teachers, staff, and school administrators are getting the help they need during such a stressful time—and this support should always continue regardless of the situation.
Before the pandemic, depression and suicide rates were already exploding. When students return, they are going to need more emotional and social support than ever. Nobody will know what our kids went through during this time of absence. Schools must acknowledge, understand, and support students to their best potential.
Planning for the Future in Education: How We Can Improve Academic and Better Career Outcomes Now
Create Work and Business Relationships—Create high school and local business partnerships programs. Include input from high school juniors and seniors and have them assist in the design of a program. Listen to their voices and passions. Provide students with opportunities to shadow different industries, nonprofits, and entrepreneurs. Put students in the driver's seat and work with them as a listener, learner, and guide. Mentor students and show them how to become mentors to underclassmen.
Exemplify Entrepreneurship—We are facing unusual days ahead, and the future is unknown. Teach kids how to think for themselves and show them it’s alright to ask questions. Innovate with them, and help them to change the world through their ideas. Most students don't believe in themselves because society has been telling them what to do, how to behave, and what’s right or wrong. Without the ability to think and question for themselves, students cannot live up to their full potential. Engage them in their creative side, and show them it’s okay to fail, get up, and build again. They may look at you oddly at first, but the future wins can be immeasurable.
Encourage Critical Thinking and Problem-Solving Skills—Teachers can create lessons that encourage critical thinking and problem-solving skills with almost any given content area or topic. Challenge students to rise above the bar because you know they can do it.
Understand Students' Personalities—Introvert, ambivert, and extroverted personalities all have distinctive characteristics, and different areas of comfort when it comes to attending school.
When I went through all of my years of teacher training, I didn’t learn about students' personalities until my last class during my M.Ed. I didn’t realize how every educator had a significant impact on a student's learning experience when they didn’t understand the differences among personalities. Teachers must know their students' characteristics, unique learning needs, and plan accordingly to fit their learning styles best.
Focus on Careers—For older students, teach them how to focus on careers with their hearts and their heads. This type of teaching means helping students make smart decisions when it comes to college, careers, and future planning. Passion is critical, but we want our students to land a job in a field where we expect growth to occur.
The College Narrative—Our society has changed rapidly, but the college narrative has stayed the same for many years. It is important to let students know they have many choices. College is not the best fit for everyone and is not the only path—and that’s okay. Also, going to college today does not guarantee a great job right after graduation. Learning is a never-ending journey that doesn’t stop. College can be critical especially for certain trained skills and potential future earnings, but it is not the single journey to success today.
The college story should match the world we live in today—one filled with options, different ways to learn, and work-study programs that can benefit students and leave them without debt. Our students need to start above the ground—they should not come out of college at such a young age with piles of debt, stress, and worry.
Learn with Students—When you learn with your students, you can connect with them. You are showing vulnerability, and that can help raise a child's self-esteem. Grow with your students, listen to their world—hear their stories.
What else would you add to this list?
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Clearing weeds, pruning hedges, planting flowers, and picking up garbage in fields and parking lots are all student-friendly methods to improve the appearance of a school's campus.
The School Improvement Plan (SIP) identifies the academic and priority goals along with strategies for each school. School leadership and school leadership teams refine their SIP annually to define their school's targeted work to raise achievement and prepare every student to graduate.
Some of the key enablers of this change are: More digitized content and online learning – a trend that has drastically been accelerated by the COVID-19 pandemic. More personalized, self-paced, and self-directed learning – in which learning becomes much more flexible and is paced to suit the needs of each student.
To better prepare students for the real-world, high schools can: Emphasize social and emotional learning. Invest in caring, trusting relationships, so all students feel connected to adults.
Education provides stability in life, and it's something that no one can ever take away from you. By being well-educated and holding a college degree, you increase your chances for better career opportunities and open up new doors for yourself.
A school improvement plan, or SIP, has requirements that vary from state to state, but their unifying purpose is to document goals, strategies, and action steps that aim to improve the quality of education students receive.
For example, a typical school improvement goal may be “increase the percentage of students meeting standards in grade 4 reading by 5%.” While this type of goal is specific and concise, the results will provide little to no information as to the effectiveness of improvement efforts.
Relocation is a common reason for switching schools, and finding the right fit can help your family find meaningful connections and build lasting friendships. 4. You are worried about your child's social and emotional growth. Social issues often prompt parents to search for a better environment for their child.
Adaptive learning systems driven by artificial Intelligence (AI) will have become integrated into the school environment by 2050. Personalised learning experiences will take into account learning styles and create adaptive assessments that adjust in real-time based on performance.
Standards. A successful system clearly defines, in measurable terms, expectations for what students need to know and be able to do to succeed in school, in the workplace and in life. A successful system aligns and focuses its policies and programs on student achievement of high academic standards.
Schools can provide more than just academic services. Community schools are an important strategy to support students, especially in high poverty areas. They can support health and social services, youth and community development, and community engagement.
Students may be motivated for several reasons, such as their interest in a topic or subject, their desire to impress their parents, teachers, or peers, prior success in a specific subject or topic, or the inherent desire to excel in academics.
“The main purpose of the American school is to provide for the fullest possible development of each learner for living morally, creatively, and productively in a democratic society.” “The one continuing purpose of education, since ancient times, has been to bring people to as full a realization as possible of what it ...
Life skills are essential for a successful life, and teaching them in school can help prepare students for the challenges they will face in the future. By teaching life skills in school, students will gain valuable knowledge that can help them make better decisions and lead more productive lives.
Preparing for the future gives you a sense of control and purpose. You get the ultimate power to call the shots in your life. If you decide to quit, you do it because you've everything ready.
Think about the results you want to see. Before making a goal, take a closer look at what you're trying to achieve and ask yourself the following questions: ...
School is the basic foundation of knowledge being imparted to a child. It gives a chance to children to acquire knowledge on various fields of education, such as people, literature, history, mathematics, politics, and other numerous subjects.
As you think about the four basic purposes of school: academic (intellectual), political and civic purposes, socialization, and economic purposes, what do you think? Which one (or more) do you find as primary purposes of schooling in your own personal philosophy?
The main purpose of education is to provide the opportunity for acquiring knowledge and skills that will enable people to develop their full potential, and become successful members of society.
A strategic plan, an educator effectiveness process, the right technology, and long-term implementation: Together, they make up research-proven steps for successful school improvement.
Performance Goal. Students with performance goals are concerned less about learning and more about how they compare to others in achievement settings and protecting their self-image. Students' effort focuses on doing what they need in order to gain recognition, get rewards and appear intelligent.
A positive school climate is the product of a school's attention to fostering safety; promoting a supportive academic, disciplinary, and physical environment; and encouraging and maintaining respectful, trusting, and caring relationships throughout the school community no matter the setting—from Pre-K/Elementary School ...
There are four types of learning environments, each with unique elements. Learning environments can be student- or learner-centered; knowledge-centered; assessment-centered; and community-centered.
A positive learning environment is one of the most critical components of a skills-based health education classroom. A positive learning environment is created when you value participatory teaching and learning and when there is trust and rapport among students and between yourself and students.
Better income, better living situation, better opportunities for your family, more and better responsibility at work all lead to another important side effect - confidence. Having elevated confidence is good in a variety of ways, not the least being how your peers see you.
Frees family from dealing with transportation to school and activities. Students and parents can invest saved time in more enriching pursuits. Parents can be more involved in kids' day-to-day activities. Even seemingly mundane chores like transporting kids can be bonding experiences.
These three ways are structural, technological, and cultural. Structural change relates to redesigning how the school is organized. For example, a school might add or remove departments, change job responsibilities, and or create new positions within the institution.
Reduce, reuse, and recycle Recycle school or classroom paper, newspapers, beverage containers, electronic equipment, and batteries. Reducing, reusing, and recycling at school and in the classroom helps conserve energy, minimize pollution, and reduce greenhouse gases.
Future educators will have to face the fact that students will need (and want) to learn in a flexible, personalized format — for some, this may mean having a more technology-focused classroom. Students will want their learning experience to meet their interests, time constraints and academic needs.
In 2030, adaptive learning software will replace direct instruction. Adaptive learning software is computer software that uses AI to move students up and down through a grade level's content based on student performance on assessment questions. Adaptive learning is faster and more efficient than even the best teachers.
Those who get an education have higher incomes, have more opportunities in their lives, and tend to be healthier. Societies benefit as well. Societies with high rates of education completion have lower crime, better overall health, and civic involvement. Lack of access to education is considered the root of poverty.
“Being able to identify and think logically through a problem objectively is one of the more important skills a student must learn to be successful in school as well as in their career,” says Wagner.
Most high school students report being intrinsically motivated to learn. The vast majority (83 to 95 percent) report being motivated to apply themselves in school by thinking deeply, listening carefully, and completing assignments.
Formal and non-formal education are divided into levels. They include early childhood education, primary education, secondary education, and tertiary education.
Introduction: My name is Melvina Ondricka, I am a helpful, fancy, friendly, innocent, outstanding, courageous, thoughtful person who loves writing and wants to share my knowledge and understanding with you.
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