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I am currently enrolled in the Curriculum and Instruction Masters Degree program and I am planning to become certified to teach Life Science at the secondary school level. I am hoping to become a science teacher to educate either middle school or high school level students, but I currently have no real experience in an educator role.

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National Association of Special Education Teachers

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National Association of Special Education Teachers

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The National Association of Special Education Teachers, or NASET, is an organization which provides resources for special education teachers. This includes up to date information regarding the different laws and acts which influence school policy regarding students who require special education services.

One example of potential issues regarding students who require special education services are properly identifying students who require help and providing them with the assistance they need, as discussed in the Individuals with Disabilities Education Act. A second legal issue involves providing students with assistive technology students with disabilities require, which is described by the Technology Related Assistance for Individuals with Disabilities Act.

https://www.naset.org/index.php?id=specialedlaw01

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ASCD provides information for teachers to understand issues impacting students and improve their teaching ability to better serve students. The ASCD website provides a variety of resources on the different topics it covers, including articles, videos, samples of books, and web seminars.

One example of a policy issue which is discussed by the ASCD is student poverty. Poverty is an important ethical subject to discuss because it can impact students in a variety of ways, including access to resources, ability to function in class, and ability to function socially.

A second example of an policy issue involves school safety on campuses. This involves a variety of related topics, including bullying and management of potential crises.

http://www.ascd.org/research-a-topic.aspx

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Lunch shaming refers to the practice of shaming students who are unable to cover unpaid lunch debts. Methods of lunch shaming include making students throw away unpaid for hot meals, requiring students to wear visual signifiers to their lunch debt, or disallowing students from participating in school activities. Many people consider this to be unethical, as it singles out students who are living in poverty or are not being properly cared for by their guardians. The state of Tennessee is proposing a bill called the "Tennessee Hunger-Free Students Act", which would tackle this issue by preventing schools from singling out or denying meals to students who are unable to pay.

https://www.educationdive.com/news/tennessee-considers-bill-to-prevent-lunch-shaming/549949/

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Many parents have become skeptical of the effectiveness of vaccinations, causing them to opt out of getting their children vaccinated. However, this has been the cause of several outbreaks of deadly diseases in schools, particularly measles. This is an ethical issue because while parents believe it is their choice whether to vaccinate their children, their decision to keep their children unvaccinated is putting the lives of their children and other students at risk during outbreaks, particularly in the case of students with suppressed immune systems. Several states, including Washington, Oregon, and Colorado, are working on legislation which will create more solid requirements to vaccinate students in light of these outbreaks.

https://www.educationdive.com/news/206-measles-outbreaks-across-11-states-leave-schools-grappling-with-effects/549985/

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I have chosen to discuss the topic of student poverty because it is such an overarching issue. Poverty can impact a student's relationship with a variety of other issues, including access to food, housing, bullying, and access to health resources.

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Kainz, K. (2019). Early academic gaps and Title I programming in high poverty, high minority schools. Early Childhood Research Quarterly, 47, 159-168. doi:10.1016/j.ecresq.2018.08.012
Retrieved from: http://resolver.ebscohost.com.easydb.angelo.edu/openurl?sid=EBSCO%3aedselp&genre=article&issn=08852006&ISBN=&volume=47&issue=&date=20190401&spage=159&pages=159-168&title=Early+Childhood+Research+Quarterly&atitle=Early+academic+gaps+and+Title+I+programming+in+high+poverty%2c+high+minority+schools&aulast=Kainz%2c+Kirsten&id=DOI%3a10.1016%2fj.ecresq.2018.08.012&site=ftf-live

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Parrett, W., & Budge, K. (2016, January 13). How does poverty influence learning? Retrieved from https://www.edutopia.org/blog/how-does-poverty-influence-learning-william-parrett-kathleen-budge

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Student poverty is a major issue for students and it should be a primary concern for current and future teachers due to the impact it has on students both in and out of a classroom setting. Students living in poverty are often lacking in a variety of resources which are considered important for effective learning, including food, general health, security, and stability. Students who live in poverty are also often behind in educational development when they begin attending school due to a combination of decreased exposure to speech as young children and decreased access to reading material when compared to middle class or wealthier students in the same age group (Parrett & Budge, 2016).

Poverty also commonly overlaps with other kinds of discrimination. African American and Latino students are more likely to experience poverty than their White peers. Students of these racial groups are also more likely to live in overall poorer neighborhoods if there is a higher minority concentration, which often in turn means attending schools with decreased tax funding. This is an issue because programs which would normally be available to help students in need will have decreased funds to do so (Kainz, 2019). The fact these students both start and continue through school at a disadvantage when compared to their peers is an ethical issue, particularly when one considers how other issues like racial discrimination are often closely intertwined. The Every Student Succeeds Act of 2015 is an example of an act developed to help combat this issue. Title 1 of this act directs federal funds to disadvantaged school systems, to help fund programs and resources which would normally be unavailable to students at these schools (Kainz, 2019).

As a single teacher, my impact on this issue as a whole will be limited due to the fact the problems caused by poverty commonly extend beyond a single classroom, or even a single school. However, I will still be capable of impacting the issue of student poverty on a smaller scale, such as being aware of students who are suffering through poverty and providing resources to these students whenever possible.