2. Common Core
 3. School Lunches 
 
I think that standardized testing is one of the biggest educational issues schools are currently facing because it does not always reflect what students know. Many students guess and go, so the overall results from the exams are not always correct. In addition, from personal experience, I was never a good test taker, so these exams never showed my academic ability or represented me as a student (complex thinker and a non-visual learner). The second educational issue I think is important is the Common Core Standards. Common Core Standards go hand in hand with standardized tests, however, examine the teacher’s abilities rather than the students. This can be an issue when some teachers focus on producing the information instead of the quality of  the information given. Lastly, I think school lunches are a rising issue with in school systems. Although schools are incorporating healthier options for students to eat, much of the time, the food choices lack nutritional value. Lack of proper nutrients can cause students to perform weakly during school, negatively affecting their academics and attitude towards school.

 

1.) Electronic testing versus paper testing

2.) Student Health/movement in the classroom

3.) Family involvement

1.) Technology is taking over the world whether I want to accept it or not. How technology should be used in schools, I think is still up for debate.   The main factor that I care about here is if it is helping our students or hurting them. Many districts are taking standardized tests online. From my personal experience as a student I have taken tests online and struggled because of the online setup of them. When it comes to a literacy or language arts section where the student needs to read a passage it may be harder to keep track of where you are if you reading from a computer screen. I believe that technology is a distraction and I do not know if this trend of going paperless will continue and if our scores are going to continue to drop because of that. 

2.) Last year I took Physical Education for Elementary school teachers and I have developed a whole new respect for those teachers. Student health is declining due to many everyday factors in and outside of our schools. Food choices in the cafeteria need to have each student include a fruit or a vegetable option.  I think we need to take charge and promote change by integrating movement into the classroom. Many teachers are probably not aware of the opportunities to do so. Go Noodle is an awesome website that has many fun interactive videos that you could use as a warm up or cool down activity in your classroom. Student health is so important and as teachers we also need to model this by bringing a healthy snack/ lunch to show our students that we can be healthy too! 

3.) Students face family challenges whether you may know it or not. Divorce, poverty, culture, and violence maybe on the child’s mind while they are in your classroom. Parents need to work in a partnership with the teacher to help their child succeed in every way they can. I know there has been lots of recent studies done on how important this really is and I agree with them wholeheartedly. When a parent participates it does not just prove to the teacher that they care, but it also helps the student feel more comfortable in their schoolwork. As a teacher I will try my very best to make the child’s year in my classroom their very best, but also the parents best year in classroom. Newsletters, emails, conferences, and phone calls are just some of the steps I am going to take. I want to inform parents when I am proud of their child and when they have overcome a great obstacle in their learning! To increase family involvement we need to put ourselves out there and tell the parents that we want them included in our classroom environment. 

1) Standardized testing- I believe that standardized testing is currently one of the biggest educational issues. Standardized tests do not promote learning in the classroom. Instead, they cause feelings of stress for both the students and teachers. Standardized tests cannot evaluate students in every aspect of learning; for example, they cannot assess critical thinking, creativity, and leadership skills. Unfortunately, not all students perform well on standardized tests, so I believe it is unfair for students’ academic success to be judged by these specific tests. 

2) Classroom size- I believe a large classroom size is another educational issue. If a teacher has too many students he or she cannot easily identify what individual students are struggling with. Also, it is harder for teachers to discover if a student has any sort of learning disability because the teacher is not spending as much one on one time with the students. Furthermore, classroom management can become an issue when there are an excessive amount of students in the classroom. With too many students, teachers may find it more difficult to keep their classroom under control.

3) Student Health- I believe school lunches is also an educational issue. A large amount of students consume their lunch through the school system. Lunches through school should be required to provide students food that has proper nutritional value. If a student eats unhealthy foods that are high in fats and sugars they are more likely to feel tired and sluggish throughout the day, therefore, finding it harder to concentrate on their studies. Schools can help students perform well academically by providing them with proper meals.

 

1)    Student Health/Lack of Physical Activity/Cutting PE and Recess

2)    Work Load

3)    Technology 

 

My “number one reason” is listed in parts because in my opinion they all fuse together. In the third grade, my school district not only cut music and art but also cut physical education. Now that I have begun to study teaching and learning, I have the opportunity to view that year as a teacher on top of the perspective of a student. I, as mentioned in the previous padlet assignment, benefitted (and still benefit) from physical activity and being able to get up and move around during a lesson in school. Not having PE in my schedule for that one year was not only upsetting for me, but impacted my ability to learn. I know of school’s who have taken away recess, or at least minimized the amount of time they give students to run around and be active. I would consider this one of the most concerning issues in education today. Preventing students from being able to have free time hinders their ability to focus in class. Although I am aware that this cut time is an attempt to create more time for learning, I disagree with the thought that it will be beneficial to children. Considering a lot of the websites listed described student health and obesity in children being a concern, taking away time they could be getting to be active (which they may not otherwise receive at home) will not be of help to anyone.   

The second reason I have listed is something I did not see mentioned on too many of the websites. I have chosen it because I have witnessed the toll homework and projects can take on children (and experienced it myself). I think, as a future educators, it is our job to think of ways we can minimize the amount of work we send home. And, when we do send work home, have it be interactive and extremely useful for the students’ learning. By doing this, we will not only encourage students to want to learn, we could incorporate ways to get families involved (which is another issue listed on many of the websites). 

Lastly, after observing at U-High in normal this past year, I really noticed some of the pros and cons of using technology in the classroom. Many schools nowadays give students a form of technology (whether it be an iPad, chrome book, or laptop). Although there are many useful strategies for integrating this technology, there are many downfalls. Not only are students learning about this technology at a faster rate than teacher’s are able to grasp and understand how to use (or teach) it, technology can be a big distraction both in the classroom at home which can affect a student’s ability to learn. I think there are definitely some good ways it can be used, and it is definitely important for schools to stay up to date with technology, however, there is progress to be made.