Photo by Mwesigwa Joel on Unsplash
We are all watching the calamity of our educational system falling apart. Schools are short-staffed this year. Covid-19 impacted daily teaching. Bills across the country are limiting the curriculum and freedom of teachers to feel safe to teach in their classrooms. Parents are in an uproar about any number of issues. As a result, teachers are leaving.
According to NPR, 55% of teachers plan to leave the profession earlier than expected. This number has doubled since November. Where will the number be by the time August rolls around? America is in real danger of not having classroom teachers for next fall.
What will it take for American education to survive?
1. Support from society
First, society needs to support education. Educators have been thrown into the political crossfire, and now are considered the villains. All over the country, bills have been enacted that will make teaching more difficult. From cameras in classrooms to banned books and ideas.
Who wants to work in an environment such as this?
Politicians and parents need to support the academic community. Schools and systems need a nationwide public relations effort to support teachers. Politicians must come out in support of educators and provide funding for school growth as soon as possible.
2. Teachers who are considered professionals
For quite some time, teachers have not been considered professionals. Yet many hold advanced degrees and have extensive training in many areas. Salaries are stagnant and professional growth is limited.
Some see teachers as little more than babysitters these days. Yet, teachers collaborate with administrators, politicians, parents, and colleagues. They design, create, and innovate. Teachers must be recognized as the professionals they are.
Teachers need increased salary, improved benefits, and opportunities for professional growth. Smaller class sizes and fewer duties should be a requirement. Schools can hire teacher’s aides for additional roles and responsibilities. Teachers should be left to manage specifically the teaching and learning aspect of school which is their expertise.
3. New framework for learning
Our current system focuses on learning basic information and skills. Standardized testing fuels the funding of the “best” schools. Both the information taught and assessed are antiquated. We are still operating on the same system we had one hundred years ago.
We are in a new era, and we need to adjust our teaching to match. Students must be taught through new methodologies, and we need to eliminate our insistence on teaching basic information. Instead, we have to focus on integrating 21st century skills into the curriculum.
4. New system where educators make decisions instead of politicians
Currently, politicians are often the decision makers regarding school policies and curricula. We witnessed this full force as covid-19 took hold of the country. Politicians and non-educators were making the decisions of how schools would handle the virus. Yet, these people had no idea how a classroom functioned. They did not ask educators for input, and many of their best-laid plans failed.
Moving forward, we need educators at the helm. Those who have experienced the classroom first-hand need to be the decision makers. Those who know what students and teachers need to survive and thrive should be those designing policies, procedures, and curricula.
Elected officials would need to meet certain educational and experience requirements if making decisions regarding schools. We cannot allow those who have no experience make decisions that determine our future.
5. Infrastructure improvements
Across the country, school buildings are inadequate. Covid-19 brought to light the need for extensive renovation. Classrooms exist without windows. School buildings lack ventilation systems or air-conditioning. Small classrooms do not hold today’s class sizes.
Federal funding needs to upgrade all schools. Renovation and construction of schools will allow us to educate in the 21st century, whether that means handling a pandemic or designing new curricula.
America has a huge task ahead. Yet, if we do not take these needs seriously, where will we be? Will America’s system fail?
I have news for you. It’s too big to fail.