In the United States, school issues are big discussion topics among the general public and news media. After all, the existing education system is plagued with many challenges and issues ranging from disciplinary policy changes and budget cuts to lack of student safety and everything in between. Yet, school systems globally continue to be overridden with problems, with new challenges cropping up with every policy change. However, people argue that our school systems have plenty of room for improvement. With proper pre-planning, we can easily take our schools in the right direction.
The first step towards improvement is to identify the underlying challenges themselves. Such a challenge exists because school issues might change depending on who labels them, from lawmakers and educators to parents and students. Therefore, we have to look at these challenges from each individual’s perspective. Doing so ensures improvements at every level of education. That said, let us look at a few overlooked problems in school and ways to solve them.
1. Issues With Curriculum Implementation
In most cases, teachers create the school curriculum, often improving and refining them over time. However, despite the promises made by schools for a standard school curriculum, various issues prevent educational content from positively influencing instruction. In fact, these issues represent the presence of both adaptive and technical challenges of standard-aligned curriculum implementation. Some of them include identifying high-quality educational content, encouraging schools to adopt it, and getting teachers to utilize it effectively.
If you’re in a leadership position, you can play your part and ensure the efficient implementation of an effective school curriculum. One way to do this is by enrolling in a relevant course like an online MS in CI-CTL. This degree program will allow you to learn about the development and implementation of the school curriculum. Not to mention, it will also help you understand theories, generalizations, and fundamental principles of an effective school curriculum.
2. Classroom Size
Today, educational institutes are overcrowded with students. While most experts will blame the school’s high admission rates for such an increased number of students, the main issue is the size of the classrooms themselves.
Therefore, schools must do whatever they can to increase classroom capacity, making education accessible to more pupils. Hence, increasing classroom size will help them teach more students in a single classroom, accommodating any funding and budgeting cuts plaguing them.
3. Bullying/Harassment
Bullying and harassment have always been present in the schooling system for decades. However, such a thing might leave a lasting effect on students’ learning ability. In fact, through virtual connections, texting, and social media, technology has given bullies a platform to harass and torture their victims.
Cyberbullying has become a massive issue for schools as per the increasing number of suicides related to online bullying. In addition, many educators say that student attitudes, like disrespect and teacher apathy, are underlying school issues. According to a National Center for Education survey, absenteeism, disrespect, disorder, and indifference can pose various problems for teachers.
4. Poverty
According to a Technorati report, 22% of all American children live in poverty or are on the brink of it. According to American Graduate, poverty refers to living in a family of four individuals with a yearly income of 23,050 dollars. They also cite a report by the Southern Education Foundation, which says that 17 American states house the majority of low-income public school students.
Students living below or at the poverty level have higher dropout rates than others. Furthermore, research also suggests that students who don’t get enough sleep and food will not perform at their highest academic potential. So, schools must understand these facts and provide students with high-quality, low-cost education to avoid placing an unwanted financial burden on them.
5. Student Health And Wellness
According to the National Education Association, most school-going individuals are anxiety-filled, stressed out, and about to reach their breaking points. However, educational leaders and teachers and experiencing the same thing. So, whether it is due to the pressure to reform, high-stakes testing, being overscheduled, now is the time to become more mindful of this issue than we were in 2021.
Therefore, consider implementing double recess, incorporating frequent brain breaks, or using mindfulness programs and apps. After all, this is the year when schools should focus on becoming more autonomous to help their students find a better balance between their studies and personal life.
Today’s schooling systems are dealing with a plethora of issues and challenges. However, identifying these problems is only half the battle. Therefore, lawmakers, parents, teachers, and educational leaders must come together and find practical solutions sooner rather than later. We know that it might prove to be daunting at first. But, an excellent school system can take on some of the crucial issues mentioned in this article and turn them around to make education more achievable and manageable for students.
