Education

Aristotle said, “Educating the mind without educating the heart is no education at all.” What does it really mean to be educated? Many people thought that they knew what education meant, even I felt confident in myself to define education. However, the ideas discussed in class really made me question my definition of education. My definition has changed within the past few weeks as I discovered more about education. I am here to present my definition of education; with the lack of resources, one can still become educated by learning the unknown and putting your knowledge to good use.

Teacher Shortages – In many areas of Alabama there are subject-specific teacher shortages, especially in the area of secondary mathematics. As I travel from school to school, I have found that many of the middle and high schools I visit have unfilled mathematics positions. Many of these schools are in economically disadvantaged areas of the state, but the teacher shortage issue is not isolated to a particular area or demographic. I have found classrooms staffed by long-term substitutes in wealthy systems, poor systems, systems in North Alabama, systems in South Alabama, and systems of every racial make-up. Most, if not all, of these long term subs are not qualified to teach mathematics which leaves many of the students an academic year behind their peers. I have also identified another disturbing teacher trend that is impacting student learning. In the “hard-to-staff”, poor, rural areas of South Alabama, there appears to be a pool of ineffective, poorly trained mathematics teachers who rotate from school to school. Every year these teachers are released by their systems, move one county, city, or system over and get a new job. The lack of qualified, effective teachers to take their places ensures that these teachers will continue to teach many of our most vulnerable students.

Every year the state of California faces a crisis in the name of budget cuts. As a result, the state is producing less and less qualified teachers, by laying off great teachers, just before the tenor mark. So they can hire less qualified teachers and pay them less in the name of saving money. Grades K-12 relies heavily on state aids. Since the beginning of the school year California as made widespread cuts to the education system; which means that there is less money allocated per student. This means less money for books, and new computers, but more money for our district offices. The big picture, the educational system in California is failing our students. Given these points, among all of the chaos that the state of California has put on the educational system; all hope is not lost there are

To offer a little background info - our district is rapidly growing. Our schools are basically at capacity right now. Our projected growth is approx. 250 new students a year for the next 10 years. There will not be room for our kids without planning for the future.

There is a shortage of teachers due to their low salaries. Over the past couple of years,

“Teacher shortages are essentially a problem of distribution (Darling-Hammond, 2001; Ingersoll, 2001; National Association of State Boards of Education, 1998; Olson, 2000; Reeves, 2003; Voke, 2002). According to recent studies, hardest to find are teachers who are both qualified and willing to teach in hard-to-staff schools, which included those in

Public education in the United States has been on a rapid decline for secondary and elementary schools. Increasingly, national rankings are descending versus just decades in the past. Memphis, Tennessee and surrounding West Tennessee cities are seeing the impact. School closings and budget cutbacks make learning in already distracted inner-cities more difficult and make getting to school for rural-based families a strain. Funding for schools have taken a backseat to other government projects. This lack of funding, however, leads to overcrowding and potential chaotic environments for students. When these events occur it is up to public affairs agents to work to ensure each student is receiving a pleasant experience, receiving supplies needed for education, and receiving an education that impacts their community.

When considering a career in education, one must be prepared for the hard work and many challenging demands teachers face on a daily basis, overcrowded classrooms, budget cuts, administrative, district, city, and state demands as well as, parental demands, homework, inadequate working conditions and insufficient supplies, the requirements of “No Child Left Behind”, common core standards, and standardized testing. According to Renzulli, Reis, and Thompson (2009), “the dismal reality is that many imaginative, deeply committed teachers are themselves unhappy and frustrated by local and federal mandates to raise school wide achievement” (p.23). These high demands can impact teaching and teachers can become overwhelmed and overlook the true reason that brought them into this career path, helping student’s become successful lifelong learners and preparing them for academic and life success.

The film Education as we see it is a learning video addressing the educational decisions made in the late 1800s pertaining to the Canadian Aboriginals. Aboriginals were not considered productive members of the “white society” and therefore, Canadian government at the time, Duncan Scott believed that their best chance for success was to learn English and adopt Christianity and Canadian customs. (Keith & Whyte, 2003) By establishing residential schools where native children were forced to attend, ideally, they would pass their adopted lifestyle on to their children, and native traditions would eventually diminish. Scott stated that his ultimate goal was “to be rid of the Indian

Without seasoned teachers and administrators, the very fabric of the education system will grow weak. This issue will undoubtable affect the performance of every student in a public-school system in Kentucky. These students will be future educators, taxpayers, and lawmakers. This deficit is not going to go away without change and funding. However, the proposed legislation is not the answer. This issue must be resolved through bi-partisan efforts through state wide tax increases by restricting state employees from receiving dual retirement and insuring the current benefits of seasoned educators. The residents of Kentucky and the legislative body owe prompt attention to this matter on behalf of every student enrolled in a Kentucky public school.

Ever since I can remember, my parents have drilled this concept into my head that obtaining an education and becoming wealthy will lead you to a happier and better life. They would tell me things such as “ We both came to America because in doing so we hoped that the next generation (which is me) would have a better livelihood than we had at your age.” At that time, I believed everything that they told me because 1. I was a kid so I believed in anything they said and 2, they are adults so I thought that whatever they said must be true. If I were to become wealthy, I would not have to worry about falling behind on my bills, working overtime in order to make enough money to eat, and maintaining the livelihood of my family if I ever decide to have one. So ever since day one, my parents had pushed me into believing that if I were to become wealthy I would become happy and live a better life. They would always encourage me to do well in school because they hoped that the path to education will eventually lead to a successful life. But I never asked questions like why does being wealthy lead to a happy life? Or why is education the only way to becoming a successful person later in life? Education is not for everyone right? It was not until I got older that I realized that a certain someone that I met in my elementary school challenged my mindset of being wealthy will lead to a joyful life.

Education is the most powerful weapon which you can use to change the world. While education can be powerful it can be dangerous in the wrong hands and if not used properly. Public education can be used to help people, how misunderstandings can be related back to the lack of education, and how lack of education can fuel the fires of terrorism and extremism. Malala’s life was affected by other people’s misunderstandings and modern extremism. The first goal is to show people why public education matters and that brings us the readers, to the first topic.

Parents have far-reaching responsibilities for their children. It is a moral obligation of every parent to make sure their children do their homework and is kind to others among other varied and constant parenting tasks. Parenting role is particularly of profound significance in an environment where racial discrimination affects the child's development. Clint Smith narrates his childhood experiences as a black child and how his parents compromised some of their desires to watch him and his siblings become self-dependent amid racial prejudices. He further asserts his realization and belief that his parents' efforts were a crucial form of education in molding the accountable and independent black man he is today. He quotes from author and scholar, Paulo Freire who explains explicitly the need to use education as "a tool for critical awakening and shared humanity" (Smith, 2013, p. 25). In the book, "Pedagogy of the Oppressed", Freire states that “No one can be authentically human while preventing others from being so" (Smith, 2013, p. 25). I'm in utter agreement with Smith's stance on the status quo; "So when we say that black lives matter, it's not because others don't, it's simply because we must affirm that we are worthy of existing without fear, when so many things tell us we are not" (Smith, 2013, p. 26). In this regard, it is my view that as a community, we must fight racism; live and let live.

Over 62 million dollars of cash federal assistance were misallocated in Arizona’s Department of Education in 2015. This dramatic mistake was not fixed until early 2017. It took the department two years to put serious effort into fixing the problem of not properly funding schools that have a high percentage of low-income students. This is a recent example, but the issue of misuse financial distribution for schools has been a problem for more than forty years. The schools that I attended were low-income schools meaning that certain resources that were available to other schools were not available to us. My peers and I were told that we were receiving a high-quality education and yet we were behind compared to other schools in the county,

I have carefully considered what I am about to say. I have consulted several people (Some are college coaches, some are gym teachers and others, school teachers) whom I consider to be my "go to" contacts in the sports world for their opinions on this issue. They have come to the same conclusion as me. This option is not the way to develop any player for the future, and it is a terrible option for the mind and soul of a child.