Essay about Features a of Successful School

Education in America is one of the most important issues that face our nation. If the education in America is not thought of one of most serious issues we face, our nation as a whole will fall. There are many debates and they seemly extend to all walks of life. The debates range from the decline in education, school vouchers, and the no child left behind law. As a nation, the United States is ranked above others. We must search for that solution to all of the pro’s and con’s in education. The solution should allow all walks of life to excel in the education realm. After all, the children of today will be the leaders of tomorrow.

You can typically divide schools into 2 categories large and small and even from those two stem to rural and urban. For this essay I’ll talk a little bit about all sectors of schools because they all require a little different approach. There are two ways to approach most scenarios, offensive and defensive, both have pros can cons but they

Teacher Collaboration measures the degree to which teachers engage in constructive dialogue that furthers the educational vision of the school.

Assessments should contribute to a student’s education and learning by including students in the learning process educators are able to assist and extend students learning (SCSA, 2014).

Assessment provides information to support the planning of effective learning experiences. By assessing my students I will understand better what they know and can do, so I can further extend their learning where they are already accomplished or I can support the areas which need work. Assessment is also useful as a diagnostic tool (McConney 2015 pp1) when it comes to learning problems and also giftedness in students, so that they can then be better provided for.

The United States of America is the world most powerful country in the world, dominating the world’s economic and political system. Millions of foreign students come to America for higher education each year. Ironically enough, America public school system is not so glorious. Indeed, it is not effective where teachers and students lacked motivation and interaction to develop critical thinking and innovation. Michael Moore in the article “Idiot Nation” and John Taylor Gatto in “Against School” argued that the education system in the United States is deeply flawed.

Collaboration between teachers is a key component to professional development that will lead to higher student achievement. There is a need for schools to set up time for teachers to be able to collaborate together. This allows for teachers to help each other, matchup content, teach each other new and best practices, troubleshoot student issues just to name a few of the areas that collaboration time can help foster within a school. The key is to build time for teachers to be able to collaborate during the school day or week. This collaboration time needs to be between grade levels, departments, and cross curricular when needed. For many schools this is an afterthought to the school schedule or a fleeting thought after the master schedule is completed. A principal needs to keep an open mind to any strategy that will enable the teachers to be able to collaborate for the good of the students and the school.

What is it that’s making our country suffer from excelling in education? Very few would argue about the importance of our education system today. Issues such as lazy teachers, lack of parent involvement, and teaching useless information in class may hinder progress in today’s education system. An education plays a crucial role and is an essential tool, unfortunately, with all the jaded judgments; our students are not able to value their education. A proper education can open the doors to many opportunities that would have never been possible if it had not been for the knowledge and preparation that one received while in school. With the growing economy and desperate times, it is more important than ever for our country’s children to receive the proper education and training that is needed to allow them to acquire a good job and produce the revenue needed to live. Today's education system is flawed in many ways, and these flaws should be eliminated to ensure a good education for our future generation.

Over the past decade American schools have been struggling to achieve the success rate of other countries. In the past 15 years the United States has stayed stagnant while other countries pass the U.S. in math, reading, and science. (SOURCE) Stagnant test scores and poor performance globally have educators, politicians and businessperson concerned about the future of education.

Public education in the United States is perhaps one of the most critical issues we face as a nation. Once pronouncing the United States as a “nation at risk”, the educational institution began to implement one reform strategy after another. In efforts to improve schooling for K-12 students, education reform has fiddled with class size, revised graduation requirements, and created standardized testing just to name a few. Unfortunately, traditional public schools are still failing to provide students with a quality education. This is disheartening as we learn that the United States lags behind in math and science compared to our international counterparts. It is safe to say that educational reform has spent billions of dollars over the

What makes a school great? Could it be the integration with technology? How about the records of its sports teams? Many schools consider these aspects before anything else when making plans to advance their schools; however, there is more to a school than its athletics and technology. It really depends on the school’s way of teaching the students, and how the students approach education. Columbia City High School must emphasize academics through activities such as Speech and Debate, de-emphasize athletics through stricter rule of play, and use technology as a tool to strengthen our curriculum, rather than as a requirement, burdening it.

The United States also places 25th in math, 17th in science, and 14th in reading (“Best Education in the World,” 2012). Fourth Graders in the U.S. are 11th in Math in the Trends in International Mathematics and Science Study (“U.S. education spending tops Global List,” 2013.) Sixty-six percent of all fourth graders are not reading at grade level (Reese, Fredrick 2014). Fourteen percent of the population, or 32 million adults, cannot read. Nineteen percent of high school graduates cannot read. In less developed countries like Chile, Brazil, and Latina, children are increasing in academics three times faster than American Students (“Best Education in the World,” 2012). The problem in the education system lies within the public schools, because the majority of students attend public schools. In fact, only ten percent of children attend private schools (Jennings, 2013). USA Today said “Students in a handful of big-city school districts have a less than 50-50 chance of graduating from high school with their peers, and a few cities graduate far fewer than half each spring…” (Toppo, 2006). With these statistics in education, many people wonder why the United States is lagging, but one major reason for the lagging is teaching methods.

Fundamentally the role of the classroom teacher is to implement strategies to support, engage and extend the learning of all individuals. In order for this to occur we need to also consider how we involve, collaborate and communicate with parents, fellow colleagues and specialised teachers. Ashman and Elkins (2008) state that teachers need to make themselves aware of the support systems they can access or create to support the needs of all students. This in turn will ultimately enhance teaching potential allowing teachers to fully maximise learning for all. I personally believe that collaboration is not only essential to the professional growth of teachers (Cramer & Stivers, 2007), but a vital key when acting in the best interest of the students and their families.

Assessments are integral parts of instruction, they determine whether classroom goals have been achieved, and help teachers know what areas they should focus on and maybe reteach. They are great tools for developing lesson plans and answer questions such as; “do my students possess full understanding of the material?” There are many ways of assessing students’ learning, one of which I have personal experience with are on-the-spot assessments.

“Through collaboration, ideas can be shared, new and better strategies can be developed, problems can be solved, students’ progresses can be better monitored, and their outcomes are evaluated effectively.”¬ (Lee, 1996).