Where is Education Going?

Grades 1 & 2, 1950

There were concerns about education prior to Covid, but being out of the classroom worsened those concerns.  However, educators have chosen to use the opportunity as a way to look closely at how new ideas might improve education.  The question is, where do we go from here?  This third blog will share some of the changes in education that are being tried.

A Survey by the Pew Research Center during November of 2023 found that 51% of U.S. adults believed that public K-12 education is going in the wrong direction.  Only 16% thought it was going in the right direction, and 32% were not sure.

Criticisms from the public included primarily 4 areas:  1. Schools not spending enough time on core academic subjects, like reading, math, science, and social studies; 2. Teachers bringing things outside of traditional education into the classroom; 3.  Schools not having funding and resources they need; and 4. Parents having too much influence in decisions about what schools are teaching.

There has been increasing concern about declining scores in reading and math for some time, and that is certainly being addressed in many states.  Attention is also being paid to aligning pathways with real-world workforce needs.  Fortunately, that has renewed emphasis on improving high-quality Reading & Math instruction.  Schools are also considering 3rd Grade Retention for those students who are  struggling, holding them back to provide particular attention so that they can master those needed skills before passing them forward.  Without mastering the basic skills, those students simply fall further behind and never catch up.

Many states are trying to determine the correct use of smart phones, not only baring cell phones during instruction time in the classroom but also putting more responsibility on cellphone companies to require parental permission for kids under age 18 to have cellphones.  Surveys have shown that 70% of parents support both state and national regulations requiring parental consent for young people to access social media platforms, and 61% endorse rules that would make students store their cell phones in lockers while at school.   Most parents are concerned about the negative effect of cellphones on their kids mental health, only 12% having no concerns.

Other ideas for improving education for grades 1-12 include expanding school choice in a wide variety of possible ways.  Tax dollars have long been spent on Public Schools, and although I had no children, I never resented being taxed for public schools.  I want educated people as my doctors, plumbers, police, clerks, farmers, and all occupations.  My husband and I have also supported scholarships for students needing assistance.  I recognize the value of training public school teachers and paying them a competitive wage.  Wealthy families may have had more options for schools 1-12 and college, so it is important to be sure ordinary families can have public schools, community colleges, and affordable 4-year colleges to receive quality educations; however, public school funding should not be diluted by supporting private schools.

There are also new efforts to create pathways for career and technical education programs, including career scholarship accounts for high school students, work-based learning courses, apprenticeships, and other opportunities.  Those pathways would not necessarily bind them to particular careers, but rather give them an opportunity to learn a skill that would give them the revenue to work and save for college later or attend night school while having income from their craft.  That seems more generally productive and fair that simply paying off university student debt.

In order to gain a strong workforce of well-trained teachers to fill current teacher shortages, states are creating incentives to keep the best teachers in the classroom, and ways to encourage new teachers to choose that career.  Some states are creating on the job training programs and mentorships and reviewing their teacher licensing programs.  States are not ignoring the impact of AI and are instead studying ways to effectively utilize it.  

That little girl sitting in the back row third from the left in the picture at the top of this blog had no idea what the world would be in 2024.  Now, decades later, she is trying her best to keep up, but the world of the future is no longer hers.  However, she plans to be around long enough to hope that today's generation is doing a good job of keeping up.  The older generation is depending on their ability to follow Albert Einstein's advice, that is, not just to have obtained an education, but rather to have used their educations to train their minds to think.  

I hope this 3-part series about education has offered some new ideas, as well as emphasizing the importance of education in a rapidly changing world.