My kids' public education provided one of the critical roads to righting paths that had gone astray from newly diagnosed anxiety and ADHD. Two kindhearted counselors helped us navigate the systems and offered solutions. It wasn't always easy, with some of the fiercest battles by administrators and teachers within. In the end, both girls are thriving because of the help from their public education experience.
Thank you for sharing! My kids have also had incredibly helpful and supportive public school experience partially because we are in a large district, but also because we’ve advocated and built relationships with educators along the way. It’s a partnership for sure, but also must be fully funded if all children are going to have access to a quality education.
It's disheartening and overwhelming to be in education right now. It's clear that our kids aren't getting what they need and it's hard to know how to prioritize meeting those needs without burning out. Exactly what resources are we lacking as educators?
I'm also wondering after reading this article if there's a correlation between per pupil spending and academic achievement. I'm going to play around with the data to see if there's anything interesting there.
From my perspective in talking with educators, the first thing that’s needed is for the people making funding decisions to listen to what teachers say they need. Many teachers don’t feel heard.
To give teachers whatever they also means taking away the things we didn't need. There's a lot of waste in public education right (speaking as a public educator). Teachers can be effective and plan lessons for criticism thinking when they aren't over burdened by everything else.
We need to return to public schools being schools, where the main focus is reading, writing and math. Teachers are not meant to be pseudo parents, therapists, nurses, social workers, data analysts, lawyers, food pantries, etc. It's too much and the core learning takes the biggest hit.
For all these other areas, yes, the rug needs to be pulled out. For the last decade(s) teachers embodied the old expression "Jack of all trades, master of none.".
Thanks for this post, Emily. It's super interesting to learn about other countries progression with their education systems. You've done that expertly here!
Thank you for sharing this Emily! As a long time educator and parent of two (including a child with a 504), I couldn't agree with you more! When I taught full-time in the classroom, my school gave all the teachers informal award certificates at the end of each school year, and mine was always for helping kids think critically :). Fortunately, our family lives in an awesome school district that focuses on critical thinking skills, but I fear that this is happening less elsewhere--with potentially devastating consequences. Thank you for this overview of education and call to action.
I think parents need an education on education. So may parents, especially Asian immigrant parents only focus on a certain type of school and curriculum. Growing up, my parents really wanted me in STEM, and signed me up for computer camp (in the 80s!!) and math camp (yes, it’s a thing) and really wanted me to succeed in those subjects. They believed that it was a lot more “evergreen” (especially math, since tech evolves. My mom started in IT when computers took up the entire room. Now her phone can hold more info that that room in the 70s) while my love of creating wouldn’t get me anywhere. And my grandmother was all like “they’ll never hire an Asian looking English teacher.” At least my parents weren’t about “you can only be a doctor or engineer.” I’ve heard some Asian parents who did not like the idea of their child working at a hedge fund or even big investment bank!
We should listen to teachers. Effective school principals know this. School principals should encourage teachers to be reflective, inventive, and evaluate all planned initiatives. This is the way forward.
Then, the principal must support, monitor, defend, and hold the teacher accountable in a sensible manner. The principal should also help the teacher(s) to educate and enlist the support and help of the parent(s)/guardian(s) in the initiative.
I agree. Education has come a long way, and has a long way yet to go.
One thing that strikes me in this article is that education has become whatever it needed to be for the times. In the past, it has served the clergy, industry, and systems of power. I contend that, in an era of crisis and rapid global change, we need to understand the potential of humans to meet these challenges. What worked in the past no longer works because the world has changed.
I am not certain what qualifies as rug-pulling in education, but we do need reform. In an emerging reality of super-intelligent robots (literally 'workers'), which qualities in humans should we educate and nurture?
I LOVE this question! I would love to read anything you would write on this topic. You are so right. It’s not working because we’re still educating learners like we did before the internet. We have tried to incorporate tech into learning but that’s causing new problems. I would say we need to prepare learners to be critical thinkers, empathetic and ethical problem-solvers, and leaders who can lead humans with trust, connection, and integrity.
As for the rug-pulling, I’m referencing the fear some are feeling with any coming reallocation of the funding for education.
I wonder what would happen if we all decided to out serve, rather than out lead?
There’s a lot of volatility in education right now, in the US and UK in particular; change is stirring the pot. I think it’s the responsibility of the grown-ups to protect the children when mom and dad are fighting.
This is why I talk so much about funding. Money can’t buy happiness, but it sure makes everything easier. Our teachers and our kids deserve all the services they need to learn.
All decisions should be tethered to student learning (including financial decisions). This is why we come together everyday - to promote learning. Let us not forget that the dominant activity in any school is teaching/learning. By-the-way, in our profession, the farther we get from the students and that activity the higher our salary.
My kids' public education provided one of the critical roads to righting paths that had gone astray from newly diagnosed anxiety and ADHD. Two kindhearted counselors helped us navigate the systems and offered solutions. It wasn't always easy, with some of the fiercest battles by administrators and teachers within. In the end, both girls are thriving because of the help from their public education experience.
Thank you for sharing! My kids have also had incredibly helpful and supportive public school experience partially because we are in a large district, but also because we’ve advocated and built relationships with educators along the way. It’s a partnership for sure, but also must be fully funded if all children are going to have access to a quality education.
Special education teacher here. Thanks for this article.
You are so welcome. Thank you for being a teacher!
It's disheartening and overwhelming to be in education right now. It's clear that our kids aren't getting what they need and it's hard to know how to prioritize meeting those needs without burning out. Exactly what resources are we lacking as educators?
I'm also wondering after reading this article if there's a correlation between per pupil spending and academic achievement. I'm going to play around with the data to see if there's anything interesting there.
From my perspective in talking with educators, the first thing that’s needed is for the people making funding decisions to listen to what teachers say they need. Many teachers don’t feel heard.
To give teachers whatever they also means taking away the things we didn't need. There's a lot of waste in public education right (speaking as a public educator). Teachers can be effective and plan lessons for criticism thinking when they aren't over burdened by everything else.
We need to return to public schools being schools, where the main focus is reading, writing and math. Teachers are not meant to be pseudo parents, therapists, nurses, social workers, data analysts, lawyers, food pantries, etc. It's too much and the core learning takes the biggest hit.
For all these other areas, yes, the rug needs to be pulled out. For the last decade(s) teachers embodied the old expression "Jack of all trades, master of none.".
Thanks for this post, Emily. It's super interesting to learn about other countries progression with their education systems. You've done that expertly here!
Thank you! I’m glad you found it interesting. ❤️
Thank you for sharing this Emily! As a long time educator and parent of two (including a child with a 504), I couldn't agree with you more! When I taught full-time in the classroom, my school gave all the teachers informal award certificates at the end of each school year, and mine was always for helping kids think critically :). Fortunately, our family lives in an awesome school district that focuses on critical thinking skills, but I fear that this is happening less elsewhere--with potentially devastating consequences. Thank you for this overview of education and call to action.
You are so welcome! Thank you for being an educator! ❤️
Thank you so much for this post, Emily!
You are so welcome!❤️
I think parents need an education on education. So may parents, especially Asian immigrant parents only focus on a certain type of school and curriculum. Growing up, my parents really wanted me in STEM, and signed me up for computer camp (in the 80s!!) and math camp (yes, it’s a thing) and really wanted me to succeed in those subjects. They believed that it was a lot more “evergreen” (especially math, since tech evolves. My mom started in IT when computers took up the entire room. Now her phone can hold more info that that room in the 70s) while my love of creating wouldn’t get me anywhere. And my grandmother was all like “they’ll never hire an Asian looking English teacher.” At least my parents weren’t about “you can only be a doctor or engineer.” I’ve heard some Asian parents who did not like the idea of their child working at a hedge fund or even big investment bank!
Robert Andrews, Ed.D.
We should listen to teachers. Effective school principals know this. School principals should encourage teachers to be reflective, inventive, and evaluate all planned initiatives. This is the way forward.
Yes! Give teachers whatever they say they need. I’ve never known a teacher to ask for more than they need or not share with others if they have extra.
Then, the principal must support, monitor, defend, and hold the teacher accountable in a sensible manner. The principal should also help the teacher(s) to educate and enlist the support and help of the parent(s)/guardian(s) in the initiative.
I agree. Education has come a long way, and has a long way yet to go.
One thing that strikes me in this article is that education has become whatever it needed to be for the times. In the past, it has served the clergy, industry, and systems of power. I contend that, in an era of crisis and rapid global change, we need to understand the potential of humans to meet these challenges. What worked in the past no longer works because the world has changed.
I am not certain what qualifies as rug-pulling in education, but we do need reform. In an emerging reality of super-intelligent robots (literally 'workers'), which qualities in humans should we educate and nurture?
I LOVE this question! I would love to read anything you would write on this topic. You are so right. It’s not working because we’re still educating learners like we did before the internet. We have tried to incorporate tech into learning but that’s causing new problems. I would say we need to prepare learners to be critical thinkers, empathetic and ethical problem-solvers, and leaders who can lead humans with trust, connection, and integrity.
As for the rug-pulling, I’m referencing the fear some are feeling with any coming reallocation of the funding for education.
I wonder what would happen if we all decided to out serve, rather than out lead?
There’s a lot of volatility in education right now, in the US and UK in particular; change is stirring the pot. I think it’s the responsibility of the grown-ups to protect the children when mom and dad are fighting.
This is why I talk so much about funding. Money can’t buy happiness, but it sure makes everything easier. Our teachers and our kids deserve all the services they need to learn.
All decisions should be tethered to student learning (including financial decisions). This is why we come together everyday - to promote learning. Let us not forget that the dominant activity in any school is teaching/learning. By-the-way, in our profession, the farther we get from the students and that activity the higher our salary.
You are so welcome! Thank you for being a special education teacher!❤️❤️❤️