Education In The Classroom

Abstract

Education today has truly evolved from its core concept of teaching people about themselves. Over one million immigrants come to the United States each year. Teachers today face many issues within the educational setting that challenge their ability to instruct each student. What issues do they face? How can they counter these issues? What strategies can be implemented to enhance the learning experience? What should be valued above all else in the classroom setting. This paper will answer the above stated questions through research, personal experience, and field study information.

Historical Perspective of Education

The first schools we know of taught religion and the traditiions of their people. For example, in Egypt the ancient temple schools taught religion in addition to mathematics, architecture and the sciences. For American Society, the bible and the Talmud became the fundamental sources of information for the ancient People (Ryan 2003).

The idea of public education emerged after the American Revolution, with the formation of schools becoming established 75 years the birth of the United States. The founders of the American democracy viewed public education as critical to the nation's success. Thomas Jefferson wrote in 1787: "Above all things, I hope the education of the common people will be attended to, convinced that on this good sense we may rely with the most security for the preservation of a due degree of liberty." (Ryan 5, 2003). Although education is not mentioned directly in the United States Constitution it serves as the legal foundation for education in the United States, including the rights and responsibilities for teachers and students.

The tenth amendment has been interpreted as assigning responsibility to each state for the education of its citizens. The rights of teachers and students are based on the first and fourteenth amendments. The first amendment ensures freedom of speech, religion and the press and the right to petition. The Fourteenth amendment protects specified privileges of citizens under the equal protection clause (Johnson 274). Following from the United States Constitution are the many other forms of law. Including state constitutions, federal and state statutes and the policies of school boards.

Issues Facing Teachers

When the U.S. Supreme court ordered the nations schools desegregated in 1954, the public education was viewed as one of the few opportunities for Americans of all races to come together. Many were optimistic in believing that public schools would fulfill the nations promise of quality and opportunity. The Video entitled "School Colors" clearly showed that forty years after Brown v. Board of Education of Topeka case, schools are still sharply segregated along color lines socially and educationally. This is a prevalent issue today for teachers trying to enhance the classroom experience.

Looking at the teaching profession today through the lens of sociology unveils many challenges teachers today must face. The United States is diverse. Diversity broadly encompasses class, ethnicity, race, religion, language, gender, sexual orientation ability, age, and geographic locations (Johnson 64, 2003). Facts show that we are at a point where we are more diverse than ever before. Educators have the challenge and need to learn to incorporate the history, experiences, and perspectives of diverse groups into their teaching and to draw on student's diversity to help students learn. Teachers no longer simply teach English or history or science-they teach human beings. How to be successful in this area presents a challenge.

A second factor concerns children's culture. This encompasses the way children learn how to think, feel, speak and behave. Their parents, teachers, and other adults in the neighborhood and the churches, synagogues, and mosques they attend teach the culture and model the cultural norms (Slavin 64, 2003). When schools use a different language or linguistic pattern from those in the home, or when students never see themselves in textbooks or stories, the culture of their families and communicates is denigrated. As a result, students too often learn that their own culture is inferior to the official culture or Ð''dominant culture' of the school (Slavin 65). In cases such as this, the teacher has the particular challenge of knowing the cultures of their students and drawing on their cultural histories and experiences to help them learn. This in itself is challenge. When we meet new people, we usually identify them immediately by their sex and race and maybe ethnicity. We will not know their religion and its importance to them, nor will we know the importance of their ethnicity, religion, language, or socioeconomic status to their identity. Therefore, teachers have to be careful about stereotyping students and their families solely on the basis of factors that can be easily identified. Now more then ever, culture is far too important to ignore in providing education that serves all students.

Enhancing Teaching

With the above issues stated, how can teachers successfully enhance the learning experience? One way is by fusing community needs with those of the classroom.

Blending Community needs with educational curriculum can follow two lines of thinking. The first has to do with adapting the curriculum for students with disabilities (If this is identified as a community need). In most of these situations, modifications to the physical environment prove successful. Students may have emotional and behavioral disorders that are long lasting and require special educational programs (Slavin 429).

The second line of thinking has to do with making the material meaningful. This can be accomplished by implementing a needs tailored curriculum, in which a teacher modifies currently existing curricula and degree programs so that they meet shifting requirements. "Needs-tailored" curriculum can be anticipated by deciding to leave at least 20% of course content as customized content.(Ryan 70).

Steps involve the following:

1. Design curriculum so that 80% is standardized, so that all students are assured of consistent course content, allowing them to succeed in competency areas.

2. Conduct needs assessments and surveys at ahead of time in order to determine what the specific needs are within the community, particularly if the group is going to be ethnically and culturally diverse.

3. Research and find readings to help students with the information they need. .

4. Develop assignments and team projects that address community