Truthfully, there is not one specific and only answer when it is asked about the meaning or purpose of public schools. Nevertheless, it has been stated that these schools go through a set of issues while keeping themselves standing, by even going beyond what’s to be expected from them. From one’s experience and certain perspectives, the educational system of public schools has continued a critical path in striving to teach its students. Using the same method/idea of students learning the same material as previous students and not considering the difference between each & every one of its students. This has been highlighted by a well-known YouTuber called Prince Ea, dedicating a video of his own on the matter of how messed up & unjust a school system really is. He expresses it is, “educational malpractice,” which has a teacher stands and teaches several children that “each one having different strains, different needs, different gifts, different dreams” but they are taught “the same thing, the same way. That’s horrific.” (2:45-48) What he also adds to oppose the corruption of the system is the effect it has on teachers’ skills worth. They are still given insufficient pay for the same efforts they are pushed to teach kids. While I’m currently bringing up what makes public schools inefficient and malicious, I do want to explain that it’s the students and teachers that fulfill the necessity for public schools to still be present. As known by most, we had been under a pandemic caused by a virus, Covid-19. This event/moment led to a great earthquake over the students & teachers to go to school (in-person) and public schools in the nation to take a hit from the absence of both sources that allow them to keep open & running. In the article, “What is the Purpose of school” by Stephen Sawchuk, he believes that the pandemic could've led parents/guardians and students to see public school in a different light. More as a foundation that provides 'social services' and more to serve a wide range of children and families. Unfortunately, Sawchuk had been to be proven wrong after things started to go back to before. He included that, “schools could be standing on less solid civic footing than they were before.... measured by the most tangible factor available: enrollment.” (Sawchuk, pg.2) As the number of students going to school gradually declined since the re-opening of schools, so has the increase of change for receiving the same education (home-schooled). Despite this, public schools are instead not giving any sort of gratitude while they took action in providing online resources (programs, devices/hotspots) for students and their families so they to continue learning under the conditions. Moreover, they had also gone beyond that an Edweek Research Center survey, in Sawchuk’s article, compiled “[showing] how far-reaching some of these services are.” (Sawchuk, pg.2) Public schools to reach out with services such as meals, health, and laundry. Though public schools are not righteous when it comes to their educational system, they are beyond expectations from just being a school. Being able to lend their support and help to its children and families. They push to keep their students active and connected with their teachers and each other in challenging times. It is understood that even when they’re unjust through their system, is it comprehended of the lack of recognition because of it. Nonetheless, they do acknowledge the value/worth of its sources to continue function, its students and faculty/teacher.
References:
Ea, P. (2023). I sued the school system, Youtube.com.
Sawchuk, S. (September 14, 2021). What is the purpose of school, Edweek.org
https://www.edweek.org/policy-politics/what-is-the-purpose-of-school/2021/09
Hi Andrea! I do agree there is not just one specific purpose for schools. For example, college offers so many different curriculums. Who's to say which one is the main purpose? However, I do believe educating is very important for our society. I like that you included the COVID-19 pandemic as a major impact to the education system. Since then, school hasn't felt the same. I do like that you referenced the "I SUED THE SCHOOL SYSTEM" video. I enjoyed that video as it offers a modern perspective as to how not only schools have changed but society and the impact it has had on our surroundings.
ReplyDeleteHi Heidi! Thank you for commenting! I really enjoyed the "I SUED THE SCHOOL SYSTEM" video because it mainly illustrated how messed up the school education system is. I get that it should be prioritized to teach and learn STEM subjects, but not all students believe they'll use these skills in the mere future. Nevertheless, that doesn't mean public schools have not taken notice of the opinion of their students and families. That is why I also included the effect that one or more widespread events/occurrences have on schools intending to fulfill some of the wants of students, staff/teachers, and families. Currently, I've heard a few rumors and news on the low budget that public schools are given that isn't enough for them to create new classes or hire new teachers. For any sufficient changes to be made in what is taught at public schools, they should be aided with better budgets.
DeleteHey Andrea! I loved being able to read your thoughts and see a different perspective on this matter. I totally agree with youtuber Prince Ea who you referenced in the beginning. His opinion that we teach the same material and use the same techniques to educate so many different learners is not okay. I am not totally sure the answer to that predicament because there are only so much public schools have access to and so much those teachers can provide to meet the needs of all of their children. However, I do know of some wealthier school districts that are able to have different specialist to either come into a classroom or help teach things in a different way to the kids that need it. I have also heard of a specialist pulling kids out of the classroom to teach it to them separately and in a different way than some other students. However, when we look at tidal 1 school, they possibly don't have the funds for that luxury, so what is our solution for those students? Furthermore, I was intrigued by your inclusion of the article about school during covid and school after. I read the same article and saw that he was talking about school after covid and how the numbers of kids being homeschooled after having increased tremendously. I would like to see the data behind districts in poverty-stricken areas and their stats about enrollment. I know at some tidal 1 schools district's enrollment went down due to absent parents not pushing their kids to go back after the pandemic leaving children home alone or even homeless. Anyways, I loved being able to read a different point of view on this topic and enjoyed your post!
ReplyDeleteHi Andrea! I really loved how you included the impacts of COVID-19 and how this affects us today. I too think that there is no one "right way" to teach students. Everyone is different and therefore everyone learns different. With my experience with COVID-19, in my school district the year after the pandemic, which was my senior year of high school, we had the option to go to school virtually. Of course with me being a burnt out senior who just missed half of their junior year, I was taking the opportunity to do school online. It worked for me because I am a self paced learner who can plan out my days to be efficient, but for some of my friends this method of teaching did not work. This really proves that everyone learns differently and schools and teachers should adapt to that.
ReplyDeleteHi Andrea! I loved how you expressed that there is not only one purpose of school or one correct way to teach. I think it is awesome how you mentioned the effects of Covid-19. From my experience being a senior in high school when Covid started, my high school switched to pass/fail which shifted my perspective of school. I started just doing what needed to be done instead of learning. This continued into my freshman year of college when all my classes were online. It was scary to stray away from the purpose of school at that time because I was officially starting my education that would determine my future occupation. I am glad everything is almost, if not fully, back to normal.
ReplyDeleteHi Sophie. I really appreciate your comment on my post. I get what you mean about the experience we faced during and after the pandemic. I was a junior in high school, and I only prioritized passing all my classes, not really absorbing any new or interesting skills. Eventually, I was able to attend my last year of school in person. It felt awkward crowding the halls and classrooms with other students. To say, I was especially shocked that certain teachers had to teach other courses, and the school was needing to hire new staff. in addition, the school was failing also providing enjoyable and/or educational field trips like back then. So, in my opinion, I can't say that everything felt like we had gone back to normal. What I mean is that Covid-19 had flipped the school system upside down which changes really showed. And it seems to continue in such a way that public schools lack its main providers, students, to keep themselves standing.
DeleteHi Andrea, I really enjoyed the points that you made in your blog about the purpose of schooling. I agree with your views and how you believe that school’s number one priority is to help students learn. I also agree with you on how schools not only want to teach kids, but they also have other things to offer students that could help students get through life. Bringing up the topic of covid-19 in your blog and how it dramatically affected schools made this blog even more informative. I also liked the reference you included from Stephen Sawchuk. It’s important to see the difference in schooling from the time before the pandemic to after the pandemic. Schooling took a big change in learning environments from having to go from learning on person to learning online. Since this pandemic schooling has never been the same and many kids haven’t gotten the proper education, they need because not all students are able to learn online, many need to learn in a classroom with a teacher.
ReplyDeleteThis was a great informative blog, great job!
Hi Carly! Thanks for your comment. I agree with what you mean about the significant change in public schools. At first, from students' point of view, being virtual releases them from being behind desks and crowded in classrooms with other students. They don't seem to acknowledge the memories/experiences that school has given to kids/children, specifically the opportunity to befriend. But, once they settle for doing online classes for over a year, they lose a part of themselves because they're unable to gain the same experience and efficiency from learning. Moreover, there have been students that have accustomed themselves to staying at home. It is believed that it’ll be challenging to adapt back to what it was before Covid-19 hit. Through this, it is not only a loss for public schools to be able to run without enough kids, but children are also unable to regain the moments that made school tolerable.
DeleteHi Andrea! I love that you mentioned Prince Ea in your post and this specific video because I remember watching this video years ago when it first came out and I remember how it made me truly think about the education system that we are working so hard to be a part of. Rewatching the video just reminded me of all of the thoughts that I had back then. His use of “educational malpractice” is so important because the school system truly has remained the same for so long while the students in it and the world around them is only changing and evolving. It’s the same principal of having different methods of teaching for students who learn differently. The schools need to grow and evolve with these students in order to give them the education that they need to live in this ever changing world. Some of the best classes and my favorite classes that I have ever taken were very different from the traditional classrooms that we still see today. These teachers used different approaches to teach us that were just as if not more effective than the traditional methods and I can genuinely say that I still hold the information with me.
ReplyDeleteHi Andrea! I want to start off by saying I really enjoyed reading your blog post for this week. Highlighting Prince EA’s video was my favorite. Growing up I always felt like I was the only one struggling. I would see my classmates nod their heads and follow along with the teachers after I spaced out for a second and felt like I was so far behind. It wasn’t until I had learned that I was able to find out what way I needed to learn. Now that I am older I learned that little things like that happen to others and they experience similar obstacles. To see that the world has progressed and changed for the community but schools have not adapted to their students is heartbreaking, especially as future teachers I bet we all want to see that change. But I do appreciate the acknowledgement that schools provide for their communities in more ways than just education. My school had a room filled with food and clothes for kids to come in and grab no questions asked. And if the room needed more things it was always the teachers helping to bring in supplies. I hope that as we leave covid behind the enrollment issues change and that parents and guardians instead realize that schools and teachers want to help their children. And i hope that school systems allow us future teachers to change our classrooms to better fit the children coming into them.
ReplyDeleteHey Andrea! I truly appreciate this different perspective presented. I agree that some schools do not strive to accommodate students' needs. Not every child has the same learning style, and to assume so only limits them. Children are not given the opportunity to flourish when this occurs. I feel that teachers are burdened with consequences of sticking to only one method of instruction, and then undermined with low pay and criticism. When instructors and schools are given the chance to expand resources, methods of teaching, and support, the students can focus on their education without struggling. Even with its issues, public school is a necessity in our current society. There will always be children in need of education and shaping, therefore the demand for systemic education will always be present. The issues that draw teachers away from education like uncooperative staff, critical parents, and general underappreciation for the work teachers do to cultivate learning skills for their students is a major aspect that must be addressed in order to improve public schools and allow their purpose to be accomplished.
ReplyDelete