So Many Issues!!!

    For the second activity in topic one our group discussed the cultural issues of education and schooling. Our group brainstormed for ideas and came up with the following topics we thought were relevant to this topic.

• Teachers need to be open minded to different cultures in order to preserve and transmit to students the culture and traditions of the past.
• Religion and it's part in schools (pledge of allegiance).  Have schools banned the pledge??
• More and more African Americans assigned to special education.  African Americans have lower test scores and higher drop out rates.

• Hispanic students=language barriers.  Their drop out rates are higher than African American students.  We need more ESL teachers and bilingual classrooms.  Immigration is increasing not decreasing.
• Asian students are stereotyped  (not too sure about this one. need to read more)
• Teachers interact more frequently and precisely with male students.
• Poverty- 1 in 5 children live in poverty which is connected to black and Hispanic drop out rates.
• The traditional family unit of the past has undergone a radical transformation.  Divorce, remarriage, wage earning, parenting, and alternative relationships have restructured the family and the home/school connection.  Latchkey kids, teenage pregnancy (lack of parental supervision).  Fact: 1 in 11 teenage girls become pregnant
• Sex Education is missing in some schools. 
• Gay, lesbian, bisexual youth suicide.
• Achievement gap- great debate about whether the achievement gap can be closed.

       

           These are just the issues we selected to focus on for our prezi presentation. We added interesting pictures and posted questions in our presentation. These are topics that all educators should discuss.  I'm 28 years old, the generation of students today is not that far off from when I was in school. I do not recall having so many  important issues to deal with . These aren't just topics for high school students, these go all the way down to elementary school students. It's just the nature of the world today. Children have to grow up faster. They are exposed to issues at a much younger age when compared to older generations. As a teacher I have to be able to recognize these issues when they appear. Outside influences can take away from the learning process. Time and energy that the students should use for school work can be easily taken away, because their minds are thinking about the issues going on in their lives. I think teachers should strive to bring a sense of normalcy and calm to their classroom. I know it's impossible to keep cultural issues seperate from schooling and education. However with proper training and effort I believe teachers can be able to handle issues as they present themselves.

Please let me know your thoughts on this video.