As any parent of a school-age child can tell you, there’s a lot more to school than just reading, writing and arithmetic. Just as there things your child needs to know, there are also many things you need to know and not all of them are about the curriculum. Issues in education run the gamut from personal to political. From cell phone policies to bullying to preparing for parent-teacher conferences, parents need to do their homework, too.
Issue #1: Bullying
Bullying in schools is one of the most talked about issues in education and for good reason. It’s estimated that nearly 20 percent of students in American schools have been the victim of some type of bullying, whether it be physical abuse, relentless teasing, social isolation or cyberbullying.
Parents need to know more about this issue than just how to recognize whether their child is being bullied or being a bully. You also need to know how the school deals with incidents. Many schools have adopted zero tolerance policies in regard to bullying, but strict zero tolerance policies don’t always work to deter or address the behavior. Ask your school about their policy and whether or not it includes prevention and intervention programs. If children aren’t being taught about how to prevent bullying or bullies and victims aren’t being helped, then maybe the policy needs some reworking.
Issue #2: Testing
Testing is another hot issue in education. High-stakes tests are being used not only to determine student progress but also to measure how well your child’s teacher is performing. The results often have an impact on the amount of federal funding a school receives, which puts a lot of pressure on teachers to make sure students are doing well.
You can help deflect some of that test-taking pressure from your child by asking some probing questions about the tests being used by your child’s school. Find out what tests are being used for what purposes and what the consequence is if you choose not to have your child participate. After all, your child is going to school to learn, not to learn how to take tests.
Issue #3: Class Size
Whether or not smaller classes are better for a child is one of a few interconnected issues in education that explore how schools and classes can be run to increase student achievement. Closely related to class size are the questions of year round school and single sex education. While the research shows that in the early elementary years class size matters, the other two issues aren’t so clear-cut.
There are pros and cons to year round school, none of which are insignificant. On both sides of the issue there are things for parents and schools to consider, including financial impacts and the impact on family/child schedules and routines.
In regard to single-gender education, some researchers say it has great benefits for girls, others say it benefits boys more. What isn’t clear is whether or not separating boys and girls provides each group with a “separate but equal” education, a concern which has not only educational implications but legal ones as well.
While the goal of class size reduction, year round school and single-sex classrooms is to improve the student experience, they may not have the desired effect. Knowing your school’s stance on these issues is important as you advocate for your child’s education.
Issue #4: Bored in School
Kids being bored in school isn’t really a headline grabbing issue in education, but for many parents it may be the most important issue in their child’s education. If the goal is for your child to have a knowledge-enriching experience in the classroom, then complaints of boredom mean your child isn’t being challenged, right? Not necessarily.
Kids complain of being of being bored in school for a variety of reasons, only one of which is being under-challenged. If your child says he’s bored, he might actually be telling you he doesn’t want or is refusing to go to school, he doesn’t feel socially comfortable at school or doesn’t have the necessary skills to face the challenges of the classroom. That doesn’t mean your child isn’t genuinely bored, just that there are other things parents need to take into account, too.