Abstract
This essay provides an insight into the challenges and failures of public education systems in the United States. It also examines new ideas that are being used as pertinent solutions to educational dilemmas. Public schools in the United States of America face a number of challenges such as limited financial resources, inadequate staffing, and poorly developed school management strategies. It is important to address issues in to improve public learning environments. To address the challenges, there is a need to establish effective leadership strategies at both district and school levels.
Challenges, Failures, and New Ideas
Introduction
Public education faces a number of challenges that affect the quality of education in the American society. This situation has compelled many educational researchers to develop new ideas in an attempt to improve the management of learning at various levels. However, alleviation of such educational downsizes demands a concerted effort from various stakeholders. Therefore, leadership is paramount to management of public schools. Consequently, leaders of learning institutions should be assigned specific roles to ensure efficient operations in an attempt to alleviate educational hitches. This essay examines the challenges, failures, and new ideas with a view of discussing pertinent solutions to such pedagogical difficulties.
Challenges that are faced by Public Schools
High Dropout rates
According to Dufour and Marzano (2011), public learning institutions face a plethora of challenges that include high dropout rates. Various studies have shown that many learners terminate their education for inexplicable whys and wherefores. It is a common phenomenon for people to blame teachers and parents for the behavior of students. Nonetheless, the rate of dropouts in the United States has been increasing in the recent years. Indeed, Dufour and Marzano (2011) confirm that the dropout rate was approximately 8-percent in 2009 as compared to 6.2-percent in 2005. However, this situation has been highly attributed to factors such as poor academic performance, deviance, family orientations, teenage pregnancy, and peer pressure among others.
Understaffing
Furthermore, many public schools are understaffed. This situation has led to instructional shortcomings due to ever-increasing enrollment in public schools. However, this ratio has been reduced to 22:1, or even less, in private learning institutions. Contrarily, this ratio remains as high as 40:1 in most public institutions. This situation is majorly attributed to the limited finances that compel these learning organizations to hire fewer teachers. Moreover, limited resources harden engagement of public schools in research that can promote advancement of education.
Poor Coordination
According to Normore (2010), poor coordination is a major challenge that has repressed efficient learning due to ineffective communication systems. Poor communication amongst the administration and teachers results in disunity. Normore (2010) reveals that many learning institutions have not yet integrated internal communication systems. This situation has resulted in poor coordination and monitoring of pedagogical activities.
Failures
At the outset, Townsend (2011) notes the denial is a phenomenon that remains unidentified in many institutions of learning. However, formulation of solutions starts by acceptance of the existing problem and acknowledgement of its effects on the educational system. Dufour and Marzano (2011) reveal that many stakeholders deny the existence of certain problems in public schools. This situation results in a state of competition as students, teachers, and the administration among stakeholders refute their failures. There is a need to identify the real causes of the challenges without defending ideas that can pose trouble to public learning in the near future.
When schools fail to address the major challenges that are encountered in various academic fields, failure becomes an unavoidable outcome. According to Dufour and Marzano (2011), nose-dived strategies are some of the most common failures in many public schools. Such letdowns can occur either at the district, school, or class level. Failed strategies that are meant to solve educational issues usually have adverse effects on the students. In most cases, Dufour and Marzano (2011) posit that the overall performance of learners show the degree of failure. However, Berger, Rugen, and Woodfin (2014) believe that exams cannot depict the true picture of the capacity of gradual development of a learner. Nonetheless, assessment remains the only way of determining the mastery of concepts that are taught in class. For this reason, the inability to excel in exams is always considered a failure.
New Ideas
Leadership and Policy Formulation
Numerous researchers have attempted to explain the dilemma of educational challenges and failures under new concepts that are based on innovation (Normore, 2010). Leadership is paramount to formulation and implementation of robust strategies in an attempt to alleviate educational challenges and failures that are encountered in district schools. To achieve success in schools, it is important to create an environment that is favorable to the learners. Policymakers at the district level should understand the needs of schools and learners within their regions. According to Townsend (2011), the needs of learners in Maryland are very different from the needs of learners in Oklahoma. For this reason, it is important to understand the local needs of the learners to come up with strategies that are practical and easy to apply in the event of policy development. Parents, teachers, students, and support staff among other stakeholders should be encouraged to participate actively in policymaking. This move enables seizure of relevant information that can improve the quality of the prospective educational policy.
Collaboration
Developing collaboration amongst the members of the school community is one of the most significant ideas that have emerged in an attempt to solve educational dilemmas. However, there is a need to ensure that a strong sense of leadership prevails within the learning community to achieve the desired success (Dufour and Marzano, 2011). The management should create awareness of the impending changes to teachers and other members of the support staff with a view of convincing them to educational changes.
Professional Learning Communities (PLCs)
In addition, the development of professional learning communities (PLCs) is a new idea that has enabled improvement of educational systems. According to Dufour and Marzano, 2011), this strategy ensures that reforms are implemented successfully to bring about change in the education system. PLCs are currently being used as tools for creation of change capacity. In these communities, educationists gain access to new knowledge about educational practices that significantly improve both student and school goals. Under this new strategy, most public learning institutions have realized improved student performance. PLCs heighten the effectiveness of delivering instruction to students through development of rich knowledge bases that encourage teachers to work in unity. In a broader sense, establishment of PLCs has eased access and proliferation of ideas amongst students, teachers, and other stakeholders of the public schools (Dufour and Marzano, 2011).
Conclusion
Failure to address these challenges in time has variously led to unsuccessful educational systems. To address these challenges, it is necessary for public schools to embrace innovative ideas that are proactive in nature. Educational leaders should be encouraged to embrace new ideas such as collaboration and formation of PLCs with a view of creating suitable learning environments for students.
Reference
Berger, R., Rugen, L., & Woodfin, L. (2014). Leaders of their own learning: Transforming schools through student-engaged assessment. New York: Cengage.
Dufour, R., & Marzano, R. J. (2011). Leaders of learning: How district, school, and classroom leaders improve student achievement. Bloomington: Solution Tree Press.
Normore, A. H. (2010). Global perspectives on educational leadership reform: The development and preparation of leaders of learning and learners of leadership. Bingley: Emerald.
Townsend, T. (2011). International handbook of leadership for learning. Dordrecht: Springer.