Are teachers adequately prepared to teach the leaders of tomorrow?
The leaders of tomorrow are being taught within our school systems but are teachers really equipped to teach and lead those who will be the leaders of society and government. Time will tell but we as a country need to examine not only what is being taught but how it is being taught.
Much has been stated about our educational system but little if any discussion has been focused on the capability of teachers to teach.
I am a big supporter of individuals who find it within their hearts to want to teach and make a difference in relation to the leaders of tomorrow. Our education system and the subjects taught within it should be under the control of local and state governments not the federal government. In addition teachers and parents to some extent should have some input. This sadly, I believe in some cases is not the situation.
Our education system needs to provide two things. The first is to provide the subjects which will help the leaders of tomorrow to have the knowledge and capability to perform jobs of the future. Granted this may be difficult in some cases as the technology of today and tomorrow has and will surprise us. In addition there are many jobs which require special skills and will always be needed. Skilled jobs such as electricians and plumbers among cannot be replaced by machines. Jobs which require the use of hands will never go away completely.
Today subjects and the methods to teach them are being impacted by a program or philosophy known as common core. While some may say that the curriculum is under local or state control the reality is that it is a program devised by the government with a promise of federal money if such subjects and methods are implemented. While the goal as I understand it is to provide some consistency in our system the methods utilized has become more of a dictatorial situation.
Some examination has taken place of this program and some states have opted out and have implemented their own curriculum philosophy. Schools should always be under the control of local governments not the federal government.
The second thing which needs to be provided by our education system is an understanding of our history as a country as it happened not as it has been revised. Students need to understand the path our country has taken from day one and the struggles we have faced. Part of fulfilling this responsibility should be providing an understanding of our rights as citizens under the Constitution not ignored in many of our school systems especially those teaching common core curriculum. In examining common core philosophy I did not recognize any mention of the need to provide historical events as they happened and why they happened except through a political correctness atmosphere.
As mentioned above some will say that local control of the curriculum exists but under the guise of common core and the promise of federal money local control does not exist. The promise of federal money comes with an evaluation by federal officials to determine if common core principles are in place to be awarded federal money.
It is understood that our education system needs improvements in the curriculum with better results in areas such as science and math based on our standing in the world for these subjects. While these subjects are important we should not base our system and changes to it based on world ranking.
In all these efforts and actions there has been no mention of how teachers impact the success of any educational curriculum chosen to be taught. There are many fine teachers/instructors who have the passion to teach students of all ages but there are also some who are there for the money. Individuals who have a passion for teaching provide a better environment for students to learn while those who do not affect the success of the students they teach.
In teaching the leaders of tomorrow there have been some examples through common core and other approaches to curriculum where there is an open discussion of other points of view. This is harmful to student success when they enter society. Open discussion of the issues and different points of view are needed in the business world of today and tomorrow and this kind of atmosphere should be welcomed by teachers not suppressed. Granted there are some teachers who provide this kind of atmosphere and is a great learning environment.
In addition teachers need the resources and capability to teach the subjects they are assigned. No teacher should be placed in an environment to teach a topic for which they did not prepare when they got their degree. In addition the textbooks chosen for the subjects being taught need to provide the up-to-date information as it applies to technological changes taking place. In other cases the content of textbooks should not be changed to reflect a political correctness mentality.
As previously mentioned above the path of our country and the events which have taken place should be taught as to why they took place. The fight for our freedom from England was a turning point for our country and led to establishing the Constitution as we know it today. The importance of developing our type of government should be properly explained to all students.
The changes to the content of our textbooks affect the capability to some extent of our teachers to properly teach about the history of our country and the rights we have as individuals. All students need to understand their rights under the Constitution as it is written not how it is being taught by some teachers today.
