Education in America has grown more complex since its humble beginnings in one-room log cabins. What once served as an all-purpose institution of learning, wherein children sometimes did not survive until today’s graduating age, there now stands a more diverse and complicated model in its place. There are many current trends in schools, concerning choices, government in education, reform, and technology in the classroom. Some of these issues have proven to be a good thing, and present good projections for what education will become in several years. Technology in the classroom is a good example of this. However, issues such as the government’s role in education are becoming increasingly negative and erratic, suggesting that this current trend may prove damaging for the future of education.
There are many things about education that have changed, even in the past ten years. One of those things, according to “Creating the Future School,” by Hedley Beare, is the choice offered thanks to the privatization of schools. Current trends suggest that the choice of schools has increased by 60% in the past fifteen years, allowing parents and children or teens to pick the school the best suits their needs . From schools with religious affiliation, to schools equipped for students with special needs, and even schools specifically for science, drama, or art, the choices offered ensure that children will get the most out of their education. This current trend suggests that students will leave school and enter the workforce more prepared for what they have set out to do with their lives. The choices offered in education today also ensure that more choices will be offered in the future.
Including technology in the classroom is another trend that has shown many overwhelmingly positive responses among students. Much of our world is made up of technology. I am typing this on a computer. I will edit it and save it on a computer as well. Everybody has a cell phone or a tablet that they must check on a regular basis. We use these devices for games and social networking, but the educational trend of using technology in the classroom breaks us of this habit, reminding us that technology can, and should, first be a tool for learning . Because the world is so full of technology, it is also important that students learn how to use computers and other pieces of equipment for more than just checking Facebook. The current trends show that students are becoming more technologically savvy, and using technology different. Instead of checking Facebook, they are checking lunar cycles or reading newspaper articles. Using technological devices in a professional manner is very important and this current trend suggests that in the future, technology will be further integrated with education in an effort to prepare students even better for a technology-filled workforce that they will inevitably enter.
Unfortunately, not all of the current trends in schools are good. For example, the government’s involvement in school is troubling to many. With the current instigation of Common Core, the revocation of tenure for school teachers in states such as North Carolina, and the low wages the government insists on imposing, there is not much to hope for in the future . Common Core has been repealed in several states simply because it is proven to be ineffective. However, teachers are still paid very little and without the reassurance that they will receive tenure while laboring under the constantly changing curriculum standards, it is likely that teachers will stop attempting to teach as effectively as they have in the past.
As you can see, there are many trends in education that promise many things. Fortunately, more of the trends promise positives instead of negatives for the future of education. More choices in education as proven to show that students are happier and better equipped to enter their field, suggesting that more choices will continue to be created for students across the country. High school reform can be a negative thing but in many places it is positive, instigating AP classes for everybody, and adding more technology to the classroom. This trend indicates that education may one day stop relying on standardized tests to place children in classes. Adding technology to the classroom is a strong trend that will only pick up speed as time goes on; children need to be skilled with technology in order to survive. Of course, not all of the trends can be good: the government’s involvement with school curriculum and teacher’s wages is often outrageous and insulting. Unfortunately, these trends suggest that teachers will be less eager to teach, and the children will suffer because of that. Many terrific trends are taking place in education currently; it is time we stop the few trends that only promise destruction of the education system. All trends must be an attempt to build the education system and make it better.
References
Beare, Hedley. Creating the Future School. Los Angeles: Routlege , 2013.
Lajoie, Susanne P., and Sharon J. Derry. Computers As Cognitive Tools. Los Angeles: Routledge, 2013.
