Intellectual Takeout’s Post

Five charts from a new Rand study covering teacher turnover, math instruction, state mandates, and gun violence, among other pressing issues, could help K12 leaders get a clearer picture of the state of public education in the new school year and beyond. #k12 #education

Bruno Manno, "There's trouble in the profession" raises just the right alarm bell. Students need bigger learning boosts than ever. Stacks of research papers make clear that teachers are the number one in-school factor determining much students learn. So exactly when great teaching is needed the most, we have the crisis in teaching you document so clearly. Thanks for mentioning the Opportunity Culture initiative - the schools involved are showing it's possible to change roles, time use and pay in ways that boost learning and that educators love...and do so within school budget. I hope your piece inspires a lot of leaders to work with teachers to make changes now for students & educators.

This article does a great job of bringing the teachers' perspective to the public at large. I personally, could not imagine a harder job than teaching the youth of today. Our teachers, along with parents, prepare the workforce of tomorrow. Read, Reply, and Repost!

This data has been known for decades. My concern is the simplistic cause and effect links that are made. •What are we measuring as positive outcomes for children and young people in our education system? •Are 4 GCSEs the outcome that will lead to healthy long term outcomes? •What pressures are on parents and schools to identify SEND to gain resources (time and money)? • What impact do these ‘labels’ have on self-identity for developing young brains? • You get what you measure (OFSTED). • What pressure do we continue to load onto teachers? No easy answers but one thing is consistently clear - children and young people need a range of positive adult role models in their lives and as they spend so much time in school - those adults need time to build positive relationships and build the young person’s confidence in their strengths not their deficits.

Why is all the focus and debate on what is or is not happening in the schools, when schools are having to deal with all the issues and societal and family failings that occur before children start school and continue to occur when children are not at school? Everyone knows our education system is in trouble - we get lots of students coming to university who can't read or write to a tertiary level standard, and they have succeeded at school. But the real issue is societal, including parental and family and community attitudes regarding education, the quality - or lack- of preschool education, and the type of parenting undertaken, including what we can term middle class neglect. Education is our societal, cultural and economic future, but it doesn't exist separate from our societal, cultural and economic present- and is undertaken on the crumbling foundations of our societal, cultural and economic past. If you are going to test, and there are strong arguments to do do, you also need to address the issues outside the schools. If you don't, then all you are doing is reinforcing societal failure.

Let's not ask why so many teachers are leaving... Let's ask how we can make them want to stay. But asking this question means we have to dig deep and be able to hear the unfiltered truth about the job and be willing to believe teachers (gasp). According to the Pew Research: "77% of teachers report their job as frequently stressful, 70% say their schools are understaffed, and over half wouldn't recommend the profession to the young." Studies like this one shine a light into the dark corners of the education world and force us to take a cold hard look at the reality of these dire circumstances. ⛔ Teachers’ job satisfaction is at an all time low ⛔ Teachers are struggling to make ends meet and manage their workload ⛔ Student behavioral and emotional issues at public K-12 schools have gotten worse over time ⛔ Learning gaps are still growing as students struggle to catch up post-pandemic ⛔ Lack of parent/family involvement or support for education sector continues to be a worsening issue As we face academic declines and behavioral challenges post-pandemic, the need for support is stark. Teachers are battling not just for better pay, but for respect and recognition of their indispensable role in shaping the future. At the end of the day every statistic reflects a human story, a dedicated professional striving to inspire amidst adversity. Teachers are not asking for a lot -- as a society...we are simply asking for one group of people to do way too much. This isn't just a career crisis; it's a clarion call for societal introspection. How do we get policy makers to listen and stand up for teachers when they are so heavily invested in kickbacks from testing and textbook corporations? Teachers and students deserve better... #TeachersServeToo #TeacherEquity #TeacherinAmerica https://lnkd.in/ezKND5Cu

Depending on where they grow up, some American students receive considerably less schooling every year than their peers in other areas, according to newly published research. Worse still, when accounting for student #absences, #suspensions, and classroom interruptions, much of the time intended for instruction in some districts is simply lost. Seemingly minute differences in the length of a school day or year, whether stemming from state laws or local rules governing school districts, eventually grow into colossal gaps in learning opportunities. Over the course of their K–12 careers, the authors estimate, children living in jurisdictions requiring the most time in school benefit from over two years more education than those living in areas that require the least. https://lnkd.in/gi8eiAjK

More school hours doesn't always equate to better results. I empathize with schools that are trying to make up for lost learning during the pandemic and deal with the increase of school absences. Often schools that have the toughest challenges (poverty), try to counteract them with more school hours when they can. States that rank highest for education (Massachusetts and New Jersey) fall on the lower end of the spectrum for class time. State funding usually makes a bigger difference than hours in my opinion. #publicschools

Across the country, we are facing significant challenges with declining numbers of current and future teachers and school staff in our workforce pipeline. This article points to some valuable federal policy ideas that would help, and also has a link to an interactive map where you can look across a number of key factors affecting teacher recruitment and retention state by state. Perhaps Sen. Bernie Sanders said it best: “For decades, public school teachers have been overworked, underpaid, understaffed, and maybe most importantly, under appreciated.” It's no wonder we are in this crisis. #teachers #educatorworkforce #workforcedevelopment #ECE #K12 #highered #policy

“We feel undervalued. The public and many parents of my students treat me and my peers as if we do not know as much as they do, as if we are uneducated.” This quote encapsulates the fundamental problem taking place in the world of K-12 education. In today’s environment, teachers are disrespected and underpaid - which makes it harder than ever to fill positions with qualified candidates. What will it take to restore the reputation that teachers deserve - and that our schools need to survive? #K12 #Education #Teachers #TeacherShortage