Hot Topics in Education

As technology grows some textbooks are being replaced with electronic models.

Education is ever changing to become more efficient and helpful for students and teachers. It is important to note the most pressing issues in our education system--school safety, technology and standardized testing--and find ways to improve them.

Technology in the Classroom

Technology is growing exponentially and students are becoming more dependent on technology for the most basic needs. It seems a natural growth for technology to make its way into classrooms. While some educators believe it is a good idea to bring some aspect of new technology to help teach students, others believe it may be a distraction. It can also be intimidating and time consuming for educators that do not know much about new technologies. Jeff Utecht, an educator, consultant and author believes it is most important to asses the level of learning taking place, does technology improve it?

School Safety

Every time there is an incident involving a student entering a school and committing homicide one of the first questions are how could it have been prevented? There are several ideas to help lower the chances of a tragedy, such as metal detectors installed at the school's entrance, the use of security guards to check backpack and locker contents, and practiced drills to reinforce safety. Some, however, are opposed to these ideas. Some say that checking a student's backpack is a violation of privacy and drills take away from lesson time.

Standardized Testing

Standardized testing is a type of cover-all test to understand where the students and schools rank nationwide compared to others. The problem is that there are varying academic standards for each state. This means the students in one state may not be held up to the same standards as another, making a standardized test to cover both difficult.

Uniforms

Students, teachers and parents have different opinions on whether school-mandated uniforms should be a requirement. While most have a strong emotional response there are several pros and cons to the idea, uniforms help cut down on distractions and possible bullying. President Bill Clinton said in his 1996 State of the Union speech, "If it means teenagers will stop killing each other over designer jackets, then our public schools should be able to require their students to wear school uniforms." However, uniforms can be costly and if the school is required to pay, budget constraints may rule out that possibility or raise public school taxes for parents.

References

• Dr. Patricia Fioriello: Hot Topics in Education
• The Thinking Stick: Evaluating Technology in the Classroom
• Great Schools: Do Uniforms Make Schools Better?

Resources

• Education Portal: Hot Topics in Education