Instead of working towards clamping down on education to keep up with the rest of the world, teachers have gotten soft. Is it their fault? Really, what it boils down to is that education has taken a negative turn within our country. Teachers are held to standards in many ways, and that really impresses upon their implemented teaching strategies.
There is nothing wrong with positive reinforcement. However, it has been tainted to be something that is a saving grace to our educational system. Yes, you should definitely use positive reinforcement to remedy certain problems, but think about all the issues with our educational system? Kids and teachers are getting lazy and reverting to forms and standardized testing. As a former teacher, I can tell you that is not the way to go, and it is one of the reasons that I left the profession.
The real current issues in education is that as it tries to evolve, it evolves in the wrong way. Instead of letting the student control the classroom, they should think about relating to the student. For instance, everyone is using social media and texting, and it is going to continue to change. So, what can a teacher do? Use technology to engage your classroom? They are too busy looking at boring printouts and thinking they need to stick to old-school methods. That is not the way to go, and it has plenty to do with current issues in education.
You have to relate to the kids, and you have to think about what they are up to in life. What do they like to do? Kids are always on social media and playing video games, so think about how you can tie in lessons to what they are doing. That does not mean that you compromise education to fit their needs. What it means is that you grab their attention in a way they understand in order to convey a point that really sets them on a certain path.
Teachers have become frustrated, and while state governments have increased pay across the board, it really isn’t ushering in the type of teachers that should be in front of classrooms. Sure, there are some good apples, but to be truthful, there are many bad apples as well. What are two problems that have taken place in schools the last decade more than any other? The answer to that question is more and more teachers having relationships with students, and the other answer would be the school shootings that are taking place. So if you want to know the current issues in education, you can start there.
As far as instruction goes, there has to be an effort directed in all kinds of learning, and that includes hands-on learning and not just visual and auditory. The thing is with this modernized world, the schools need teachers that are going to stray away from just thinking they can discipline the kids. And, they need to start teaching kids how to write papers again because every subject, including English, does not ask kids to write enough papers. And, they are not prepared for college.