Schools are about so much more than teaching students to memorize facts. They also teach children how to think critically and develop strong relationships with teachers.
Some parentsand studentscomplain that learning history, literature and foreign languages won’t prepare them for the real world. But without schools to expose people to views different from their own, societal change is impossible.
Education
The education received by school students extends far beyond what happens in the classroom. Educators attempt to create environments and relationships that enable people to explore their experiences of situations, ideas, and feelings. These explorations may be formal or informal, but they are always designed to emancipate and enlarge experience.
School funding primarily comes from local property and income taxes collected by school districts. As such, school district funding can vary greatly across a state. In wealthy areas, schools have higher funding levels because they collect more property and income taxes. These higher levels are difficult to sustain during economic downturns.
Research shows that school quality has significant health returns, including improved earnings and health insurance coverage. These benefits may work through several mechanisms, including the ability to maximize resource allocation and peer networks. In addition, school quality can help individuals learn how to combine inputs to produce more health, which could improve the efficiency of their production function (Grossman, 1972). In short, better schooling increases health through both increased labor supply and greater knowledge of how to efficiently combine inputs into more valuable outcomes.
Structure
Most schools have a hierarchical structure that consists of administrators, licensed and unlicensed support staff, and teachers. The administrators make and enforce school-level policies, rules and procedures. They also make sure teachers are teaching the required curriculum. Teachers are responsible for educating students and monitoring student progress.
Some schools focus on producing workers, and function essentially as a personnel department for businesses and industry. These schools create a pool of workers with the skills and personal styles needed for jobs available, then sort and select them for employment.
The structure of the school can affect teacher attitudes and working style. Some schools use a traditional or bureaucratic structure, where decision-making is done from the top, and others use a loosely coupled system. The structure of a school can influence the culture it fosters and the way students learn. A well-structured school can also lead to greater job satisfaction for teachers. However, a poorly structured school can have the opposite effect.
Characteristics
A good school is full of joy, curiosity and hope. It is a social system that requires constant interaction and feedback between students, teachers, administrators and parents. It is a dynamic environment that must constantly change and adapt to current trends, challenges and opportunities.
Look for a curriculum that is developmentally appropriate and balances individualized learning with group activities. Ask how teachers use group time in their classrooms and whether they allow students to express themselves in the assignments they create.
Look for a culture that is welcoming, inclusive and respectful of all families. Note how comfortable you feel during your tour of the school and whether it feels like a community that is proud of its school. A great school is willing to change its tools as they evolve and is disruptive of bad cultural practices that include intolerance based on race, wealth or faith, apathy and illiteracy. A good school also sees every resource, advantage and gift it has for its students.
Purpose
Schools are a place to learn about different cultures and to respect cultural diversity. In addition, schools are a space to foster critical thinking and creativity. Students should be encouraged to express themselves creatively in all academic subjects.
Today, many parentsand some studentsthink that history, literature, foreign languages, advanced math, and science will not prepare them for the real worldworkfor beingsay a firefighter or a restaurateur. Teachers must convince students and parents that the effort to master difficult subjects will help them develop a talent for learning as such, not just for a particular trade.
School is a time when young people meet serious responsibilities and stressful situations for the first time. Teachers and administrators must help students cope with these stresses. This can be done through classroom activities, workshops, and lessons. Administrators should also be involved in helping students develop relationships with their peers and adults. These interactions will build their social capital and prepare them to make healthy choices as adults.