A lot of politics and contention bedevils urban education debate and implementation. There seems to be no consensus on the best step to take and how to run the sector. Some of the problems are historical with others emerging in the recent years. To address urban education issues amicably, there is need to understand the historical perspectives and what has shaped the debate so far.
Educators in cities and highly populated areas deal with challenges that are not faced by those in rural or less populated areas. It must not be assumed that working in rural areas is nobler than cities. Each teacher and administrator faces an equal share of challenges. The point is that there are unique challenges in cities that rural folks do not have to deal with.
A major concern for educationists in metropolitan areas is the population of students involved. This has led to overcrowding and limited access to resources. For teachers, contact with students is reduced or limited. This definitely affects learning outcomes. For policy makers effort should go into allocating more resources. Unfortunately, there is no space to expand these resources. This means that students have to compete for the few resources yet be expected to perform equally.
Funding remains one of the most contentious issues for educationists. Despite knowledge of the challenges facing city schools, policy makers refuse to allocate the resources required. It is traditional thinking that has seen a continued funding gap. This is why the challenges persist. Governments at local and federal levels need to allocate more resources to solve these challenges.
The student population in urban schools is the most diverse you can think about. They come from different lingual and cultural backgrounds. Some of them are even from foreign nations. Yet a teacher is expected to handle them as if they are a single nation. The reality is that you will need more time, resources and effort to bring all these differences into the same mindset.
There is no denying that students in metropolitan areas start learning at a higher pedestal than their counterparts in rural areas. Standardization of curriculum almost makes it a bother to start them off at the basic level. In some cases, a teacher will find it almost insulting to begin teaching at rudimentary level yet the students have already self-learnt beyond that point. It is an issue of curriculum standardization without considering foundation of these students.
What about working with a multi-lingual class? This is similar to working with the multi-cultural class. You have a mixture of languages and are expected to use uniform vocabulary and teaching aids. Their understanding of words and phrases differ. It feels as though you are teaching several classes in one yet are expected to produce the same results.
Urban schools face the challenge of ownership. Local communities take pride in their schools and institutions. Metropolitan communities are fluid and will be done with a school immediately their children leave. Local and national governments are also engaged in a tussle over who takes what responsibility. This is a debate that is definitely far from over yet it needs to be settled with sobriety.
Educators in cities and highly populated areas deal with challenges that are not faced by those in rural or less populated areas. It must not be assumed that working in rural areas is nobler than cities. Each teacher and administrator faces an equal share of challenges. The point is that there are unique challenges in cities that rural folks do not have to deal with.
A major concern for educationists in metropolitan areas is the population of students involved. This has led to overcrowding and limited access to resources. For teachers, contact with students is reduced or limited. This definitely affects learning outcomes. For policy makers effort should go into allocating more resources. Unfortunately, there is no space to expand these resources. This means that students have to compete for the few resources yet be expected to perform equally.
Funding remains one of the most contentious issues for educationists. Despite knowledge of the challenges facing city schools, policy makers refuse to allocate the resources required. It is traditional thinking that has seen a continued funding gap. This is why the challenges persist. Governments at local and federal levels need to allocate more resources to solve these challenges.
The student population in urban schools is the most diverse you can think about. They come from different lingual and cultural backgrounds. Some of them are even from foreign nations. Yet a teacher is expected to handle them as if they are a single nation. The reality is that you will need more time, resources and effort to bring all these differences into the same mindset.
There is no denying that students in metropolitan areas start learning at a higher pedestal than their counterparts in rural areas. Standardization of curriculum almost makes it a bother to start them off at the basic level. In some cases, a teacher will find it almost insulting to begin teaching at rudimentary level yet the students have already self-learnt beyond that point. It is an issue of curriculum standardization without considering foundation of these students.
What about working with a multi-lingual class? This is similar to working with the multi-cultural class. You have a mixture of languages and are expected to use uniform vocabulary and teaching aids. Their understanding of words and phrases differ. It feels as though you are teaching several classes in one yet are expected to produce the same results.
Urban schools face the challenge of ownership. Local communities take pride in their schools and institutions. Metropolitan communities are fluid and will be done with a school immediately their children leave. Local and national governments are also engaged in a tussle over who takes what responsibility. This is a debate that is definitely far from over yet it needs to be settled with sobriety.
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To resolve the urban education issues that communities are currently facing, come and join us at the next meeting. Find out more by visiting our blog at http://www.godhasspokenministries.com.
