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Spring Semester

14

Education Today, Tomorrow, Forever

Marisa Maldonado
Position Synthesis Paper

English 1010-060

Maldonado 2 Position Synthesis Marisa Maldonado English 1010-060 22 April 2014 M. Harding Burgoyne Education Today, Tomorrow, Forever

Why would you want to be a teacher? Their pay is awful. This is what I constantly hear when choosing my career path. It gets frustrating when I am constantly being reminded about the pay and all the other negatives of being a teacher. Though I choose not to listen, it got to me and I wanted to understand why teachers are so under paid and why education was left on the back burner for most students. Going through school I have had a rough time being a good student and making school my first priority. Why? Why is school so rough for children and not the first priority? Education is so important in growing up; these issues are what I am going to address. I want to try and answer these why? questions and make it a goal for my future students to open their eyes and see the importance of education. Education should be what today society should move their attention to and support the futures generation. Supporting Teachers Teachers are playing a huge role in education. They are the ones that are filling the youths mind with knowledge. This knowledge is what students are going to carry with them throughout their life. However, if teachers dont have the support from society or the administration then they dont feel the need to teach to their full potential. 30% of teachers are leaving within their first five years because of the

Maldonado 3 feeling of loneliness and isolation (DeAngelis). Teachers should not ever feel this way, they should be getting the most support and have the biggest fan based. We should be focusing on comforting and responding to the great teachers the schools have than focusing on replacing them every three years. According to Deangelis, leaders are trying to raise the pay of teachers and help them push though their first few years to get them started because the experienced teachers do better than the newer ones. Teachers should also focus their attention on getting the most education they can. Different certifications and higher degrees can be a huge difference between great and poor teachers. The NASP are addressing the feelings of teachers. How are teachers feeling? That is the question that they want the administrators and the teachers to ask themselves. They are also suggesting for the administration to give emotional support, providing mentors, and offering positive parent feedback. All of these examples could help our teachers strive to be the best they can be and teach to their full potential. (NASP) On the article I found on NASP (National Association of School Psychologist), it provides a lot of information of what actions could be taken in order to help the struggling teachers. I personally think that these ideas are fantastic and could be very useful. Teaching can be a very stressful job and requires a lot of hard work. A few ideas that I thought could be most useful include the following. Making sure there is a consistent classroom schedule. Administration involvement is also very important. I think that administrators should be involved with their teachers and

Maldonado 4 helping them where they need it the most. The more support the teachers receive from the administration and the society, the more growth they will achieve.

Early Learning through K-12 Education According to most of my research, it states that early learning is the richest education. It is the smartest investment that anyone could make (White House). There is an open window in a childs brain that can be filled with knowledge at a young age. Unfortunately, many children miss out on this opportunity because of their parents choice in not enrolling them at a young age. As children enter elementary school, there is so much to be learned before. Getting an early education could help strengthen their minds in order to be prepared for what is ahead. I am hoping to teacher Kindergarten, I feel like that is the most important time for children to start growing their roots for the rest of their education. Everything that is learned in those first two years of early learning is what the children will always remember. The Obama Administration is trying to provide high quality early learning even for low-income families. They would also like to expand early learning to all children and make it a requirement (White House). In America today, there are only three in every ten children that are enrolled in early learning (Ed.Gov) Like I mentioned before, the Obama administration is trying to make early learning required because it prepares the student for kindergarten and for the rest of their lives. Children should be able to receive all the experience from early learning to graduating with a high school degree. As stated in K-12 Education there should be higher expectations for students (White House). A brilliant idea that I found while

Maldonado 5 doing my research is having a system where they actually measure students growth, so they can physically see what they have learned through out a distance of time. Attention should be focused on education and helping each student grow and learn everything they can in order for them to be successful though out the rest of their lives. Higher Education As a college student, I am struggling with many different aspects of college. From the classes, to the professors, to the actual cost of college, it is very hard to stay motivated to continue. I know I am not the only one, in 1990 the United States was ranked first in attaining a four-year degree now we are twelfth (Higher Education). Why is that? The first thing that is a huge factor is the cost. It is more likely for students with a wealthy background to graduate with a degree than a student with a low-income background (Higher Education). Only about 25% of students with a poor background graduate. From a personal experience, I have had a struggle paying for college and just ended up getting a school loan. I think that college is so important and is needed to be successful in the future. Just thinking about starting a family, there is no way I can afford that with my $11.00 an hour job. President Obama is trying to raise the number of graduating students and lower the price of college. He is trying to make college more affordable for middle class families. Another issue that I feel makes college a struggle are the professors. There are so many professors that just want to go home and as a student we have to teach ourselves. It gets really frustrating when the professor just doesnt care about the success of their students. The really awesome professors that I have had I do really

Maldonado 6 well in their class and actually care about learning and my work. As a teacher I can promise that I will always care about the success of my students. That is the reason why I am going into the educational field. Higher education should not be treated like a luxury; every student that is motivated and hard working should be given the chance to be successful in higher education.

Everyone has had some sort of an educational background; maybe it was a poor experience or a very successful experience. I believe that everyone should have a very successful experience and there is so much the society can do to make this happen for themselves and the future generation. Education should be the number one priority and if its not should be strengthen in the eyes of the youth. Teachers need to be supported so they can be motivated to teach their students to their full potential. They need that support from society and their administration. The teachers can be the make it or break it factor in the childs educational background. Early learning should be a requirement in every childs learning experience. Filling that young brain window with knowledge can strengthen their brain to be prepared for their educational journey a head. I think that every child should experience a high school degree and be well prepared for college. Higher education is important when thinking about a successful future. However, for a middle class family the price can be outrageous. Hopefully in the near future President Obama can make higher education more affordable, so every hard working student can experience the chance to succeed in his or her future. From a personal experience, I have not had the most successful educational background. I was in the middle from being

Maldonado 7 successful to failing. My goal in the future is to help students like me, students that are failing, and today and the futures society to really open their eyes and see the true importance of education.

Maldonado 8 Bibliography DeAngelis, Tori. "Support for Teachers." Http://www.apa.org. N.p., n.d. Web. 01 Apr. 2014. "Early Learning." The White House. The White House, n.d. Web. 02 Apr. 2014. "Higher Education." The White House. The White House, n.d. Web. 01 Apr. 2014. "K-12 Education." The White House. The White House, n.d. Web. 02 Apr. 2014. "Teacher Quality." Education Week. N.p., 04 Aug. 2004. Web. 04 Apr. 2014. "SUPPORTING TEACHERS ABILITY TO TEACH IN STRESSFUL TIMES Tips for Administrators and Teachers." National Association for School Psychologist. N.p., n.d. Web. 20 Apr. 2014. "Early Learning." U.S. Department of Education. N.p., n.d. Web. 24 Apr. 2014.