Education Policy

  What does it mean for a child to “succeed” in their education? This might differ depending on where in the world they receive their education. Here in the United States, we talk a lot about equity; about making sure each student has a fair chance to succeed. We also talk a lot about how socioeconomic status influences a child’s likelihood of succeeding academically. But what is it about education that we value? We like to claim that we value actual learning – the ability to gain knowledge and apply it. We claim that we value instilling morals of good citizens and good people. Perhaps this is true, and perhaps we achieve these goals to some extent. However, when we look at the day-to-day experience of students, perhaps there are some ideologies we are placing too much value on without even realizing it. For example, if our top priority is for children to gain knowledge, why is our primary determent for measuring that knowledge based on a grading system? At least in my experience...

 When considering the grand need for education in the United States of America, many people often acknowledge that establishing morals is a key component of the education system. However, in a day where there are so many differing opinions on what morality means, how can school leaders and policy makers determine the best morals to focus on? On the Utah state legislature website, there are a number of bills regarding education. Some of these issues are based around this idea of morality and how schools should tackle talking about it. For example, one bill discusses sex education and what is moral to teach. Particularly in the state of Utah, it should not be surprising that this topic is complicated when surrounded by strong religious viewpoints from the majority of the population. While many people in the United States believe the highest moral response is to teach about ways to have safe sex, 15% still think it is immoral to even grant the idea that anything but abstinence as ...

This weekend I will be hopping on an airplane to fly to Mesa, Arizona. Besides the opportunity to leave a cold and wintery Provo in exchange for some sunshine, the thing that draws me to this city is  Zaharis Elementary School . This is the 4 th  time this school has lured me to empty my pockets for air fare and a hotel reservation. Perhaps this sounds like an odd tourist destination, but for nerdy educators like myself, it is one of the most exciting places to go! This school is renowned for its style. The walls are covered in murals that have been painted by students, the classrooms have tree houses and castles to provide a fun space for reading, and the overall atmosphere is exciting. Teachers at Zaharis use a unique inquiry-based instruction method  inquiry-based instruction method where they expect students to have real life experiences. For example, the kindergartners manage a lemonade stand during recess – earning money for their classrooms while practicing thei...

  Why is it the innate response in humans to tense up, become defensive, and move into fight mode as soon as someone contradicts us? I have noticed this happen in a myriad of situations. Some are more obvious, such as when someone rudely tells us we are wrong or dumb for thinking differently. However, some are more subtle. One example of these subtle contradictions stems from my first experience sharing a room and bathroom with someone. In addition to sharing a bathroom we also shared a bottle of shampoo. After several days, I noticed a pattern of this person leaving the shampoo bottle lid open. I liked it to be closed. In my mind, it needed to be secured in the event that it might fall over and spill, because little remnants of shampoo kept drying out and getting crusty all over the rim, and simply because it looked cleaner. However, in her mind, it needed to stay open because it was quicker and more convenient to use if it was already open. At the time we did not take time to ver...

When it comes to the question: Should the education system be controlled by the state or the feds, hearts start beating faster and blood pressure raises. Many people have some heavy feelings towards this topic. Especially in recent educational debates, people from all backgrounds have shared their feelings regarding Common Core, teacher salary, and standardized testing with at least a neighbor. This is because the education system quite literally affects everyone in the nation. Nearly every citizen has had a direct interaction with the system. Whether each person attended school growing up, has a child of his or her own in attendance, or has simply paid hard earned money in tax dollars towards the organization, one thing is sure: a great deal of the welfare and wellbeing of our country resides in our education system. Naturally, each citizen should be concerned with how well it is being taken care of. Because the education system influences so much, it is natural to assume that bothe...