WHAT IS THE BEST WAY TO EDUCATE AMERICAN CHILDREN?

What is the best way to educate American children?

What is the best way to educate American children?

Introduction

Education has been in a crisis for a long time in America, but few can agree on a solution to this open-ended problem which debated by both experts and lay persons. Federal and state policies need creation and enactment for targeted assistance to schools needing improvements, like low-income schools and public schools that are failing to meet the No Child Left Behind (NCLB) goals. Students deserve the best education possible, but there are many complicating factors. One factor is formulating challenging state academic content standards which specify what children are expected to know and then formulating coherent and rigorous curriculum to enable students to meet these standards. Another factor is the role of highly-qualified teachers who know the material and how to convey it to make a difference in student achievement, and whether computer (Dell'Olio & Donk, 2007), the internet, and technology should be a part of their teaching methods. Still, another factor is choosing the best method for teaching English language proficiency to immigrant students. There are numerous assumptions applying to the issues. For instance, it is assumed that all children can meet the same rigorous academic achievement standards of the NCLB act in the same arbitrary timeline and that boosting standardized test scores should be the primary goal of schools. It is also assumed that bilingual education is harmful or that it is helpful. In addition, some assume that computers and technology are harmful to education, while others believe they are helpful and critically needed. This paper discusses the methods of educating/teaching American children in the best possible ways.

What is the best way to educate American children? A Discussion

Following are the most effective ways and the methods to educate children in the best possible way.

Most teaching strategies have emerged from the research done on learning. The logic is that if learning occurs under certain circumstances, such as in a group dialogue or from observing, then teaching strategies should match those circumstances (Dell'Olio & Donk, 2007). As a result, teaching strategies have been classified according to a wide range of criteria. Student-centered, inquiry-oriented, constructivist, direct instruction, and cognitive are some of the categories used to describe teaching strategies, all of which emanate from philosophical and/or research-based perspectives on learning and teaching.

This discussion includes two broad categories of teaching strategies: instructor-centered and student-centered. In instructor-centered teaching strategies, the instructor takes an active and engaged role throughout the teaching process. Of course, all instructors are most effective when they are actively engaged regardless of the teaching strategy being used. However, a key distinction between instructor- and student-centered strategies is the direct and continual involvement of the instructor throughout the learning process in instructor-centered strategies. In the category of student-centered teaching strategies, the instructor may take on the role of observer, guide, facilitator, or even mediator during the learning process, leaving aspects of the learning to occur within ...