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impacts of technology to education
impacts of technology to education
impacts of technology to education
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Introduction According to one Caribbean historian, Carl Campbell (1992), schools reflect the societies that create them. The 21st century has presented many challenges. While on the one hand we are faced with rapidly improving technology, we are also faced with global environmental, health and economic crises such as we have never experienced before. We are also witnessing the widespread collapse of societal institutions like the family, judiciary and even the religious systems. Our societies seem to be breeding a new level of violence and chaos. It is against this background, that schools must now formulate policies to keep much of this violence and chaos from invading the classrooms. Instead of students being lured away from constructive school activities to engage in truant behaviors, the schools must become safe havens where learning and creativity can be nurtured. Wikipedia defines truancy as intentional, unauthorized absence from compulsory schooling. Truancy does not refer to legitimate ‘excused’ absences such as ones related to medical conditions. Barbara Pytel (2007) in her article on Student Truancy cites truancy statistics for three districts in the US, New York, Los Angeles and Pittsburg as 15%, 10% and 12% of students respectively were gone per day. While these appear to be relatively small numbers one child is one too many. For some of these truants this is the beginning of a life of crime and other risky behaviors with dangerous long term consequences. Pytel (2007) further identified a number of policies that have been used to get a handle on the issue. They include alternative schools, truancy officers, fining parents and loss of welfare benefits. These have not met much success. A Press Releas... ... middle of paper ... ...nited States department of health and human services. (n.d.). Promoting school safety, preventing youth violence and encouraging learning. Retrieved November 13, 2009, from http://www.hhs.gov/news/press/1999pres/19991015.html Pytel, B. (2007, April 27). School uniforms popular | Suite101.com. Suite101.com: Online Magazine and Writers' Network. Retrieved November 15, 2009, from http://www.suite101.com/blog/pytel/school_uniforms_popular School uniforms, dress codes, and book bags: School safety and security. (n.d.). School safety and school security experts: National school safety and security services. Retrieved November 15, 2009, from http://www.schoolsecurity.org/resources/uniforms.html Truancy. (2009, December 5). Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia. Retrieved December 8, 2009, from http://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Special:Cite&page=Truancy&id=329828168
According to greatschools.org, “Enforcing a strict dress code can place the focus of school on clothing and rules, rather than on education.” Most schools have specific uniforms that a child must wear in order to attend. Many children that go to school, have single parents and / or more than one ...
Some school critics and statisticians have observed that drug-dealing, vandalism, robbery, and murder have replaced gum-chewing, “talking out of turn,” tardiness, and rudeness as the most chronic problems afflicting today’s schools. If the intent of this observation is to shock and rattle the public’s sensibilities, it’s working. Of course, some of us may interpret such suggestions as merely dark, stoic, and cynical—“scare” tactics quite in keeping with the current national mood about many social issues these days.
or formal dress code stipulating what students can and cannot wear to school, a required school uniform is not as common. Customarily only seen in private and parochial schools, a growing numbers of US public schools are now adopting strict school uniform policies. One in five US public schools required students to wear uniforms during the 2013-2014 school year, up from one in eight in 2003-2004 ("School Uniforms," n.d, p. 1). In today’s world, it is not uncommon to see media stories about crime in schools and our educators are constantly looking for ways to improve safety within this school. Some of these educators feel that school uniforms are one way to protect the safety and welfare of students and school personnel. Many kids find
School Uniforms." Phi Delta Kappan 92.6 (2011): 63-66. Academic Search Complete. Web. 1 Dec. 2013.
School uniforms are not new to society. The use of uniforms in schools dates back to the fall of the Roman Empire in the 400s A.D. School uniforms were first widely used by students who went to “song schools.” Private schools and religious schools have also been requiring school uniforms for a long time, and most still require them today. In more recent history school uniform policies first started to find their way into schools in the United States in the 1950’s. Dress codes, which are lesser versions of uniform policies, were established to make sure students wore clothes that were more appropriate to a learning setting. Prohibiting girls from showing too much skin, and boys from wearing blue jeans, black leather jackets, and other such clothing were widely viewed as a good thing. Then as time went on the occurrence of gang violence also began to increase in schools, so schools began to ban students from wearing gang colors, numbers, or drug related clothing (McVeigh).
Schwartz, W. (1996, October). An overview of strategies to reduce school violence. ERIC Clearinghouse on Urban Education. Retrieved October 21, 2001.
Talley, R. C., Walz, G. R., National Education Goals Panel, W. C., ERIC Clearinghouse on Counseling and Student Services, G. C., & National Alliance of Pupil Services, O. n. (1996). Safe Schools, Safe Students. Proceedings of the National Education Goals Panel/National Alliance of Pupil Services Organizations Conference on "Safe Schools, Safe Students: A Collaborative Approach to Achieving Safe, Disciplined, and Drug-free Schools Conducive to Learning" (Washington, D.C., October 28-29, 1994).
In society today, school-age children are under tremendous pressure to fit in with their peers and still perform well academically. I believe that school uniforms in pre-K through high school levels is an excellent way to help children succeed not only in school, but to prepare them for college and the “real world.” Three reasons why I believe school uniforms should be used in all schools is first, they are economic, next, they reduce distractions and finally, they help with social equality.
In recent years, tragedies have been visited upon schools across the country. From Kentucky to Oregon to Colorado, the notion of schools as safe havens has been shattered by the sound of gunfire. These acts are not limited to any geographic regions or family backgrounds, nor do they have a single catalyst. Those who have committed such heinous acts have done so for different reasons, at different times, in different schools. But these acts of school violence have at least one thing in common- they have spurred all of us to take a look at what can be done to better protect children and teachers at school. Protecting our children is not simply a matter of public policy. It is a matter of strengthening basic values, of teaching children right from wrong, of instilling in them respect for others. We each have a responsibility to work to end youth violence and to keep schools safe for children and for those who teach them. Youth violence in many schools has reached universal proportions. It is not only happening in our high schools, it has also made its way into our elementary and middle schools. Everyone seems to have a different perspective on why there is such a problem with school safety. Some say it is the parents’ fault, some say it is the media, and others blame the schools. Yet, the question still remains. What can be done to make schools safer for the children and staff? One thing we need to do is learn to listen to our children and observe their behavior. According ...
Kelly, Melissa, and About.com. "School Uniforms: Safety in Schools and Uniforms." About.com. About.com, 2010. Web. 21 Jan. 2010.
the clothe that they wear, their appearance, and their manifestation in front of people, and
The issue of school safety has become a controversial topic in the United States, due to tragic acts of violence occurring on a daily basis. American citizens should never have to cope with the negative impact of school violence, no matter how often they hear about the tragedies (Jones, "Parents" 1). In the past, schools were viewed as a safe place for children to get an education. Recently, the concern over violence in schools has taken a toll on many parents, school administrators, and legislatures (Eckland 1). Studies have shown that there are over 3 million acts of violence in American public schools each year. Not all occurrences are serious and deadly, but they occur on a daily basis throughout our country (Jones, “School” 6). This has caused many parents to worry about the well-being of their children while they are in class. This has also led to an increase in questions and concerns by parents and guardians. Many people have asked, “What are you doing about safety and security on my child’s campus” (Schimke 2). School violence is the cause of elevated worry and fear for their children, and school districts should enforce better security.
At the beginning of the 20th century almost no parent or faculty had any concerns with how students dressed to attend school. Nowadays, though, this is a giant concern among students, parents, and school board officials. Many arguments have been made over the matter saying uniforms should be required and enforced in schools. But, uniforms should not be required as they ultimately eliminate freedom of expression, promote conformity over individuality, may have a detrimental effect on students self image, emphasize the socioeconomic divisions they are supposed to eliminate, and lastly, school uniforms in public schools undermine the promise of a free education by adding an extra expense for families.
Wharton, Claudene. “School Uniform Study.” UNR.edu. University of Nevada, 23 Apr. 2013. Web. 21 Feb. 2014.
Both tardiness and absenteeism can be influenced by a lack of support from the community, family support, transportation problems, poor health, etc. (Teasley, 2004). Other possible reasons that may influence students to be absent are those that come from the school environment. Lacking support from teachers, feeling unsafe because of bullying or other factors, difficulty with content, etc., are some examples. Ken Reid’s article “The causes, views and traits of school absenteeism and truancy” explains that secondary school student’s reasons for being absent are school-related (Reid, 2005). Because of this research, secondary school teachers are in the position to question, ask then fix the problems in the classroom that are causing a student or students to be frequently absent especially when students may feel like these things are out of their control causing them to feel like they are caught in a cycle where there is no way to salvage their