Education Is Essential, And It’s Important That Schools Are Encouraging It
Education is essential. There is a reason that children go to school and why even some adults attend school and it’s not just for fun. It’s to ensure that they are equipped with the knowledge that they need to live their best life, to become a productive member of society when they head out and get a job, and simply to ensure that they are a knowledgeable individual. Schools should be encouraging education as much as they can, but unfortunately, this seems to have been lost a little along the way. In this article, we’re going to be taking a look at some of the things that you can do if you are involved in education to encourage learning. Keep reading down below if you would like to find out more.
While It Might Seem Obvious
While it might seem obvious that schools encourage education, this is not the way that it has been going lately. A lot of schools are now more focused on exam results, on the way that they look in the school ranking list, and the bottom line rather than the education that is provided to students. This is where the problem lies, education has taken a backseat in an industry that is supposed to be all about learning. So, it’s time to make a change and get things back on track as soon as possible. Teachers, parents, and others involved in education are the only ones who can make a difference here, so it’s time to start looking into how to do this.
Understanding Different Learners
The first thing that we are going to say is that when it comes to actually educating people, understanding different learners is essential. It’s never easy when you are the one in the class who doesn’t understand when everyone else seems to be completely getting what’s going on. This happens more often than you think, which is why you need to be catering to all learners as much as you can. Of course, we’re not saying that you have to explain the same thing in four different ways as this would take up far too much time, but you can try explaining it in one way and then trying a different way in the hopes that most people pick it up. If you notice there is someone who doesn’t fully get it yet, or they come and ask you to explain it again, then that’s what you need to do.
Teaching and educating people takes time. It takes time for someone to understand something so that they can move on. It takes time to find a way to explain it that makes sense as this can be difficult sometimes too. There are times where you just know something in your head, but getting it out in a way that people understand can sometimes be tough. If you ever find yourself struggling to explain something, we can only recommend using some learning resources online that they may have more success with. Remember, sometimes a visual aid is exactly what they need.
Adaptive Teaching Styles
As we have just covered, not everyone learns in the same way which means that we need adaptive teaching styles. When things aren’t going right, it’s time to go left. Stop trying to explain in the way that you think is going to work, and start trying out things that are a little different. A lot of teachers use movies in order to depict some things, especially in classes like history. The thing that you’ve got to watch out for though is that some of these are not historically accurate, so don’t show those ones as they’re not going to get anything from it. Select carefully if this is something that you want to do, and make sure that it’s in the appropriate age range for the class that you are teaching.
Or, if this isn’t going to work, then you can have a cutting and sticking exercise. You can turn some of the classes into games like Kahoot. This always brings out the very best in the class as people get competitive and want to win, so they are more likely to retain the information that they need to win the quiz. These are just a few examples that you can use instead of standing behind your desk and explaining things, in the same way, all the time. If it’s not working, it’s not working, so it’s time to adapt and see what results this brings.
Raising Money For Charity
Encouraging the students to be part of the community is actually fantastic for education. Or, if you know that there is something that needs fundraising, then you can set your classes on this. For example, they can hold something like a read-a-thon. This is a fantastic way to raise the money that is needed and encourage the students to actually read books. When there is an incentive to do something, you will find that it’s far easier to persuade people to read, even if it’s not something that they particularly enjoy.
There are other ideas that can help raise money for charity as well, so it’s just a case of doing the one that you think would be the most successful within your classes or school.
The Students Are People, Not Numbers
As we briefly mentioned at the beginning of this article, education seems to be becoming more about the bottom lines than actually educating the students of the school. The problem with this is that learning doesn’t seem to matter anymore, with what the students know being replaced with what they can remember for the exam. The numbers at the end of the exam are all that seem to matter to a lot of schools, and this is not the way to go. Students leave the exam room and immediately forget everything that they have learned simply because they were not taught in a way that secured the knowledge in their long-term memory.
Students are people, they are not numbers. Their education is important as it sets them up for the rest of their life. While the point is to get them as much knowledge as possible, this cannot all be tested under exam conditions. Some people are incredibly smart but they don’t do well when it comes to exams. This doesn’t mean that they are not clever, and this number should not define them.
There’s Nothing Wrong With Taking Your Time
There’s nothing wrong with taking your time explaining things to students. A lot of schools are now worried about the speed at which the curriculum is taught, but this is not a problem. It doesn’t matter if they know every single point that is listed on the curriculum, as long as they know more than enough to get through and to do well. This is what matters more than anything else – that they are getting the education they deserve, focused on them and helping them do well, rather than just stuffing them full of information in the hope that something sticks and they manage to get a good grade.
Offering 1-1 For Those Who Struggle
The final thing that we are going to say is that we should bring back the time of offering 1-1 for those students who are struggling. Some people have more trouble grasping things than others, and if this is the case for a student that you know, then you need to encourage them to get some extra help. They deserve the chance to do as well as they can, but perhaps a loud classroom environment is not always the best place to nurture their learning. There are students who find it difficult to learn properly while other people are around, so we recommend going through all the material with them after class as well, just to ensure that they are on the page they need to be on.
Yes, it takes up more of your time as a teacher, but this is not necessarily a bad thing. If you got into education to make a difference and to help students achieve the best that they possibly can for themselves, then you have to be dedicated to it, willing to work hard and put the effort in for as long as they are.
We hope that you have found this article helpful, and now see some of the things schools can do to encourage education. We know that it sounds silly to say that schools should be encouraging education, but there are too many schools out there that are focused on exam results, rather than the quality of education that the students are receiving. We wish you the very best of luck and hope that if you are in education, or want to go into education, you use some of these tips to encourage education in children. They want to learn, even if they don’t know they want to learn yet, so don’t give up.