The United Nations Sustainable Development Goal number four is quality education. Education and its quality impact everyone. The big picture impact that this issue addresses is the assurance that all people complete free, equitable, primary and secondary education available to them. To ensure that both genders have equal opportunities and access to quality education, we can eliminate gender disparities in education by ensuring equal access to all levels of education. Building and upgrading education buildings and facilities that are sensitive to everyone would provide safe, nonviolent, effective learning environments for all. Would also like to achieve a higher number of scholarships available, particularly in less developed communities worldwide.
The United Nations Sustainable Development Goal of quality education could definitely impact Colorado and our education system. According to Education Week’s annual quality counts, Colorado ranks 21st in the country and has an overall average of C (Colorado Public Radio). This is about average, and there is always room for improvement. There is an issue with ensuring equal opportunity and access to quality education based on ethnicity or race in my community. Some of the school facilities in my community could use a much-needed upgrade. At my middle school, they are forced to use 'temporary', attachment classrooms outside the building. I say temporary because that's what they said when I went there and they remain to this day almost 5 years later.
Quality education has a very diverse group of people who are directly impacted by this. Part of the people impacted by this problem are the kids and adults who are not being educated to their full potential. The teachers are affected by this as well, with the higher-end teachers not taking jobs at the lower schools. The government is a stakeholder in this as well and the success of quality education goes hand in hand with government reform.
Education has the potential to become the most powerful incentive for development in the future. In order to have better schools, we need to make funding a priority. Let's ask ourselves some questions. Does money matter in schools? The answer to this question is yes. Measures of per-pupil spending are directly associated with improved or higher student outcomes. The size of the effect is large in some studies and smaller in others, but in the direct relationship between financial resources and student outcomes money and funding are important. The next question is: do schooling resources that cost money matter? The answer to this question like the one before is yes. These resources include more competitive teacher pay, smaller class sizes, early childhood programs, and much more. These resources are associated with student outcomes and success.
Having fewer meaningless tests means that there will be more time to learn and enjoy school. They say that standardized tests are for ranking teachers, students, etc., but this may not be one hundred percent true. Comparing and ranking schools does not get us anywhere, forcing us to have the same issues and problems the education system has today. This is a fool's game to compare, student to student, teacher to teacher, and school to school.
To have better schools the community has to get involved and engaged. The vision of the school must change, and it must change to include the community. There are so many opportunities for experiential learning outside of school in the community. Needs to be a way to connect curriculum beyond the classroom by attracting people and asking questions.
For this plan to be successful, we must find a way to reach our stakeholders. A great way to connect and create bonds is to go to the people who are most relevant and matter most. Get teachers and people of the community involved and go knock on people's doors, visit senior centers, local businesses, and engage in conversation. Let them communicate what they wish and hope for the education system to improve. Encourage them to mentor and support the idea of a better education system. Also does this with the very students who are in the schools; ask them what ideas they have and get them involved.
Kids today are always asking questions like, “Why am I learning this?”, “What relevance does this have?”. We should ask ourselves how can we connect common curriculum in the real world. There must be a plan to connect the curriculum outside of the classroom. One approach would be to work with local business and subject matter experts with the goal of connecting the classroom to the real world and incorporating engaging learning experiences in and out of the classroom. Consider using project-based learning and try matching students with subject matter experts, businesses, and community organizations with the common goal of making education more relevant and incorporating real-life examples and scenarios.
Not only should math, English, and science be taught, but it is necessary to add a curriculum that will prepare kids to step into adult careers. Teach kids about taxes, credit, loans, and much more. Schools should cater not only to traditional job-ready skills like reading, writing, and arithmetic but also find sanctuary in the woodshop and other trade courses. This curriculum would allow some students to really find out what path they want to take. This is a great opportunity and should not be wasted.
In order for people to know what community resources are available to them, there should be a visual map to represent where and what the various skills members of our community have. The community resource map would point out the materials that people can supply to others, the time that can be invested, and how it connects to the school curriculum. Use this network to raise awareness for children and families by promoting resource sharing and collaboration. For example, use libraries as school-community partnerships and student learning, allowing them to be a connection point outside of school.
In order for my plan to be possible and successful, a few things have to happen. First, the government has to be open to changing its policy on school funding and not allow for cutting in the budget. This has been a problem before and will continue to be a problem. Education should not be the scapegoat, if the budget is low and money should not be taken, it should be given to this category. In order to get national attention on this matter, people could peacefully protest and present this issue during political debates, or maybe even go viral on the internet somehow. Second, Colorado should do away with meaningless standardized tests like CMAS and PARCC. Getting rid of standardized tests is a problem, but I may have a solution. If the Colorado State Government wants to still partake in these tests a way for students and parents to protest is to 'opt out', if enough students do not participate the Colorado State Government may just scratch the tests. Lastly, for my plan to be successful the community must get involved and participate. The community must expand its vision of schooling to include the community, reach out to all stakeholders, try to connect with the curriculum and create a community resource map. The community is the heart and soul of this project, and community involvement would allow for this project to succeed. This is an important issue in our community, and to get support, we would have to inform and the public and get them interested in this topic.
In 5-10 years, if my plan for better education is put into effect, I think that there will be significant results and more success in schools. By making funding a priority, fewer meaningless tests, and use of community engagement, our schools would be better. Schools would be able to afford textbooks, updated facilities, and everything else that is needed. Funding would permit more competitive teacher salaries, allowing for schools and school districts to recruit a higher-quality teacher workforce. This will also allow for smaller class sizes, making more time for students to have one on one with teachers. Funding overall would make the schools better and allow for a more successful youth. Less meaningless tests and standardized tests allow for more time to learn in school. If schools did not have to take so many standardized tests would be much better off. Engaging the community with this issue and involving them in schooling would allow students and community members to bond and become more involved in creating a safe and integrated community. On the local level, this plan would allow for all students to thrive and be successful. No student would be left behind. This plan would have significant results, in my opinion, in the following years. The desired outcome that I would like to see is for all kids to have the opportunity and the privilege to be able to go to school and learn to their fullest potential.