Charting a New Course for Education and Teaching about Religion - Essay Example

546649 Question What the future of education is as presented in Reading 19? Do you agree/disagree with the opinions? Explain. Reading 19 discussed about the deterioration of educational standard in the United States of America and the consequential decline of national achievement results based on annual examination given to students that measure their analytical, comprehension and reading capabilities. Such decline is manifested in OECD (2006) report which indicated that educated Americans dropped from 30% to 14% while its national students’ achievement percentile level similarly plummeted down.

This for authorities is truly alarming. It’s in this context that educators proposed seven strategies to reform American educational system. These proposed strategies are as follows: (a) development of a student progression; (b) reinvest resources devoted for improving quality of early education, recruiting more quality teacher, enhancing their instruction capabilities and provision of more resources to disadvantaged students; ( c) allocating budget for infrastructure construction for universal pre-school education; (d) hiring of top quality graduates for teaching courses and offering attractive but reasonable salary scheme and incentives as motivation; (e) improve performance management in the educational system and conduct of regular performance appraisal among educators and administrators; (f) provision of support mechanism for disadvantaged students;and (g) upholding education standard and adoption of curriculum that is responsive to the needs of the national economy and polity.

Schools are suppose to be formal institution which serve as a melting pot of human resources of the nation as engine for developments. Its graduates are expected to skilled, disciplined and competent resources that are instrumental for industrialization, agricultural developers, urbanization experts, social developers and proficient forces for sustainable development and transparent responsible governance. They should be imbued with values too. Thus, it is but appropriate that systems should be supportive of developing a world-class human resources that can compete with the rest of the world's labor forces and thinkers.

The seven proposed strategies are good. Teachers competence must to be upgraded to make intellectual pursuits adoptive to the rapid changing and demand of times and so that transfer of knowledge and skills are done effectively. Kyle (2011) mentioned in a report that the market is in need of accountants, financial analysts and advisers, engineers, business administrators and computer science. Thus, focus must not neglect sharpening the analytic abilities of students, specially in Math and Science.

They must reevaluate causes of drop out rates, poor reading comprehension,and analytical abilities. Such should be addressed at its roots. Parents should also be regularly consulted by teachers or administrators and be encouraged to help develop a learning-environment at home to inspire students to value education. Parents should also be engaged in identifying strategies about improving the system as stakeholders of education. Burr & Guinewald (2006) argued that parents who sent their children to school as early as 5 years old would likely be successful in school and workplaces if they are provided for cognition, “language, motor skills, adaptive skills, and social emotional functioning” (p. 1). Those who are unable to enjoy early childhood education may drop school, commit crime and became a state liability as an adult.

Question 2: What is your response to Reading 37 about religion in schools? Do you believe religion has a place in schools? Explain. Yes, religion has a place in school. The United States Department of Education explicated that teaching religion is essential in upholding social diversity, in developing community cohesion, in cultivating multiculturalism, and in understanding geography and history's influence in the development of civilization and world affairs (Haynes & Thomas, 2001). Thus, schools are encourage to teach religion with impartiality with an aim of widening students knowledge within the context of religious freedom.

Religion is academically permissible to teach in school to reinforce the moral code of peoples sense of community and how faith relates to art, music, and literature. Its also essential in understanding nationalism, imperialism, anticolonialism sentiments, slavery and antislavery, quest for freedom, capitalism, and environmentalism in a sustaining quest to protect the integrity of creation amid issues on climate change. Studying religion is primarily made relevant to address issues on illiteracy relating to religion.

Thus it is important that students are able to understand the basic tenets of tradition and religion; the manifold expression of these beliefs; and the contribution of religion in cultivating human relations, culture, and political dynamism. Understanding varied religions is relevant in exploring differences and similarities. Scholars cited that to understand Bosnia conflict, one has to study the historical enmity between Roman Catholics, Orthodox Christians, and Muslims in the Balkan region.

The conflict between Protestants and Catholics need to be reviewed if a person intend to understand Northern Ireland issues. In a Guideline for Teaching Religion proposed by James V. Panoch in 1974 and was adopted by the First Amendment Center, it recommends that the approach in teaching religion should be academic, not devotional; aimed at inculcating awareness, not religious acceptance; inculcates studying religion, not practicing it; exposing learners to diversity of faiths, not impose religious views; educates religion, not promote it; and, informing students of various religious beliefs, not demanding on them to conform to specific practices (Moore, 2010).

The teachers may use historical, literary, cultural or the tradition-based approaches (Moore, 2010). Question 3: What question(s) do you have about the teaching profession and education? What do you want to know more about? These are some of my questions relating to teaching profession and education. 1. Why is that the our nation hires teachers from Asean countries? Is America bereft of competent teachers? 2. Why is that the elementary and high school education in America takes more years compared to other countries who can only spend 6 years for elementary and four years for high school education? 3. What are the programs of the state to improve the competence of teachers in classroom instruction?

REFERENCES Kyle, Chris (2011). Top 5 In-Demand Degrees. http://education.yahoo.net/articles/top_5_in-demand_degrees.htm?kid=1H68V . Accessed June 21, 2011. Burr, J., &Guinewald, R. (2006). Lessons learned: A review of early childhood development studies. http://minneapolisfed.org/publications_papers/studies/earlychild/lessonslearned.pdf . Accessed June 21, 2011. King, J. (2006). Closing the achievement gap through expanded access to quality early education. Washington, DC: New America Foundation.

Moore, Diane L. (2010). Guidelines for Teaching About Religion in K-12 Public Schools in the United States. The AAR Religion in the Schools Task Force. American Academy of Religion. http://www.aarweb.org/Publications/Online_Publications/Curriculum_Guidelines/AARK-12CurriculumGuidelines.pdf Accessed: June 21, 2011. Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development. (2006). Table A1.2a.In Education at a glance. Paris: Author. Haynes, Charles C., and Oliver Thomas (2001). Finding Common Ground: A Guide to Religious Liberty in Public Schools.

Nashville, Tenn.: First Amendment Center, United States.