Supporting our Secondary Students

         A guardian engaging with her students.      

Parental involvement is a necessary piece to student, teacher, and school support. According to Edutopia, "studies show that with more family engagement: There is greater student achievement. Student attendance is higher. Graduation rates are higher. Alcohol abuse is lower. Students from diverse backgrounds and who are farthest behind benefit" (2016). The benefits to engaged parents and families are better outcomes for students and their academic endeavors. Many people have ideas for how to invest in secondary students and their families. Taking school information into spaces where families already congregate to coordinate meeting times such as churches, community centers, and possibly workplaces is convenient and efficient for meeting or distributing information (Edutopia 2016). 

In my experience, as an intrinsically motivated student, my parents allowed me to practice independence and rarely got involved with my own academic assignments. However, my parents have always been involved in the general understanding of my classes and utilized me as to how they gained their knowledge. Every student is different and parental support will need to look different for each student. As an educator, I will commit to creating central hubs where parents can gravitate to (such as a blog, website, email update, or app) to gain information about what we are doing in class and what they could ask their students about what they have been learning or working on. I also plan to create opportunities for students to be more engaged with their own families or support systems within the classroom so everything feels connected and streamlined. Understanding that students will have various home dynamics and levels of support is also important and will need to reflect the creative way I can cater to all families. 

LGBTQIA+: Representation and Celebration

Representing all students in the classroom should be a continued and consistent effort. 

This flag serves as a symbol for LGBT and Queer people. 

LGBTQIA+ representation in the classroom can look like books with characters who identify as LGBTQIA+, affirming and hiring LGBTQIA educators, and giving students spaces that affirm and celebrate who they are as a person so they can grow and feel safe to learn. As outlined in a 2017 national survey of LGBTQ students, "when polled, only one in five LGBTQ students reported that they were taught positive representations of LGBTQ people, history, or events in their classes; and more than half (64.8 percent) of students reported that they did not have access to information about LGBTQ-related topics in their school library, through the internet on school computers, or in their textbooks or other assigned readings (New America)". Not only are students not learning about LGBTQIA history and evolution over time, "over a quarter of students (25.9 percent) said their administration was very or somewhat unsupportive of LGBTQ students; and 42.3 percent said they would be somewhat or very uncomfortable talking with a teacher (New America)". Students should be comfortable within their schools and among their peers.  

LGBTQIA+ student support is critical to student success and for the necessary landscape of our schools. Speaking from experience with friends and family, a student should be able to enter a classroom as their truest self. They should feel confident and sure that the educator in that room loves and celebrates them and is knowledgeable about ways to support them and educate other students who may or may not identify a part of the LGBTQIA+ community. Identity is unique to each student but is also what creates community among students. By cultivating and caring for each student we are fostering relationships within our classroom that will lead to better results academically. 

Charter Schools vs. School Vouchers

The logo of a local Knoxville charter school. 

Charter schools and vouchers schools are two options in many areas in regard to education for students. Charter schools can be defined as "independently run public schools exempt from many rules and regulations in exchange for increased accountability (Edchoice 2022)". Basically, these schools are application-based and depending on interest, they run as a lottery for student spots. Charter schools are classified as public schools. Voucher schools can be defined as "giving parents the freedom to choose a private school for their children, using all or part of the public funding set aside for their children’s education (Edchoice 2022)". Vouchers are funds that are typically expended by a school district but would be put toward the school of a family's choice. This would be for a private school that is classified as both religious and non-religious.

In my opinion, voucher schools specifically pull funding from public schools and move students' and families' contributions to a private setting. I also feel that the existence of public schools, in general, pulls students and general resources to more schools, rather than pouring them into quality public schools. Schools should represent the communities they are a part of and the student and teacher population should be representative of the area. Schools should be places of diversity in all aspects so that new perspectives and fresh experiences can be had by all. I also take issue with the separation of church and state and public funding/vouchers going to private religious schools and see other legal issues that may arise with this structure. Charter schools receive similar thoughts as voucher schools, especially with an application process and oftentimes issues with inclusivity of all students. However, involving parents and considering individual students' needs should always be at the forefront when deciding what route is best for their education.