Analysis Of Education In America The Next 25 Years By Irving Buchen

In "Education in America: The Next 25 Years" by Irving H Buchen, he predicts changes that will take place in the next 25 years. He believes that new techniques will solve budget problems facing schools, and also believes these new techniques will be more effective then the more expensive methods used today. Buchen says that changes will be made by choice and "fueled by changing roles for teachers, administrators, students and the entire communities." (Buchen 299) Buchen states if we could look into the future 25 years we would see "four factors driving educational change: decentralization and educational options; performance evaluation and success measurement; changes in leadership and leadership roles and reconfigurations in learning
spaces, places, and times."(Buchen 299) He discusses the many school choices available and how they differ from each other and why parents choose the type of schools they do for their children. The author continues the essay by discussing how educational success is measured, the principals changing roles, parents new roles, real life skills that are being brought into the schools, new learning spaces, and technology introduced into the schools. Finally, he discusses schools where they allow students to have a more active role in the classroom. I think that Buchen's essay had some really good points.
There are going to be a lot of revisions in the future, and change is pretty much unavoidable due to the altering lifestyles that are occurring on a daily basis. To make school available to all that attend schools need to incorporate flexibility into their classrooms to make teaching our children a success. For example, the families with two working parents have a difficult time getting the students to and from school due to their work schedules. This could be addressed with schools holding different hours. Another example would be the students who learn at a different level than others. This could be addressed by students that tend to have a harder time grasping things can be paired with a student that is excelling in the
subject. The author has brought up a lot of interesting facts in his essay in regards to new technology that is available. Rural classrooms can merge with classrooms across the world via the Internet. This fact alone can better the education of students in the rural communities who might not have enough teachers to teach the students. Technology also can diminish the class size to one student by having students take online classes. You can take a laptop almost anywhere and do class work. I also like the paragraph about businesses getting involved in the schools. Creating a game that will educate students about the reality of the true expense of a vehicle is an invaluable lesson in the purchase of the car plus the bonus of improving "reading, math and planning skills" (Buchen 303). This idea will give students a real life vision of what life is like when out of school. This concept in my opinion is extremely creative and something that will encourage students to learn in a fun way. The board game was a great idea. He is so right about competition forcing schools to do a better job in educating our children or they will lose students.
Schools lose money that the government allocates when students leave. This forces schools to find other methods of teaching that work for the classroom as a whole instead of what I call "generic teaching." What I mean by generic teaching is that each student is taught in the same manner. No learning style is taken into consideration. I believe every student learns at a different level and also every student learns by different methods. I personally learn by being showed how to do something and then working on it until I master it. Others learn by reading. They can read a manual and set up a computer or stereo system. I find it difficult to do learn that way. I have to try and try again until it just works. There are some students that just naturally learn quicker than others. Then there are students that the harder they study, the more confused they are. The last example is the students that need more one on one attention or have to learn through different methods. This has to be addressed by the schools to ensure each student gets the proper education needed to survive after high school. This is where technology comes
in. Computer technology was just starting to get introduced into the schools when I was in high school. This device gives us access to educators anywhere in the world. I believe this skill is needed in the schools. I agree with the author that this device has been a godsend to the rural schools that might have a hard time finding teachers. Teachers can have access to any course they want brought into the classroom just by the touch of a button. The author seemed to have good foresight to what will happen in the next quarter century. Computers are advancing at a rapid rate and students having everyday access to them will advance right along with it. Teachers now have to rethink their teaching methods to ensure each student is taken into consideration. All classrooms no matter where they are located will have access to the same educational material. I believe that we are going to continue to see advancement in technology for the next fifty years. I am intrigued to what technology will come up with next.