Five aspects of schools
Additional Sources
The present paper will discuss five aspects of schools. They are homeless students, single-sex classrooms, religion in public schools, sex education in public schools, and violence in public schools.
Homeless Students
According to Mizerek and Elizabeth et al. (pg 10), more than 1.4 million children in the United States are homeless annually. The federal law defines a homeless child as one who does not have a regular, fixed, or adequate night-time residence. Nonetheless, the McKinney Vento Act – a program that offers assistance (free and appropriate education) to the homeless children – recognizes living conditions like in motels, parks, cars, and makeshift housing as homelessness. In addition, homeless families are classified among the people living with poverty, and from research, approximately 90% of these families have a single-parent (De Witt 2). The life of these students is devastating. Foremost, they do not get enough food, sleep (or are afraid to sleep), and medical care. Their social life is unhealthy as they are disconnected and isolated from the community of the school. It is because most of the time they are stigmatized and end up alienating themselves from their colleagues. In the school aspect, roughly 12% of the homeless children do not attend school, whereas 45% of those going to school miss attending in a considerable number of days (Mizerek and Elizabeth 12).
Single-Sex Classrooms
The single-sex classroom is commonly referred to as single-sex education. Bestowing to the U.S. Department of Education, single-sex education is education where females and males attend school – elementary, secondary, or postsecondary – utterly with same-sex members. In 2012, the U.S. had over 500 public schools spread in the country that provide single-sex classrooms at a specific form (Xiong 2). This type of education system has been challenged as it violates the 19th Amendment of the U.S. constitution. However, it is deemed legal if certain conditions are met. It must be voluntary, the curriculum must be similar to the one for co-educational schools, and if there is an all-female public school in a particular district, there must be a comparable one for the boys. From research, the single-education classrooms have both advantages and limitations. The main advantage is that it improves learning and performance by providing the best environment for teaching and learning. It is because: multiple distractions exist in the presence of the opposite sex; sexual activities are prone, which leads to sexually transmitted infections or pregnancy; and teachers respond differently to the sexes. For instance, they overprotect girls or favor males. On top of these, other advantages include both sexes have the same opportunity for achieving leadership roles and pursuing activities that are stereotyped to be either masculine or feminine (Xiong 2).
Religion in Public Schools
Around five and half decades ago, the Supreme court of U.S. banned school-performed prayers (Pew Research Centre n.d.). Although many Americans impugned the decision terming it as unconstitutional – violates the First Amendment: the right to exercise religion freely – the federal courts argue that allowing religion in public schools is a type of discrimination. It is because the government will be promoting religious beliefs. In their conclusion, they declared that public schools should not endorse or disapprove religion. However, private schools are allowed to incorporate religious acts in their school activities and curriculum. Additionally, a student can respond to secular assignments by using expressions of religion. A teacher is thus not supposed to reject a religious report, but it is unacceptable to display it to the public, like pinning it on a wall. A student can still perform his religious values. A study of American Teens backs it. It indicates that students perform religious expressions in four out of ten public schools, and more than half of the students in public schools are decked with religious symbols (Pew Research Centre n.d.).
Sex education in Public Schools
De Witt (n.d.) regards sex education as a method of gaining information and establishing beliefs and attitudes concerning sex, relationships, identity, and intimacy. The author further states that balanced and accurate sex education is a fundamental right for adolescents. Nonetheless, due to multiple controversies between parents, teachers, and various departments in the government, such as education and health departments, comprehensive sex education in public schools is distinct in the different states. The reasons as to why the controversies exist are because researches give out opposing views. Others point out that it is accustomed by advantages, while others conclude it exposes teens to too much content. Due to these hindrances, as of 2015, sex education is taught to only 22 states and the District of Columbia, while 33 states and the District demand schools to educate on HIV/AIDs (DeWitt n.d.).
Violence in Public Schools
Violence in public schools is exceptionally high, ranging from minor to severe acts. Examples of violence experienced in public schools’ entail fighting with or without weapons, robbery, the threat of physical attack, sexual battery, and rape. In a 2003 report of American public schools, elements such as the size of enrollment, neighborhood crime level, absenteeism, percentage of male students, and the ratio of teachers to students influence the nature and magnitude of violence (Larsen 2). The research surveyed over 2700 schools spread in the country, and from their findings: secondary and elementary schools report more severe violence than elementary schools; institutions with critical disciplinary problems had high rates of violence; and those with large enrollment sizes and percentage of boys had a high prevalence to violence (Larsen 2).
Works Cited
DeWitt, Peter. “Should Sex Education Be Taught in Schools?” Education Week – Peter DeWitt’s Finding Common Ground, 4 June 2015, www.blogs.edweek.org/edweek/finding_common_ground/2015/06/should_sex_education_be_taught_in_schools.html. Accessed 2 May 2020.
Larsen, Eric. “Violence in U.S. Public Schools: A Summary of Findings. ERIC Digest.” (2003).
Mizerek, Elizabeth A., and Elizabeth E. Hinz. “Helping homeless students.” Principal Leadership 4.9 (2004): 10-13.
. Pew Research Centre. “Religion in the Public Schools.” Pew Research Center’s Religion & Public Life Project, 31 Dec. 2019, www.pewforum.org/2019/10/03/religion-in-the-public-schools-2019-update/. Accessed 2 May 2020.
Xiong, Cindy Y. “Single-Sex Education: Pros and Cons.” UCLA School Mental Health Project, Connecticut’s State Education Resource Center, 2013, www.smhp.psych.ucla.edu/pdfdocs/singleeduc.pdf