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The opinions expressed in this article are the writer’s own and do not reflect the views of Her Campus.
This article is written by a student writer from the Her Campus at SBU chapter.

One thing that I am very grateful for this year is to be taking two education specific courses this semester; I am taking a Problems in Literacy class and a Design/Delivering Instruction class with a zero credit lab.

As I am taking these classes, it allows me to recognize the good teachers even more, but also the problems that exist for many public school teachers when it comes to lesson planning and following rules that are set up by people who are rarely in the classroom. 

Teacher Side of Things

Recently, in a conversation with my friends, I was asked what kind of school district I wanted to work at in the future. Surprisingly, two standards came to mind; I wanted a supportive administration, in the way of willing to work through problems with me and a school district that had teachers that wouldn’t isolate me and would collaborate with and work alongside me.

Saying them out aloud made me realize how low of a bar that sounded like because I have heard enough horror stories to know that those two standards can be difficult for teachers to find. 

Additionally, when looking at the lesson planning side of things (which is still new to me), teachers are limited in how their learning standards can meet what the district or state requires from them while also accomplishing what they want. It can also be difficult to cater a lesson to the multitude of learning styles that work differently for the thirty-or-so kids in the classroom.

Many of the lesson plan requirements teachers fulfill is so that an observer can come in and check things off a list of observations without having to examine the lesson itself, which makes it difficult to cater a lesson to students and the expectations they are legally required to meet. 

Student Side of Things

A lot of the time, the teacher’s side of difficulties bleed into struggles for students. When the teachers are struggling, so are the students.

Thinking about other college classes students take, there are a wide variety of reasons students struggle in classes; whether they’re afraid to ask for help, don’t enjoy or understand the material or just don’t understand the requirements of assignments and what is expected of them in class.

Curriculum that is state-mandated often focuses on the content of the class and is severely lacking in emotional lessons with regard to friendships and students’ feelings as they navigate their own social lives.

I’ve spent plenty of time in teachers’ classrooms in high school and offices in college chatting about a wide variety of events and homework assignments, which is not an uncommon experience. Many districts work in social-emotional learning as a requirement, which can help a surprising amount for the entire community. 

However, often the public schooling system ends up being an endless loop of struggles for teachers, parents, students and administrators. When one group is struggling, so is everyone else. With that said, the public education system has undergone very few changes over the years to fix the issues they are running into.

However, there are brilliant teachers in the world who have found beautiful ways to work around these rules. Think of your favorite teacher(s) and know that they are the brilliant teachers who found how to beat the wide variety of issues in the public school system so that students have a significantly positive interaction with learning. 

I am thoroughly enjoying the classes I’m in and learning so much. I am, once again, thankful to have had the opportunity to have done New Visions Education Academy, which hooked me onto something I’ve always enjoyed but didn’t recognize as a part of the teaching profession.

I find it so comforting to be extremely lucky to know what I want to do when I get a “big girl” job in the future. I am so appreciative to be in the education classes I’m in currently, learning so much more about the profession I have already fallen in love with.

Ella is a new writer/member of the St. Bonaventure Her Campus Chapter. She plans on writing pieces that cover music, literature, TV and Movies, and the happenings of her life here at SBU. Ella is a sophomore Adolescent Education Major with a concentration in English. She enjoyed doing New Visions Education during her senior year of high school, which gave her a small experience of observing middle and high school classrooms. She has enjoyed exploring all of the clubs and opportunities SBU has to offer, and continues to do so by joining Her Campus, volunteering at the SPCA, and as a member of the Bonaventure Education Association (BEA). Outside of classes and Her Campus, Ella can be found studying, reading, or outside soaking up the sun (whenever it’s an option to “photosynthesize”). Ella also loves chatting with friends as a part of her not-so-quick study breaks.