12 Critical Issues Facing Education in

2020
By Peter DeWitt on December 15, 2019 7:30 AM

Education has many critical issues; although if you watch the nightly news or 24/7 news
channels, you will most likely see very little when it comes to education. Our political
climate has taken over the news, and it seems as though education once again takes a
back seat to important political events as well as salacious stories about reality-
television stars. It sometimes make me wonder how much education is valued?

Every year around this time, I highlight some critical issues facing education. It's not that
I am trying to rush the holiday season by posting it well before the 1st of the new year.
It's actually that I believe we should have a critical look at the issues we face in
education, and create some dialogue and action around these issues, and talk about
them sooner than later. 

Clearly, the fact that we are entering into 2020 means we need to look at some of these
issues with hindsight because we have seen them before. Have the issues of the past
changed or do they continue to impact our lives? As with any list, you will notice one
missing that you believe should be added. Please feel free to use social media or the
comment box at the end of this blog to add the ones you believe should be there. 
12 Issues Facing Education
These issues are not ranked in order of importance. I actually developed a list of about
20 critical issues but wanted to narrow it down to 12. They range from issues that
impact our lives in negative ways to issues that impact our lives in positive ways, and I
wanted to provide a list of issues I feel educators will believe are in their control. 

I have spent the better part of 2019 on the road traveling across the U.S., Canada,
Europe, the U.K., and Australia. The issues that are highlighted below have come up in
most of those countries, but they will be particularly important for those of us living in the
U.S. There are a couple that seem to be specifically a U.S. issue, and that will be
obvious to you when you see them. 

Health & Wellness - Research shows that many of our students are stressed out,
anxiety-filled, and at their breaking point. Teachers and leaders are experiencing those
same issues. Whether it's due to social media, being overscheduled, or the impact of
high-stakes testing and pressure to perform, this needs to be the year where
mindfulness becomes even more important than it was in 2019. Whether it's using
mindfulness apps and programs or the implementation of double recess in elementary
school and frequent brain beaks throughout the day, it's time schools are given the
autonomy to help students find more balance. 

Literacy - We have too many students not reading with proficiency, and therefore, at
risk of missing out on the opportunity to reach their full potential. For decades there
have been debates about whole language and phonics while our students still lag
behind. It's time to put a deep focus on teaching literacy with a balanced approach. 

School Leadership - Many school leaders enter into the position with high hopes of
having a deep impact but are not always prepared for what they find. School leadership
has the potential to be awesome. And when I mention school leadership, I am also
referring to department chairs, PLC leads, or grade-level leaders. Unfortunately, not all
leaders feel prepared for the position. Leadership is about understanding how to get
people to work together, having a deep understanding of learning, and building the
capacity of everyone around them. This means that university programs, feeder
programs, and present leaders who coach those who want to be leaders, need to find
ways to expose potential leaders to all of the goodness, as well as the hardships, that
come with the position. 

Our Perception of Students - For the last year I have been involved in some
interesting dialogue in schools. One of the areas of concern is the perception educators
(i.e. leaders, teachers, etc.) have of their students. Sometimes we lower our
expectations of students because of the background they come from, and other times
we hold unreachable expectations because we believe our students are too coddled.
And even worse, I have heard educators talk about certain students in very negative
ways, with a clear bias that must get in the way of how they teach those students. Let
2020 be a year when we focus on our perception of students and address those biases
that may bleed into our teaching and leading.  

Cultures of Equity - I learned a long time ago that the history I learned about in my K-
12 education was a white-washed version of it all. There is more than one side to those
stories, and we need all of them for a deeper understanding of the world. Read this
powerful guest blog by Michael Fullan and John Malloy for a deeper look into cultures
of equity. 

Additionally, we have an achievement gap with some marginalized populations (i.e.,

African American boys), and have other marginalized populations (i.e., LGBTQ) who do
not feel safe in school. Isn't school supposed to be a safe place where every student
reaches their full potential? 

Students and the schools they attend need to be provided with equitable resources, and
we know that is not happening yet. My go-to resource is always Rethinking Schools. 

District Office/Building-Level Relationships - There are too many school districts

with a major disconnection between the district office and building level leaders. 2020
needs to be the year when more district offices find a balance between the top-down
initaitives that take place, and creating more space to engage in dialogue with building
leaders and teachers. School districts will likely never improve if people are constantly
told what to do and not given the opportunity to share the creative side that probably got
them hired in the first place. 
Politics - It's an election year. Get ready for the wave of everything that comes with it.
Negative campaigns and bad behavior by adults at the same time we tell students to be
respectful to each other. It's important for us to open up this dialogue in our classrooms,
and talk about how to respectfully agree or disagree. Additionally, we have to wonder
how the campaigns and ultimate presidential decision will impact education because the
last few education secretaries have not given us all that much to cheer about.  

Our Perception of Teachers - Over the last few decades there has been a concerted
effort to make teachers look as though they chose teaching because they could not do
anything else. Whether it be in political rhetoric or through the media and television
programs, our dialogue has not been kind, and it has led to a negative perception of
teachers. This rhetoric has not only been harmful to school climates, it has turned some
teachers into passive participants in their own profession. Teachers are educated,
hardworking professionals who are trying to help meet the academic and social-
emotional needs of their students, which is not always easy.  

Vaping - Many of the middle and high schools in the U.S. that I am working with are
experiencing too many students who vape, and some of those students are doing it in
class. In fact, this NBC story shows that there has been a major spike in the use of
vaping among adolescents. Additionally This story shows that vaping is a major
health crisis, and it will take parents, schools, and society to put a dent in it. 

Time on Task vs. Student Engagement - For too long we have agreed upon words
like "Time on task," which often equates to students being passive in their own learning.
It's time we focus on student engagement, which allows us to go from surface to deep
level learning and on to transfer level learning. It also helps balance the power in the
room between adults and students. 

Teachers With guns - I need to be honest with you; this one was not easy to add to the
list, and it is very much a U.S. issue. I recently saw this story on NBC Nightly
News with Lester Holt that focused on teachers in Utah being trained to shoot guns in
case of an active shooter in their school. This is a story that we will see more of in
2020. 
Climate Change - Whether it's because they were inspired by Greta Thunberg (Time
Person of the Year) or the years of hearing about climate change in school and at
home, young people will continue to rise up and make climate change a critical issue in
2020. We saw thousands of students strike this year and that will surely rise after
Thunberg's latest recognition.  

In the End
It's always interesting to reflect on the year and begin compiling a list of critical issues. I
know it can be daunting to look at, and begin to see where we fit into all of this, but I
have always believed that education is about taking on some of this crucial issues and
turning them around to make them better. Anyone who gets into teaching needs to
believe that they can improve the educational experience for their students, and these
are just a few places to start. 

For a further explanation, check out Peter's YouTube video vlog on the topic. 

https://blogs.edweek.org/edweek/finding_common_ground/2019/12/12_critical_issues_facing_educati
on_in_2020.html

Peter DeWitt, Ed.D. is the author of several books including Coach It Further:

Using the Art of Coaching to Improve School Leadership (Corwin Press. 2018),
and Instructional Leadership: Creating Practice Out Of Theory (Corwin Press.
2020). Connect with him on Twitter, Instagram or through his YouTube station.