The John H. Loundry Distinguished Lecture Series on American Education brought Dana Rickman to speak Thursday, Feb. 6 about the future of education and the visions of hope for future educators and students in K-12 schools today.
Rickman used the series to encourage the crowd of future educators to always work to improve the schools they are placed in so the students have a better future.
“American public schools are in jeopardy,” Rickman said.
Rickman continued to talk about hope for the future by telling the audience that their story and personal testimony matter to better approach students in the future.
While this hope is not present in every school in Georgia, Rickman’s success for all students statewide is very present in her speech through the “Top Ten Issues to Watch in 2024 by “Securing Georgia’s Future: Rediscovering the Purpose of Public Education”. These issues are ways that teachers can work to improve the environment for their students.
Rickman promotes hope while also talking about the “Top Ten Issues to Watch in 2024” which is provided by Georgia Partnership For Excellence in Education. The top ten issues are presented to promote the future success of K-12 education in Georgia.
Some of those issues are Resetting the Public Discourse: Rising Above Rhetoric and Division, Literacy: Building a Strong Foundation, Student Mental Health: Adopting a Whole-Community Approach, Access to Quality Childcare: Removing Workforce Barriers and Career Pathways: A Demand-Driven Approach.
“I would say think about what it is you really love you know even if it’s I love tinkering, or I love poetry you know something I really love, and figure out where you see that in school,” Rickman said.
To find something you love in school is to discover the hope of your personal future education. This is established and heavily encouraged once a student seeks out a teacher or friend who has the same passions.
Rickman’s speech encouraged future educators in the crowd.
“I think my biggest desire is to help students,” said Hannah Salter, a senior early education major. “I’ve always struggled with academics and all that it entails, and understanding that all students need help, and my desire is to know that each student is different and needs different accommodations just as I did when I had SLD, which is a Specific Learning Disability.”
Knowing that future educators of GCSU had the opportunity to sit in on Rickman’s lecture better prepares them for future students and abilities to encourage and promote passions in students’ hearts is the important impact they know they will have.
Rickman uses statistics to support that public education is headed in the wrong direction based on the population. Some of the statistics that she shared were that 16% of adults expressed that education was going in the right direction, 32% were not sure, and 51% said that public education was going in the wrong direction.
“A desire for future education for me is advocacy for children, I feel in the recent childhood climate of education there isn’t enough advocacy for children,” said Carson Holtke, a senior early education major.
Rickman hopes that future educators and their communities come together to advocate for students who are receiving improper education.
The role of future educators, parents, siblings or any family member that is related to a student is to speak up for the education that exists today in hopes to keep students engaged.
