by Dennis Liu

Created on: January 17, 2010

It is 8:00 am in the morning, and John is running late for his class.  As he enters the classroom, he notices the old broken down desks that were promised to be replaced months ago.  He also sees the teacher constantly focusing on other students disrupting the classroom instead of teaching the material.  While sitting down, John thinks to himself, “why am I even in school?  I could be out there selling some dope and making some money.”   Students like John experience a similar scenario every day in various parts of the country and this shows the true importance of environment for a student's success.  Having adequate facilities, supportive parents, and a well-managed classroom environment is all part of the importance of the student’s success.

It is almost undisputed that a good environment leads to a student's success, but how much of the environment is under the educator's control is in question.  In the scenario stated earlier, it is beyond the teacher's control of having broken down desks, yet the teacher should also have the ability to manage his students.  However, recent legislations regarding education, such as, No Child Left Behind (NCLB), the educator is given the full responsibility of maintaining the semi-perfect environment for the student's success.  However, does it sound reasonable to assume that the teacher can maintain the proper environment without the adequate facilities?  The answer is obvious.  No student can be productive with broken down desks, or a lack of textbooks.  This leads to the next point of how supportive parents can also help the student's success.

A school cannot do much if it does not have the funds to get new desks and new books, but everyone can agree that the school at one time did have the adequate facilities for a school environment that was conducive.  However, because of a lack of parental support, many educators could not enforce a well-managed classroom environment as well as maintaining the adequate facilities.  Therefore, parents and educators must constantly keep an open line of communication to maintain the proper facilities for the necessary classroom environment.   This would definitely help managing the classroom for the teacher much easier, but not eliminating the challenge.

 Developing a good and productive teaching training program is necessary for the teacher to create and maintain the classroom environment where the student can succeed.  There are many states that a well developed curriculum for training new teachers.  However, often many educators agree that education theories are rarely applicable in real-life situations.   Because education theories does not factor in many environmental factors that are beyond the control of the educator.   Therefore, a curriculum that is based more from observation and experiences of veteran teachers would be more suitable than textbook educational theories.

Having the adequate classroom facilities, parental support, and sufficiently trained teachers can all lead to a classroom environment that could lead to a student's success.   Of course, it is very difficult or nearly impossible to acquire the perfect environment for a student, yet through communication and diligence, a student can be successful.  Moreover, John may not be thinking about selling dope if the teacher managed the class, the school having adequate desks, and skipping school.  John would more likely focus on his own education and future, leading to a better chance of success.

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