I believe one of the most important issues facing educators today is the achievement gap and the challenge of meeting the needs of struggling students, especially when resources are limited. Time and economic limitations force educators to make difficult choices about the best way to educate classes of students with wide varieties of ability levels. I believe the best way to face this challenge is to differentiate instruction and allow opportunities for students to demonstrate their learning in different ways. Educators must seek out professional development opportunities as well to better understand the needs of struggling students. I believe the future implementation of RTI will assist teachers in identify individual students’ needs and in differentiating instruction based on these needs.
Another issue I believe educators are faced with today and will continue to be faced with in the future is the challenge of familiarizing themselves with new instructional technologies as they develop. Teachers must adapt their teaching styles and be willing to use these technologies within the classroom to better engage a student population that is increasingly technologically savvy.
