Changing Demographics Essay

New demographic changes, economic globalization, high levels of workforce automation, and pressing health and security issues are intertwined instruments that seem to be changing the global polity. A high level of immigration into countries with a relatively stable economy has tremendous impacts on every facet of the host community. America has thus gradually become much more diverse and multiethnic than it was in past decades. The impacts of changing demographics also affect the education sector. In most American elementary schools, there have been tremendous changes from what was the usual status quo many decades ago. Changing demographics in elementary schools can have both many positive and many negative effects. The positive effects are desired, cherished and encouraged while the negative ones are regrettably unfortunate and measures should be put in place to reduce their severity. With the increasingly multi ethnic nature of elementary schools, the students are able to mingle with students from entirely different backgrounds and ethnic affiliations. This has the advantage of allowing intercultural interactions among students of various ethnic backgrounds. Difficult actions like the acquisition of foreign languages and cuisine are easily achieved. There are also many reasons to redesign our elementary schools so that they are more international in character. Part of the redesign process is focused on making it easier for foreign students to be fully integrated into the communities surrounding the schools. Since elementary schools currently have services that reaching far beyond their immediate geographical locality, many types of support services are being put together to help international students. The management and the faculty of many elementary schools are being forced to revise their curriculums with the aims of internationalizing them. This include the introduction of new foreign languages into the curriculum. It is now becoming very popular to see elementary schools teach Chinese and Arabic along with the more traditional French and Spanish. The curriculums that are inspired by changing demographics are set to make the students become more successful global citizens with adequate information about the world, its people and their traditions. The elementary school teaching profession should become more adept at teaching students of different backgrounds. This will involve professionalism and updated skills on the part of the teachers. Thus, teachers are being forced to go for re-training to be able to meet up with the millennial challenge of teaching elementary students. This is a good omen for the teachers and the schools in general because it could be totally absurd to use ancient teaching methods meant for Alaska born and based students in a class with mixed ethnicity. Due to the NCLB Act, the local educational bodies are now compelled to raise the standards of education in the various elementary schools to meet up with expectations of the parents that are bringing their children to the school. Some ethnic groups are considered to be protected minorities, and a school could face sanctions if it fails to achieve adequate performance among these groups. Studies have shown that quest for quality education is one of the driving forces in global migration. Most of the schools are now raising their standards to complete for the enrollment of students in the schools. The improved standard of education is also making it possible for investments in elementary education to be lucrative. With more foreign students admitted, more funds are being generated. This however, is a disadvantage on the side of the students both local residents and foreign that involved often have to pay exorbitant fees for the education. Like the wind, changing demographics blow students about. Sometimes exceptionally brilliant students are coughed in the wind. If blown to the right school, the skills, talents and abilities of such students could be discovered, polished and utilized to the fullest potential. Some skills are priceless in terms of the prestige that is bestowed on the students, the school and the society. A lot has been said in the positive ways that demographic changes have affected and are currently affecting elementary schools. It would be worthy be also note the problems that changing demographics can bring to the elementary schools. According to recent studies, a high influx of foreign students into elementary schools has caused an increase in the rate of ethnic intolerance. This is also evident in middle and high schools. More children are having divided feelings about belonging to the school over time. It is common to see students in their own ethnic groups rather than as a class. They tend to associate only with students for same background while these that are not are liberated and ostracized. The usual tradition of referring to the schools as a community may seem to have been long lost. The variable changes in the education system have greatly increased the worries of some students about their academic performance. Average students may be seen struggling to be in tune with the rhythm. This may be occurring because of the limitations of language barrier and totally different education methods that may lead to problems for them in class. An intense cloud of insecurity also seems to have enveloped the schools. Students of a particular background may feel threatened by students of other backgrounds. Children from Arabic backgrounds may be seen as potential terrorists. There is also a fear students being infected by an unknown disease that was carried by foreign students. In some countries of the world, most citizens are carriers of some types of parasites and possibly strange diseases or diseases such as tuberculosis. When children from that type of background mix with students with whom they don’t share close ties with, there is the possibility of them spreading communicable diseases. Competition for the limited available space in the elementary schools which are near by s is also creating problems when more students apply to schools, and various measures are employed to cut down the size. These can include exorbitant fees and overstressing the available academic resources. Being social with other people is the desire of must individuals. While having people thought of as strangers in one’s territory may bring suspicions, alienation should never be an option. Children at a delicate stage in their life deserve to be brought up in a loving and severe community and the elementary schools should not be expected to be failing in the provision of these. When the influx of immigrants seems to be going at a rate of is alarming, adjustment may be very difficult. The education system is expected to maintain standardized curriculums and it is expected to create a proper community that could facilitate qualitative education. Students in elementary schools deserve to be well educated and their satisfaction should not be taken for granted at the expense of anybody; everybody should be satisfied. Proper legislation should be put in place to check migration and adequate protection should be given so that elementary schools will not be caught unaware when bad wind blows!