Caring for the Educational Resources for Schools

Schools make a home for learners and educators.  It’s the physical channel for integrating interactive approaches, as well as an embodiment of dreams taking into shape with the knowledge, skill, and competency acquired.

Apart from the inclusion of educators and mobile facilities in the collective list of educational resources for schools, the edifice itself counts as another resource.  Its inclusion is an important fact and a common favourite in terms of reminders.

While some are content to spread the reminders with verbal conveyance, most opt to have it scribbled into signs and posted everywhere.  And to reinforce the power of signs, a form of punishments is established.  Hence, educational resources for schools are discouraged to be vandalised, improperly used, or wilfully be damaged.

Apart from proffering a set of identifiable reminders and negative reinforcements, every education stakeholder is cognisant of the multiple functions a school edifice is designed to meet.  For instance, at times of calamity, the edifice serves to provide a temporary shelter.  Its safety standards, which usually require for it to be located at the ‘safest’ zone, make it a good recourse for emergencies.

Overall, the relevance of all educational resources for schools, apart from the edifice, is beyond evident.  Consequently, the tireless effort done to take good care of it is necessary.  Deterioration is practically unavoidable, yet, slowing up its process is an effective means.  School administrators should never wear themselves out from all necessary inventories, and not wait to make any foreseen resource damage get any worse, or costlier.       

Importantly, every stakeholder should treat educational resources with care – as if it is their own.  If only such sense of possession guarantee the stakeholders’ full participation, then so be it.  Communication is also a key to tying every effort tight, and so should be shouldered by everyone.

On Addressing Educational Resources for Schools

It is undeniable that schools are the centre of the learning process for young and old people alike. In fact, schools have been responsible for gradually transforming a simple and wimpy kid into a skilful and knowledgeable field expert. From primary schools to universities, schools have been the responsible institutions for formal learning. These responsibilities do not come without a cost, since schools also have to pay its teachers and other personnel, maintain their campuses and enact certain educational programs. To do these things, there should be more than enough educational resources for schools.

Schools function as organisation that aims to instil wisdom into their students. Just as the human body cannot properly move without energy derived from food, a school cannot properly perform its academic functions without resources derived from funds. Educational resources for schools could be better addressed if they have enough funds to acquire assets and pay liabilities.

Most national governments have programs to expedite education in their respective territories. Many of these political governments have made it a point to enable primary and secondary education become free and accessible to all children. According to International Covenant on Economic, Social and Cultural Rights, its signatories should make primary education compulsory and available free to all, and achieve the progressive introduction of free education for secondary levels. Thus, many countries have established and are establishing state-funded schools designed to cater to the educational needs of all children in their respective ages. The funds allocated to schools are typically channelled through the education ministry or department. These funds allow administrators to acquire necessary educational resources for schools.

Schools should not be forsaken to the point that they are deprived of educational resources. However, through the efforts of many education stakeholders, these schools receive more or less ample financial help.

Counting on Educational Resources for Schools

To facilitate education, there’d be a need for participation from at least two parties: the teacher and students. They are the prime movers of educational progress and the rest of the level relies in their efforts and constant hard work. However, everyone is cognisant that to fully engage learning, these two would not suffice. Instead, something facilitative, supportive, and interventionist has to be put in place and this are the educational resources for schools.

Already identified is one aspect of educational resources – the teachers. This aspect is also known as the human resources of the educational institution. As is in every institution, human resources are invariably considered to be one of the most important assets. And for these educational resources for schools to be fully optimised, it is vital that they are qualified through both licensure and passion to shape the students’ present and future.

Other educational resources for schools should include material resource like reference books or illustrated books; writing paraphernalia like paper, pens, pencils, whiteboards, chalkboards, markers, coloured chalks, or crayons; technological materials like those in chemistry or biology laboratories and computer and internet as well. Interestingly, of all educational resources, this one has grown in astute functions and variation – thanks to the overbearing revolution in technology.

Last, but not the least, in the educational resources’ list is the facilitating equipment and environment. This resource covers the comfort aspect of students and teachers. Though at the past, this resource is plainly judged to be of least importance, in the present, placement of such equipment and maintenance of the ideal environment is a set imperative. This development has been due to recent studies supporting the relevance of this resource, particularly in the health (e.g., clean comfort rooms) and active simulation of the learning process (e.g., ample ventilation and lighting).

Obtaining Educational Resources for Schools

Schools are considered as the centre and the most conducive venue for expending the formal learning process called education. Without schools, the masses would not have access to acquire knowledge, skills and values that could shape them into mature individuals capable of ensuring a bright future. Without schools, children and young adults would not have an opportunity to further hone their God-given abilities and become a vital part of the human society. Acknowledging the role that these academic institutions play, many government and even private personas have lobbied for providing the much needed educational resources for schools.

Educational resources in public universities and colleges, as well as primary and secondary schools are usually provided mostly by the funds generated from the taxes paid by a country’s citizens. Most countries around the world set apart a chunk from their national budget to fund the educational needs of their constituents. Bulk of the educational funds goes to finance and provide the educational resources for schools recognized by that country’s education ministry or department. The funds undergo a certain budgetary process that ensures that they are only used for the purpose of expediting education.

Private primary and secondary schools, universities and colleges are often better funded that their public counterparts. They financially backed by private investors whose main aim is to gain profit from their ventures. Educational resources for schools like these are much easier to obtain, since private investors typically do not like walking on a red tape and they are more than willing to invest into something profitable. Despite their aim, they have been doing a good job in expediting the educational process.

Without finances, schools are likely to collapse. If that happens, one of the pillars of the society will also collapse. Thankfully, there are always available funds all around.

Main sources of educational resources

The term “resources” is generally defined materials and any other assets that could be transformed to become a source of benefits. In the world of imparting knowledge and skills, educational resources are very essential. These resources expedite the learning process in schools, and they facilitate the flow of knowledge and skills from one to another. Thus, providing ample educational resources for schools should of the utmost importance to educators and other education stakeholders.

There are many ways that educational resources for schools could be provided. The most common way is through the local and national governments. Most national governments allot a large chunk of their national budgets for education. These governments are usually mandated by their constitution to guarantee the rights of the every person to gain equal access to quality education. Thus, a huge amount of money is spent by national governments to enforce this legal guarantee. A large part of the education budget is often spent on teachers’ salaries, construction and maintenance of school building and purchase of educational equipment as well as on other academic activities. However, only public schools get a large part of the national education budget, with some private schools getting a small chunk of the money pie.

Educational resources for schools could also be provided by the private sector. There are many places in which help from private sectors or even capitalists are need in order to expedite the education process in the location. The national government may have enough funding only to maintain a few public schools, but not enough to cover all students. As a result, private schools have been proliferating around the world. These schools could offer and provide better equipment and facilities better than public schools. But their high rates are sometimes too high for poor people to afford.

Two Important Elements for Quality Education in Schools

Providing quality education for persons who want to acquire certain knowledge and skills is the main purpose of schools. For a school to be more effective in providing quality education, two things are primarily needed – manpower and resources. Finding the right manpower and educational resources for schools should be the main focus of education administrators. Without the right manpower and educational resources for schools, the chances that their main purpose would be defeated is very high.

Manpower could also refer to human resources, which is composed of individuals qualified to perform a certain job. The manpower of a school includes teachers, administrators and other academic personnel. Given the primary role to educate to students are the teachers, which also refer to instructors, professors and lecturers. They are in the frontline of the academic manpower, in charge of imparting knowledge, wisdom or skills. Teachers are usually chosen based on their specialty. Seldom are teachers who specialize in a variety of subjects. Although most teachers, given their training, could teach other subjects with the right materials and tools, they are more effective if they focus on teaching what they know best. An English teacher should focus teaching English while a History professor should only concentrate imparting historical knowledge. 

For primary and secondary education, teachers are often required to get a license to teach. This would ensure that these teachers know what to do and what to teach. For college and graduate schools, a person’s educational background should be enough to determine whether he is qualified to teach.

Educational resources are as much as important as the manpower. Without these educational resources, it would be difficult for teachers to impart their knowledge, wisdom and skills. Educational resources for schools include but not limited to books, classroom and teaching supplies and other educational equipment.

Available Educational Resources for Schools in The Elementary Levels

         In the United States, there are many educational resources for schools in the primary or elementary levels that are available for the teachers who would like to use educational resources from within and outside their respective elementary schools. An elementary school teacher who is new in his teaching job should be reminded that there are various available educational resources in the school that he could use for educating and teaching his students. The teacher should optimise and maximise the use of the school's available educational resources for educating and teaching his students because he would be able to find out if the intended purpose and goals for the use of those resources would be met or fulfilled.

         However, the elementary school teacher should be reminded that he should not only wholly depend on the educational resources for schools in the elementary levels that are recommended by the local or state education authorities or agencies. There are various Internet websites that provide online educational resources that are available for free downloading so that the teacher could use and apply them in educating and teaching his students. Some of the websites that provide free educational resources are funded and operated by non-profit organisations or private foundations, and the other websites are supported by local, state or federal government agencies. The websites that provide free educational resources cover academic areas of study in arts and music, mathematics, sciences, language arts, and world studies and history.

         The elementary school teacher should also remember that he should not make a choice in choosing between the educational resources for schools in the elementary levels that are recommended by education authorities, or the online educational resources that could be obtained for free from the Internet. The teacher could use the educational resources from his school and from the online sources so that he could teach his student in the best possible way.