After the awaited results of the 2020 US election, it was clear in the projected winning that the Biden-Harris duo had made its way to the office of the President and Vice President of the US, respectively. Being the oldest President ever and the first woman to be elected Vice-President in the history of the US; they were flooded with expected felicitations. 

Trump had 36% educators in his support according to an EdWeek survey conducted during October 2019 whereas Biden has been said to have received six times more funding from the educators than Trump did- according to an analysis from late September conducted by the Center for Responsive Politics.

All in all, the American Education System has high hopes from Joe Biden after his exhaustive campaigning for the reformation of the K-12 issues. The Biden-Harris duo is expected to support public schools and work to address systemic issues in education.

During his campaign, Biden seemed skeptical about the accountability of the charter schools. Charter schools, in North America, are public schools established from the funding received from parents, teachers and communities after signing a certain legal charter with the government. Even after this statement, the president and CEO of the National Alliance for Public Charter Schools, Nina Rees, congratulated Biden on his win.

The K-12 is an abbreviation for Kindergarten till grade 12 and there are challenges that need to be immediately resolved. The first being a lack of opportunities in authentic learning. This refers to learning activities focused on real-life challenges, engaging in projects that aid in civic learning by involving students in community work. It also seeks the common interest of students to make learning fun.

The next on the list is supporting students’ non-cognitive and social-emotional skill development. Non-cognitive qualities pertain to the social behavior of a person. It is independent of the school curriculum.

University of Chicago places, in its research, the following character-building traits in non-cognitive skills - academic behaviors, academic perseverance, academic mindsets, learning strategies, and social skills. In common words it can be translated as persistence, self-discipline, focus, confidence, teamwork, organization, seeking help, and staying on task.

Fostering deeper learning is another K-12 issue that needs an address. The American education system should be molded to foster information and technological literacy to make their young adults conversant with the current ways of the world and keep them updated with the recent changes in the world economy as well. This needs greater effort on the teacher’s part to push the boundaries of the regular classroom beyond the four walls. 

America needs a skilled workforce and qualified graduates with the ability to solve real-world math problems. This needs to be addressed at the school-level where children do not learn equations just for the sake of it but also learn the logic behind their application so that they are actively participating in STEM (Science, Technology, Engineering and Mathematics) subjects. 

The National Center for Learning Disabilities said the Biden administration must immediately focus on addressing how education has been disrupted and students hurt by the coronavirus pandemic. Apart from the aforementioned issues, the Biden-Harris duo will also need to look to the social-emotional learning of the school students so that they can explore their changing environment, learn and develop relationships.

The USA has its eyes set on what Joe Biden and Kamala Harris have to offer to the children of America- the future of America.