Barna Group - Schools in Crisis: They Need Your Help (Whether You Have Kids or Not)

ZONDERVAN

Schools in Crisis

Copyright 2013 by Barna Group

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ISBN 978-0-310-43322-4 (softcover)

EPub Edition DECEMBER, 2013: ISBN 978-0-310-43346-0

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Cover design and interior graphics: Amy Duty

Interior design: Kate Mulvaney

Printed in the United States of America

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CONTENTS

BY BARNA GROUP

BY NICOLE BAKER FULGHAM

BY KRISTINE SOMERS AND JEFF MARTIN

These days, you probably find yourself with less time than ever.

Everything seems like its moving at a faster pace except your ability to keep up.

Somehow, you are weighed down with more obligations than you have ever had before.

Life feels more complicated. More complex.

If youre like most people, you probably have lots of questions about how to live a life that matters. You feel as though you have more to learn than can possibly be learned. But with smaller chunks of time and more sources of information than ever before, where can you turn for real insight and livable wisdom?

Barna Group has produced this series to examine the complicated issues of life and to help you live more meaningfully. We call it FRAMES like a good set of eyeglasses that help you see the world more clearly... or a work of art perfectly hung that invites you to look more closely... or a buildings skeleton, the part that is most essential to its structure.

The FRAMES Season 1 collection provides thoughtful and concise, data-driven and visually appealing insights for anyone who wants a more faith-driven and fulfilling life. In each FRAME we couple new cultural analysis from our team at Barna with an essay from leading voices in the field, providing information and ideas for you to digest in a more easily consumed number of words.

After all, its a fast-paced world, full of words and images vying for your attention. Most of us have a number of half-read or read someday books on our shelves. But each FRAME aims to give you the essential information and real-life application behind one of todays most crucial trends in less than one-quarter the length of most books. These are big ideas in small books designed so you truly can read less but know more. And the infographics and ideas in this FRAME are intended for share-ability. So read it, then find someone to frame with these ideas, and keep the conversation going (see Share This Frame on ).

Furthermore, each FRAME brings a distinctly Christian point of view to todays trends. In times of uncertainty, people look for guides. And we believe the Christian community is trying to make sense of the dramatic social changes happening around us.

Over the past thirty years, Barna Group has built a reputation as a trusted analyst of religion and culture. We offer cultural discernment for the Christian community by thoughtful analysts who care enough to tell the truth about whats really happening in todays society.

So sit back, but not for long. With FRAMES we invite you to read less and know more.

DAVID KINNAMAN

FRAMES, executive producer

president / Barna Group

ROXANNE STONE

FRAMES, general editor

vice president / Barna Group

Learn more at www.barnaframes.com.

When you think of public education today, what are some of the main concerns you have?

What are some of the major needs of public schools in your area?

Do you feel equipped to help meet the needs of your local public school?

How do you think churches should (or shouldnt) get involved in helping public schools?

Who are some children you know in public schools (besides your own if you have children)? What is their school experience like?

When you think about reform in public schools, do you feel hopeful or hopeless? Why do you feel that way?

Would you say helping public schools is a social justice issue for churches? Why or why not?

In what ways do you think churches could help public schools? Long-term reform? Practical, everyday actions? Prayer and spiritual advocacy?

Its a familiar scene: Children skipping to school to start the school year with new clothes, backpacks brimming with supplies, and minds occupied with the question, What will I be when I grow up?

But children arent the only ones mulling over questions about the future. The debate continues over the future of public education in the United States. Everyone has an opinion and (whether or not they realize it) a stake in the outcome from parents and teachers to politicians and students.

For the last few years, our team at Barna Group has been studying issues related to education. We have been working for various leaders and organizations some groups are recognizable to the general public, others not as much. This FRAME provides an overview of the challenges and opportunities related to public schools in the United States giving a survey of the issues, a context for those facts, and a direction to pursue.

Armchair Educators

If you follow sports at all, maybe youre familiar with the phrase armchair quarterbacks. You can picture these folks: sitting at home, away from the hard-hitting action, resting comfortably in their recliners, barking their unsolicited opinions into the ether. At the same time, the players those literally in the game are making the actual heat-of-the-moment choices and taking real hits.