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America's broken education system
American education
American education
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The American Education System & the Harsh Reality There is not a single person that has been to a school in the United States, whether public or private, that has not encountered at least one of the many cracks in this imperfect system of educating future generations. Hereafter I will lay before my readers some of these cracks that many students have fallen into, and in some cases propose possible common-sense solutions to make the lives of students and their teachers easier in regards to education. Many teachers push their students to find their own identities, to defy the expectations and stereotypes that force them into molds. Despite the push for individuality, the system itself forces its students into the molds they are told to defy.
Chris Hedges, the author of the article “Why the United States is Destroying Its Education System” attempts to persuade his audience to agree with his argument through the use of rhetoric. In this text critique, I will thoroughly analyze the effectiveness of his article by highlighting important premises, tropes, ideographs, and narratives. He claims that the United States’ education system is on a downward spiral due to education reform and the influence of corporate power.
From the beginning of high school, students strap on their seatbelts and prepare for one of the most vigorous races of their lives – becoming successful. With the rare occurrence of a break, kids are expected to keep on driving as fast and as powerfully as they can in order to get into a “great” college, which would be followed by graduate school and then an actual job that would make a lot of money. In American society, common values include working hard, determination, and being so productive that free time is not even a question. However, this philosophy is taking a major toll on American college and high school students. For at least 40 years, America’s future has been steadily growing unmotivated, tired, and hopeless due to the overemphasis on performing well in school. This phenomenon is appropriately expounded in William Zinsser’s “College Pressures”, which takes a look at the top four sources of tension that cause these feelings of dejection and agitation. After reading this article, I came up with a few solutions to this national problem. It is time to switch the harsh, over-encouraging green light of education to a comfortable yellow one. In order to make this ideal transition, directors of education across the country need to primarily reduce the amount of out-of-class assignments, lighten the grading system, and incorporate days in the school year that allow students to express their thoughts about school and provide useful feedback.
The greatest country in the world still has problems evenly distributing education to its youth. The articles I have read for this unit have a common theme regarding our education system. The authors illustrate to the reader about the struggles in America concerning how we obtain and education. Oppression, politics, racism, and socioeconomic status are a few examples of what is wrong with our country and its means of delivering a fair education to all Americans.
The author Jamaica Kincaid, through this passage from Annie John, provides a commentary on the lack of accounting for the individuality of students in the educational system. Each student is different: learning, growing, and developing as an individual at their own rates. As this essay demonstrates, Kincaid argues that the educational system should account for this individuality and be wary of forcing students into one specific role or experience.
The human mind is perhaps the greatest object on the earth, animate or inanimate, but without the proper training, the mind is a relatively useless tool. Through the development of formal education systems, humans as a whole have tried to ensure the training of all minds so as to continue prosperity for the world. Most of the time, though, education systems do not realize the harm they are doing to developing minds and the subsequent negative consequences. Among the largest of these inadequate education systems is the American primary schooling system. The American education system is in fact failing; it continues to deplete children of their natural creativity and thirst for knowledge while preaching conformity, which in turn creates an ill-prepared and incompetent public.
The United States of America has placed low on the educational ladder throughout the years. The cause of such a low ranking is due to such heavy emphasis on standardized testing and not individual student achievement. Although the United States uses standardized testing as a crutch, it is not an effective measure of a student’s ability, a teacher’s competency, or a school’s proficiency.
Here in America every single child is sent to school starting at the age of five years old for kindergarten, and sometimes as early as two years old for pre-school and continue on to get an education late into their twenties, some even going on to take classes the rest of their lives. Education in America is something that is readily available and even is required by law, but taken for granted by many children. On flip side third world countries often do not have schools or public education mandated by government, and most times it is not even available when most children yearn for it. Education is taken for granted in America, and in third world countries where education is almost completely absent something can be learned from their determination to further their knowledge.
In this paper I will present the numerous theories built around the process of establishing one’s identity and provide examples of how this identity shapes a students involvement and actions while in school. I will also reflect on the importance for systems that foster identity formation that is equal for both inner-city and suburban children. It is crucial to the success of America’s schools to understand that a mixture of cultures creates a mixture of identi...
“If you would just get up and teach them instead of handing them a packet. There’s kids in here that don’t learn like that. They need to learn face to face. I’m telling you what you need to do. You can’t expect a kid to change if all you do is just tell ‘em.” Texas student, Jeff Bliss, decided to take a stand against the lack of teaching going on in his class (Broderick).
After reading Joel Spring?s book, and reflecting on some of the issues facing our schools, it is apparent that our educational system requires much attention among our nation?s leaders. While the system has transformed in many beneficial ways, we are still plagued by the growing problems of society. I look forward to reading another book by Joel Spring, and developing my evolving understanding of the educational system within the United States.
“We are going to do in the future what Americans are doing today. Your job is to invent the future” says Jaithirth Rao of the Indian company MphasiS to Thomas Friedman, author of The World is Flat (389). America has always been abreast of the latest and greatest ideas and designs. However, America’s position in the world is becoming increasingly difficult to guarantee due the decreasing number of college graduates. Tamar Lewin reports in a New York Times article how a recent study by Complete College America discovered that “despite decades of steadily climbing enrollment rates, the percentage of students making it to the finish line is barely budging” (College Graduation Rates). Why? A simple answer is that a large number of American high schools aren’t adequately preparing their students for college. To reset this trend, good work ethic, innovative courses, and early vocational and technical training should be introduced and encouraged in high schools. Thomas Friedman and his book The World is Flat describe the effects of globalization on the world. Foreign schools are quickly rising to and even surpassing the levels of education in America, putting our place in the world in jeopardy.
High school and college dropout rates are at an all time high. Secondary school students are told throughout high school that if they don’t go to college then they will never be successful. Going to college doesn’t always make a difference because many career choices such as teachers and lawyers are highly contested and result in either no job or low salary. Low pay deters teacher’s motivation and they tend to work part time jobs to supplement their income. Public schools standards are comparable to a kangaroo court’s procedure; private schools are known for better teachers, environment, and test grades. The major problems in the public school system include the lack of funding, lack of resources, and lack of standards.
In conclusion, education is broader than just falling into what the contemporary school system has to offer. Both Gatto and Graff proved this by explain how conforming students to certain perspectives of education limits their potential in other educational branches that interest the students. Also, curricula should bring a balance between making a school a place for obtaining information, and accommodating the educational demands for each individual student. It is imperative to understand that reforming the academic system, by fine-tuning schools to have its students learn what exactly they are interested in, will lead to having students accessing their full intellectual potential.
Many educators are finding problems in the American educational system, particularly in higher education. For example, Richard Arum and Josipa Roksa in their book Academically Adrift discuss the limited learning for students once they get into the college. They claim that a large number of undergraduate students show no significant improvement after they finish their four years in college. Another example is Goldie Blumenstyk, who in her book American Higher Education in Crisis?: What Everyone Needs to Know discusses the problems of affordability and argues that there are few people who can afford the constantly increasing tuition price of college.
Going to school and getting a great education is important for a successful future in today’s world. Years ago, many children did not go to school and many young adults opted to work instead of attending college. In today’s society, gaining a high level of education is almost always mandatory for many jobs. There are many changes being done to the education system along with new items and ways of teaching in the classroom. There is a growing amount of changes in the classroom such as technology, teaching time, teaching styles, and freedom of space.