Problems in the United States Educational System

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Problems in the United States Educational System
Today, the way the educational system works in the U.S. concerns a large number of people in this country. "Only 25% of adults have a great deal of confidence in the people running education, according to the General Social Survey, down from 49% in 1974" (Russel 4). A lot of discussions have been held to find the best ways to improve teaching methods. At the same time, people recognize that a very valuable solution to increase the level of education in the United States is to look at some problems that cause difficulties and hamper the enhancement of the quality of education. The first step is to define these problems. As in every country, the U.S. wants to develop its national standards in education and wants them to be high. This has always been a government function. Being democratic, the government is trying to fit the qualities of democracy into the way to set these standards. Of course, this is not an easy task since this country has a very diverse population. To please everybody has always been an almost impossible task. Despite this impossibility, national standards have already been set. "If a visitor from another nation was dropped into an American public school classroom without knowing the state or the region, he or she would be likely to see the same lesson taught in the same way to children of the same age" (Ravitch 9). Everything seems right except the fact that the abilities of children are different. Not everybody is able to study at a college; not everybody wants to continue being educated. It is obvious that every country wants to produce as many educated people as possible. But, at the same time, every country needs workers because, regardless of the fast development of technology, there is still a great necessity for human labor. To satisfy all the necessities of the country, the government should provide different kinds of education. This does not mean that we need to eliminate all of the standards; they could be set in each field of education. Although standards are set, there is still a very big difference in teaching methods in different schools. Perhaps, the most serious problem starts in high schools: some schools provide a higher level of education than others. Students from most city schools graduate with the confidence in their knowledge; their level of educati...

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... 1998: 45-47. Gray, Kenneth. "The baccalaureate game: Is it right for all teens?" Phi Delta Kappa Apr. 1996: 528+. McEachern, William A. "The Max for the Minimum." The teaching economist. Issue 15. Spring 1998. Nelson, F. Howard. "How and How Much the U.S. Spends On K-12 Education: An International Comparison." Mar. 1996: n. pag. Online. Internet. 9 Mar.1998. Available http://www.aft.org/research/reports/interntl/sba.htm. Ravitch, Diane. "50 states, 50 standards?: The continuing need for national voluntary standards in education." The Brookings Review Summer 1996: 6+. Rehder, Robert R. "Education and Training: Have the Japanese Beaten Us Again?" Personnel Journal Jan. 1983: 42. Russel, Cheryl. "What's wrong with schools?" American Demographics Sep. 1996: 4+. Sinitsyn, Maxim I. "The Results of a Test." msinits@siue.edu (30 Mar. 1998). Smith, Greg. "How to beat the SAT/ACT blues" Career World Nov. 1995: 13+. Sternberg, Robert J. "Extra Credit for Doing Poorly." New York Times 25 Aug. 1997, late ed.: sec.A: 23. "Strengths and weaknesses of American education." Phi Delta Kappa Apr. 19

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