The Texas Education System

Knowledge is power, yet wisdom is domination. This all begins with education, whether it be a shepherd boy learning about his sheep or a future idealist learning math to change the world, education is meant to prepare individuals for their upcoming future. Education is even mentioned in the Bible, because “wisdom is a shelter…that preserves those who have it” (New International Version, Eccl. 7:12). According to Nelson Mandela, “Education is the most powerful weapon which [one] can use to change the world” (Mandela, par.1). However, in the United States, there seems to be a massive orifice in the preparation of youth. Texas is receiving some of the most destructive and unnecessary blemishes of this problem, however, no one has accepted the

To be the lone star of education, Texas needs to create institutions that develop a holistic review for teachers, society impacting individuals, and a funding system that is not dictated by money.

Although the Texas education system attempts to prepare students, it impedes students’ growth because it uses a sub-par system that ruins students early. The issues start as early as Pre-K, as seen in the legal battle deciding whether or not Texas school districts will be able to implement a new $116 million investment (Ayala, par.1). If schools fail to change their Pre-K system, they will ruin themselves because they are not investing in their future. Diane Ravitch claims that “education is the key to developing human capital” 223). Education will not only affect Texas’s economy but its civic and cultural life as well (Ravitch, 223). “The Texas education system is broken” (Jimenez). The goals of the No Child Left Behind Act are forcing teachers to reach a nearly impossible mandated goal that requires students to reach one hundred percent proficiency (Ravitch, pg.103). This means that students must completely master the

“School is ran similar to a business” (Anonymous). The three types of schools are the public, private, and charter school (Walsh et al. pg176-178, 387). These schools are supported by a separate third party, so the money being put into a school makes it act similar to a business (Anonymous). A major issue that affects all types of schools is seen in the allowance of school boards to charge fees for activities, such as membership dues in voluntary student organizations, or educational programs for absences (Walsh et al. 15). On a positive note, local school board trustees, which govern schools, are not allowed to charge for textbooks, lockers, required field trips or library books (Walsh et al. 15). This type of funding leaves students at the mercy of the third party, meaning that students cannot even experience school fully without paying extra money. Similar to a business deal gone bad, “public schools in Texas… are under increasing pressure to improve the quality of education provided to students (Reschovsky, pg.3). A nearly impossible task such as this is taking away from the quality of education. Low income students are suffering in capitalistic America, which is subsequently screwing them out of an education. The worst part is that this system is constitutional, yet Congress itself has declared that this system needs improvement (Collier, par.1).