America is a blessed country in numerous ways, and its citizens reap the benefits. Free education is one major benefit that not many other countries provide for their citizens. While it is only a privilege to many, in the States, people have the right to be educated. However, free education cannot guarantee success for all. For those motivated individuals who cherish the privilege to be educated, they are the ones who climb up the success ladder later in life. For a certain majority of students in the States, our current educational system may not seem to serve its purpose. In this paper, I will explore two possible adjustments that could be made to improve our system to benefit our next generation. Academic improvement and class size reduction are the two adjustments that I will elaborate on. The world is constantly moving forward. Our societies are in search of the newest advancements, and our children are drawn to the latest technology. It seems as though our current technology could replace our fundamental education, such as the power of a calculator. The answer is just a click away. Not to mention our daily reliance on computers. I wonder sometimes how the world operated a couple of decades ago when computers and cell phones weren’t commonly used. I have to admit technology has truly made our lives easier and saved a tremendous amount of our time by its efficiency. However, technology should never substitute the fundamental learning in our educational systems. Specifically, in primary school, building a firm fundamental education is crucial. Seeing children still using fingers to do simple math in second grade is not a good sign of academic improvement. Though the students may easily figure out the answers by using a calculator, before letting the children get any closer to these technical gadgets, they have to first learn to figure out the answers themselves....
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...Works Cited Bamburg, J, Re: Draft: Education in America: Current Issues and Future Opportunities [Web post]. Retrieved January 29, 2011, from http://home.avvanta.com/~building/trans/Bamburg2.htm Kumon, Re: Kumon's Academic Enrichment Program [Web post]. Retrieved January 29, 2011, from http://www.kumon.com/WhyKumon/AcademicEnrichment.aspx The White House, Re: Education [Web post]. Retrieved January 29, 2011, from http://www.whitehouse.gov/issues/education
The American school system is no stranger to criticism, but everybody seems to have a distinct idea of what should be done to improve it. It was not too long ago that we had no public schooling system at all. A man would change that forever, immortalizing himself as the “father” of American education. It was surprising to me that I had never heard of this man, especially considering I had finished my journey through free and compulsory education two years ago. The man who went on to change American education, was Horace Mann, the first Secretary of the Board of Education in Massachusetts. Horace Mann tirelessly campaigned for the public to be educated, heralding it as a “great equalizer.” So why is the gap between social classes rising exponentially? There are fundamental issues holding us back from fulfilling Horace Mann’s dream of an education system which empowers citizens by leveling the playing field for everyone, including pedantic policies, a limited curriculum, and standardized testing.
In this text, the author explores the role that technology currently plays in schools and in education in general, as well as future consequences that will occur depending on whether society continues to insist on a type of education that is relatively lacking in technology or decides to embrace the options available whole-heartedly. There are both gains...
America has not changed it’s educational system in over two hundred years. For this reason, our students and population are falling further and further behind. Our society has done nothing but move forward, so why hasn’t our learning? Everybody has a story, opinion, or response to education. We need to invest in refining our tools to succeed, to create a better sense of self, and a stronger, more well-rounded nation. The American educational system is hurting students by passing them without merit and relying on standardized tests; however, many are now running back to these hollowed halls to ensure better futures.
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 American Education System has been a core component to the development of generations since it became a public system in the 1870s. Since then more rules, higher expectations for some, and even lower expectations for others have been added to the original structure. In recent years, many debates have surfaced over whether the American education system is failing. Too few they believe the American Education System is on the right track. Most researchers however have shown statistics that it is in fact slowly declining as new acts and regimens are added. It has been on a downward spiral for years and citizens have been watching it happen, the lack of government funding, acts like the No Child Left behind Act, focus in the wrong places, and the curriculum set up is acting as a deterrent for success.
America’s public school system started off very rough, but through the dedication of many hard-working Americans, it was starting to shape into a system that allowed all children, regardless of race, gender, religion, or nation of origin, to have an education.
It is about that time for families to start sending their children to school. The first thing that crosses their mind is “I hope my child gets the best education I can give them.” These parents want their children to excel in their math classes, pass that test in science class, and they want them to be the best they can be. These families want the teacher to give their child the best education that they can offer. So what if the best way that teachers could give the best education to that child was to have a class size reduction? What if the smaller the class, the more that child could achieve? That teacher would be able to focus on any
Something I have always known since I was a little kid is that the educational system in this country is a complete fraud. American schools claim to live by the ideal of No Child Left Behind, but millions of students get cast aside each and every year. In schools these days, it is obvious which students are the elite—those that are raised up and motivated to go to college—and the ordinary student— those that are somewhat ignored throughout their schooling and are lucky if they even earn a GED. As a recent graduate of high school, and a product of this country’s educational system, I have had the opportunity to develop my own opinions regarding the myth of education in our society. Based upon my observations going through the school system, and the various arguments posed by several authors in “Rereading America”, I strongly believe that schooling in this society caters solely to students in the elite category while ostracizing students that do not live up to the elitist ideal.
Throughout the 20th and 21st centuries, the American educational system has undergone much transition in response to our changing society. Though there have been many problems raised throughout the years in regard to what our school systems should be teaching our children, there have also been many developments.
The people and tools used around children help define who they are and who they will grow to be. In the past, children have been taught in what we now call the “traditional way”, the children enter the classroom and listen to the teacher talk. A child mind is supposed to expand like that of their parents, yet we find that they are unable because of the vast amount of technology. Concentration is at a minimum so the amount of effort is indistinguishable in the assignments given to them. Lytle’s article discusses high schoolers in an AP calculus classroom who have gained higher test scores that students in the past, “In the 2010-11 school year the students scored an average of 4.11 on the AP calculus test, compared to the 3.59 average among the students who took the test and were taught in the traditional classroom the year before.” The test scores prove that technology betters the student. The children who were taught with technology put forth more effort because the required information was presented in a way that engaged and motivated the students. The teacher got their brain gears rolling in ways that hasn’t happened since video
Dick Gerhardt, a United States Representative from Missouri, said “We’re talking about education, we’re talking about school construction...You can’t get smaller class size with just teachers, you need the buildings,.” Dick Gerhardt is trying to say that schools may have the teachers, but when you make classes smaller, there is more classes. With additional classes, you need more space. Schools would need to spend “extra” money on more space if they don’t have enough, for more classes. Therefore, people think that smaller class sizes waste money. While really schools are spending their money wisely because all in all, the students education should be the most important thing in the school, because after all that is what students are at school
It is no surprise that technology is rapidly taking over the world, and defining the day to day lives we live. As humans we are constantly engaged in some form of technology. However, the role of technology in early childhood classroom is a growing and controversial topic. The bottom line question for most teachers is whether or not computer based technology is developmentally appropriate for early childhood students, and if they benefit from using computers as a primary learning tool. Technology is the branch of knowledge that deals with the creation and use of technical means and their interrelation with life, society, and the environment (Webster Dictionary). Technology has been present in the world for centuries, from cave men to the industrial revolution which brought on a whole new era of technology to the United States. The Department of Education is granting schools with seven million dollars to help fund technology based learning just this year (Luebbe, 2011). Schools are now starting to be judged by the student to computer ratio, to determine the schools ability to provide a “quality” education. It’s no wonder everywhere we look and everything we do is a counterpart to technology.
It is very hard not to realize that technology has overpowered education in many ways. “Technology integration is similar to a tidal wave, growing silently in strength, then falling with an unstoppable roar upon those who paid no attention or showed little interest” (Guhlin, 40). Nowadays, computers are almost considered a necessity in the classroom, and are the main component of technology integration. Computers are being used in more numerous ways, besides only being used for basic word processing. With a simple computer, copious availabilities of technologies can be used in the classroom. “The one thing that is so great about the computer is that it does give a lot of instruction--and you don't need to have hearing to take advantage of it” (Anderson, 12). It’s amazing how one simple screen can provide everlasting opportunity for learning.
Many students suffer from the school system. Many students face problems in schools because lack of the system. There are so many problems in school that should never be there, education now involving more problems than anything else. In recent years so many people have lost their lives in the class-room. There are ways to improve school system by police presence, to end overcrowded condition, and to hire more qualified teachers.
One article, written by the Seattle Times suggest that “The most obvious explanation for why reducing class size works — that teachers give students better, more-tailored instruction in smaller classes(Seattle Times).” When we reduce the classrooms size, it give the teachers a much better chance to provide students with one on one time with the teachers and better instruction since the teachers don’t have to deal with as many trouble makers. Since trouble makers cannot cause chaos when they aren’t able to hide behind an entire classroom. Another point made by the Seattle Times is that “Reducing class sizes can have the potential to make a big difference for students only if teachers get the training and administrative support to take advantage of the situation by changing how they teach and how they interact with parents (Seattle Times).” True, reducing the overall classroom sizes by itself won’t automatically improve student’s grades and behavior. School districts will need to provide better training for their teachers to improve their classrooms as