Wait a second!
More handpicked essays just for you.
More handpicked essays just for you.
The economic impact of the industrial revolution
Impact of the industrial revolution
Influence of the industrial revolution
Don’t take our word for it - see why 10 million students trust us with their essay needs.
Recommended: The economic impact of the industrial revolution
Public schooling systems today are hindering, rather than helping, the creativity and individuality of high school-aged students who are looking not only for their future, but for themselves as well. What needs to be changed in order for students to get the most from their high school education? Much research has gone into this, resulting in differing opinions, multiple methods of change, and thousands of other questions. Some researchers feel that too much class time is spent forcing students to learn advanced science, math, and language arts; others believe that these same classes should be the main focus of schools in order to increase intelligence. This begs the question of how to measure the intelligence of students in order to find what they need as an individual. Is there a way to measure how capable an individual is? There are thousands of different types of intelligence, so how does one label the intellectual capacity of anyone by using a number-based system? Those being tested by these defective methods are going to become the leaders of their country and must learn how to effectively do so. Education must be reformed in order to secure the future of the United States of America.
As time goes by, American citizens find themselves conforming to society and molding to the changes surrounding them. Why, then, are education systems remaining as they were hundreds of years ago? In his book The Element, Dr. Ken Robinson points out that the current systems of education were designed in “times that were dominated by the Industrial Revolution in Europe and America” (13). This refers back to the eighteenth and nineteenth centuries, approximately 300 years ago. Basic skills in math, science, and language were essential for findin...
... middle of paper ...
...e the education that fits their future roles in life and current systems of education are not focusing enough on these subjects. Perhaps those in charge will see this. Perhaps they will reform how they educate their children. Perhaps they never will, but in order to succeed and keep from becoming a third-world country, the United States of America must find a way to modify education for the benefit of themselves, their children, and the future of their country.
Works Cited
“How Standardized Testing Damages Education.” 20 Aug 2007. n. p. FairTest. Web. 22 Mar 2011.
Lumsden, Linda. “Student Motivation to Learn.” n. p. ERIC Clearinghouse. Web. 6 Apr 2011.
Robinson, Ken. The Element. Strand, London: Viking Penguin, 2009. p. Print
Roekel, Dennis Van. “Reforming High Schools for the 21st Century-An Imperative.” NEA policy brief (2008): n. p. Web. 17 March 2011.
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 trivialization of high school in the present educational organization for teens has been posited in the public; however, it is one vital issue that is being debated.
High school is the stepping stone between childhood and the real world. John Dewey spent most of his life striving to improve this transition. He believed high schools were not preparing students for the needs of society by merely teaching the basics, such as reading, writing, and arithmetic. Dewey argued that high schools “must present situations where problems are relevant to the problems of living together, and where observation and information are calculated to develop social insight and interest.” This type of education would create socially-responsible citizens who have the ability to work together and solve societal issues; in turn, America’s democratic society would flourish. With this said, high schools continue to ignore Dewey’s suggestions,
Miltich, Matthew. "Standardized Testing and Assessment Do Not Improve Education." Education: Opposing Viewpoints. New York: Greenhaven, 2005. 151-54. Print.
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.
Ruthven, R. (2007, November 7). Is Standardized Testing Hurting Education? Associated Content. Retrieved March 16, 2014, from www.associatedcontent.com/article/438846/is_standardized_testing_hurting_education.html
Although there have been legitimate arguments supporting the benefits of standardized testing, such as their ability to successfully measure students’ proficiency, in recent years there have been concerns and disadvantages regarding how their misuse poses a serious threat to the American education system. Despite the belief that standardized tests should be used to measure students’ proficiency, there are more reasons outweighing this statement regarding why they shouldn’t be used for this purpose. Not only is this a particular issue with standardized testing, but the tests are becoming more high stakes and are being used unfairly to determine things such as graduation, or placement in a school, resulting in a significant amount of stress and anxiety in students. Testing corporations are also profiting from the design of these standardized tests, while standardized testing is also forcing teachers to all teach the same thing, leading to a lack of creativity in the students. Aside from these arguments, standardized tests have been found to be becoming flawed and have poor design.
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.
Standardized testing scores proficiencies in most generally accepted curricular areas. The margin of error is too great to call this method effective. “High test scores are generally related to things other than the actual quality of education students are receiving” (Kohn 7). “Only recently have test scores been published in the news-paper and used as the primary criteria for judging children, teachers, and schools.”(2) Standardized testing is a great travesty imposed upon the American Public School system.
So as to improve the K-12 education, the United States needs to redesign the high schools. The initiative by the president to redesign the high schools is significant in encouraging the schools to use the available resources. Schools together with their partners should take into using the resources that exist effectively. These resources are in the local, state and the federal so as to transform the experience in the high schools for the youth through energy of the whole school redesign. This effort of redesigning the high schools will help challenge them and their partners in rethinking learning and teaching. These reforms should constitute of learning that is personalized and college and career exploration that will ens...
... to changes to the current United States public schools. However, the people in charge of making the changes are the ones who profit and will probably never change their mindset. The school system needs to be changed entirely, but solutions to this problem simply aren’t out there. Experimentation needs to be done in certain school systems to determine the most successful method. Until then, the United States of America will continue to support a failing school system and will continue to produce uneducated adults.
Why would one hypothesize a change is needed? First, international comparisons show the decline in education. Tests show American high school students rank much lower than other nations on standardized math and science tests (United States 66). On a test given in twenty-one nations, American pupils only outperformed Cyprus and South African students. These results seem more devastating when one sees Asian nations, usually ranking high in competitions, did not participate (McNamara 73). Examinations also reveal pupils' performances decline as students climb up the educational ladder toward college. "We seem to be the only country in the world whose children fall farther behind the longer they stay in school" ("Nation" 1). Yet, just comparing our students to international standards does not divulge the whole story.
tests were primarily employed as measures of student achievement that could be reported to parents, and as a means of noting state and district trends (Moon 2) . Teachers paid little attention to these tests, which in turn had little impact on curriculum. However, in the continuing quest for better schools and high achieving students, testing has become a central focus of policy and practice. Standardized tests are tests that attempt to present unbiased material under the same, predetermined conditions and with consistent scoring and interpretation so that students have equal opportunities to give correct answers and receive an accurate assessment. The idea is that these similarities allow the highest degree of certainty in comparing result...
Sacks, Peter. "The Toll Standardized Tests Take." National Education Association. 2000. Web. 2 July 2015.
“If my future were determined just by my performance on a standardized test, I wouldn't be here. I guarantee you that.” This quote by Michelle Obama illustrates the idea that standardized testing should not have such a large influence on education in America. However, a majority of people are under the impression that standardized tests are an accurate method to measure a person's intellectual ability. I believe that standardized tests have developed into a very critical part of the American education system that is hindering the growth of students and teachers instead of providing a tool that can accurately measure knowledge.