Lately, it seems every time you pick up a newspaper it contains a story on the inadequacy of our nation’s educational system. Society is forever blaming its woes, from not being able to multiply to not being able to balance a checkbook, on a bad teacher. We all, at sometime in our education, have had to sit through the boredom and uncertainty of teachers like Christian Zowodniak’s freshman English teacher, Jeff. Teachers like Jeff made it appear that our teaching universities are turning out unqualified teachers, but this is not the case. Mediocre teachers get into the education profession for all the wrong reasons: from having summers off, to having good health insurance coverage, to having good work hours. Hopefully, these teachers quickly "burn-out" and seek employment in other professions. Unfortunately, many of them stay and become passive, unconcerned teachers, much like Zowodniak’s Jeff.
Surely, we have encountered more good teachers than bad ones in our years of education. Yet, we are quick to point out the flaws of our education system and to complain about poor teachers. But seldom do we praise our greatest asset, our excellent teachers. I would like to tell you about an excellent teacher, Mrs. Joan Beers . Mrs. Beers, my senior English teacher, loves teaching. Her love for her profession is reflected in her method of teaching her students, in her method of addressing her students’ different learning styles, and in her method of assessing her students.
Like Jeff, many of my high school teachers used a passive approach to teaching. The bell rang, and the teacher stood behind a podium with a notebook bulging with lecture notes. Facing her was a roomful of eager students, with notebooks opened and pens poised. Our learning consisted of a fifty-five minute lecture on grammar, during which the teacher verbally delivered reams of facts and examples, and we busily recorded her every word. We learned these bits of information and recited them word for word at exam time. The passive teacher graded us only on our ability to recall at exam time. Mrs. Beers, on the other hand, used a more active, student-centered approach to her teaching. She began class with a five minute discussion on prepositions. Then, she divided the class into small groups of three to four students and handed each student a current newspaper.
Education is the basis of growth. It is as true for people as it is for the countries, states, cities and school districts who make education a necessity of development (Uko-Aviomo). Every year, new graduating students leave the comfort of a school system and get careers that define their countries economy. The education and skill of these students was built by both the school system and teachers who taught them. However, what happens when these teachers or school systems fail to deliver that critical
twenty years from now we will look back at education as it is practiced in most schools today and wonder how we could have tolerated anything so primitive. The pieces of the educational revolution are lying around unassembled." - John W. Gardner, Secretary of Health, Education and Welfare, "No Easy Victories" (1968) Sadly over 40 years later, the the educational revolution still hasn't taken off. The “pieces” are still lying around unassembled and the education in the schools is still tolerated. The
international students and cemented its place as the number one desired country in the world to receive education. Although the quality of college education has never been an issue here in America, with some American universities like MIT, Harvard and Stanford consistently appearing in the list of top universities of the world each year, the high schools leave a lot to be desired. The standard of the U.S. education at the grade level has been falling steadily over the years as evident by the declining test
however, the United States struggles to be number one in, education. As shocking as this may sound, the public school system in America is not superior to other developing countries. I have witnessed this scandalous phenomena firsthand, engrossed in the public school system from kindergarten to freshman year of high school. The student body and the school administration is morphing into a nonproductive system with a zombie-like attitude. American students lack academic drive and curiosity compared to
Basic foundation for a brighter future is through education. Unfortunately, not everybody is lucky enough to receive an education. Race has always played a factor on who can receive an education and the quality of education available for certain racial groups. In this paper I will explore education policies in America and South Africa, by comparing and contrasting education policies based on the history of both countries. I examine policies passed during and after Jim Crow laws era/Apartheid and
and have my American College degree. The reason is not because we as Egyptians don’t have education association over there. But because the American education is more helpful for us more than the Egyptian one. So, from the first session taking about education in the English class, and my mind is comparing and judging everything between the two education systems of Egypt and United states of America. It is very clear that from outcomes you can always know the incomes. By having the American college degree
Education Education is the single greatest asset in creating the informed, capable citizens essential in every modern society. Our country’s success hinges on our ability to reform education to better prepare students for the new challenges of contemporary society. One of the most crucial areas of education that must be revisited during such changes is that of educators. Teachers’ vital role in education is clear, what must be determined is how to train and evaluate our educators while ensuring
America is the only remaining superpower in the world, but its quality of education is not as well as its military strength. Education is one of the key building blocks to start a career . The public school system in most states are not providing enough tools for a student to succeed in life. There are more dropouts in this country, and many of those dropouts lead to crime, and get arrested for it. A person more likely to get incarcerated if he is not educated appropriately or if he is educated
Will Not Fix the American Education System The American public education system was founded on the radical notion that all members of society should have equal access to education. Also crucial was the notion that a basic common education was essential for a true democracy. This revolutionary system is now in indisputable trouble. Many worry about America’s ability to compete with foreign countries while others address the growing dichotomy between the quality of education in different economic
their life journey to success. Education is not only important for individuals; it is important to the society as whole. The education system main goal is to provide the people with knowledge which is one of the powers that every country need to stay afloat in today’s society. In addition to knowledge, the education system should develop the students ' skills, characteristics, values, and
Caucasians and African Americans, but the other minorities as well. Hispanics and Native Americans experience the same injustices in public education as the blacks. They are not separate, but they still are not equal. Racial inequality has affected public school education by racial bias in teacher behavior, unequal opportunities, and racial stereotypes. Racial bias in teacher behavior is a major problem in public school education. When interacting with the students, teachers tend to favor more of
school education system in the 21st century has declined over the years. Other countries have exceeded our American Education system, especially in the areas of reading and math. Poverty stricken areas and minorities are being deprived of receiving a good quality education. Instead, only the fortunate and the lucky students are able to receive a good education. Families apply for the lottery scholarship in hopes to be accepted to a charter school as the key for to receive a good quality education
Flat World and Education, How America’s Commitment To Equity Will Determine our Future, Linda Darling-Hammond outlined the contributing factors to the lack of equity in America’s public education system. In this book she examines the following factors that create the issues that are plaguing the education system in American society: poor policy which values frequent standardized assessment over teacher innovation, inequitable distribution of physical resources and high achieving teachers in high need
The American educational system is constantly ridiculed for its universal expectations of students, despite their predetermined dispositions. As the world is progressing, America’s educational system is becoming increasingly obsolete. High schools across the country have two serious flaws: placing unreasonable value in test scores and the failure to teach life skills. Leaving these problems untreated may be detrimental to the school system, however, a simple innovation could fix them. High school
Behind program, standardized testing has become the norm for American schools. Under this system, each child attending a school is required to take a standardized test at specific grade points to assess their level of comprehension. Parents, scholars and all stakeholders involved take part in constant discussions over its effectiveness in evaluating students’ comprehension, teachers’ competency and the effects of the test on the education system. Though these tests were put in place to create equality