There is much debate today on what would be the best way to reform education. Credible and scholarly writers such as Alfie Kohn, Joel Westheimer, and Andrea Schlesinger have vast ideas on different approaches that can be taken to improve America’s education system. Although there are many opportunities when attending an American school many citizens, including students, question the education system of today; here are four steps that qualified educators believe to be able to improve the American education programs.
Step one is focusing more on students critically thinking or thinking on their own. A great phrase of putting this idea to the test is, “focusing more on the question than the answer.” (Schlesinger 34). In The Power of “Why?” Schlesinger expresses her feeling towards what the bigger impact can be on students when focusing more on the depth of the question than how “quickly” and “correctly” students answer the question (34). She mentions that teachers are evaluated on how students test scores are rather than how critically they think. Schlesinger says that educators can help students think critically by, “letting the students speak their minds”, or teaching students that answers to our history has/will change as well as previous information that we once obtained from the past (34). Oftentimes teachers are afraid to let students open their minds and really think about the question because they think the books answer is the only right one. Teachers also may be more focused on making sure that the students know the right answer so they can do well on future test that the administration uses to evaluate the teachers. Students can significantly gain and profit from this tiny step in our education system. El...
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...d their students. They need to try and learn something from their students because that can make the students feel like their voices are being heard. American students should want to learn and be open up to new ideas and thoughts. They should not be limited on anything they can do, say or think. There are great ideas in students of today. If teachers always tell their students they are wrong and to go by the book your adolescent’s creativity and thought will never be heard.
Works Cited
Westheimer, Joel. “No Child Left Thinking” Independence School.
Spring 2008
Kohn, Alfie. “Progressive Education: Why It’s Hard to Beat, But Also Hard to Find” Independent School. Spring 2008
Schlesinger, Andrea. “The Power of “Why?” YES!
Fall 2009
Schlesinger, Andrea. “How Civic Education Died- and Why We Need It Back” Drum Major Institute. Sep. 17, 2006
“Our Schools Must Do Better” written by author Bob Herbert attempts to persuade the audience that the public education system is falling behind the times and needs a complete overhaul in order to keep up with the rapidly changing times and technology. He accomplishes this by employing anecdotes and using emotional appeal to capture the audience 's attention as well as an authoritative tone throughout the essay. Although the introduction was eye catching and some might argue persuasive the disorganization and lack of supporting detail left much to be desired.
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.
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.
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.
President Ronald Reagan once described America as, “A Nation at Risk,” He was addressing this statement to the education department thirty years ago and meant it as a wake-up call. He was aware that the United States was falling behind in education and needed to take action in order to prevent the demise of the country. Reagan correctly predicted the grim fate of America if education did not see improvement. Today, research finds that American education is failing to provide the necessary skills to succeed in college and various careers. The quality of education in America is a growing issue and every year graduate students are finding it more difficult to obtain high paying jobs and start his or her career. According to studies conducted globally, the curriculum in America is not as advanced and years behind international schools in countries such as China and Japan. There is much controversy in government over what can be done to reverse the situation in public schools but possible solutions that have been suggested are hiring more qualified teachers, more classroom time, and investing more money into education.
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.
America’s educational system seems to be at a steady decline as each year school systems argue over the proper way for students to receive a quality education the correct way. With so many differences in opinion about current lecture and testing techniques future generations can only hope for an educational miracle. The underlying question everyone seems to be asking though is how does one provide a quality education for the entirety of America?
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 United States has proven to be a world leader with their powerful military, democratic government, and stringent foreign policies. There is one category 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 European and Asian countries because the standard for academic success is constantly lowered. Americans must reform the school system and change their perspective on how important an education is to the rest of the world.
Laura Jimenez’s article “The Next Frontier of Education Reform” was a well thought out article about the possibility for a new program called LEAP or LEarning Together to Advance Our Practice to help improve the failing system of improving our public school educators. Jimenez uses accurate data to show the reasons behind the need to reform educator professional development and shows different examples of how this could be accomplished. She largely looks at the DC public school system’s IMPACT and the newly created LEAP projects.
Every country in the world places considerable value on education, for education occupies an important place in the country. However, school education in the United States is far too optimistic. The reason why the American education starts to lose its grip is that the current education systems cannot meet the needs of excellent education for cultivating the qualified students. Students from middle and primary school concern about their study in school when they show their limitations in mastering the basic knowledge. 1[Traditional way of teaching puts many emphases on the practical function and at most time, teaching serves for the particular purpose of school education].2[In addition, a highly relaxed education environment provided by the
place to stress out. As I walk through the halls all students seem to have that
Ask any number of people, what the value of an education is and they all will agree that a good education is exceedingly important. However, ask any number of people, how the country should improve it, and that is fiercely contested. Every couple of years a new hopeful idea is put into the system to help in some way whether it be enforcing standards, opening schools like charter schools, giving out checks to private education, or having a teacher’s pay be based on their performance. The most recent ideas have been two federal programs that have both sought to remake the educational system. The first one is the “No Child Left Behind Act” that was put into place in 2001. This act is to r...
John W. Gardner said, “Much education today is monumentally ineffective. All too often we are giving young people cut flowers when we should be teaching them to grow their own plants.” Education today is very ineffective. It is in an in between phase of the ways of old and a time of complete reform. The main issue is that people often lose sight of why the education system should even be reformed. It shouldn’t be reformed because “that’s what everyone else is doing.” It needs to be reformed to bridge the gap for the students who have a different learning style. It should be reformed to expand knowledge for students. Education reform can have good and bad effects. Because the education system is very complex, educators are being faced with changes and they must decide what is best for students.
A time approaches in every person’s life when they must come to learn new things. Speaking on behalf of all those who have attended school at some point in their life, I must say that most do not like it for its educational significance. Today’s youth undervalue the worth of America’s public school system to the point of shame. Hard-working, underpaid teachers and professors prepare to educate these ingrates as their living, and it’s exasperating for the students to not even care. I must be fair though and call attention to the fact that not everyone shares this loathe for education and schooling.