American Education

“We will make real progress only when we realize our problem in education is not mainly one of performance but one of design” (Wolk, 25). The American public education system is failing. Children are being put into the system and not succeeding. A public education system should allow growth and be in conjunction with success. The current format works as a factory. A child is sent in with high standards. They are packed full of information, and then tested to see if it is in their memory. A business term, “virtuous circle”, means set high standards and develop different methods to make sure that those standards are met. Then you have quality checks at several different stages, and then you feed the results back for improvement. The virtuous circle term is used in producing cars and computers, but it directly relates with the system we have (Wolk, 24). There is so much evidence of failure, and it proves there is a need for a total reformation. Throw out what is known to not work and start new. Look beyond what is currently being used. Charter schools and private schools are much more successful than the public school. The outline and formation of their systems should be looked at and be taken into consideration. They are putting kids in a place where they can move forward and they are given an advantage. A child is either enrolled in those systems based upon luck of getting in, or the financial state they are in. The public system should pride itself in being a tax-funded institute. Public dollars are being used, so anybody can be enrolled. The way it is portrayed now is a waste of money. There is so much money being poured into something that is not working. Public education is needed, but succeeding is also a need involved. The c...

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...heir own funding, and take advantage of the different opportunities. A parent or guardian has to choose and provide the funding to send their child to that school, so the private school system can be selective on what classes to offer. Public schools are run off of tax money, so there are not many fees to the students attending, such as tuition, but it limits what is offered in those schools (Pascual). It cuts opportunities to the students within that system, for no fault of their own.

Many public school systems do not perform as well as opposing private or charter schools. The graduation rate within public schools fluctuates between 62 and 67%, while private schools maintain a 90 to 95% graduation rate (Kennedy). Poor urban areas are the problem areas within public school systems. Wealthy school districts generate some of the best test scores in the world (Sirota).