Throughout the world education will vary and have different standards to what each individual person must meet. It all depends on what priorities that specific educational system contains and what process it follows. The American educational system is very complex and has a lot of standards and requirements that must be followed in order for each individual to have a fair chance at equal education. How the educational system is operated is very important because it can affect many people.
Improving the American Public Education system is no longer a choice; it is something that needs to be done. Education is one of the most essential things in life. A good education makes for a good life. With this being said, why do a majority of students in today’s society care less about school? We have to make school interesting again for students to become engaged to learn. A few simple changes to the design of schools and teaching methods could go a long way.
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.
1.
Explain how the function of education in America has changed, and why so
many groups within American society disagree as to the solution of the education
crisis.
- School work as a medium for economic upward mobility.
Schools serve a social function (Cultural).
American Education
Today’s schools have standardized promotion requirements in the hopes that all students will be promoted in fairness. Like most states, Ohio’s criteria for promotion in grade school include a passing grade in English composition, mathematics, science and reading. There are state-mandated benchmarks that must be met in all of these areas. The four levels of grading are: Advanced - student performs at a superior level; Proficient - student has a solid performance; Deficient - student’s performance is lacking; Failing - student’s performance is unsatisfactory.
“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...
Education is the basis for our nation, without education there would be no foundation to build upon. It is important for each United States Citizen to understand the main concepts of education, and the factors that influence it. Those main concepts and influences being the material taught (common core), teaching methods, discipline in the classroom, and technology. By looking at each of these topics and their effect on education one will be able to better understand the structure, functions, and weaknesses of the United States education system. The author will mainly be discussing how these concepts and influential factors affect education between the years of 1985-2015.
The American education system is a paradox. It is supported by one of the biggest economies in the world, it is located in a country with some of the most bountiful resources for stimulating learning but year after year it fails to live up to the mark. Recorded by the Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development, America was ranked 28th in math and sciences as of 2015. (OECD) There have been many proposals to what has caused this deficit in returns. From blaming teachers, to blaming the misoperations of funds, the latter neglecting that America does spend one of the highest amount per students and the former i will address in the coming sentences. But, the fact that countries like Vietnam, Finland, or even Canada has ranked above the
The United States’ Key to Education Through Finland
The school system in the United States has been looking to improve its educational system in recent years to try to get up in the ranks of South Korea, Japan, Finland, and even the United Kingdom. What other way to improve the schooling system in the United States is to look at the schooling system in the country that does it much differently than the one the United States has right now. That country is Finland. Finland has outstanding scores and literacy rates in the country and uses a school system completely different than the ones used around the world.
Transmitting knowledge, attitudes, and skill in a systematic instruction is education. A education is a social institution where social class impacts the students learning. The American education system is based on the ideology of meritocracy, which means the best and the brightest should rise to the top in the system. The education system sorts individuals based on ability and skills for future preparation on various jobs and statuses. It is used for social mobilities. Some factors that influence the quality of education is resources, abilities, skills, past learning experiences, teacher qualifications, school’s performances, and material. Also, social class affect the quality of learning from social capital possessed by students and