Public Schools in America for a long time were regarded as the best public schools in the world, but with the development of Asian and European schools American schools are not ranked as highly. American Public schools in 1999 were ranked sixteenth and seventeenth in science and math right behind Bangladesh. Some students are graduating from high school with little more than an inadequate ability to read and a diploma that should mean the student knows at least the core subjects. Other students are dropping out and not graduating at all. Colleges are not trusting diplomas and grade point averages as a basis of admissions because they know that with the large variety of classes that high schools offer as credit that the student may not know as much as his or her GPA says. Colleges are recalculating GPA's deleting non-core classes and evaluating SAT and ACT scores for the purpose of admissions. Colleges also have to offer more remedial classes to teach students what they should have learned in high school. Something needs to be done to reform America's public schools especially at the high school level. One way to reform public schools would be to forma common curriculum. This means that a government committee comprised of educators, teachers, corporate representatives, book publishers, parents, etc. would decide what classes must be taken by every student to graduate from high school. The courses selected by the committee would cover the basic subjects such as mathematics, science, the English language and composition, government, history, etc. and the level of these required classes would be at a level that graduating students should be able to master. There would be more than enough room to take electives and other classes of interest, but the core classes would be the focus. This gives students enough knowledge to go onto college and obtain jobs in the American knowledge based economy. This would also eliminate the problem of colleges not being able to decipher the multitudes of high school classes and the grade level the classes are at. Opponents to this plan say that this would eliminate any teacher creativity and would drive many educators from the field. This is not entirely true because teachers are already required to teach certain things in their classes and the standards would not be telling them how they have to teach it.
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 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.
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 American school system is no stranger to criticism, but everybody seems to have a distinct idea of what should be done to improve it. It was not too long ago that we had no public schooling system at all. A man would change that forever, immortalizing himself as the “father” of American education. It was surprising to me that I had never heard of this man, especially considering I had finished my journey through free and compulsory education two years ago. The man who went on to change American education, was Horace Mann, the first Secretary of the Board of Education in Massachusetts. Horace Mann tirelessly campaigned for the public to be educated, heralding it as a “great equalizer.” So why is the gap between social classes rising exponentially? There are fundamental issues holding us back from fulfilling Horace Mann’s dream of an education system which empowers citizens by leveling the playing field for everyone, including pedantic policies, a limited curriculum, and standardized testing.
Kevin Kumashiro has many topics in his great book that explains why the school system is the way it is and why is not being changed in many ways. He shared his experience teaching in another country and how he realizes that the school system was bad in both countries. The common sense of what is the academic education needed for the students to know is how to read write, and do math and many other courses do not have a lot of value in our school system. There is more subjects than math, writing and reading that should be important to our society. His writing talks about how standardized testing is just making the teachers have to teach what is in the test and not actually teach the students the necessary information and skills needed to succeed in their lives.
A child’s first day of school is often viewed as a rite of passage; the first step on the road to a happy and successful life. This is true for most children from affluent families who live in the best school districts or can afford expensive private schools. But what if a child’s first day of school is nothing more than the first step on the road to poverty and possibly even illiteracy? The documentary Waiting for “Superman” addresses many issues in a failing school system and the innocent children that system leaves behind. Although the documentary spends little time suggesting parents’ roles in their children’s education, it clearly shows that we must make changes to help children from low-income families and improve the teacher’s unions.
Many individuals have been affected negatively by trouble makers in school. Troublemakers have either disrupted classes or bullied other students. Yes, trouble makers may harm one’s learning environment, but should they be kicked out of school? Though many individuals argue that troublemakers will not change and hold the class down, they should not be kicked out because they need help. Most of these kids that are disobedient do not know the distinction between right and wrong. We should not withdraw trouble makers from school, rather, we should help these troublemakers and teach them right from wrong. In the article “Let’s Really Reform Our Schools” by Anita Garland, she states that American high schools are disasters because there are troublemakers (694). She asserts that the withdrawal of troublemakers in schools would make the learning environment peaceful for students who want to learn
To respond to the statement made by Kozol regarding the nature of public school in America, one must consider the question of what exactly education is for in this country; what is it's purpose. I believe that education is used to produce what Kozol refers to as "good citizens:" "defeated, unprovocative" people that will fill the necessary jobs, pay the necessary taxes, and perform all the other duties put forth by the government such as voting and jury duty. This is why the situation in America's public schools has not changed since the time Kozol wrote The Night Is Dark..., and why things will probably not change without a revolution within the public school system.
The controversial topic about the function of school is discussed at many school board and PTA meetings throughout America. In Anita Garland’s opinion, schools are not functioning properly. Garland states her reasons as to why the purpose of school has to change in her article, “Lets Really Reform Our Schools”, where she starts off by saying, “Desperate illnesses require desperate remedies. And our schools are desperately ill.” She proceeds to list the remedies in order to transform our schools into a more healthy, successful environment. First, Garland claims that the students who are not interested in studying should not be allowed, better yet, never forced to attend school with kids who want to receive
The education reform movement is made up of voices that disproportionately are not of comprised of the very races, ethnicities, and cultures it attempts to serve. Recently, I read an article directly addressing this issue and acknowledging the calls to diversify by African American education leaders including Kaya Henderson, chancellor of the DC public schools and Howard Fuller, Marquette professor. Fuller stated, “The people who are being liberated must be a critical part of their own liberation.” This statement made me reflect on my own experiences as a researcher and advocate within education reform.
Julian Nava was one of the people who fought to end IQ testing. He believed that students that did not get high IQ scores still had the potential to be something greater than a factory worker.
High school and college dropout rates are at an all time high. Secondary school students are told throughout high school that if they don’t go to college then they will never be successful. Going to college doesn’t always make a difference because many career choices such as teachers and lawyers are highly contested and result in either no job or low salary. Low pay deters teacher’s motivation and they tend to work part time jobs to supplement their income. Public schools standards are comparable to a kangaroo court’s procedure; private schools are known for better teachers, environment, and test grades. The major problems in the public school system include the lack of funding, lack of resources, and lack of standards.
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.
Here in “Against School” by John Taylor Gatto, has a large chunk of it that talks about the public school system in the U.S and its history and purpose. I agree with Gatto, partly. Teachers and educators severely need a new school system, and it does indeed need it. The big question is why we still haven’t done anything to try and change the school system into something different and better? After going through the public school system for about 15 years, should people feel as if they just went to school then switch to a remaining life of working like drones of another system? The system that we have today has taken over the sense of creativity and replaced it with one that believes in the opposite. Creativity and individualism, this is the reverse of the school system we have today according to Gatto. Compared to when the public school system first started, here in the present our society doesn’t have the same requirements and needs of what we used to need. What we do need in our society right now for our school system is individualism and creativity.
When all stakeholders share similar core values and agree on the aims of education, reform efforts stand a better chance for success. Knowledge, skills, critical thinking, and citizenship are core values found at the heart of my beliefs for education. I also believe it is the aim of education to prepare students as contributing members of society. In schools where core values and education aims are revisited due to reform implementation, strategies are identified along with a plan for implementation, monitoring and evaluation. The federal government, state, districts, school leadership, teachers, students and parents all have significant responsibilities to make reform efforts a success.