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The american education system
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Compared to most countries in the world, the United States of America is privileged. Americans are entitled to freedoms other countries do not have: freedoms of speech, press, religion, assembly, petition, and the right to bear arms. Every American has the right to a basic education, regardless of race, gender, or income; all Americans could have at least a high school diploma. Although this is wonderful, the quality of the education people receive in the United States does not reach its full potential. With the resources available, the American education system should be better. Historically, the American education system has problems. When education first began, topics, such as what defines public education; who is eligible to receive education; and how can the government secure the education provided would have quality, had been debated. These problems are somewhat solved, but they still need work. Currently, the U.S. Department of Education deals with providing affordable education for all, particularly at the college level, and hunts for ways to improve the quality of the ed...
America now knows where they stand on the totem pole regarding education. Having a powerful military and democratic government will only get Americans so far as being a world leader. Teaching American students rigorously will increase America’s dominance as a country and as a people for generations. Teachers are an essential need in America. The United States often takes teachers for granted and if the U.S. government helps educators by improving the quality of their teaching, students will succeed in the classroom. America can perhaps no longer be a country with a zombie-like attitude, but a country thriving with accomplished students supported by the community around them.
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.
The United States of America has placed low on the educational ladder throughout the years. The cause of such a low ranking is due to such heavy emphasis on standardized testing and not individual student achievement. Although the United States uses standardized testing as a crutch, it is not an effective measure of a student’s ability, a teacher’s competency, or a school’s proficiency.
After reading Joel Spring?s book, and reflecting on some of the issues facing our schools, it is apparent that our educational system requires much attention among our nation?s leaders. While the system has transformed in many beneficial ways, we are still plagued by the growing problems of society. I look forward to reading another book by Joel Spring, and developing my evolving understanding of the educational system within the United States.
The American Education System has been a core component to the development of generations since it became a public system in the 1870s. Since then more rules, higher expectations for some, and even lower expectations for others have been added to the original structure. In recent years, many debates have surfaced over whether the American education system is failing. Too few they believe the American Education System is on the right track. Most researchers however have shown statistics that it is in fact slowly declining as new acts and regimens are added. It has been on a downward spiral for years and citizens have been watching it happen, the lack of government funding, acts like the No Child Left behind Act, focus in the wrong places, and the curriculum set up is acting as a deterrent for success.
In the United States, education plays a vital role for the government. It was a major interest of our Founding Fathers in writing the Constitution because our democracy relies on an educated society. John Adams once stated, “Education for every class and rank of people down to the lowest and poorest.” Our Founding Fathers did not want education only for the upper class, but also for the lower class as well. Education is essential for the development and prosperity of our country. It has enhanced American financial and administrative leadership. In acknowledging the importance of education, the federal government took upon a grander role of financing public schools with the passage of Elementary and Secondary Education Act (ESEA) in 1965, which along the years was subjected to various reauthorizations. In 2001, the reauthorizations included No Child Left behind Act (NCLB), which required the states to set the standards for student performance as well as teacher quality. This act helps the educational advancement in schools because it improves the comprehensiveness and fairness of the American education.
Cochran, Clarke, Lawrence Mayer, T.R. Carr, Joseph Cayer, Mark McKenzie, and Laura Peck. "Education: Conflict in Policy Direction." American Public Policy: An Introduction. Boston: Wadsworth, 2012. 334-335. Print.
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.
Even in this time of struggle, with billions of dollars going towards various war efforts overseas, America still has managed to keep taxpayer investments in education higher than that of funds for national defense (U.S Department of Education). In the 2004-05 school year, there was an estimated amount of 536 billion dollars set aside from taxpayer investment for education purposes. Without a doubt, education is a priority for the American government, and if these funds are used in the correct way, there is no reason why each and every kid in the United States shouldn’t be getting a quality education. However, the organization of the financial system is flawed, funds are not handled proportionately at the state level; rather, this system favors the wealthier districts and hands more funds to them while the less wealthier districts are handed a smaller pool of funds. This really affects America’s quality of education, which also reflects upon how America fairs on the world stage when it comes to competition in education with other countries. The disorganization of funds in the United States can be seen in the Hoover City School district, which has bought every student in that district an iPad for use in school. The first problem with this is that this school district does not even have a viable bus system that can transport students to and from school. Secondly, not even 20 miles from this district lies the Birmingham City School district where a little more than half the students are graduating, compared to Hoover City Schools where a bit more than 90 percent of the students are graduating. If anything, the state should be working towards improving educational standards in lower-income communities rather than debating on the log...
Education is the process of gaining knowledge, reasoning, and judgment that is passed on from generation to generation. The U.S provides an education system where their is no child is left behind. Every child in the U.S has the chance to get an education through public schools. Pre- K through k-12 is provided in public schools. All children have the opportunity of an education through the U.S system. As a country the U.S spends more money on education than any other country. Even though the U.S spends more money than any other country, it is still not the number one best education system. The U.S education system has many positive sides to it but at the same time it has some flaws. The U.S education system is not the most successful system in the world due to: teachers are not doing their jobs, standardized testing has become a big problem, and technology has it downsides on the U.S education system due to the wrong use.
“Education in America is a political issue. Government education which not only includes the elementary and secondary public schools, but also the state universities, community colleges, and they many private institutions that receive government grants- all of that government education represents the largest single river of cash flow in America financed by the taxpayer” (par 1).
The quality of education in America is a subject that is steadily gaining notice by citizens across the country. Making sure that young children have equal opportunities to achieve in the academic world is extremely important if we desire to sculpt a successful and lucrative nation. In her essay entitled “Social Class and the Hidden Curriculum of Work”, author Jean Anyon ethnographically studies a handful of American schools and argues that there are vast class-oriented differences between these vessels of academia across the United States. The most prevalent differences however are not so much in resources and financial situations of the individual school systems, but rather the teaching methods and philosophies utilized. Anyon builds on her thesis by splitting public schools into five separate social class designations and explains the most prevalent coinciding philosophies that teachers incorporate in each of these categories. “Social Class and the Hidden Curriculum of Work” is an absolutely mind opening literary work relevant to current society in America. Jean Anyon proves to stimulate her reader’s thoughts on the impact the modern educational system has on socio-economic class differences in the country.
Years after the establishment of free public schools for all. The government had to ensure that all individuals benefit equally in all the educational system had to offer. Even though the system of public schools have been functional for years in all the 50 states, Americans are separated by many concerns and issues that surrounded the educational system (Pulliam & Van, 2013). A current issue is the use of standardized assessment for ranking, placement and performance outcomes. Another public issue is the discrepancy in school funds between the rich and the poor school districts (Pulliam & Van, 2013). Many states are ob...
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...