A High School Senior's Ideas on How to Reform the Educational System

There are many problems in the American public education system today. Some of those include the quality of teachers, who have no real passion for the job, and are only allowed to remain in the position because of tenure privileges. Another issue is the state budgets that are allowed for public schools, with some states investing billions of dollars, and others prioritizing it lower on the list. In hot debate today is standardized testing, and the negative effect that it has on high school education, with the limits it places on teachers and what they have time to teach in the classrooms.

Change is difficult, making changes in schools can be extremely difficult. Schools have many moving components; students, teachers, parents, the community and the required curriculum. Schools have to contend with numerous outside factors that are beyond their control. With all the things that contribute to the running of a school change is not easy, making significant changes can be extremely challenging. Change cannot be facilitated if the problems or concerns are not identified. The identification of problems can be one of the most difficult steps. When identifying problems, it is best to use data to support the need for change rather than personal feelings.

The river valley civilizations of Sumer, Egypt, India, and China were historical pillars of innovation. Not only were they each responsible for having forged new technological innovations, but they each created their own system of writing as well. Each of them meets the requirements of being labeled as a “civilization” because each had a form of social organization, trade and economic activity, government, division of labor, and some form of record keeping. What sets them apart from one another are the specifics within the similarities they shared. These similarities and differences within their technological innovations and writing are numerous.

Imagine a world without writing. This is an almost impossible task because our world is completely inundated with writing. How would we keep track of commerce or maintain a record of history? It is interesting to me that humans have designed ways in which to communicate to each other using symbols carved into stone. This technology has not only been shaped by the people using them, the hieroglyphics have also directly influence the societies that used them. Hieroglyphics are such an important invented technology, because it has been vital in helping to shape and record the culture of two populations living at different times and across the world: the ancient Egyptians, and the ancient Mayans. In this paper, I will discuss the intriguing similarities

If the problem is with teachers that do not value or wish the best for the students before them, then we need to stop that. If the problem is inequitable funding within and between school districts we need to correct that. If the problem is in the homes and hearts of the students themselves then we need to address that. Whatever it is, we cannot do nothing and scratch on heads as the current statistics continue to rise.

Many may believe that the United States school system is flawless; that no other countries school system or organization is as advanced as ours, “just like our government.” Those people need to come into the realization that our school system is broken, we need to be realists and not dreamers when it comes to something as serious as our education. Our school system has not been putting in the needed or required effort to reach the goals of true education or a good education that we, as students, deserve. Schools have been cheating us of what we deserve. Although some may believe our school system is perfect, it is not; our school system is broken and it needs to be fixed.

School has been a part of the lives of billions of people for millennia. Educational systems are constantly evolving and taking on different forms throughout the world, yet schools across the globe seem to have held on to one similar purpose throughout the centuries. This purpose is to prepare young minds for success in the real world by building a foundation of knowledge in their student’s minds. While this is certainly a noble purpose, not all schools achieve this goal as successfully as they ought to. The high school in Little River, KS is just one example of how pure intentions can still lead to poor methods and thus a hampering of students potential. Put simply, the Little River school district should allow their high school students to

Students should have to come in before or after school. . Some people need to learn to turn things in and stop being treated like a baby. Students need to learn to be responsible. Students should learn to get their work done in class or on their own time.

Since 2009, school districts have been able to tap into $3 billion of SIG funds to aggressively and rapidly overhaul underachieving schools by following one of four intervention models: Turnaround, Restart, School Closure, Transformation.” (Chen). With so much money at schools disposal, socio-economically segregated communities have seen a significant growth in pass rates, but the four model intervention plan also has its disadvantages. The reforms made by NCLB, “such as standards, merit pay, or even charter schools have not fundamentally altered much of how schools are organized....overall, the United States has the same teachers, in the same roles, with the same level of knowledge....It might be more accurate to say “so little real reform, so little real change.” (Mehta). Critics of NCLB like Mehta, see very little change to the overall ideology of school. Even with the slight increase in pass rates in underachieving schools the nation is still below the international average in

When it comes to education, many people think that the system right now is a good one, mixing the students into one coagulated mess and subjecting them to the same teaching methods. They subject the students to endless testing, using the scores as measurements of their intelligence. They also cut us off from the world and teach us in a classroom environment, spawning cliques and social segregation. In reality, not only does this hurt the students, it hurts the teachers, and anyone else who has to experience this. That does not mean, however, that changes cannot be made or these problems can be solved.

I worry that the western and eurocentric mentality towards Indigenous peoples has not changed as much as we would like to say. Modern-day schools still ignore Indigenous ways and therefore, portray them as lesser in attempting to remove them. If Indigenous philosophies and pedagogies are not part of the curriculum (not a sidebar or merely reflected if you look closely), then “this creates tensions and adjustment problems for students, which may contribute to high dropout rates (Schissel & Wotherspoon, 2003).” (Overmars, 2010, p. 91) This mentality, in which Indigenous people and their values are lesser, needs to be dealt with to decolonise as racism as the basis of colonialism (in the form of eurocentrism). As I teacher I will need to understand

The Standard of Ur (2600 BCE) is a literary device of elaborately decorated scenes, a rectangular box shaped pictographic script from the Uruk IV period (4400-3100 BCE). Each side panel is divided into three registers that pair opposite concepts, “War” and “Peace”. It is a cultural and artistic inventory on the balance between the deep-rooted opposing qualities of past, present, and future values of the Sumerians. Within just one register, three different sized figures suggest a hierarchy that mirrors three levels of society. The placement of each figure gives a sense of order, structure, and discipline. The Standard of Ur is a skillfully expressed 4500 year old Sumerian story that’s told, and told over time by the highly organized society,

Trade, along with the previous two origin stories examined, is a difficult practice to pinpoint in an exact location and time. Evidence for trade does occur sometime before the introduction of writing, however, for the purpose of this paper, the trade being examined here is what scholars call “organized trade.” Early evidence for “organized trade” is seen in the late Neolithic period to the Early Bronze age in Mesopotamia, specifically in the Ubaid to early Uruk periods. While the text portrays the invention of writing and cuneiform texts as a means for Enmerkar to communicate with the Lord of Aratta, the archaeological record tells a different story. Clay documents found at the site of Uruk and surrounding areas during the 3000’s B.C. show

While proponents of education reform feel they are quite justified in this, the effect of this unethical manipulation of people is to create polarized camps. In an effort to maintain the process, advocates have marketed a plethora of publications (such as What 's Left After the Right, No Right Turn and If You Don 't, They Will) intended to label, castigate, and alienate anyone who does not go along with them. As a result, parents come to understand that their role in education reform is merely perfunctory; that the outcome is preset, that they are not but the rah-rah team so when opposition does arise,

Education reform is a topic that every student, parent and teacher should be interested in because it effects everyone in the community. Many different approaches to education reform have been tried, and even though they seem to work for the time being, there are always more improvements that need to be made. One of the best ideas that has been discussed in the most recent years is getting the parents and students more involved in the actual reform process. Many school administrators see a problem with involving students, even though they are the ones most affected by the changes within schools. Student’s opinions should be taken into consideration because they are the ones who see what happens inside the school and within the classroom, and are the most affected by it. Involving parents and students in the reform of their schools will improve the quality of education, improve parent and teacher relationships and reduce parent and student complaints.