American Education Problems

I don’t get the education system. Science has proven, “the brain isn’t fully functioning until 10 am.” Studies have shown how the pressure to get into college and to do well in school have caused mental illness such as depression and anxiety. You don’t learn stuff unless you have enough sleep but it’s hard to do that when you have homework to do and tests to study for. The brain needs a break in order to fully comprehend things however the brain can’t do that if it’s overwhelmed. Many documentaries, books, and articles have stated how messed up the education system is and yet no one does anything about itt. Instead, it continues to get worse and people wonder why the rate of mental illness and suicide rises.

There was a time when America’s education system was top-notch according to the culture and society. With time, a myriad of things has changed, but unfortunately what has not evolved is the American education system. The country is still following a system which was not designed for the current global economic climate. Equality, as positive as it sounds is not as sufficient when it comes to education. The system treats students equally yet expect a similar culmination and outcome. Every child has his individuality and distinct abilities; one cannot judge a fish by its ability to climb a tree. Conversely, a few of the prominent reasons why the education system is failing are overcrowded schools, the rise of technology, and following the same old school hours.

America used to thrive on its education system and that is why it became one of the greatest nations in the world. Education is the backbone of our country, and we must give high priority to improve its current condition. Unfortunately, in the past couple of decades, the education system has been regressing. It has been on the decline and not as effective. The quality of education in a country has an influence on GDP growth, social cohesion and social well being in general. In order to improve the quality of education in the U.S., the following must be taken into consideration: the structure of our education system must be reanalyzed, we must compare and contrast our education system to systems of other countries with higher rankings, and finally, there must be a solution.

America is viewed as the most advanced and developed country in the world. It owns some of the largest businesses and companies known to man. It is on top of every new technological advancement that has touched the Earth. It is the country that boasts of having the best and most efficient military in the world. The list goes on and on. And although a lot these claims made by America is true, none can doubt that this country has its fair share of flaws. A flaw in the American system is the lack of education many people receive. I am making this claim because the number of people I see in the street that are poor. These people don’t have access to quality education which prevents them from getting jobs. In the essay, I will dissect this issue

There is no need to be alarmed over education in America. While many critics are quick to point out the fact that American students have fallen behind in the academic realm, they fell to mention that the American students rank high in competitiveness and creativity, giving the American students the advantage (Bracey, par. 1).

Education plays important role in society. It determines the final development of an adult’s personality. In today’s society most jobs require a University degree. To receive a University degree students need to rely on a good education system. Does America provide this? The American education system has relied on the grade point average system for a long time. The problem with this is there is not a universal GPA grade point system varying from course to course. This creates an inaccurate way to determine ones overall achievements. Teachers have different standards than others, grade inflation can occur and students can be exposed to different learning environments. Does the education system need to change to create fairness?

The United States of America used to be known as one of the greatest countries to be apart of. From the jobs to the economy to education people loved to be apart of the American culture. The problem many Americans are facing today is poor education. Since America is viewed as a high profile country many people have prominent expectations on what they are receiving, specifically the education. The fact is that there are major problems with all levels of the education system today. Starting with early education, teachers are quick to say children needs to be medicated or put into special education. Proceeding to the general or high school education where kids are graduating but not prepared for what’s after. Lastly how higher education or college can hardly be afforded in today’s society. As a result of the failing education system, many parents blame the child or society when in actuality the failing system is corrupted by some teachers, lack of preparation, and lack of affordability in higher education.

Education is a necessity across the globe, from America to Africa to China. Some education systems, however, are more successful than others and hold differing views and approaches to education. Culture greatly impacts education, which in turn impacts further opportunity. As unfair as it may be, a child’s cultural background largely determines their level of success. The American education system is lacking when compared to various other world cultures, and this is causing the socioeconomic gap to grow. Because of this inadequate education, more and more families are dipping beneath the poverty line. This could be due to poor discipline as well as the diversity of students. The diversity of the students results in a wide array of needs that are not being met by the public education system. This issue could be minimized by working to create a more inclusive academic environment to ensure equality and success.

Our educational culture only satisfies a select group of students who are at the top and leaves others behind. These book smart kids deserve to go where they are going, however, what happens to the kids who are not as book smart as others? Many students are having a hard time because they are not book smart even if they may be good at something that is not educational. As stated in Jack Schneider’s article, America’s Not-So-Broken Education System, “The education system simply stopped working. It aged, declined, and broke, but we can fix it by first ripping it apart” (Schneider Par 2). As of now, the education system is very unsupportive of some students and teachers. Backed by the government, public school pay does not support teachers in America while in other countries, being an educator is considered a privilege. By not supporting teachers, it is hard to find educators who are willing to put in the work to help their students. As a result of not having good teachers who are motivated to teach their students, it is also likely that the students that they end up having to teach are also unmotivated as well. In this cycle, some teachers and students gain practically nothing from going to school, which demonstrates the broken education system that we have at this time. The ever aging education system is not up to date with either

The American Education System is not meeting the needs of current students. If anything, the system is not building a sturdy foundation for the future working class. Schools have existed for many years and every period they have worked differently. However, every school’s main purpose was to educate students to be efficacious later in life. Modern day schools are corrupting students with added pressure, standardized tests, making less accommodations for special education students, not following laws, and take away individualism from the students’. The students of modern times are the people of our future and the future does not look too bright with the current American Education System.

Differently than some other countries, the United States has no national educational system since each state in the country has its own. However, some research from 1999 and 2006 shows that the American educational system is falling in a national scale. Experts argues that the system is ignoring cognitive and social aspects that are important for children’s development which would further help them for adult life. Studies indicates that the educational system is not achieving the real purpose of education: prepare kids for their personal and professional life. As a result, what could be worse than a school system that limits creativity and fails to develop kids with critical thinking and diverse social skills needed for adult life?

Antonia Darder sets a language in Culture and Power in the Classroom that critiques the traditional American educational system while challenging teachers to a new thinking of culture and diversity in the classroom. Using the groundings from several theories, theory and resistance, regimes of truth, and theory of hegemony, she set the platform of the hidden curriculum that is valued in traditional public education. She seeks to use several theoretical frameworks to create a bicultural critical pedagogical approach, which links education to impactful politics. In Culture and Power in the Classroom, Antonia Darder makes is clear that education matters, but yet more importantly that all students matter in their educational experience. As educators there needs to be awareness and consciousness of the hegemonic forces of race, class, culture, ethnicity, gender, and/or ability shape that inferiority within students. Cultural hegemony is so natural, that even in the classroom students are immune to the shoddiness of living within the realms of the dominant culture.

The human mind is perhaps the greatest object on the earth, animate or inanimate, but without the proper training, the mind is a relatively useless tool. Through the development of formal education systems, humans as a whole have tried to ensure the training of all minds so as to continue prosperity for the world. Most of the time, though, education systems do not realize the harm they are doing to developing minds and the subsequent negative consequences. Among the largest of these inadequate education systems is the American primary schooling system. The American education system is in fact failing; it continues to deplete children of their natural creativity and thirst for knowledge while preaching conformity, which in turn creates an

There are three factors that contribute to how the promise of ‘educational opportunity for all” is still a troubling paradox in American society. The first factor is that cultural and background influence effect what academic level each student is at. Institutional education systems in America don’t take this into account. In the “Educational Foundations” book by Alan S. Canestrari and Bruce A. Marlowe, they talk about how students other cultures experience race, culture, native language other discriminations in institutional education system, in chapter 5. Institutional education doesn’t take into account native language in teaching literacy or in any instructions.

Today’s schools just aren’t cutting it for today’s developing society. Not all students are cut out to sit in a classroom for seven hours a day and sit through boring lectures. Not only are today’s schools not fit for most children, they are killing creativity and keeping students from expressing themselves and being curious about the world around them. With pressure from getting students prepared to take high-stakes test and preparing high school students for college and the future, schools are limiting creativity. “Creativity flourishes at the intersections of traditional disciplines, but traditional means of assessment often marginalize individuals working to define new and unique fields of endeavor. From the high-stakes tests in K-12, to the academic tenure clock, to the economy’s focus on short-term return on investments, American society’s reward structures tend to discourage unconventional thinking and limit risk-taking” (Gonchar, 2013). The real question here is are schools still providing young people with enough opportunities to show their creativity and to express themselves while fitting every student’s need for their future?