American Education Reform

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.

Education in America is one of the most important issues that face our nation. If the education in America is not thought of one of most serious issues we face, our nation as a whole will fall. There are many debates and they seemly extend to all walks of life. The debates range from the decline in education, school vouchers, and the no child left behind law. As a nation, the United States is ranked above others. We must search for that solution to all of the pro’s and con’s in education. The solution should allow all walks of life to excel in the education realm. After all, the children of today will be the leaders of tomorrow.

Many people know that the U.S. does not rank very high in education. You hear about how they are always trying to improve education, but they still fall short of where they strive to be. In Anu Partanen’s “Finland’s School Success, What Americans Keep Ignoring” she addresses this issue. She points out what Americans are doing wrong, what Finland is doing right, and how the U.S. can improve the education system in many ways.

Parents send their kids to school thinking that America has the best school in the world. They think wrong. Out of all the countries in the world, we aren't first place in any educational subject. We rank 14th in education, ranks 2nd in ignorance to social statistics (chart shown on image to the right) , 24th in literacy, 17th in educational performance and ranks 11th in fourth grade math.

“In 1983 American education reform entered a new era. It was in that year that the federal government published a report of the National Commission on Excellence in Education entitled A Nation at Risk: The Imperative for Educational Reform. Commissioned in August 1981 by President Ronald Reagan's secretary of education, Terrel H. Bell, and chaired by David P.” (1). School reform has been poisoning our American educational system for 33 years and keeps on going with Obamas’ No Child Left Behind. This article should inform you on how school reform had developed, what is still causing the problem, and how school reform affects society.

Although often taken for granted, education is a privilege the U.S. offers to aid in achieving the “American Dream”, in which some define as opportunity and success. The U.S. proves being the “greatest country in the world” by leading other countries in military strength, political strength, plentiful resources and a powerful economy. In order to maintain a mighty military, the “Department of Defense deploys 1.8 million soldiers in active duty and owns 29,819,492 acres of land worldwide.” (military.com/military-trivia-facts.html) Economically, the U.S leads the United Nations in Gross Domestic Product (GDP) with an annual production of $16,768.1

The American education system needs to change techniques in order to successfully prepare students for success in today’s world. American students are reportedly averaging some of the lowest test scores on the PISA test. This is mentioned in Amanda Ripley’s book the Smartest Kids in the World when it’s stated “Failure in American schools was demoralizing…American kids could not handle routine failure” (pg.72 par.4). This statement is a clear sign that the techniques used in the American education system to promote academic success in students need amending. There is definitely a change that needs to happen within the American educational system this is the only way to ensure that American students will be equipped with the tools they require

In case you have been living under a rock for your entire life, you may have noticed that the education system of America is a complete disaster. To put it delicately there are many flaws with the current system we have in place. One of the major flaws of the education system is that it takes an insane amount of your time and money all for just a fancy piece of paper. The system also can implode too easily; all it can take is a student to just not care or just a bad teacher for bad things to happen. We can look at several different essays that show how the system is flawed, through the academic journey of two students. We can see that the education system has a great cost, how the level of a student’s success is determined, and how the

America: the land of freedom and innovation. For upwards of two hundred years, America has impressed the world with the courage of her people, her ideas, her ingenuity, and her tenacity. Her very name is synonymous with the dream of freedom and the idea that one can make something of oneself regardless of beginning social status if only one works hard. America gives her working citizens, overall, an amazing quality of life compared to most of the world. However, she has her problems: political unrest, social justice issues, issues defining the Constitution, school shootings, police brutality, and many more concerning issues. Some purport that many of America's problems could be solved with education. However, that in and of itself is a problem. America's educational system is corrupt and not her own. It is an age

Educational needs change overtime to fit the ever evolving world and the knowledge required to successfully maneuver through it. Because of these inevitable changes, public school systems today are in need of educational reform. Evidence collected over the the topic of education reform has shown that overall the education system needs reform. However, there are two section in particular that studies have shown to be neglected in most school environments and that have beneficial repercussions for students learning abilities and the skills they learn for real life applications. These two areas of learning include arts programs and sexual education, although they are not the sole area in need of change the do offer valid reform.

Education in America started with the Pilgrims in the early 1600’s. The first public school was opened in 1635 in Boston Massachusetts. In 1642, Massachusetts started an education reform that stated “Any child not properly educated would apprentice to a trade”. This education reform was created because they believed it was important for children and citizens to be able to read the laws of the land. This was the first law that required children to be education. If they were not properly educated they would be moved from their home to a better fit environment where they would be able to learn. Virginia then followed with a similar law in 1646. In 1647 Massachusetts founded an act called “Old Deluder Satan Act”. This act required towns of more than fifty families to hire a teacher for reading and writing. Towns of more than a hundred families had to establish a grammar school which served as college preparation. Dame schools taught reading and writing to females because this was all they were expected to learn so that they would not have the same intellect as men. Their classes were held in the teacher’s kitchen who continued her chores while the students did their lessons. At the beginning of the 20th century, parents and public schools began demanding more practical and useful curriculums.

As a nation the United States ranks twenty ninth in the world for education. Certainly not the worst, but as such a developed country that claims to be the best, shouldn’t it be higher? Spending on education in America is still low despite the improving economy and it was discovered that “34 states are contributing less funding on a per student basis than they did prior to the recession years” (Lynch). Teachers, as a whole, lack respect throughout the country. And despite the increase in graduation rate, “less than half” (Lynch) are truly prepared for secondary education and life in the real world. All these issues, and many more, stem from our current education system: a push by the federal government for nationally

In my lifetime, I intend on changing America by reforming our educational institutions to teach the ability to learn, rather than the ability to test. In order for America to more comfortably adjust to globalization, I believe our education system should focus on teaching students how to adapt and learn rather than how to take a standardized test.

A plethora of European nations have found the way to properly educate their citizens, while the United States sits back and hopes methods of the past can solve the problems of the future. Proactivity and reform are absolutely essential to eradicating the national crisis Americans are facing in the realm of secondary