An American Imperative: The Value Of Public Schools

Pedro Noguera, a phenomenal urban sociologist and a professor at New York University confronts the problems which exist in our nation’s education system in his book, City Schools and the American Dream: Reclaiming the Promise of Public Education. Noguera describes what he views to be the main problems facing urban education and suggests strategies for improvement. From years of experience as a teacher and school board member, he reflects on what he believes to be the real problems. Noguera blames the school’s failures on students, parents, and teachers which leads to blame local government officials or policymakers. Noguera states in City Schools and the American Dream, “The central argument of this book is that until there is a genuine commitment to address the social context of schooling — to confront the urban condition — it will be impossible to bring about significant and sustainable improvements in urban public schools” (pg.6). Noguera believes that we must address the central problem to make any type of solutions for improvement.

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.

Education is a fundamental aspect of any civilized nation. The goal of public education in America is to turn uninformed children into knowledgeable citizens who are fully capable of participating in a society driven by democracy and economics. Students drop out every year by the hundreds of thousands, and those who remain receive a less than satisfactory educational experience due to lack of funding, inadequate teachers, and flawed educational strategies. Americans must improve school funding and increase teacher pay to ensure all students receive quality primary and secondary education as well as reduce remediation and drop out rates through improved learning standards, effective assessment tools,

Over the centuries, education has changed based on the demands of the citizens during a specific time. As Americans become more informed (educated), their opinions, ideas, and thinking change. America’s expectations concerning public education have evolved as well. The demands that are placed on states, districts, and leadership are becoming more intense; yet, our culture still believes that public education is faltering.

If a pupil is given the opportunity to discuss their learning either with a teacher or one of their peers then they will develop a deeper understanding of their learning which can build confidence, raise their self esteem and motivate them as students.

In the 1997 article, “Public Goods, Private Goods: The American Struggle over Educational Goals” by David Labaree, Labaree describes three goals that have been at the core of educational conflicts over the years. The first goal mentioned is democratic equality, which is meant to create good citizens and enable educational access to all. The second goal is social efficiency, which creates workers and is viewed by taxpayers and employers as a goal to prepare students for market roles. Lastly is the third goal of social mobility, where individual success for attractive market roles is the main purpose. This primary goal of education has been ever fluctuating. The argument of this essay is that social mobility has now triumphed over democratic equality and social efficiency as the primary goal of education due to parents. This view of social mobility by parents is negative to due its numerous consequences, significantly the growing disparity between the wealthy and the underprivileged, and additionally, the health of children, their behavior, and the degree to which they learn educational material are all affected.

After reading the introduction and first chapter of The American Dream and The Public School, I don’t know whether to be more encouraged, more determined, more excited to be a teacher in a time where the future of public education needs strong student advocates, or to be terrified as I am reminded of the ever-growing disparities for children based on their socioeconomic standing, race, and ethnicity. Though strongly backing the project II topic my group presented in explaining how those who are morally educated well become better, more productive members of society, the authors of these chapters reminded me that for all the lip service Americans give to this topic, they do little to back it. I certainly agree that a good educational base generates

This is important for those students are they can contribute when they are comfortable sharing personal experiences and beliefs and when they are comfortable to use the English language thus avoiding confrontation with the teacher. For students that have difficult behaviour the intention of using class discussion to provide a space where they can learn to empathise with other people in the classroom and engage with the discussion as an outlet for their need of attention. Class discussions are used widely because they can provide benefits on so many different levels for classroom management and for differentiation.

Wendy Kopp believed that it was the responsibility of everyone to stop children from being uneducated. As Wendy grew up she felt that since she was a woman there would be limits but as the years passed by she learned she wasn’t limited. She attended Princeton as a public policy major and was involved in many activities. She met a variety of people during her college years and learned more about students who come from poor communities and found that they have lower academic achievement because they were less prepared for the challenges ahead. Wendy eventually used this same idea in her senior thesis.

Good communication is a criterion that sets many students apart in terms of traits. This is useful when building any form of rapport between them and the lecture or tutor. A student that respectfully communicates has also come out as self-motivated and is more likely to get more help from the teacher since their problems are aired out effectively. Students that do not communicate can be misjudged and mistaken for lack of motivation and self-confidence. In addition, students who are good communicators are made, not born (Floyd, 2013).

The United States prides itself on its public education system making it a core value of many families. The level of education a person has will influence their career achievements. Americans expect their public system of education to provide a solid curriculum. Most of the people in the United States place their trust in the public school system in which they support through taxes. This trust although is contradicted by the public system of education’s current shape. Much of the schools in the United States are either deteriorating, or failing all together. The drawbacks of public education create an unhealthy environment for student learning.

Africa is having a learning crisis that is not being resolved like it needs to be. In Africa there is 128 million school-aged children but 17 million of them don't even attend school, there is also 37 million children that do attend school, but they fail to learn from going. In America we force every child to be schooled at age 5-6, if parents cannot afford for their children to go the school the government makes exceptions and provides a way for the child to get schooling. While in America all children must go to school while in Africa there is a constant problem of not enough children attending school, schooling has been a crisis for many years and it should be widely available for all the children to learn information they will use in their

Education is a valid way to gauge how successful a country is. Every year thousands of children attend public schools in the US. These children are the hoe for this country’s future; their generation and the generations after will be the drivers for technological and economic success in the US. However, the education system is severely underfunded. A large percentage of these children attend schools that don’t have the necessary materials to learn. They attend classes taught by underqualified teachers getting paid very little. Not only that, I believe that funding schools based on test scores is a method that is severely flawed. Funding schools in this way creates a loop, where

As children, our main “job” is to wake up early and get ready for school. The people in our lives who care deeply for us, put us in a place where not only can we get an education,but also prepare better future for ourselves. In America, it is required that all children go to school. Not counting private schools, majority of schools are free. They also receive provide free transportation and breakfast. Schooling in America and the amount of success that comes out of it is dependent on the area of where the school is located. Schooling in the streets of Chicago may be very different from schools in Fort Lauderdale, Florida. In Haiti, that is completely different. One is looked at differently if they weren’t taking school seriously when in America it isn’t looked down upon. It is mandatory for children from age six to eleven years old to attend school until the sixth grade. After that numerous of children remain out of school due to the fact that they cannot afford it. I would prefer to have my education done in haiti because their class system, low tuition and uniform.

Schools and Education has been a social problem we face in the United States for some years now. This is a social issue that individuals go through that affects their education. This social issue involves people race, gender, and family income. In attention to those reason there are other reason that the school system is failing, such as the lack of parents involvement in their child’s education action, schools are being over crowded, and also the lack of diversity in school. This problem needs to get more attention so that every student can get the best and highest education that they deserve.