Essay Education and Democracy: How We Need Both

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.

Indirectly, or directly, one can argue, public schools are controlled by the federal and state governments. Several issues have emerged, because of the conflict between federal and state requirements for education. “Under the Tenth Amendment, any authority not given specifically to the federal government is reserved to the states. Thus, the federal government has no authority to regulate education directly; that belongs to the states” (Underwood, n. d., p. 2). To get around this, the federal government controls the schools through funds for complying with certain initiatives, procedures, and policies (Underwood, n. d.). Ironically, both the state and federal levels of government hold the district liable for implementing different agendas and legal obligations. The federal government, however, can ensure that no citizen is denied their rights or privileges, even in a private institution, because of the Bill of Rights and other amendments. Failure to comply by these amendments or statutes can lead to the loss of federal funding and legal reproductions for schools.

     Will Durant, a businessman and the founder of General Motors, once said, “Education is the transmission of civilization.” Unfortunately, education is still one of the most deliberated and controversial issues in the United States. Thus far, the privilege or right to receive education has not attained the level of equality throughout the nation; poor districts obtain less educational funding while rich districts obtain more, creating an immense gap between the quality of schools in poor and rich areas.

The better the education a person has, the more successful they will be. Even having a basic education can bring you far. If people didn?t take education seriously, the country would not be the country we would be today. We would have corruption throughout the nation and our technology would be outdated. We would have not had any advances in medicines or cures to many of the diseases that are curable today. The stability in the government would not be balanced, and the economy would sink into depression. Everything considered the country would be in turmoil and misery.

With the many diverse characteristics of the Unites States, perhaps the most troubling is the rising gap in the distribution of wealth. As the wealth gap in the United States rises exponentially, the gap in the quality of public schooling rises with it. For a country that prides itself in prestigious outlets of education, the system of public schooling seems to be miserably failing. Public education, a system that some fight to destroy while others fight to preserve, is perhaps the only source of academic opportunity for many individuals living in this country. The fact that someone can live in a certain area and receive a higher quality of public education than someone else living in a different area in the same country—even in the same state—is a problem that should not trouble a ‘progressive’ democratic society. Unfortunately, areas of lower socioeconomic status receive much less funding than areas of higher socioeconomic status, where property taxes account for 45% of funding in public school districts. Naturally, the impoverished residents of poor neighborhoods pay a harsh price in this situation, sending their children to an underfunded school with little to no resources, where sometimes teachers must supply the classroom from their own pocket. As Rogerson and Fernandez note, “a system that allows the accidents of geography and birth to determine the quality of education received by an individual is inimical to the idea of equal opportunity in the marketplace”

It is essential for child of any age to get a form of education. Private or public, school is a necessity for children to expand their knowledge and learn from their mistakes. But, how will a vast eighty-seven percent of the US's children learn if there is not money to invest in their public schools? Mothers Jessica Blatt and Lizzie Scott in their editorial argue that Public schools are not receiving the affection they need. First, Blatt and Scott incorporate emotional diction into their editorial to appeal to the audience's empathetic emotions. Second, Blatt and Scott integrate specific details into their editorial to emphasize the change that needs to happen in the public schooling system. Third, Blatt and Scott manipulate the syntax of their editorial to mirror the how the Public School Watchdogs need supporters now. These establish a passionate devoted tone. Blatt's and Scott's editorial is significant because it enlightens one about the problems happening behind the doors of public education.

Education is a sensitive subject with a very divisive line. Many strongly believe in the system. Bill Gates stated, “It's hard to improve public education - that's clear.” Others oppose it just as strongly. Friedrich Nietzsche felt, “In large states public education will always be mediocre, for the same reason that in large kitchens the cooking is usually bad.” In Texas, this has always been a concerned issue for parents, teachers, and communities. It is not just a normal topic, but a major political topic, in which the state government has shown continuous efforts to compare and evaluate the standards in which students and teachers must follow. Proper education is now something that is decided for students and

The education system has been the cornerstone of freedom and equity for economic success in The United States. However, the history of education has never been so crucial to the collective future of our nation and to the young people. The public schools must struggle to provide equality in educational system as never before. The demand for education has become necessary and growing to provide education for all students to comply with the rigorous academic standards on a global scale (Baker, B. D., Sciarra, D. G., Farrie, D. (2010, p. 1).

For the past decade, our country’s education system has reached a flat line in results. Studies show that the United States is the number one country in education spending in order to improve our results, but standardized test scores have plateaued. During President George W. Bush’s term, he initiated a program titled “No Child Left Behind.” No offense to President Bush, however his educational initiative is the most ironic title due to its produced results. So far, no state in our country has reached one hundred percent proficiency in mathematics and language arts and the system has gotten deficient and is failing the millennial generations. Education is a key component to success in our fast-paced society and our system needs to change, for

America is in the midst of one its greatest crises. This problem is affecting all fifty states and all levels of society. This current crisis is America’s failing education system. The United States has fallen behind many other developed nations when it comes to the quality of our children’s education. A good, strong education had been a crucial part of the American dream, so then why is that this problem is being ignored and allowed to continually worsen? School districts across the county are dealing with problems like lack of funding, low teacher salary, teachers unions, increasing class sizes, and failing test scores. A solution to these problems will not be easy. It will require the cooperation of federal, state, and local

In its beginnings American public education was a rather revolutionary concept. This conception—which was cemented upon the notion that education should be free and compulsory to the masses—was scoffed at by many in the elite class however, this was the age of enlightenment thinkers and America’s founding fathers came to a significant conclusion; If America was to survive as a democratic nation its citizens would need to be more informed than ever before. Knowledge is power and if America were to compete with the rest of the world each generation would require even more knowledge than their predecessors. With this idea in mind many American public schools—in their beginnings—were exemplary

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.

Explain how the four components of thinking sociologically assist in understanding this area or domain.

Currently the education system in the United States is funded mostly on a state and local level, who always borne over 90% of the public elementary and secondary education finances (need cite). The original Department of Education was developed in 1867 to collect information on schools and teaching that would help the States establish effective school systems (need cite). Fast forward over one hundred years to 1980, when Congress established the Department of Education as a Cabinet level agency, and note that education standards and improvement continue to be of great importance to the government. It is important to note that the state and federal government play separate roles in the education of students, whereas the federal government has the means to

What are the roles of federal and state government when it comes to American education? The roles of education have evolved from historic liabilities to current liabilities. There are many laws and cases that have had an impact on American education that still has a strong influence on education today such as the debate between church and state, racial desegregation, and education finances. Other impacts as relevant are testing standards and special education programs that have arisen from influences of federal concerns. The purpose of this paper is to examine the historical and current roles that the federal and state government has on education. Other factors to include are individual cases