Mandatory Public Schools

In some schools there is only standard subjects. These classes do not teach you things you will need, outside of school such as cooking or how to pay bills. In order to prepare students for outside of school rather than just them being taught what they need to pass school, there should electives. It is important students know how to take care of themselves. Ultimately, having classes for students will give them a chance to learn how to be on their own.

The main courses that we are taught throughout elementary and high school are English, Math, Science, and Social Studies. While those subjects are important, not everyone will use those studies throughout their lifetime, whereas if they taught subjects like balancing a checkbook, how to fill out job applications and write a resume, how to do an interview, first aid, and so many other skills, everyone would carry that with them and find that information useful after they get out of high school.

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”

Most people believe that students do better in well-funded schools and that public education should provide a level playing field for children. Nearly half of the funding for public schools in the United States, however, is provided through local taxes, generating large differences in funding between wealthy and impoverished communities (National Center for Education Statistics, 2000a). Efforts to reduce these disparities have provoked controversy and resistance. Public school funding the United States comes from federal, state, and local sources, but because nearly half of those funds come from local property taxes, the system generates large funding differences between wealthy and impoverished communities. Such differences exist among states, among school districts within each state, and even among schools within specific districts.

Choosing to vaccinate or not vaccinate children has become a large topic of contention between parents and medical personnel. Rates of non-medical vaccine exemptions for children entering public school continue to increase across the country. This increase has coincided with a resurgence in outbreaks of vaccine-preventable diseases, or VPDs (Lynfield, 2014, p.1). There are a variety of reasons why a family might apply for a non-medical exemption and the validity of these exemptions varies from state to state. Regardless of the justifiability of an exemption, growing numbers of non-vaccinated children entering school will increase the prevalence and mortality from VPDs (Lynfield, 2014, p.2).

High school is meant to educate students and prepare them for college. Many high schools require students to earn certain credits in order to graduate including basic core classes, physical education and fine arts, however, many schools do not require to take a very important class, Money Management.

Public education is under funded, especially in the state of Alabama. I attended public school in the state of Alabama and I experienced this first hand in my elementary and high school classrooms. Low funds for the arts department and many basic school necessities are just some of the areas that are affected by the low funding. In the 2012-2013 school years, Alabama had over 744,637 students enrolled in a total of 1,637 schools. Alabama’s school funding has gone down 14% since 2008. Many school systems have to spend additional money from local revenue on top of what the state provides because it is not enough. Alabama public schools are under funded and it is a problem that is affecting classrooms across the

After someone completes high school, their first step is figuring out what kind of career they want to pursue. Most careers require a college degree just to apply. At this point, they should decide what their major is going to be and see what college is best for them to attend. Every college requires “general education” classes that the students must pass to graduate. Taking these extra mandatory classes is just time lost that college students will never get back.  General ed classes are also a waste of money, as many students acquire major debt from trying to pay for these required classes. If students were able to only take courses that help them in completing their major, more students would actually finish the classes and get their degree instead of dropping out. Universities should not necessitate students to take these general education courses that have nothing to do with the their major.

Ever since I started school at CECP, there have been many changes. Everyday extra work is required to be completed at home. Even though I completed school work at home, it is nothing like the amount of homework we receive at CECP. For me, homework is almost like doing extra school. Although I am now becoming accustomed to public school, I still do not like homework.

For the past few years in America, the people have seen how much education has decreased in the country. The people are not educated well enough in a specific subject, and that is the biggest problem in society. Students go to school five days a week, and they take some classes that honestly are not needed nor will be needed in the future. If someone wants to be a Psychiatrist, why do students need to know what X is in an Algebra 2 problem? Students should take the classes and courses needed to pursue the students wanted career and not just a class to take up their time and effort.

This is because over the years the academic success found in the recent generations has dropped. The root of the problem that Richard Rothstein the author of, “The Myth of Public School Failure” has found is the lack of funding for public schools. Unlike the private schools briefly mentioned earlier the access to certain benefits are limited because the public education is catering the idea of “free” education for all. As most citizens know taxes are implemented to keep the education program going but it is not a direct fund like a private institution. Local government has control over implementing the curriculum being taught and how money is being divided. In the article, “The Myth of Public School Failure,” Rothstein argues that funding is being stretched thinly between special education, nutrition, and other various aspects of the system High school plays a significant role on the lives of an individual because there they gain knowledge on how to understand issues going on in the real world. Having educated citizens means having a well-rounded society. Having said that, it can only be accomplished if teachers are paid their worth, funding opportunities for students to receive real world experience, and qualizing school

The American standard in the US educational system has always been to attend a four-year university after high school. Students attend college after high school to further their education in their career of interest, and to obtain a degree to become successful adults in the real world. Schools in this age however, do not teach students about life after high school and college. They fail to introduce life lessons needed in the real world, like writing a resume, buying a house, or paying taxes. The current American educational system does not prepare students to be successful adults; it teaches students things they may never apply to real-world situations.

All through high school one always wonders why certain courses have to be taken. Thinking certain courses are a waste of one’s time and how it takes 12 years just to receive a diploma. Sounds crazy to think half of one’s life is spent in school preparing to receive a better understanding of education. During graduation, walking through the stage makes one along other proud and accomplished of all the efforts that took place. This not only helps one become more educated and aware of the things going around them, but helps become financially stable with a job or other necessities in life. Therefore, high school should be mandatory for students at least till there are 18, and not to drop-out.

Learning mathematics, history, science, and English are of course necessary, but the system also fails to teach us the fundamentals it takes to become a functioning adult. In

Notably, school requires classes that need to be complete in order to fulfill the general education standards. While I think some classes such as English and math are essential, I do not think classes that are deemed useful in the future are necessary. From personal experience, a required course that I needed to take for high school graduation was Algebra 2. However, I’m aware that other schools does not Algebra 2 and plus it can be taken in college. In addition, it is unlikely that someone is going to use any form of algebra in his or her life unless they have a profession that incorporates it such as being a scientist or an engineer. Another course that can be said for the same reason are foreign language class. In some states, such as California, a foreign language like Spanish would be useful since a significant of the population speaks it. In all honesty, I think that foreign language classes should be optional rather than mandatory.