Persuasive Essay On Education Reform

The function of the education system is to improve students education and prepare them for the real world. Students within that system should receive an “A” when they have mastered the information they are being taught. However, grades no longer accurately reflect how much students have learned. Since 1998 teachers have handed out more A-grades while the average SAT scores have actually fallen. In fact, as Greg Toppo states, an author for USA Today, the amount of A’s handed out actually went up close to ten percent (4). Students can manipulate their courses so that they can get good grades without actually learning much of anything. With grades not accurately representing what students have learned and charter schools failing to solve problehms, teachers need to change how they structure their class or grade assignments.

The year is 2012. In the movie Back to the Future II, two years from now, in 2016, Marty McFly travels from the past to save his family’s future. The future is almost upon us, and yet it would seem that our education system has changed little since Back to the Future hit theaters in 1985. “We still have same teachers, in the same parts, in the same schools, with the same level of knowledge, with the same equipment’s, and much the same standard of parental support” (David). Ironically, we have been steadily implementing policy after policy, increasing standards and accountability, promoting oversight and rule… the list goes on, and yet our progress seems minimal, our educators complain of underfunded classrooms, and our legislators complain of underperforming schools. The question of “how to improve our education system” is not getting satisfactorily answered because our system is not broken, merely underdeveloped. The truth is that America has made paces in improving its education technique or system; the problem that remains is for us to entrust our educators with the greater pliability and autonomy that they need to excel.

With landmark Supreme Court decisions in regards to education such as Brown v Board of Education, which made segregation within schools illegal, one would be inclined to believe that modern schools are void of any inequality. However, at a deeper glance, it is apparent that there is a glaring inequality within public school systems at the national, statewide, and even district-wide level. Such an inequality has drastic results as the education one receives has a high correlation to the college they will attend, and the job they will work. It is in society's best interest that public school systems be improved to equally supplement students with the tools necessary to succeed. While the public school system aims to reduce the inequality within it, they have proven ineffective in guaranteeing children of all races and economic classes an equal education.

School funding is a mix of different funding sources like federal, state, and local. About ninety percent of funding for education comes from state and local community. K-12 education has failed to keep up with high enrollment. Schools must spend to counter effects of poverty while many European countries alleviate these conditions through government spending. Currently more than forty percent of low income school get an extremely unfair share of state and local funds. Low income school are receiving inadequate funds for their school, whereas other schools in the United States are unfairly distributing their state and local funds. That is unfair to the low income schools because those schools really need the money for school books, field trips, etc. Funding for public schools has been quite unequal for years, but even though Americans are fully aware of this issue no one does anything to solve it. Researchers are trying to show them both sides of this unequal funding issue in public schools in order to help balance the distribution of educational funding.

Art is a subject that lets kids be creative and use their imagination or skill. Art is a subject that only a few are truly talented at it. Therefore, why make kids that are not going to be successful at it take it. It should be a choice not so much a mandatory class. The state board of education should not add art to the high school curriculum, but rather as an elective.

How would you like 450 million dollars being wasted on a school that doesn't educate as well as our public schools do. On Tuesday, November 8th, 2016 all voters in Massachusetts will be asked to register their ballot to stop the $450 million drain on our public schools ("Save Our Public Schools" ). According to Uncommon Schools, “A charter school is an independently run public school granted greater flexibility in its operations, in return for greater accountability for performance.” Most of these schools have been open for about five years because they are fairly newer (Great Schools). Charter Schools are typically smaller than a regular public schools, this is why most people say it can be beneficial. But do they really know how easy it is to open one? “Parents, community leaders, social entrepreneurs business teachers and school districts can submit a charter school proposal to their state’s authorization authority.” (Uncommon Schools). Most people didn’t know that was the case.

Can you imagine a world in which parents were free to send their children to only the best schools, no matter which neighborhood they lived in? What if cost wasn’t a factor? Imagine if even a student in the poorest section of town had access to the best education. What could that child achieve? What would they become? How would their life change? Those questions that I asked lead now to the focus of the essay. The world we live in is ever so changing, with that the need for education also needs to be changing. No longer do classic public schools fit the job in all certain situations. That is why with school choice being a controversial issue in education reform, school choice public funds should be used to support school choice programs that offer parents alternatives to traditional public schools.

On a global scale, poverty may consist of a lack in necessary resources including food, clean water, and shelter. These factors may not be as common for US citizens, because we are categorized/considered a first-world country, and with that comes a surplus of resources—more than second, or third-world countries. A balanced diet might be called into question but that is not to say there is a lack of food. This is not America’s issue. The issue that has continuously been addressed and discussed in numerous accounts and settings is the fact that those with a lower socioeconomic status are rarely able to dig themselves out of the deep hole that is struggle and debt. Families are increasingly finding themselves knee-deep in debt; many parents juggling at least two jobs, providing meals with food stamps, while also dealing with the subject matter of parenthood itself. There are numerous approaches to dissecting and solving this issue—the first being looking at exactly why these families are struggling. The most apparent answer aims towards education. Although it is still possible to obtain a stable, well-rounded job without going to college, in this day and age, it is highly unlikely. The value of education has changed. A high school diploma is simply not enough anymore—to get anywhere in this world, attaining some post-secondary degree is necessary. To possess a steady income and comfortable

The Chicago study estimated the cost of that intervention to be between three and six thousand dollars per student each academic year. (Cook, et al., 2014) There are a multitude of ways the programs can be paid for. Government education grants and fund raisers are a couple of beginning ideas. People such as educational faculty and students, preachers, and therapists, offering donations of time is another way to save on the financial burden. The community being directly involved in these programs give them a sense of pride to see the improvements. It also gives them culpability if the programs fail. When community support declines, even in a minute amount, can be felt throughout. Many complete education courses while incarcerated to gain a shorter sentence and better prepare them for release. Having an incentive program, through government grants, that donates to the inmate’s child(ren)s school upon completion is another way to increase profit.

The current college curriculum incorporates general education into the first two years of college for students. This instruction is intended to better prepare students holistically for the world beyond the university. However, in order to better prepare students US colleges and universities need to radically innovate their curriculum and instruction. In doing so they will be able to create a true holistic approach to learning beyond the classroom. While the universities require general education for their students there is a lot of confusion and decisions that first and second year college students’ need to be making. Among those choices students should be given the opportunity to learn and discuss the classes that will prepare them for the career of their choice in addition to becoming more civically involved. General education, should not be about checking boxes for graduation but preparing oneself for difficult and engaging conversations about the global engagement and problems.

Some years ago, when we were graduating from high school, we were asked what the next step was. Being so excited to be the graduates of 2015, knowing what we wanted to do with our lives and being accepted to the schools that we wanted to attend next. Funding was the one thing that stopped many of us from going directly to our dream schools. We needed to change our plans and stay back in order to scrape money together. And imagine how many students in this world have to change their plans of study because they can’t afford to pay to pursue their dreams. Having tuition free college will lead to no student debt and allow more people to attend higher level education, which in fact will also increase the amount of educated people in the world. Free education can help people not to see the cost as a barrier, to have a better-educated community and fill in the jobs that require advanced education.

America is known as the land of opportunity, it is the home of the belief system called the American dream. Many immigrants left their homeland in hope for a better future for themselves and their kids, only to realize that the public education in America, is dead. In order to revive our dead public education system, some changes need to be made.

Often in discussions many quarrels about the school system tend to arise, regarding to many different issues related to the United States of America public school system. These issues may concern the salary teachers receive, dress codes, and also if fine arts should be a part of the curriculum for schools. Now the first two issues are fairly simple most from my own personal experience believe that teachers should earn more money and that dress codes should be weakened. However, the last dispute usually deems to have fairly different opposing views regarding the solutions to the issue. From my encounters many consider that fine arts should not be included in the school’s curriculum; this is due to the fact that these certain groups of people believe that fine arts classes utilize time that could be spent on studying core academic subjects. Also, they believe that and that the skills gained through fine arts courses are not necessary skills required for life, so students should not ponder their time away learning these talents and since they are not necessary skills the government should not waste their tax dollars paying for fine arts teachers. However, those who oppose fine arts in the schools, should know that while core subjects are more important than fine arts that fine arts actually help students improve on those main school subjects. Also, when one is in a grade from kindergarten to twelfth they are not necessarily positive on which career they would enjoy

“What do you want to be when you grow up?” is a familiar question we often heard as adolescents. Most of us probably replied with an inspiring dream career, such as becoming a doctor, an astronaut, a lawyer, or perhaps a veterinarian. Not only are these careers respectable and competitive, but they also necessitate challenging efforts, perseverance, and most importantly, successful schooling, yet, our country is suffering from a predicament in generalized education. Students are no longer learning enough due to technical distractions, unsuitable cafeteria options, lack of sleep, and because students are often placed in classrooms based on their ages, leading to the lack of individualism one needs to flourish. We must resolve the educational crisis by developing a more efficient system that implements criteria promoting individualism while encouraging intellectual growth.

Children deserve to have a great education because they are the ones who are going to build our tomorrow. There are great schools in the United States that provide students with every resource and support system a student could possibly need available to them. However, those schools generally come at a great cost to tax payers and the federal government. Contrastingly, there are schools that do not provide students with the resources they need in order to be successful, and students are not meeting grade level expectations generally due to the lack of support. Failing schools are failing students and failing our future. Once a school is failing, it becomes difficult, almost impossible for the school to pull itself out of that hole. Without a solid education to provide a foundation, a child’s potential will most likely never come to fruition.