Essay on Private Schools Will Not Fix the American Education System

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.

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.

Asian-American students are often assumed to be the ones who finish on top academically. Due to the amount of high-ranking Asian-American students in schools throughout the United States, a cliché stereotype has been developed claiming all Asian students are “whiz kids.” The culture which Asian individuals practice differs by region however, majority of Asian individuals celebrate a different culture than mainstream Americans. I interviewed Susan, an Asian-American female who was born to an Asian mother, and an American father.

The source of this discourse can be attributed to global biases and stereotypes of Asian American students. Asian American students are stereotyped for being model students when it comes to education. Most of this academic achievement has been attributed to Asian cultural values that promote educational endeavors. Culture is a major explanation for achievement differences. The article,” Asian-American educational achievements: A phenomenon in search of an explanation” states, “demands and expectations for achievement and upward mobility, induction of guilt about parental sacrifice and the need to fulfill obligations” (Sue, S., & Okazaki, S., 2009), implying that those are key contributors to why Asian families promote educational achievements.

Asian Americans view education as essential to improving their lives and securing their children’s financial success (Kim, 1993). They view education as the only viable pathway to achieve upward mobility because they perceive limitations in non-educational pursuits (Sue and Okazaki, 1990). This notion is reflected in educational statistics, as Asian Americans are considered the fastest-growing, college-going racial group in the nation (Teranishi et al., 2004). Despite valuing education, however, many Asian Americans do not pursue a career in education, and one of the factors contributing to the lack of Asian American teachers in K-12 education is intense pressure from parents. In a pilot study done by Chang (2007), 18 first-generation Asian

I can understand why children want to come here, why parents want to send their kids here, but replacing public schools around the world with private schools is simply unrealistic. Have you ever thought about how much money you are spending each year, for multiple years to send your child to Acton? Have you thought about how much you could be saving if you just sent your child to public school? That could mean more vacations over spring break, summer break and winter break. Have you ever thought about how some families can't afford private school? What would they do if the world replaced all public schools with private schools? Their children would probably end up not attending school. Not only do you have to think about yourself when you decide if you are for or against public school funding, but you have to think about the community around you.

It is a well-known fact that Americans, in comparison to other developed nations worldwide, lags in academic achievement as evidenced by various international assessments. The results of such assessments have led many to question the reasons behind it—is the American education system faulty, is the population simply too large to fully educate, or is it the lack of motivation in all parties involved? Though these aspects are all likely to have played a role in the educational lag, the underlying reason for America’s lagging academic achievement may well lie in its highly diverse population and social culture within the schools, which may not particularly foster the kind of social support necessary for success in an academic setting. While this

These include lack of funding, high poverty rates, and racial or ethnic diversity as explained by Amanda Ripley. Although these expectant confounding variables could have been at fault for our country’s more than dissatisfactory results, Ripley continues in her oration to invalidate and elaborate how these components are in no way hindrances to the results of the OECD PISA scores. The U.S is still one of the top ranked countries when it comes to spending in the world per student on kindergarten through high school education and still the nation with one of the smallest class sizes in the world. According to this chart provided by The New York Times, the United States is one of the few countries recorded that inconspicuously stray from the overall direct trend between math scores and average spending per student. Evidence clearly illustrates lack of funding is not an influencing issue in the U.S’ academic performance. To continue, the next map below divides states by relation to their educational counterpart, with purple colored states being respectively the top 15 performing countries in the world— none of which is present in the United States. This statistical depiction of academic accomplishment within regional boundaries eliminates the other confounding variables of racial and ethnic background. Take the state of Maine for example, “where 96% of the population is white, (and New Hampshire and Vermont follow similar racial and ethnic trends,)” Ripley states. These homogenous places display no correlation to higher scores, leaving the argument in which cultural differences could impede performance completely invalid. Despite, all these supposed deterrents, it is evident that these many commonly thought variables, do not influence

A good education is an essential part of a child’s development. Today, parents have a choice in their child’s education and can evaluate both public and private schools. Although both public and private schools provide education and opportunities for students, parents should evaluate the differences and choose the option that best suits their child and families’ needs. In this paper, I will compare and contrast five major areas that relate to public and private schools including class size, cost, curriculum, services, and teachers.

Plato said, "You must train the children to their studies in a playful manner, and without any air of constraint, with the further object of discerning more readily the natural bent of their respective characters" (Plato). Education has increased as a topic of conversation among parents in America today. The importance of a good education has increased in value, and parents are searching for the best possible school for their child in preparation for college. Many believe the most opportune way for their child to succeed in studies is by attending a private school. On the other hand, another group of parents thinks that public schools are the better route. Nevertheless, public schools have been proven to be more successful in the

There are different types of education that a student may receive in today’s society. The choices are narrowed down into two main categories, public and private school. Many people in today’s society believe it’s better to send their children to private schools rather than public schools. To most parents deciding which school system will be better is based on curriculum, class size, and most of all cost. It’s not an easy choice for parents to decide, but many parents feel their child is worth receiving the best education offered.

As time has gone by, Americans have increasingly paid more attention to the schooling process, trying harder all the time to get the best education possible for their children. As a result, more parents are turning from the public school systems to the private schools. This happens for several reasons. First, students that graduate from private schools tend to be better prepared for college. Second, private schools open up many opportunities to succeed in the business world. Last, the private schools allow the parents and the student to decide which school they feel will give the student the best education possible. Overall, private schools offer a better education for high school students than do public schools.

No one thinks twice about whether or not a child needs an education. As children grow, parents must decide what route to take concerning education. The options include, but are not limited to, sending children to a private or a public school. Deciding which type of schooling depends solely on personal preference. The argument ‘If You Send Your Kid to Private School, You Are a Bad Person’ by Allison Benedikt, argued that sending children to private schools ultimately depletes actions to achieve what is best for the students. Although, Benedikt’s piece uses premises, and personal testimonies, overall the argument presented is lacking.

When discussing Private Education, the first thing that comes too most individual’s minds is money. You need money to be able to send your child through a private education, and most of the time, the cost is not minimal. But what if I told you that putting your child through the private education system would make your child more money in his or her lifetime versus that of a public education? Are our public school kids being left behind or do these students have the same resources and opportunities that a private school student would have? This paper will cover all these topics, as I will be discussing the advantages to private education as opposed to public, as it will also entail opposing view points on why other believe public education has the same opportunities. There have been countless articles discussing these topics, from academic to non-academic, which will be used as sources throughout the duration of my article.