Public School Education

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.

Surprisingly, there are children who do not go to school or do any work at home. With no school and having no curriculum, children may spend all of their time focusing on their passions or interests. However, many of these children are more driven to learn on their own. Denise Witmer, author of the article “Top Reasons to Homeschool Your Teen” stated, “Public high school curricula often fail to engage intelligent teens who are interested in a specific area of study.” At home, these teens and children alike will have the time and opportunities to dive into these areas of study. By not having a set schedule on most days, children may find themselves bored. When bored, they made then begin to wonder and let their curiosity take over. Once they

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”

The U.S. public education system contains tremendous inequality, much of which is maintained through the institution itself. We believe the system to be based on the principles of a strong work ethic and equal opportunity – key components of the dominant American ideology, which are in turn made reasonable by the schooling system. Furthermore, structural factors such as cumulative advantage, which explains how those who are successful gain additional success, offer an explanation for the inequalities in the school system that cannot be described or solved by money. Therefore, through the legitimation of the dominant American ideology and the process of cumulative advantage, the U.S. public education system perpetuates social inequality within the classroom and provides more power to those already born with greater life chances.

The U.S. public education system has been a controversial topic for many years; by virtue of budget cuts, overcrowding, and lack of innovation which negatively impacted the effectiveness of schools. According to a report by Education Week, “29 nations and other jurisdictions outperformed the United States [in mathematics] by a statistically significant margin (Heitin). Coupled with the 19th and 22nd ranking of literacy and science respectively, it is evident students are not receiving a quality education (Heitin). In conclusion, a reform is necessary for the U.S. to remain prevalent in tomorrow 's economy. To resolve the problem and secure economic prosperity for upcoming generations, a reform needs to reconcile the relationship between schools and students. Some of the reasons students dislike school are that it revolves around the prospect of failure, not gaining knowledge, or solving problems (Erik Martin). Therefore, this method is not very effective as the extrinsic motivation it relies on, demotivates [students] in the long term (Egenfeldt-Nielsen et al). Many educators have played around with the idea of using video games in the classroom; as students love to play these simulations where one must learn the game and fail, in order to succeed. Even though they are usually viewed as an expensive entertainment medium, recent technological advancements in hardware capabilities have resulted in better and more immersive gameplay and have lowered the cost of each unit which

The U.S. public education system has been subject for debate for many years now, budget cuts, overcrowding and lack of innovation have severely impacted the effectiveness of our schools. As a result, according to a report by Education Week, “In mathematics, 29 nations and other jurisdictions outperformed the United States by a statistically significant margin, up from 23 three years ago” (Heitin). Coupled with our 19th and 22nd ranking of literacy and science respectively, because of this, we can conclude a reform is necessary if we want to remain prevalent in tomorrow 's economy (Heitin). To get to the root of the problem and secure economic prosperity for our children, we need to reconcile the relationship between schools and students. Some of the reasons students dislike school is because it revolves around the prospect of failure, not gaining knowledge or solving problems. Therefore, this method is not very effective as it does not encourage curiosity and relies on extrinsic motivation. Many educators have played around with the idea of using video games in the classroom, kids love to play these simulations where one must learn the game and fail, in order to succeed. Even though they are usually viewed as an expensive entertainment medium, recent technological advancements in hardware capabilities have resulted in better and more immersive gameplay while lowering the cost of each unit may help bring video games into the classroom. Video games can be used as a medium to

The United States does not have an obligation to help poor countries. Although the U.S. has a high gross domestic product and strong military, it still hasn’t been able to succeed in other areas. In order to help others, you need to help yourself. Until every aspect of the United States is in order, we should not supply any other countries with help. The United States also has a failing public education system, citizens with food insecurities, and aging infrastructure. Giving aid can do more harm than good to a developing country. Instead of giving handouts, the U.S. should allow poor countries figure things out for themselves. “The American way” doesn’t work for everyone and countries, without help, should figure out what kind of system

The privatization of education is said to diversify the education system as a whole and

In my opinion, healthcare services should be provided to Americans in the same fashion that public education services are. In simplest terms, Americans pay income, property, and sales taxes which go toward funding for public schools. In return for paying these taxes, American children have the opportunity to receive an education and to use the knowledge gained from experiences in the classroom to teach others or to contribute positively to society. I believe that healthcare services should be provided in a similar fashion, so that Americans pay taxes to provide for the healthcare services necessary for Americans to live plentiful lives. While education is not a right enumerated in the Constitution of the United States, many Americans would

The population of the United States was raising due to immigration. The country was divide into many denominations, and was generally Protestant. More immigrants were coming all over Europe and by 1910, 13.5 million immigrants were coming to America. There had to be changes in the society, economy, politics, and for the public schools.

Society is built on the common understandings of its people. “Next in importance to freedom and justice is popular education, without which neither freedom nor justice can be properly maintained,” stated James Garfield. Education as a publicly provided social program gained momentum during the Progressive Movement of the 1920s; it was not always regarded as a right under the constitution. During the Great Depression, the federal government became much larger and more powerful as Franklin Delano Roosevelt sought to stop the terrible unemployment and resultant deplorable living conditions of so many Americans (Galbraith, 2000.) The idea of a nation-wide public educational system gained ground as the government grew. Educational champion John

Since last week I have been prepare a presentation to summarize a chapter about “newcomers” (Chinese and Vietnamese children) in public education for next week. So I almost spend all my rest time to do this. Maybe you will say is it necessary to cost so much time? But I want to say it is not an easy task for me. First, I have to read a lot of materials and all of them were written in English. Then figure out the point opinion and summarize them, and have to consider how to construct the flow and write manuscript. Finally, revising and memory it.

What is free and appropriate public education? To me, free means that students with disabilities will be able to get an education at the no cost. Appropriate means that students with disabilities are entitled to an education that is best suited for them, in other words their individualized education program will be tailored and planned to best meet their needs. Public refers to public school system. And education is what prepares students for their future.

Many people believe that the public school system is inadequate helping students prepare for the real world after high school. The school needs to teach their students about life skills such as Banking and finding jobs. The inability of people not being to support themselves and having to rely on others after school is not a thing to be proud of. So I believe these life skills should be required to be learned in all public schools.

The greatly discussed dilemma of having a child be taught in a public school setting versus a homeschool setting has been evaluated by parents since the idea was first introduced in the 1970’s. Public schooling had been the standard method of teaching since it is a requirement for states to provide public, free education for children in grades K-12. However, the backlash against the system began when two educational theorists and supporters of school reform, John Holt and Raymond Moore, started to question both the techniques and the products of public schools. Some parents went on to support the ideas of them and began to teach their children in the environment of their own homes for several different reasons. Some included moral or religious reasons, a desire for high educational achievement, dissatisfaction with public schools’ instructional program, or concerns about drugs and peer pressure in a public school environment. Child development specialists believe that homeschooled children are isolated from the outside world, therefore making them socially handicapped. If being exposed to this type of education on an elementary school level, the child can suffer from the lack of fundamental development of effective social skills needed for a lifetime ahead of them.