The American Educational System and Its Slippery Slope Essay

In today’s society, education has shifted the way in how one thinks, making a basis were they acquire everyone in a classroom to grasp the knowledge being presented to them at the same pace. Those that are unsuccessful to comprehend in the way that was instructed to them are viewed upon as the most needed and deficient. Having a structured way in how one should apprehend certain information, sets barriers in the process of thinking. It prevents the mind to think of other solutions, and to stick to the certain idea.

When it comes to the topic of education, most of us will readily agree that as students, we need to be dedicated learners. Where this agreement usually ends, however, is on the question of how we should be educated. Some are convinced that we need to stick with what is currently in place. From this perspective, it is completely unnecessary to do something different if the method being used works. However, others maintain that we need to change. According to this view, people need to move away from what we are comfortable and familiar with in order to be better students. In sum, then, the issue is whether we should keep how our education works the same or not.

“It is sometimes an appropriate response to reality to go insane.” ― Philip K. Dick, VALIS

To understand how to solve a problem, we must first understand what we are trying to fix. For example, can a carpenter without any medical experience repair a heart valve? Of course not, he or she must first obtain the proper education necessary to perform such a complex operation. The same can be said about the American education system.

Acceptance among teacher has been a key factor in successful or unsuccessful technology implementation. Historically, the structure of the American education system has been resistant to any kind of change (Collins & Halverson, 2009). According to Blackwell, Lauricella, and Wartella (2014) teachers with more teaching experience have less favorable attitudes towards technology and use technology less often than teachers with less experience. Districts are making efforts to provide technology for students. The problem that McDermott and Murray (2000) found was despite access to technology, students and teachers were not using it. This could be attributed to many different factors.

Thesis statement: The United States education system has weaknesses that should be remedied by emulating the education methods of other countries such as Finland and Japan.

The school calendar varies a little from state to state; but American grade school students are guaranteed 180 days no more, no less. Colleges and universities can operate on their own schedules. The list of holidays that students and their teachers enjoy range from Thanksgiving to Spring Break. In some locations, school holidays account for demographic diversity. For example, many school districts mandate holidays for Yom Kippur. Recently, Eid al-Fitr (the feast day at the end of Ramadan) was added to the list of school holidays in New York and New Jersey (Macedo). Therefore, school holidays help students and teachers realize and celebrate the cultural diversity of their communities. How else will a Christian kid be invited to his Muslim friend's home for Eid al-Fitr if they both have school that day? School holidays serve several distinct functions, none of which should be violated and all of which should be taken into account during a debate on whether or not to reduce the amount of holidays we receive. The various functions of school holidays include giving students and teachers a break so they do not get burned out after too much work. Another function of school holidays is to synchronize the schedules of students with their parents. Most school holidays are also banking holidays or statutory holidays. Those that are not give parents the opportunity to take time off from work and spend that valuable time with their children. For college students, the extra days off can

Insightfully proclaimed by Ralph Waldo Emerson “We are students of words: we are shut up in schools, and colleges, and recitation- rooms, for ten or fifteen years and come out at last with a bag of wind, a memory of words, and do not know a thing” (Brainy Quotes 2). According to the Program For International Student Assessment, a global survey that assesses students’ abilities to apply math and reading to practical situations, America is ranked twenty-seventh in mathematics and seventeenth in reading (1). When compared with higher achieving countries, American students know many skills, but struggle to apply this knowledge to real world situations. Thus, students who enter the professional

Educational institutions all over the world try very hard to provide a perfect place for students to acquire knowledge in certain fields. Most of these educational institutions still have the historical misconception that students will acquire epistemology of a certain field with the teacher being the one who talks from the beginning of the class till the end of it; however, by implementing such ways of teaching, these educational institutions are still failing miserably to provide effective education to their students.

Famous Author, Agatha Christie once said, “I suppose it is because nearly all children go to school nowadays, and have things arranged for them, that they seem so forlornly unable to produce their own ideas” (Great Educational Quotes). This is a common assumption of many; moreover, teachers should be aware and guard-against the concept of “spoon-feeding” information to students. Although I did not realize it at the time, many of my high school teachers participated in this task. Of course, no students would complain; however, it absolutely did not benefit them in their future educational journeys. Additionally, it is possible for this type of teaching to be evident in elementary and middle school classrooms as well. While spending time at Concrete Primary School to gain field experience, I was able to observe and practice many different teaching techniques which led me to develop my philosophy of education.

yourself to get things done and to meet your own needs. An example of self-reliance is growing

This message is directed towards educators. Being that I am no educator, nor have I ever experienced being in the shoes of one, it would be notable to say that my understanding, in terms of the notions of education, may not be valid. It would appear that only teachers understand the struggle of sitting in a room in which the interest for learning is zero to none. But there is a perspective that is genuine. The perspective of a student. An educator, more likely than not, has taught the same class, over many years, in the same forty-six by thirty-five foot class room. By the time a student graduates, he or she, more likely than not, has had well over 10 different teachers and gained the perspective of how different classes are run. In my time as a student, I have acquired an understanding of that which is wrong.

The American education system, as we know it, has failed us, and more of our youth are becoming incarcerated at young ages. The educational system has taken a backseat when it comes to funding prisons; youths have chosen to live a life of crime, as education has become less substantial than money and resources allocated to prisons. Although television shows such as Lock Up or Lock Down expose the harsh realities of the wars that are ongoing in prison, the war on education has taken a substantial effect on young men and women, and has landed several youths to be housed among the general population, which is, essentially, more damaging to the youth than one can imagine. Those who are imprisoned at a young age (among adults) have higher chances of remaining in the incarceration system throughout the rest of their lives, or find themselves in danger of being attacked by older men and women.

Consider, then, four ways of conceiving and organizing an educational curriculum, or rather concepts of knowledge brought to focus by philosophers—by no means the only ones, but clearly distinct and decisive in the history of pedagogy in the West since Plato. These are abbreviations, each meant to stand for a general idea, without too much emphasis on historical reference or detail.

Students in school do not always receive the same education: not because they were not taught the material, but because not everyone gets taught the same way. Many students begin  a class knowing more than others, giving them an advantage when taking tests. This is because some students have already learned the material. Kyoko Mori, Author of  “School” explains that when she went to school, they were tested on how well each of her peers, and herself could swim. She states, “...I was able to do so well only because my mother had taught me to swim in the river near her parents home, ” (Mori).  She was only the best because she had had previous experience