The Education System : A Comprehensive High School Program

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.

New York City consists of five boroughs, Manhattan, the Bronx, Queens, Brooklyn, and Staten Island. The borough that I reside in is Brooklyn. Brooklyn has approximately 2.592 million people inhabiting this district and approximately 23.4 percent of individuals who reside in Brooklyn, NY come from a low-income household or in other words come from poverty. With catholic and private schools being expensive, people have to rely on the education system to provide their children with a good education. In this paper I will be discussing the public school education system ranging solely up to high school in Brooklyn New York and giving a general idea of the New York education system as well.

The idea that the American education system requires its students to attend school for a full 13 years is absurd. The average student does not need 13 years of high school to be prepared for graduation and college, and those who do require that much attention most likely would not succeed in college anyways. In the typical high school, students and teachers waste more time focusing on sports and social issues rather than actual schooling. When one truly realizes how many days are wasted at sporting events or on silly pep rallies and activities, then it becomes clear why it’s a waste to attend school for such a large amount of time.

Education is a necessity across the globe, from America to Africa to China. Some education systems, however, are more successful than others and hold differing views and approaches to education. Culture greatly impacts education, which in turn impacts further opportunity. As unfair as it may be, a child’s cultural background largely determines their level of success. The American education system is lacking when compared to various other world cultures, and this is causing the socioeconomic gap to grow. Because of this inadequate education, more and more families are dipping beneath the poverty line. This could be due to poor discipline as well as the diversity of students. The diversity of the students results in a wide array of needs that are not being met by the public education system. This issue could be minimized by working to create a more inclusive academic environment to ensure equality and success.

In a progressively more globalized world that necessitates more effective educational practices, the U.S., once the biggest global force in education, has seen its dominance slowly slip out, and its educational status fall even lower than that of several third-world countries. The decline experienced in American school system academic achievement is not as a result of lack of funding, but as a consequence of the overall educational system watering down. According to Gatto, educating children through the existing public school system of America is crippling rather than helping them. From his essay, ‘Against School,’ it is established that the goal of the whole public school system is to limit people’s intelligence in an attempt to create a society that is manageable. Gatto continues to state that action is needed to change this situation. He supports his assertions using current and historical information about the American school system and his personal experience. After reading his article, one realizes that most of Gatto’s arguments are true. It is true that the American education system is making the students comfort to the government and society norms, which is why they are easily bored. This essay’s goal will, therefore, be to support John Gatto’s beliefs.

In the article “The Truth about New York City’s Elite High Schools”, the author criticized the sole-criterion admission system for eight NYC specialized high schools. This system judge all the students depends on only one thing—the test score of SHSAT( Specialized High School Admission Test). It seems like a fair condition that gives every student an equal opportunity, but the reality is a much different story. The result of this “fair” system is that only about 10 percent of students in all eight specialized high schools of NYC are African students or Latino students. Based on this result, the author suggests that this system is unfair to African or Latino students.

The National Curriculum (DFE 2013, p5) states that “every state-funded school must offer a curriculum which is balanced and broadly based and which promotes the spiritual, moral, cultural, mental and physical development of pupils at the school and of society and, prepares pupils at the school for opportunities, responsibilities and experiences of later life”.

Amongst many social justice issues, educational inequity continues to dramatically affect the nation's youth in the long term. However, for some students the ability to access a quality primary education provided by public schools depends on the students socioeconomic bearing. The insufficient availability of essential resources, opportunities, and funding creates a hurdle to access a higher quality education. This reiterates that a higher education creates a step forward in the education system to close the achievement gap.

Once I started to further research professional development I came across an article that had an overview of what teachers could do in order to adapt to The Common Core Standards. It stated that teachers should innovate their way of teaching into a form of asking questions, as well as, promoting self-learning. “The Common Core State Standards for English Language and Literacy in History/Social Studies, Science, and Technical subjects have necessitated reforms that include an instructional shift in instructional strategies” (Giouroukakis & Cohen, 2014). One approach to improve in their classrooms would be through changing the way teachers are teaching their students. Another action that teachers can implement The Common

The United States educational system has realized moments in its history when educational reform was the answer to the perceived social and economic issues plaguing the country (Strickland, 1985). In 1892, the National Education Association created a committee to determine what should be taught in American schools. Specific courses of study were identified that addressed two basic components. Specific courses of study were deemed necessary for students to find success when attending college. It was also determined that students should have a well-rounded education that provided relevance for the academic topics that would be studied (Tenam-Zemach & Flynn, 2011). The quality of instruction seemed not to be the issue. One-room schoolhouses

Brooke Burks amongst other from Auburn University at Montgomery, completed a survey that looked at secondary teachers perceptions of their preparedness to implement the Common Core State standards. In addition, the survey included information regarding the teachers’ feelings on the training they have or have not received related to implementing the Common Core standards in their classroom. As we know, there are many conflicting views amongst teacher, parents, and anyone involved in the educational field. However, the Common Core standards must still be implemented. The article quoted Sawchuk, who discovered that fewer than fifty percent of school districts planned professional development centered on implementing and aligning Common Core standards in 2012. In other words, survey showed a significant percentage of school districts who do not plan professional development conferences, but are still expected to implement the standards in their classroom. Planned professional development can go a long way for teachers we are expected to incorporate the new Common Core standards. These professional development training can assist teachers in the transition and answer potential questions teacher have about the new curriculum. Teachers are supposed to guide their students and follow guidelines outlined on lesson plans. The standards essentially creates the lesson plan, because all aspects of the lesson follow the standard. If there isn’t a solid foundation on how to implement

The United States school systems are in trouble, and so are its teachers and principals. Michelle Rhee, former chancellor of the Washington DC public schools is enforcing standardized tests. There was a law passed, “No child left behind,” which stated that by 2014 every child in the United States should be proficient in English and mathematics. This law brought along the DC Cast Standardized Test. Rhee took this law very seriously. She was going from school to school meeting with its principal and going back and looking at the test scores since he/she became the principal of that school. If the test scores of that school went down drastically since during their time as principal, she fired them. She also kept her eye out for teachers and had them working hard to bring up the student’s test scores. If the students do poorly on these tests, both the teachers and principals’ jobs are at stake. Basically, if the test scores did not go up, they had to find another job, and I do not think that is fair. Teachers and principals should not suffer for the student’s performance, because student test performance can be poor due to many things. Also, some students just do not care, and no matter how hard the teachers try, they do not want to learn the material.

I pursue my education in the United States with expectation to be awe-struck by American advanced education system where students are equipped with critical thinking, abilities to realize their full potential as well as freedom to express themselves. However, the situation I have experienced tells me otherwise. It is just like that of China. I have gone through all these troubles only to find it is not worth the trip. This set me pondering the flawed American education system that kills students’ creativity and aspiration to advance. The oppressive ambience of American schools stifles, intimidates and destroys students and turns them into the mouthpiece of one voice, that of schools, the pervasive corporations and the government. Funding is limited, curriculum creativity-smothering, and teachers oppressive. These problems, if left unattended, are hindering America from greater progress and a greater height that she used to enjoy academically, scientifically or culturally. Thus, in order to change the American public school system for the better, the government must grant more funds to improve teacher-student ratio and to enlarge access to more and higher quality resources; the schools must adopt alternative evaluation measures that incorporate portfolio assessment and peer reviews; and the schools must create more focused, logical and students-friendly curriculums to meet students’ growing demand for academic excellence.

Breaking news in the year 2050 highlights California’s doctor famine; the number of deaths multiplying due to lack of efficient medical assistance. This is the result of a wasted educational system and unmotivated college campuses that will leave the population uneducated. What will be the downfall of society if the current and future generations do not have open access to higher education? Despite California’s decreasing state budget, the purpose of enforcing higher education is to have job stability in the future, assign educated policymakers to take over the state’s affairs, and meet the demands of the labor market.

Throughout the history of civilization, education has been an important tool in shaping an individual as well as the society that the individual is a part of. In the older civilizations, only the elite upper class had access to education. This kept these people at the top of the social ladder, and suppressed the common people who did not have access to the same education as the nobles. We have come a long way since then, with every child having access to a free high school degree. However, there is still some inequality in this modern education system that has similarities to the old injustices. In this day and age, a college degree is a great start for a young adult starting to enter the work force. According to a study conducted by Pew