The Education System Is Wrong And Proven Wrong

Teachers shape the minds of students to realize what their purpose is in life. Lately, because of certain educational reforms, it has been hard for teachers to say what they need to say. “In 40-plus states, the math and English guidelines determine the knowledge students have to master by the end of each grade, what they’ll be tested on this year, and in many cases, how teachers and principals will be rated at their jobs once those test scores are released” (Strauss). Most educational reforms are adopting standardized testing and should be reconsidered. Statistics even show that since we have taken part in reforms like No Child Left Behind, Race to the Top, and Common Core State Standards math and reading are declining. These standards tell teachers what to teach and what the students should know by the end of the school year. The reforms also evaluate teacher performance by how well the students learn the information. Some people believe educational reforms should not be telling teachers how to teach their students, and others believe that the reforms are absolutely fine the way they are. However the truth is educational reforms are yet to be perfected.

The students in this track were often labeled as “unruly, and not motivated” and of course the parents and students are faced with embarrassment which can be tragic just from an error this school had made. If Professor Rose had not taken that single Biology course his sophomore year in “Our Lady of Mercy” his educational career as a professor would not have been a success. It is always very important teachers understand the importance and responsibility of their role that is in these student’s everyday lives, they shape the way these students think, and understand everyday education we use. During the essay Ken Harvey mentions that he just wants to be average and considers himself to be below average while Rose is thinking to himself what an absurd comment it was. When an individual is constantly told that he or she is not smart they can’t do this or that it lowers their confidence and they actually start working at that level and not striving for the highest standard. Teachers and or professors have many responsibilities including the most important one which is knowing and making sure the student or child understands every single lesson they teach.

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.

Wow, is all I could think as I read this statement in the article. To expect great work, educators must provide students with the necessary skills to produce great work. The example of a teacher assigning a complex paper on the first day of school without guidance, and expecting the students to submit quality work was an awesome example to drive this point home. This statement made me reflect on my instructional processes. I remember having a teacher in high school that was guilty of this offense. She had the reputation of being the tough teacher, but really her instructional methods didn’t support the high expectations that she had for the students in her class. Therefore, students never meet her expectation, but it was because of her lack of instruction. Moving forward, I will now assess my teaching more closely. I refuse to be the teacher that assigns challenging work, and not teaching challenging

The American education system is failing the generations of the future. Society neglects the children born into impoverished areas, while mainly white upper class children participate in superior educational activities. Low-income neighborhoods often produce schools with low scoring students. Therefore the government transitions these schools into impersonal factories. The phrase diversity masquerades the reality of re-segregation of schools. Many schools across the country are utilizing the phrase diversity, yet the statistics reveal that over ninety percent of the students are black or Hispanic. Creating successful environments is extremely difficult and subsequently results in serious consequences for the American education system.

The majority of educated people of the continental United States have gone through the public school system at some point or another. Many have gotten their entire education through this medium. So, if so many of our populace is educated by public schools we would expect that everyone within this institution would get a first rate schooling, right? That we would be giving our children the best education that money can buy? Of course, knowing our government, that dream will stay just that: a dream. The American education system is broken and outdated and we need a complete overhaul if we want our future generations to get the education that they deserve.

In an interview with a local elementary school teacher Elizabeth Romero, when asked the question “Why teach at the elementary level versus teacher higher up such as high school or college?” , She responded with the answer “ I believe that in this time of the kids life is the most influential. If I as a teacher can teach these kids the rights things to do and prepare them for the future than I believe that they all can do great things with their lives.” Mrs. Romero began teaching at the age back in 2004 originally teaching high school. She realized that there was only a select few who chose to excel in their studies. In her words “…some were what some would call lost causes but there were only a select few who put real efforts into their studies.” It was at that moment that

The American Education System is not meeting the needs of current students. If anything, the system is not building a sturdy foundation for the future working class. Schools have existed for many years and through the years they have worked differently. However, every school’s main purpose was to educate students to be efficacious later in life. Modern day schools are corrupting students with added pressure, making fewer accommodations for special education students, and take away individualism. Along with those are problems comes numerous others. The students of modern times are the people of our future and the future does not look too bright with the current American Education System.

Recently, I read an article called “America Hates Its Gifted Kids”. This article is about how America; one of the greatest economical leaders in the world, is lacking substantially in educational intelligence. The country is also treating its gifted kids with little to no courtesy when it comes to education. The author, Chris Weller, has been a reporter for many different publishing businesses and likes to focus his reports mainly on how different worlds overlap. He talks about how the United States educational system focuses more on helping their lowest scoring children reach the minimal standards, while it is also taking away valuable time from the higher scoring children. I agree with Chris Weller entirely; The education system today takes

What is it that’s making our country suffer from excelling in education? Very few would argue about the importance of our education system today. Issues such as lazy teachers, lack of parent involvement, and teaching useless information in class may hinder progress in today’s education system. An education plays a crucial role and is an essential tool, unfortunately, with all the jaded judgments; our students are not able to value their education. A proper education can open the doors to many opportunities that would have never been possible if it had not been for the knowledge and preparation that one received while in school. With the growing economy and desperate times, it is more important than ever for our country’s children to receive the proper education and training that is needed to allow them to acquire a good job and produce the revenue needed to live. Today's education system is flawed in many ways, and these flaws should be eliminated to ensure a good education for our future generation.

One of the biggest overlying pieces of this article, is the narrative brought into view within the first few sentences- American Exceptionalism. People everywhere, disregarding their views on the problems in the school system, agree that America is the best in everything else, therefore our schools should be top-of-the-line and produce high achieving scholars that can compete with anyone from around the world. It doesn’t matter that there are students coming from all different types of backgrounds- we need to be on top. Putting the idea of this narrative in the beginning of the article, the author sets up the option for the reader to try to see why reformers are set on fixing the “issue” in our system. We want to be the best. Have pride in our

For years our nation has been trying to improve the school system and upgrade public schools in particular; we have hired more teachers, we have the best technology with SMART boards and computers, and we have started standardized testing. Nonetheless, this all seems to be in vain; according to statistics, America has some of the lowest standardized testing scores in the world for the past couple of years. In addition, over half of all third through eighth graders enrolled in American schools have not passed English or Mathematics. If we done so much to improve our school systems, why is there more drop outs than ever and kids continuing to fail tests or classes? It is because, as Lessing describes in her quotes, we are only being taught what the teachers and our modern culture believe to be important; we are being taught exactly what the teachers were being taught by their predecessors. Students are placed in a controlling system where everyone, as aforementioned before, is being “molded and patterned” to fit in with the demands of today’s society. Our new organized ideas, such as systemized testing, are drowning out any curiosity-driven, energetic, and “fun” learning. For those few that are more “robust and individual” and encouraged to leave the system, forced to educate themselves by their own judgments. Because of the new strict, framework of schooling and standardized testing, the whole year is filled up with knowing specific knowledge needed for those tests; there is no longer time for creativity or innovate ways to teach the students. As Albert says in his introduction to Gatto’s Dumbing us Down, we have been placed in A Combine, comparing it to a strict psychiatric ward from famous novel One Flew Over the Cuckoo Nest, where everyone is controlled and structured. We are taught in this way, so that we

The authors’ also go on to mention how “American educators need to lead the development of a new, shared vision for our public schools. If they do not create an inclusive vision for our public schools and learn how to raise much more students to mastery levels of learning, the American dream and the quality of life we cherished will be unsustainable in a global economy” (Pg. 6, Introduction). Though this statement is true in theory and concept – I ask the question: “how can ALL students be held accountable for the same mastery levels if ALL students do not learn the same way, have different learning styles, varied disabilities, speak different languages, etc.?” The answer is simple: They Cannot!

In my reading of Reign of Error by Diane Ravitch, I believe that she brings some great ideas to the table in an effort to improve American public schools. This book was interesting the whole way through. It’s a very thought provoking book to say the least. Ravitch is a wonderful writer as well as a passionate educator. She has a background in governmental affairs by serving as assistant secretary of education for George H. W. Bush. Ravitch is not in agreement with the Federal government’s policies and furthermore believes that the American public education is not broken but is headed downhill if society continues to abide by the policies set. Ravitch believes that since the government is incorrect in their diagnosis of the system they are also wrong in their attempt to provide solutions. I have only been teaching for two years, but I have been in the education field a total of four years including field experiences, student teaching, and two years as a teacher. As I compare my experiences of being the student and being the teacher, I am left with one thing in mind; things have changed! I agree with Ravitch in saying that the major changes that are occurring in American education are affecting it in a negative way. I’m from a local agricultural driven community. To my knowledge, stake holders and policymakers don’t tell our local farmers how to grow their crops and when to harvest them, so why do they find it necessary to tell the people that they trust educating their kids

“Our educational goal [is] the production of caring, competent, loving, lovable people” . The students found in the schools across the United State are the future of America. They are the doctors, teachers, business people, lawyers and many other roles, that will be out in the workforce in the years to come. What they learn in school will impact them immensely; it is the responsibility of a teacher to give students the best education in order to ensure the common good of the future. It is essential for students to not only learn content matter, but also the skills to enable them to participate in a democracy. Due to standardized testing, the emphasis of education has become on score and rankings rather than learning. A standardized test does not look at the whole student, the scores provided are on a very narrow aspect of education. In the classroom, there are countless ways for teachers to assess the student as a whole person not as just a score. Standardized tests scores should not be the sole criteria for determining a student’s academic achievement.