Educational Problems in United States - Term Paper Example

Education Samson Varghese Educational Problems in United s Introduction The invention of internet and computer related technologies, made thelearning tasks of the students much easier than ancient times. It is easy for them to have information on any subjects within a finger click. In ancient times, in order to learn things properly, the students mostly rely on books and periodicals. But now all the information is accumulated in the internet so that the students do not need to wander around for information or references. Though the learning process is simplified, immensely, the problems in educational sector seem to be increased. “Quality public education is fundamental to the future success of the United States. Yet all the evidence suggests that our public education system is failing to prepare its students with the skills necessary for a high value added economy” (Mel Bergstein) Current problems in Education Reading is an essential requirement for boosting the knowledge. Most of the American students almost entirely gave up the idea of reading to improve their knowledge base. For them internet is there for everything. Even for the home works and assignments they rely on internet. Because of this tendency the numerical skills and the Education 2 analytical skills were not improving among the American students. It is necessary to have all these skills well developed not only to face the school examinations but for facing the realities of life in future as well. “A recent survey by the Centre for Education Policy - a nonpartisan group - found that 71 percent of the nations approximately 15,000 school districts had lessened the amount of class time given to subjects like history, music, art and others. For some students, their entire school day is relegated to only math, reading and gym. This no doubt serves only to stifle any chance for creative exploration that some of these students might not find outside of school” (Brock Kingsley) subjects like languages, music, arts etc are intended to develop creativity among the students. But the modern students think otherwise. In their opinion learning arts subjects is simply wastage of time. So they are more focused on science subjects. This trend adversely affected the development of creativity and moral values among the students. Morality and ethical standards have lessened in the American system of education. Criminal activities like gun fight and violence are reported from majority of the American school campuses. This is simply because of their lack of knowledge about the role of morality in a civil society. Most of the American students are interested in studying only the worth subjects in their opinion. Though the school curriculum has included a variety of subjects to Education 3 improve the all round personality of a student, because of lack of awareness about the importance of such subjects, they usually keep a blind eye towards such subjects. “With each installment of the nightly news there seems to be another report of some school district cutting, and even slashing its budget. Subsequently, schools are closed, teachers are laid off, programs are cut and class sizes are increased to almost unbearable numbers. These bulging, ever-expanding classrooms create anything but an environment conducive to learning. With students packed elbow-to-elbow in a room, how can a teacher give each one the attention he or she needs? How can standardized test scores go anywhere but down?” (Brock Kingsley) the present infrastructure is not enough as far as the American education is concerned. Though the governments are spending much money in other sectors, the educational sectors are not at all getting enough support from any governments irrespective of republican or Democratic. The governments are more interested in spending much on presidential election, war on terrors, bailout packages for private companies etc. “Leadership is a skill that must be taught to our youth - along with critical thinking training and the ability to make life-enhancing decisions. For some reason, our school curriculums do not address these issues, or they are only implemented as of secondary, rather than primary importance.” (Problems in U.S. Education) Education 4 “If we want to return our public school system to what is was, or make it better, we need to start with the teachers. Let’s reward teachers for at least some of the value they create. And, let’s attract the best talent we can to that profession and give them a chance to be accountable for the capabilities they create in our children.” (Mel Bergstein) Teachers are helpless in providing individual attention to the students because of the big sizes of the classes. It is not easy to give individual care to each student for a 40 member class. More over the lack of skilled teachers have added up the problem. Teaching is a skilled work. It is not necessary that a well qualified person may become a good teacher. The narrative skills or the methodologies of the teacher are important rather than the qualifications. An introvert person with extra ordinary qualification may not be a successful teacher. “Teaching for the test is one of the greatest evils created by No Child Left Behind. It is creating a generation of students who will be trained in the regurgitation of information. They will be able to spit out what their teachers have taught them when the correct time comes, but they will have gained little analytical or creative prowess. (Brock Kingsley) Most of the current teaching methods are examination oriented. Nobody cares about the knowledge level of the student. The results are often speaks in terms of the grades obtained rather than the skill set developed. Getting out of the school campus with a high grade is the primary motive behind every student rather than improving his personality and skill sets. Education 5 Most of the examinations or tests are designed to test only the knowledge level of the students. It will never identify the strengths and weakness of the students. The teacher can help a student to improve his learning only after he identifies the weakness of the student. But because of the improper assessment criteria, the teacher often gets false data regarding the progress of the student. Most of the US public attitude is also against the modernization of the education. If we try to discuss some changes in education with the Us Public their probable reply may be like these; it won’t work because the teachers’ unions will block it, it won’t work because the real problem is poverty and crime, it won’t work because religious groups don’t want to fund secular education and it won’t work because change is hard and expensive.” (Mel Bergstein) The high level of violence in American schools is also a cardinal problem.  Between 1996 and September of 2003, at least 46 students and teachers were killed in 27 incidents involving the use of firearms.  Information from the National Center for Education Statistics shows that, in 2001, students between the ages of 12 and 18 were the victims of 2 million crimes in US schools.  62% of the crimes were thefts.  Between July 1999 and June 2000, 24 murders and 8 suicides took place in American schools.  The preponderance of violence largely depends on the size and level of the school.  High school students living in cities and studying at large schools are more prone to violence. In 2001, 47% of American high school students drank alcohol at least once; 5% drank right on school territory.  Education 6 24% of high school students smoked marijuana, 5% smoking right at school.  29% of students who smoke marijuana obtain the drug at school (Problems with the U.S. Education System) Violence and crimes in school campuses has been increased immensely in recent times. Fights using guns is a common thing in American school campuses. Most of the children were not cared well at home because of their parents tight work schedules. Moreover the motivations they are getting from films, internet and global incidents are utilized in the school campuses. Solutions The school curriculum must be restructured to completely to develop skills like management skills and numerical abilities. Learning of art subjects must be made compulsory at school level. The school libraries must be functioned properly and the students must have a compulsory reading schedule every day at the school. The governments should increase the findings for the infrastructure development at schools and the budget allocation must be increased. Teachers must be properly rewarded and they should have proper refresher training courses to polish their knowledge. The schools must conduct proper awareness programs to educate students regarding the problems of using drugs and conducting violence at school compound. For this guidance and counseling centers must be started at the schools itself. Individual care should be given to at least the problematic children. The parents also should be Education 7 educated properly to understand the need of public education. The parent’s attitude also needs to be changed regarding the topic their children studying. They should understand the importance of art subjects in the daily life situations. Creativity and moral values must be emphasized at the school curriculum. The internet usage must be controlled and reduced. Most of the students are using internet for watching obscene materials rather than collecting information. The readymade information and assistance available from the internet make the children dull in their thinking and numerical abilities. It is difficult to develop numerical ability if the senses are not utilized properly. The brain must be given enough activities to develop ideas and abilities rather than making it idle. Conclusion The American public school curriculum needs to be modified in accordance with the demands of the changing world. It should be a careful blend of old and new methodologies of education. The blind following of technology alone may create problems. Politicians must give more importance to education and they should provide enough funding for educational reforms. The current teacher-student ratio is not good enough. The number of students in a class has to be reduced so that the teachers will get enough time for caring them individually. Education 8 References 1. Mel Bergstein, FIXING AMERICA’S EDUCATION PROBLEM, Retrieved on February 12, 2009, http://www.marvinzonis.com/pdf/AmericasEducationProblems.pdf 2. Brock Kingsley, U.S. education problems, Retrieved on February 12, 2009, http://media.www.thelantern.com/media/storage/paper333/news/2006/04/03/Opinion/U.s-Education.Problems-1777354.shtml 3. Problems with the U.S. Education System, Retrieved on February 12, 2009, http://www.washprofile.org/en/node/1894 4. Problems in U.S. Education, The Kingsland Plan, Save Our Public Schools! Retrieved on February 12, 2009, http://www.thekingslandplan.com/test-post/ Read More