Failing Public Education in America - Research Paper Example

? Failing Public education in America The research paper deals with the study of public education in America and the causes of failure. The consequences of the failure of public education in America have also been explored through this research. A literature review has been undertaken on the public education system of America and its current status of ailment. The methodology undertaken for this research is secondary research methodology with the help of secondary data sources. The data collected has been analyzed and findings of the research have been obtained keeping the objective of the research in mind. The recommendations for revival of the public education system in America have been provided at the end of this research paper. Introduction The public education system of America was established in order to make education through academic schools and colleges mandatory for the public. The system of parochial education was replaced by the public education system in America after the Second World War. Over the years, the public education system mainly in the rural and poor urban areas has not been able to deliver education to the students to its full potential. The infrastructure, quality of teachers and the academic courses were not competent as per the world standards. The number of drop out of students in the school increased for which they were unable to get employment in future. The lack of basic education among a major part of the students debarred them from entry into the military service. The funding of public education of the country has also not been sufficient for the system to prosper. The failure of public education system in America is observed as a threat to its national security. Research Question The research question on the study of public education of America is, “Analyze the causes and consequences of the failing public education system in America and what are the ways of recovery in public education from this situation of national crisis?” Literature Review The public education system in America was established in the early part of the 1920s. The public education was made mandatory and access to public schools was mandated and the private schools were dissolved. The movement gained momentum under the view that there was an increase in a lot of immigrants into the country and the legislation for mandating public education was felt in America. However, the movement was hit and brought down by the Supreme Court in United States before the First World War. Instead of the parochial education, the public education was made compulsory in the United States after the Second World War. The need for public education against the parochial education was given priority and the public schools gained importance. The public education was made mandatory for all the citizens of the country. The progressive ideas of the society have led to the popularization of public education in America. The public education in America has evolved over the years (Smith 59). At present, there are not one but two systems of public education in America. The first system is considered to be present in the suburbs and in some wealthy areas of the society. The second system is considered to be present more in the rural areas of the country. While the first system could be much better and could be termed as mediocre with the international neighbors, the public education system in the rural areas is in dire crisis. These public schools are in a situation where they require some sort of restructuring and planning. Majority of the students of public schools in the rural areas drop out before attaining the high school degree or diploma. This leaves the students unprepared to get jobs in the current economic scenario. Also the students do not have the base to go for advanced or higher studies. The students are also left isolated from the technical courses that require basis education in the public schools. The policymakers have identified the fall and deterioration of the quality level of education and consider it as a threat to the national security of the United States of America. Research Methodology A systematic methodology has been adopted for this research on the public education system of America and its current status. The reasons behind the failure of the public education system in America, its consequences and strategies for revival from the situation of crisis have been explored with the help of this research. A secondary research has been conducted in order to collect the data and information required for conducting the research. The data used for this research is called secondary data. The sources that have been used to collect this data are the secondary sources like books, magazines, online referrals and existing findings of previous researches. The secondary research methodology has been adopted in order to conduct the research in a much quicker time span and also the cost incurred in this method is much less. A literature review has been done on the progressive advancements of the public education system and the current status of the public education in US. The collected data has been analyzed in order to determine the causes and the possible consequences of the failing public education in America. The findings and analysis of the research has been validated with the help of published statistical figures obtained from the secondary sources. After the analysis, recommendations for improvement of public education in America have been suggested for the revival of country’s lagging position among the other industrialized countries. Analysis and Findings The failing education in America could be attributed to the absence of proper planning and leadership in the public education process which includes inefficiency of the teachers, absence of a strong course curriculum and inability to prepare the students in accordance with the current demands of the economy. The teachers of the public education system are unaware of the fact that the students are put into the same unfruitful curriculum year after year for which the public education in America is affecting the future generations of the country. The public education systems in the urban and rural areas clearly depict a distinction on treatment between the races and ethnicity of the regions. The National Centre for Education Statistics revealed that there are 43 million Americans who are unable to read newspapers, unable to read telephone numbers and could be considered as functionally illiterate. The parents are extremely concerned of their children being unable to read and write with grammatical accuracy. The cause of this failure in the public education in America lays back at the incompetency of the teachers on whom the responsibility of public education has been bestowed. Most of the teachers in the American public education system lack sound educational background (Gross 94). The teachers often encourage the students to undertake group studies and learn themselves. This hinders the process of active classroom lectures and interaction which is pulling the public education system of America into a downward spiral. It has been found that less than 50% of the American students completed their basic education. This has exposed the internal weakness of the American public education system (The Broad Foundation Education 1). The American public education system has lagged far behind as compared to its international competitors. According to the United States department of Labor, nearly 44% of the students below the age of 24 who did not complete their education are jobless. The Organization for Economic Co-operation and development reported that among the twenty-seven industrialized countries, the American students are at twenty-fifth position in Math, 17th in Science and in the 14th place in reading. The number of students dropping out of the public education in America is nearly 1.1 million every year (Todd-Rousseau 48). Due to the failing public education in America, the country is exposed to the economic threats and also national security is in jeopardy. Four out of five students who do not complete education also are not engaged in full time job opportunities. The rate of unemployment is on the rise due to fall of public education. The students who lack basic education are also unable to join the military in United States. The fall of public education system has also led to the increase in the rates of crime. Recommendation The ailing and failing public education system of America is a point of concern for the heads of the state as this could the American to lag behind in the race of industrial nations all over the world. In order to revive the ailing system of public education in America, the following recommendations could be useful for the country. Among the recommendations to deal with the situation are the implementations of the charter school system across the country. The charter schooling system could be set up in order to meet certain targets in the public education system with funding from the public as well as private sources. The funding of the government towards the system of public education should be increased in order to support the infrastructure of the public education in America (Weber 16). The classroom sizes need to be reduced and the interaction with the students should be increased in order to revive the public education system from the situation of crisis in America. The quality of the teachers in the public education system needs to be improved. The amount of liquidity in public education needs to be increased in order to provide a high income in this profession and encourage new talent. The modern techniques of study and computer access should be provided to the students for allowing competitive growth. The ethnic distinction between the public schools in the rural and urban areas should be lowered in order to achieve overall development of the public education system. Conclusion The public education system in America has a long heritage and was established to make public education for the citizens mandatory as compared to the parochial education. The public education system in America has evolved over the years. The public educators have been teaching students in the same education system which has lacked infrastructure due to the incompetency of the teachers and the weakness in the course curriculum. Apart from this funding of the public education system in America has lacked earnest efforts. This has resulted in drop out of nearly half of the American students from the schools before the attainment of basic high school education. The situation of crisis and failure in public education of America has recent raised concerns among the heads of the state who view this as a source of threat to national security. Works cited The Broad Foundation Education. Our public education is in deep distress. 2013. Web. 18 July. 2013. < http://broadeducation.org/about/crisis_stats.html>. Todd-Rousseau, Gloria. Failure of American Public Education: Still Waiting for the Harvest: My 48 Years In Urban Schools Sowing Seeds to Regain Hope in a Failed System. USA: AuthorHouse, 2009. Print. Gross, Martin. The Conspiracy of Ignorance: The Failure of American Public Schools. USA: HarperCollins, 2000. Print. Smith, Winfield. The Rise and Fall of Public Education in America: The Interdependence of Public Education and Society. USA: AuthorHouse, 2006. Print. Weber, Karl. Waiting for ''Superman'': How We Can Save America's Failing Public Schools. USA: ReadHowYouWant.com, 2010. Print. Read More