Public Education in America - Essay Example

An Essay on the of Public Education in America At first glance, American public education has greatly helped in shaping the great nation that we are now. Ninety percent of the citizenry is educated in public schools. American education is sought even by foreigners for its quality, diversity and reputation as being the best in the world. Public education has indeed paved the way to the democracy the American people enjoy today. Or so it seems… The American Public Education has come a long way. Time and change has brought new things and new circumstances. It now faces tremendous challenges. . Failures and problems are being recorded and examined. According to Dr. Norman D. Livergood, “Some thirty million adults in the U.S. do not have the skills to perform even the most basic tasks such as adding numbers on a bank slip, identifying a place on a map, or reading directions for taking medication. Eleven million Americans are totally illiterate in English.” He further asserts that “Only twenty-nine percent of Americans have basic reading and computing skills. One out of every twenty Americans lacks the ability to understand what is going on in the world or to develop an informed opinion for voting.” (Livergood, 2007) Sadly, the modern American educational system is filled with an assortment of problems and is therefore under great attack and criticism. Reality cannot be denied or kept hidden forever. Violence in schools is all over the news. Classroom disruptions are common. There’s also the decrease in scores in college entrance examinations. Many students are not learning much at all or are graduating with less knowledge and skills. With these things happening in our nation, it is difficult to deny that the educational system is in trouble. It is time to unmask the seemingly ideal educational system and face its flaws in all its naked truths. Public education in America should mean a tuition-free education for all students. This means equal opportunities for all, no matter what race, religion or ability. This also implies high standards and high expectations for all students. This would further imply a system of governance that ensures public accountability. Everybody is expected to be responsible for the state of the educational system. The society, in return, benefit by learning democratic principles and values. There is hope in our educational system and there are many ways to save it from its downfall. However, we must first acknowledge its need to improve. People must be aware of the current state, the impact of continued disinterest, and the changes that should take place. As Wendy D. Puriefoy said, “getting all Americans involved in public education” must be a priority (Puriefoy, 2004). Note that schools follow society rather than lead it. They are often accused of not changing fast enough with the demands of time. But, we ourselves, as part of the society, should move to improve the educational system. Americans must be accountable for the quality of education delivered by our public schools. It is imperative for the American people to make a stand for their future by ensuring a good system of public education. It takes a whole city and not just a few legislators or board members to uplift the state of the system. McAdams (2003) asserted that “To improve urban schools, three centers of power must be in alignment: civic leadership, the school board, and the superintendent. Alignment means more than trust. It means shared commitment to a comprehensive improvement strategy.” Second, people must change their expectations. We must have high expectations for all our children regardless of race, socio-economic status or the school they came from. These expectations must be communicated to the schools and they, in turn should deliver the quality we deserve. No longer should flimsy excuses for shoddy education be accepted. We must be vigilant in our anticipation of excellence. Third, we must have good governance and exercise of power. America had always been in the forefront of finding the best ways of teaching our children. Yet we have not been able to attain and sustain a system to create high-performing school districts with good governance. The exercise of power must be clear - who will implement what, and the visions and missions clear to everybody. Fourth, the issue of funding must be settled. Compared to other countries, America implements a different way of funding its schools. Funds come from local sources resulting to unequal funds on every school district (Biddle & Berliner, 2002). It brings about responsibility of the local community and can even be a gauge how the community prioritizes its education based on the funds available for schools. It has opened doors of opportunities for universities and schools to work together, and collaborate to achieve the requirements of the “No Child Left Behind (NCLB” policy. (Jackson, 2005). However, it can also bring about negative results. In enacting the NCLB Act, the intentions were good but the implications were constrictin. It further pushed down the districts that do not have enough funds or necessary resources to meet the needs of the children to high standards. It cannot be denied that quality education is expensive. Resourcefulness will help but a great deal will still rely on the funds from the government. Concerned citizens know how America gets funding for each school. People in the community are even willing to give their fair share as noted in the Special Report on the Inequity of Illinois, according to the People for American Way Foundation (2004). Funds are necessary for high quality infrastructure, equipment, books, technology, and even teachers. Lastly, the issue on the goal of education must be examined. The implementation of the NCLB Act has greatly changed the goal of education. The achievement of goals is required to be assessed through testing and passing standards. Teaching is evident-based disciplined and practice. It seems to have made a decision on what side education must take in the conservative and liberal debate (Kornblum and Julian, 2004). NCLB seems to focus on what the conservatives believes in like the “essentials”. It also recommends increased attention to academic subjects, homework and testing, especially in accordance to national curriculum standards. It has given very little emphasis on what liberals or humanists believe, which promotes the maximum self-development of each individual learner (Kornblum and Julian, 2004). It is practical to implement a measurable goal. It will clearly assess what we intend to achieve as long as it is clear and attainable. But let us not also forget the other side of education, the one that is very hard to measure. Let us not forget the importance of creativity, motivation, and critical thinking. For these should be the backbone of the things measurable like knowledge of facts and figures. In the CPRE Research Report Series, Gross and Goertz (2005) believe it is evident that the system of public education is still in transition. As it is mostly adjusting to the new policies, struggles are manifested. More thorough study and research is needed to make a conclusion on how these new policies affect our nation. It is appropriate to examine every detail of the policies enforced and the tentative results it yields so far. It would take time to see the fruits of hard work as changes are effected. It is likened to birthing pains, with us hoping to see the crowning of a new identity of American education. In the meantime, we wait vigilantly with torches of hope burning for a better tomorrow for America’s children. References Bartholomew, B. (2006), “Transforming New York City’s Public Schools” Educational Leadership, Vol 63, No. 8 Biddle, B. J. and Berliner, D. C. (2002). “What Research Says About Unequal Funding for Schools in America.” Arizona State University, Tempe., Education Policy Studies Lab. Available online at:www.asu.edu/educ/epsl/EPSL-0206- 102EPRP.doc (Accessed on:12April 2007) Darling-Hammond, L. (2004)“Gross Inequities, Confused Priorities” Public Education Network, Fall , Vol 11 No.1 Available online: http://www.publiceducation.org/connections/fall04/index.asp (Accessed 10 April, 2007) Gross, B. and Goertz, M. (eds.) (2005). “Holding High Hopes: How High School Responds to State Accountability Policies” CPRE Research Report Series. Univ. of Pennsylvania: Consortium for Policy Research in Education Jackson, S. A. (2005). “Randomized Field Trials: An opportunity for Public Schools and Universities to Collaborate in the Accountability Requirements of No Child Left Behind.” Journal of Scholarship Practice, 2(3). 22-25 Kornblum and Julian. (2004). Social Problems. 12th Edition. Prentice Livergood, N.D. (2007) “The Destruction of American Education And What We Must Do About It”Available online at: http://www.hermes-press.com/education_index.htm (Accessed 13 April, 2007) McAdams, D.R. (2003) “Strengthening Urban Boards: School boards must lead the way in reforming city schools” American School Board Journal, v189 n12 p41- 43 Available online at: http://www.asbj.com/specialreports/1202Special%20Reports/S3.html (Accessed 13 April, 2007) Puriefoy, W.D. (2004) “Telling the Story of Public Education in America”, Public Education Network, Fall, Vol 1 Available online: http://www.publiceducation.org/connections/fall04/index.asp (Accessed 10 April, 2007) Read More