American Education System - Essay Example

American Education System is getting worse There have been several criticisms directed towards the education system in American due to various failings that have been identified to cause a substandard education for its people. While this may be true, it is not clear as to why the most developed country on the globe is lagging behind in one of the most important aspects of securing the future, which is education. Education is the key aspect that a country’s economy relies on to secure the future of the people. With regard to the super power of the U.S, this may change in the near future if the country does not change its current trend. The countries that may be taking this place may include China and India. Therefore, in spite of the advancement of the U.S, which ought to support the most important aspects such as education, the country’s education system is lagging behind due to reasons that can be resolved through development of better policies. One of the reasons behind this deterioration is that the Americans students are not being taught the relevant subjects. Here, the system is teaching today’s students yesterday’s subjects. The world has developed and the system keeps on teaching the same issues making the American students unfit for the workplace. This is the reason why the employers in the U.S have been finding it difficult to get the skills that they require in the workplace. This may be the key reason why students from other countries have been getting employment easily in the U.S and the unemployment rates in the country continue to rise. Therefore, for this reason, employers are finding it easier to outsource from foreign countries than from the U.S (Kaminski). Additionally, the American education is the easiest worldwide. This implies that it does not challenge the students but involves reading of a script and sitting for an exam. However, it does not teach the students the skills that they will require in the workplace as well as the resilience required in the modern business world, which is highly competitive. The American students are taught to follow what has been the behaviour of previous generations instead of showing them how to question what has been taking place throughout history. This has been reducing their capabilities to be innovative and creative when they join the employment world. In addition, the lack of challenging education has been denying them the chance to get problem resolution and decision making skills, which are crucial to the employers and form the requirements for working in modern business environments (Gerber). Therefore, theses students are getting substandard skills that are not supporting the economy as required. In another prospect, the American education has become commercialized. This implies that the education systems are more money minded than they are with providing knowledge to the students (Strauss). The individuals that are able to acquire decent education are those that spring from able families. Those that come from humble backgrounds find it extremely difficult to make it through the higher education system in American due to charges. This continues to affect the economy because some of the talents that would have been pumped in to the work sector have been wasted through lack of education for the mere fact that it is too expensive for them. However, poverty has also been said to be an issue that is affecting the education system. Poverty leads in some form of inequality in the U.S. This is because the government discriminates the population with regard to allocation of education related resources. The richest regions in the U.S are the same ones that get the most allocation from the education allocation leaving the poorest to get the least allocation (Sirota). While this may affect the ability for the education institutions in the poor regions to acquire learning equipment, it also affects their capacity to compensate the instructor affecting the outcomes in these regions further. This may be the key reason as to why most of the institutions in the poor regions perform poorly. Therefore, the government also plays a role in the deterioration of education in the U.S. The choice of subjects is also different when comparing the U.S with other developed countries such as China. The students in China and the U.S are more inclined to choosing the most challenging and the most competitive subjects while those in the U.S prefer humanities, which are very common. This makes it hard for them to acquire the knowledge that the job sector requires. In addition, since those in other countries are involved in sciences and mathematics, it becomes preferable for the employers to outsource skills from other countries. This may be the key reason why there are many unemployed graduates as they all decided to undertake similar subjects that are not competitive. This affects the economy directly and leaves the country with no option but to look for employees in other countries so as to maintain its economy. Parenting is also a key issue behind deterioration of education in the U.S. This is because the parents have been too busy to spend time with their children and explain to them the importance of education in their future. This leaves the media to explain what is important. This is why most students view education institutions as places of socializing rather than education institutions. These students are also more concerned with partying and even allocate at most one hour of personal study in a day. Vocational learning is also not taken seriously by most parents. This makes it easier for the students to forget what they have learnt throughout the semester. In addition, the issue of parenting has led to other issues such as drug abuse that have in turn affected the outcomes that are exhibited by American students. Fortunately, certain steps can be undertaken to ensure that the current trend is reversed. First, the current curriculum must be amended to ensure that it incorporates the most relevant subjects as per the status of the current job world. This would ensure that the employers would turn their attention and consider recruiting primarily from the U.S. A governmental policy would be effective in this perspective. Second, the education taught in American schools should be made challenging. This would ensure that the students get specific skills that are unique to the job sector that include but not limited to problem resolution and decision making skills. Amending the curriculum would also be important in resolving this. Third, a governmental policy to control the cost of education can be implemented to ensure that institutions do not exploit students, which not only deny the students an opportunity to learn but also deny the economy that benefit from additional talent. Fourth, the government should consider amending its resource distribution policies to ensure that the neediest regions benefit from more resources. This would provide more compensation to instructors and give these institutions adequate resources for upgrading themselves for more productivity. Fifth, the individual institutions should also be active in encouraging the students to consider taking on the challenging and the most competitive subjects such as sciences and mathematics to ensure that the country does not have to look for employees from other countries. Lastly, parents should allocate time for spending with their children and ensure that they are aware of the importance of education. This would help them in becoming serious with their studies in the same way that they like attending parties and socializing. If these strategies are implemented, the American education system would improve and the country’s status as a superpower would not be endangered. Works Cited Gerber, Scott. Here’s the Real problem with America’s Educational System. 2 Jun 2014. Web. 25 Nov. 2014. http://time.com/2806663/american-education/ Kaminski, Kaitlyn. Has the American Education System failed Today’s Students? 24 Apr. 2014. Web. 25 Nov. 2014. http://www.huffingtonpost.com/kaitlyn-kaminski/teens-voting_b_5207400.html Sirota, David. Poverty is America’s #1 Education Problem.11 Nov. 2013. Web. 25 Nov. 2014. http://www.alternet.org/education/poverty-americas-1-education-problem Strauss, Valerie. Public Education biggest problem keeps getting worse.17 Oct. 2013. Web. 25 Nov. 2014. http://www.washingtonpost.com/blogs/answer-sheet/wp/2013/10/17/public-educations-biggest-problem-keeps-getting-worse/ Read More