Status of American Education - Essay Example

Status of American Education Is the American economic future in jeopardy? This is the question that this nation may be battling to answer bearing in mind the situation with the contemporary higher education sector in America. According to the film, “Two Million Minutes”, as directed by Chad Heeter, the future is uncertain for America. This is especially when considering how the present teen generations are taking education as compared to other regions that include India and China. The main theme in this film is that the American education system needs to catch up with the practices that students in other parts of the world are exhibiting. Therefore, the American economy might find itself irreparably outdated if the current behavior is not changed and the students urged to concentrate more on their studies and less on partying and watching television. The film provides statistical data that indicate how the American students are behaving as compared to students in other regions. This is when considering commitment to education. Here, the average American student spends more time when watching television shows as compared to the time spent when learning. Specifically, this adds to 1,500 hours each year and 900 hours when learning or in the classrooms (“Two Million Minutes: A Global Examination (13 Minute Cut) Part 2”). American students depicted in the film also confirm that they view school as a rite of passage. Moreover, the American students have lower hours allocated for learning per day. At least 66% of these students allocate at most one hour for doing homework every day (“Two Million Minutes: A Global Examination (13 Minute Cut) Part 2”). The statistical data provided by the film with respect to the time that the American students allocate to education during weekends is more worrying. This is because not even one hour is allocated to education during weekends. These students like having other activities, which are not related to education such as partying. The choice of subjects done by American students is also worrying. This is because they do not choose the subjects of interest, which their counterparts in India and China take advantage of. Such subjects include science and mathematics. This is as compared to other students in different countries who take higher education with higher levels of seriousness especially through pursuing these competitive subjects. According to the documentary, the students in India and China show different behavior in all aspects such as the hours they allocate to education, the subjects of interest, and even their extra-curricular activities. This is because they spend most of their time learning. In addition, they focus most of their attention to the most important subjects such as science and mathematics. Their extracurricular activities are also interesting and those that can help them in life. A perfect example is the Indian counterparts depicted in the film forming a band while those in China were perfecting to play the violin. On the other hand, the American students perfect in other activities that are neither important in the economic perspective nor in the personal perspective such as partying (“Two Million Minutes: A Global Examination (13 Minute Cut) Part 1”). This implies that the American future is in jeopardy and America may find itself competing with countries in the third world. This is if the current behavior and perception of education is not altered to meet international standards. The article, “Someone has to Fail: The Zero Sum Game of Public Schooling”, by David Laberee, in spite of attempting to argue in favor of the Americans also confirm that the Chinese counterparts are more committed than the Americans. This article also acknowledges that the Chinese academic year is longer than the American year and still the Chinese students are more study-intense as compared to the Americans. Laberee also adds that the current mode of high school education in America represents one that can lead to a dominant country being overtaken by more ambitious countries (Labaree 24). This is because China and India are giving the students a wider range of opportunities to help them in getting ahead with respect to life expectations. The author attempts to argue that the schooling system would be doing an effective work if it could concentrate less on producing hustlers rather than producing scholars. Here, the author attempts to explain that the American education system is for producing hustlers while that of India and China is producing scholars. From the documentary, this is inaccurate. This is because the students in the other countries are even more engaged in activities that can guarantee them effective hustling in the future. For example, a student in China specializes in playing of the violin while their counterparts from India specialize in forming bands. From a personal response perspective, although the documentary’s argument point may bring in the idea of stressed out students, I think it would guarantee a better economy. This is because it not only ensures that the students would acquire good jobs in the job market but also ensure that their hustling skills are relevant according to the modern economy. This implies that the students would get more options on how to deal with life’s challenges. However, it is clear even from a personal experience that American teens love to party and to take trips more than how they devote time to education. This implies that the American economy may start falling behind because the economic future is determined by the children but not politicians (Labaree 23). This country may begin outsourcing human resources from countries such as China and India since their students are taking education more seriously ensuring that they acquire a better position as compared to their American counterparts. In fact, I think people from other countries are already taking over job opportunities that would have been set aside for the Americans. This is because immigrants are coming to the U.S and taking over the job sector. The employers may even begin preferring them because of the status of their education and how the students in these countries perceive education. Their love for education may make a huge impact in the American job sector. Therefore, America must change its perception of education and persuade the youngsters to take higher education as a preparation for the job sector rather than a rite of passage. Works Cited Compton, Bob. “Two Million Minutes: A Global Examination (13 Minute Cut) Part 1” Youtube. Youtube, LLC, 20 January 2010. Web. 5 Oct 2014. Compton, Bob. “Two Million Minutes: A Global Examination (13 Minute Cut) Part 2” Youtube. Youtube, LLC, 20 January 2010. Web. 5 Oct 2014. < https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=05gbOwFRSeI&list=PLm_BkZ-O4OnqAn3fzqpgtyXv-Pq1GiAEM&index=2> Labaree, David F. Someone has to Fail: The Zero-Sum Game of Public Schooling. Cambridge: Harvard University Press, 2010. Print. Read More