'The Troubled American Education System\r'

'In an enlightening article by writer April Shenandoah, on March 20, 2002, the reality that the Statess breeding musical arrangement is in real trouble creates clearly evident. The writer feels that when a baby bird in America attends school, he is, in fact, to a greater extent at peril than if he did non attempt to attend. This is because, of late, it has go manifest that most negative twists that children be faced with atomic number 18 creation increasingly found in the world schools that they attend, and it is during the past few decades that the situation has worsened heretofore further.\r\nIn a simple comparison surrounded by the situation in earth schools today and that during the 1940s, it is thusly amazing that punishments were minded(p) for ‘offences such as, for example, running in the corridor, chewing gum, talking in the class, and at times, unembellished homework, whereas today the top offences be drunkenness, drug abuse, assault, rape, and u mpteen a nonher(prenominal) similar crimes, including murder. (Shenandoah, 2002)\r\nWhat has made the form thus far worse is that non only does the child bring to cope with drugs and the immorality that is gener both in ally associated with them, except he would similarly be forced to study in the ‘second rate genteelness musical arrangement of today. This is evident in the fact that from the year 1963 onwards, the scores for the ‘Scholastic cleverness Tests apply been constantly dropping. This has developed into yet another(prenominal) problem, and this is that since the grade establish been dropping, students be not satisfactory to cope with the existing syllabus, and today, newer texts have to be scripted for students at a lower grade level, so that they may cope better.\r\nIt is the truth that todays newspapers and magazines argon indite for people at wide awake a sixth grade level, and this is the standard of the average Ameri cigarette citize n. What is tear down worse is the fact that many students ar not at all aw ar of how little they be actually trying, and when they apply for University bringing up elsewhere, it is because that they ar forced to accept the fact that they have not received a good and solid education. (Shenandoah, 2002)\r\nAn omit from a speech made in the Senate on January 23, 1990, shows that the author believes that the American education organisation is in deep trouble. One reason for this may be that e real one and only(a), politicians, educators, and numerous others who are involved in the system seem to have bury one measur competent aspect of familiar education: the child. No one really seems to care for the child; more clientele is being shown towards racial balance, efficient discovering methods, an feeler of the curriculum, and so on and so forth, but the student, the child has become lost is all this.\r\nFor example, in a school in North Carolina, importance is granted to ‘racial balance, wherein school children belonging to all types of races are put into the bus two hours before the produce of school, and dropped off an hour before school is vatical to begin, and the children are quite worn out and drop even before school has started. (American educational activity in Trouble) In a similar manner, teachers are being trained into becoming more ‘effective teachers, and this would entail that they come in a set pattern of behaviors within the schoolroom so that they may be able to doctor a better score with the administration.\r\nWhat about the children? Who cares about them? They are not allowed to interrupt, or even to become involved with the lesson being taught, because this may interfere with the ‘mandated behaviors that the effective teacher is set to follow, and lower his rating. Today, most states are becoming aware of the fact that this system is doing short no good for the children, and are therefore laborious to eliminate it. Another is the ‘merit pay system.\r\nThis may be a credible concept and linked to the rating of teachers, but the problem here is that even today, the military rank is carried out under the ‘effective teacher plan and not under the merit pay system, and therefore, this is not at all well-grounded. The textbook system in macrocosm education in America today has, in fact, become more of an ‘absurdity than anything else. Textbooks today are not only becoming more and more expensive, but the inwardness of the textbooks is as well going down in its standard.\r\nToday, it is a fact that more and more textbooks are being written by the so called ‘experts in the field, and the curriculum as such is dictated by either the current educational ‘fad of the time, or by the special interests that the expert may have in the entire episode. It moldiness(prenominal)(prenominal) be remembered that almost all educational fads last for a maximum fini s of ten years, and it is a sad fact thus that by the time the teacher becomes accustomed to the content and the information contained within the textbooks, they have already become obsolete, and it is time to change them yet again.\r\nIn addition, it is a fact that the textbook industry is a considerable and lucrative one, and all the smaller schools and the smaller states aline that they are completely at the mercy of the textbook selectors in the states, where they are the largest throw offers. One example is the influence that a large state like calcium has had on the textbook industry.\r\nIn recent times, calcium had rejected all the science textbooks because it felt that the prevail over matter of evolution had not been given enough importance and the information was lots too scanty, and today, all science textbooks are full of assertions that want to come out that the unproven theory of evolution is thence a fact. At the same time, religion was banished from textbooks , peculiarly during the 1980s, because of the musical interval of the church and the state and the controversy surrounding the issue. Teachers are also scapegoats in the education system in America, for who really cares for them?\r\nAt the outset, they are extremely overworked, in fact, more than any other worker. They are forgotten too, just like their students, in the long run. At the same time, they are expected to care for the forgotten students, and they are also expected to teach more and more, despite the fact that they are not given more and more time in which to teach. uncomplete extra time nor money would be able to solve all these problems. And teachers may be asked to teach the staples of mathematics, English, science, a foreign language, and social studies instead.\r\nThey must also be asked to teach those children who are intimately rested and well fed, and not exhausted later on long bus rides and longer waits in the cafeteria. They may be evaluated by those pers ons who have a valid teaching certificate in their possession, and who have been active in the classroom for at least a minimum period of one year. In addition, if they were not given any extra duties, and if the administration was voluntary to share in any extra duties, then the teacher would be able to fare much better in the classroom, and care for her children in a way never done before.\r\nIt is the opinion of Michael L Berger in his book entitled ‘The public Education System that there are six principal(prenominal) controversies that in the main appear in American public education systems, and these are: the budget that has been allocated for the educational system, the various appendix services that are needed, the facilities and the equipment needed in schools, the basic curriculum of education, the various personnel involved in teaching, and finally, the administrative rules and regulations that have to be followed by the schools.\r\nIn the book ‘Critical S ocial Issues in American Education: Democracy and Meaning in a Globalizing World, the authors feel that it is the various interrelationships between different educational institutions, public education in particular, that is very all important(predicate) in the American public education system. Public education is in general, subject to a ample number of influences, like for example, community pressure, and community concerns.\r\nSchools also tend to interact with other schools, and therefore, leave an refer on each other; in other words, it can be said that there is a wide interaction between various aspects of the educational system, and when cultural and religious and other beliefs interact with budgetary concerns, and demographic concerns as well as political sympathies and ideological debates come into the picture, the educational system has to go all these considerations in mind so that it may be a good and an effective one.\r\nIt is when it does not happen that the educa tional system suffers a setback. (Purpel; Shapiro, 2004) It must be remembered, however, that teachers are a very important part of the public education system anywhere in the world, and especially in the United States of America, and when interpreted from an economic point of view, it is the so-called ‘teacher unions that are not only producers of representative services, but are also consumers of such representative services in the educational system.\r\nFrom the time when unionization took place for teachers, during the 1960s, the home(a) Educational Association and the ‘American Federation of Teachers have been monopolizing the food market in terms of representative services. This type of monopoly does then have its adverse effects, and these are that the costs have skyrocketed, and at the same time, the service has become vastly inferior to what it was before. (Leiberman, 2003). Finding the best possible development for a child in the present lot has indeed b ecome an uphill task today, especially for minorities, like African- American children.\r\nPerhaps this may be because of the large number of options available to children today, what with the educational system being bombarded by ‘magnet programs, charter schools, and procreate other public school options. Parents today have to be choosier than ever before, and at times, this can very well be overwhelming. (Lord, 2005) Recently, when two important economists were asked the indecision about what was Americas greatest challenge today, the reply was that it was the education system.\r\nThe problems can be seen as being from both outside and also from within the school and peradventure one of the most important reasons is the breakdown of the ‘family unit. As parents today find less time to spend with their children, the school is expected to compensate. In addition, the decline of value in society is a study change factor, and this leads to a overlook of basic discip line, a lack of attention, and so on. Another important factor is the worsen health of American children, and while more or less are exhausted and tired, some more are hungry, and some others are diagnosed with learning disabilities of some kind.\r\nThe teaching system is also at fault, because children are forced to learn according to the teachers convenience and not to theirs. The lack of tenseness on spiritual development can also be taken as a major factor contributing to the lackluster American public education system, and along with various other factors, this can become a major drawback. What can be done to change the educational system? Redesigning the public education system is a daunting task, but it must be undertaken for the betterment of American children and in conclusion the society.\r\nLong standing practices have to be reconsidered, mellowed quality learning opportunities must be provided to American children even before kindergarten, and perhaps the existing m ethod of promoting a child from one class to the neighboring can be eliminated so that children may be allowed to learn and to progress at their own pace. to a greater extent teachers must be brought in, and the quality of teaching must be improved. If at least some of these measures were to be adopted for a start, then changes can indeed be brought in to the declining public education system in the United States of America (Guillory, 2001).\r\n'