Is the American Education System in Trouble?
In an enlightening article by writer April Shenandoah, on March 20, 2002, the reality that Americas' education system is in real trouble becomes clearly evident. The writer feels that when a child in America attends school, he is, in fact, more at risk than if he did not attempt to attend. This is because, of late, it has become obvious that most negative influences that children are faced with are being increasingly found in the public schools that they attend, and it is during the past few decades that the situation has worsened even further. In a simple comparison between the situation in public schools today and that during the 1940's, it is indeed amazing that punishments were given for 'offences' such as, for example, running in the corridor, chewing gum, talking in the class, and at times, unfinished homework, whereas today the top offences are drunkenness, drug abuse, assault, rape, and many other similar crimes, including murder. (Shenandoah, 2002) What has made the system even worse is that not only does the child have to cope with drugs and the immorality that is generally associated with them, but he would also be forced to study in the 'second rate' education system of today. This is evident in the fact that from th
It is the opinion of Michael L Berger in his book entitled 'The Public Education System' that there are six important controversies that generally appear in American public education systems, and these are: the budget that has been allocated for the educational system, the various auxiliary 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. (Berger; Darilek, 1977) In the book 'Critical Social 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 important in the American public education system. The textbook system in public 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 content of the textbooks is also going down in its standard. Today, 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 must be remembered that almost all educational fads last for a maximum period of ten years, and it is a sad fact indeed 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. (American Education in Trouble) 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. Neither extra time nor money would be able to solve all these problems. And teachers may be asked to teach the basics of mathematics, English, science, a foreign language, and social studies instead. They must also be asked to teach those children who are well rested and well fed, and not exhausted after long bus rides and longer waits in the cafeteria. They may be evaluated by those persons 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 willing 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. (American Education in Trouble) In a similar manner, teachers are being trained into becoming more 'effective' teachers, and this would entail that they follow a set pattern of behaviors within the classroom so that they may be able to secure a better score with the administration. What 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 f
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Approximate Word count = 2184
Approximate Pages = 9 (250 words per page double spaced)
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