The Future of Education in America
The information age; a time in human history after the Industrial Age, where society has shifted from manufacturing to the transfer of technology and data. Why then, has the education system remained the same? In my opinion, the “No child left behind” policies are archaic and outdated, but why would one refer to this program as such? Highschool is viewed as a participation effort, and treated as though nothing valuable is being taught, and taking this as its worth, the education system is in need of repair in the 20th Century. Instead of forcing classes onto students, they should allow students to learn at their own pace, regardless of the outcome. The school system should not act as a safety net for students, given that in the end, it is the student’s decision if they want to succeed academically or not. Given my opinion on the matter, it only seems right to delve into the reasons in which schools should adopt a new system, as well as, mindset into the education of the American youth.
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Comparing this to students, spending the required thirteen years of school, which is basically their job for this time, undertaking a task they do not want to complete in the first place. In an updated system of “selected learning”, where students choose their education, they would feel more inclined to learn if their future job was on the line, and if their grades had a more direct correlation with the job market. This also would encourage and motivate students to learn, since they would be learning a craft that they have picked out and want to pursue as a lifelong passion. In short, selective learning benefits not only the morale of the students learning, but also their future goals in joining the
Public school is one of the primary sources of education for many children in the United States, therefore it should be the school 's sole purpose to teach them the essential elements they need to succeed in life. This means more than teaching math, science, history, and English. A school, primarily high school, must provide courses that focus on a student 's future career plans, courses that challenge a student academically, and courses that help a student navigate their life as adults. Without classes that help students expand and delve into their future career choices, they can limit their views of success. An excellent example of this can be found in Jonathan Kozol 's Still Separate, Still Unequal, particularly in his interviews with the students of Fremont High School in Los Angeles.
All Americans want their future generations to be well educated—at least, all Americans should. When it comes to the topic of education, critics attack it by claiming that there are issues with how our American students are being taught. Some believe that education is too focused in an argumentative culture and that environment narrows our perspective, while some argue that the issue is in the commercialization of our educational system. Collectively, educational value is destroyed. Authors Benjamin Barber, Deborah Tannen, and Gregory Mantsios all agree that our educational system is flawed.
Throughout history schools have served an important purpose; they aim to educate children and improve society by giving children the necessary skills needed to make advancements when they become old enough to make contributions. Although, schools are often criticized, by politicians, parents and in some cases the general population, for not serving their purpose properly. Often the people making these judgements are unaware of what is needed in schools. Society has been making judgements towards the education system for centuries and in some instances, it has been for the better. The thought behind the purpose of schooling hasn’t evolved as much as it has been broadened to include the vast majority of the population and along the way it has
Society forces students to take classes in which some students might not have a slightest interest in, in the hopes of them becoming successful figures. It is more beneficial for students to take classes in which students are capable to succeed and grow rather then to to force students to sit in classes that give the students no benefits. Scott Adams writes in his article “How to Get a Real Education” about the inefficient school system, he says “is like training your cat to do your taxes”(98). Adams compares “training your cat to do your taxes” to B students in classrooms to show the readers the concept that sometimes students are not capable to do well in a class, and the time they spend in this class could be allocated better. To further his claim Adams uses himself as an example to show his readers that learning things that benefit him proved him well.
Every year they continue to go down. Our education system has gone down with it. “The fact is, they claim that only a minority of American children, maybe 15 or 20 percent, have the intelligence to profit from a concentration of academic subjects in public school, that the other 80 or 85 percent must be provided with other kinds of programs.” This quote explains that our education system did not change for the better. Many kids are not getting the help they need to succeed in the work life.
With mass learning regulations the government mandated programs make the students feel like they must obey orders to succeed in college or a working environment. “The whole educational and professional training system is a very elaborate filter, which just weeds out people who are too independent, and who think for themselves, and who don’t know how to be submissive, and so on-- because they’re dysfunctional to the institutions.” School can feel as though the student is becoming submissive to a plan they had never signed up for; working towards a goal that the student had never planned on achieving can make them lose interest and become increasingly unmotivated. Schooling should be based around programs that encourage enjoyment and stimulation to the brain (Chomsky
Time changes many things, from the progression of the horse and buggy to the invention of the automobile. If there’s one thing in this world that can be guaranteed is that time changes all things, and one area that we can see this most clearly is in the progression of American education. From a time when only the wealthy were able to afford the privilege of education, we have progressed into a society that demands education for all youth. Many historical figures have contributed to the changes that have led to the progression in education. Each of these figures have their own ideas and goals to lend to the educational society of their day.
Education is the backbone of our country; it’s ultimately what sets us apart from others. Education goes beyond the subjects; it is way more important than that. Gordon (2013) pointed out that, “Education deserves particular focus because its effects are so long-lasting. Every high school dropout becomes a worker who likely won’t earn much more than minimum wage, at best, for the rest of his or her life.” The education system in America is unlike any other in the world and it is what makes us more advanced than other countries.
en Z1791763 EPFE 321 Mid-term Over the years there have been many different views on the direction that education and schooling will take in the role of the United States society taken by influential people. Some of these people included the Puritans of the Plymouth Colony, who believed that children needed to work to prevent them from being influenced by the devil. Thomas Jefferson who believed that everyone needs to be educated for the betterment of society and that people should earn their respect and merits and that it shouldn’t be just given out for nothing. Horace Mann started to try and standardize schooling so that if children moved they would still be learning nearly the same curriculum that they had left, he also tried to further
An Introduction of the Topic No Child Left Behind is a wonderful idea on paper. Leveling the expectations for all of America’s youth will raise the level of education for all students, right? Unfortunately, the presumed outcomes hoped for by the government that implemented the law, are not presenting themselves as quickly as hoped. No Child Left Behind has been called an overly ambitious goal and one that will never meet its expected outcomes.
Imagine the United States in its near future: while a select few successful, affluent and influential people take power over the rest of the country and essentially control the way it operates domestically and internationally, the remainder of the population remains at a state comparable to the Great Depression in the 1930s, where unemployment rates are high, few unskilled jobs are available to the public, and the majority of urban residents are forced to rely on soup kitchens and live in shantytowns. The state of most United States schools today is absolutely atrocious, and should they continue to educate the modern generation of children and teens, a dystopian society is bound to arise in what is now considered one of the most powerful and
America, with a population of over 320 million people, opportunities for excellency are endless. Millions of minds coming together to form one great country. But what do these minds come together for? To make up a statistic in wealth? Education?
Forthrightly, I wish to say this: I have no quarrel with my schooling, but with the primary curriculum. The No Child Left Behind Act, in particular, created the vision of public school today: harsh enforcement of the bottom line and a disgraceful minimization in the breadth of educational opportunities, favoring standardized, quantifiable learning. Worse yet is the continuation of these standards—too much attention to a statistical bottom line neglects the actual
There is a third reason which is the Most important reason, is to get a great picture of the cultural diversity of the United States of America. Knowledge of others, their cultures, their sciences and way of life, is useful for learning about a new culture. Some cultures have good qualities and bad recipes, or perhaps do not fit the nature of our lives. For example, my presence in America has made me learn a lot of American cultures that if I find them in my country and may be useful to me or in raising my children such as opening the door to the person walks behind me, honestly I like this behavior which I miss this in my country. In general, the idea of quoting the culture that suits our societies may help us to develop from the reality of our lives.
Change is occurring in society at a rapid speed. Change may be described as the adoption of an innovation (Carlopio 1998), where the ultimate goal is to improve outcomes through an alteration of practices. The above saying can truly be applied on the modern education system. The society in the twenty first century is increasingly diverse, globalized, and complex and media-saturated. In today’s world of technology, the olden education system with its teacher-centered approach, passive learning, time based, textbook driven, fragmented curriculum, low expectations from the learner does not seem to cater to the learning needs of twenty first century students.