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American Education System

American Education System


As one of the leading countries amongst industrialized nations of the world, America is expected to excel in every aspect as a global leader. Throughout history, it has been known to have the best schools and universities where the brightest minds could have outstanding academic training. Some foreign students often even opt to go to the United States of America to get the best possible education that they believe they could not find in their own countries. Nowadays though, a consuming problem troubles America's education system and in effect America's future as a country; it is flailing. Literacy's worth has changed and America has apparently become a "dropout nation".

In answer to this dilemma, fingers are pointing to several aspects of America's education system; there are incompetent educators, obsolete curriculum, overcrowded schools and lack of funding for the system. It is an unending blame game where there is no winner and all are losers. Frank Salvato (2006) vividly mentions in an online article that:
"It is ironic that liberal institutions of learning complete with accelerated courses in the humanities, sociology and ethics, are increasingly producing graduates who have no ethics, no understanding of morality and no mastery of the skills that can reasonably be described as the basics of education".

Here, Salvato is clearly pointing to how dismal students are being taught even in the so called well established academes. Many have been calling out for an overhaul in the system to refocus its aim to teach or educate students on what is important and relevant.

Old curriculum's and traditional teaching methods tend to be boring for students nowadays. Boredom leads to disinterest, which is one of the common reasons high school students drop out of their schools. The most obvious reason for dropping out of high school is poverty and poor academic performance. But even in suburban areas in America where money is not a big issue, parents and school authorities are finding it hard to keep kids at school. Often than not, students are not motivated to go back to school.

Some dropouts choose to go direct to work and earn money instead of "wasting" time learning things they can learn themselves. Dropping out of high school has become so common especially since the law gives anyone who is 16 years old (or 18 years old in some states) the right to discontinue his/her education given that they have valid reason to do so. In fact, according to a recent PR News Today (2006) online article, 3,000 American students drop out of school for every school day and that most of them are poor readers. Moreover, only half of the high school graduates continue on to finish their college degrees.

What most people tend to overlook is that dropping out of high school means minimum wage jobs and slim chances of going up the ladder. It's an almost certain way of being in a degenerative cycle, where dropouts rear children who choose to drop out of school eventually too. It is certainly a challenge for the school administrators, parents, and the society at large to make students realize that staying in school is the most important step they could take to improve their financial capacity in the future.

In an online article by the Oprah Winfrey Show (2006) website, it was stressed that American students used to be among the best in the world about 20 years ago. Presently however, American students are lagging in academic rankings and even ranking behind poorer and smaller countries like Poland, Hungary, Slovakia and India. There are also an increasing number of high school graduates who later find college level education hard to cope with. Their high school curriculum evidently did not train them to be apt to that level. Even more disappointing is that some who graduated top of their classes perform miserably in their college years.

What happens if the American education system continues to fail? The country and its citizens would certainly endure negative effects. There would be lack of skilled workers or if not unqualified graduates. Companies would resort to outsourcing the much needed work to other countries that have more competent and skilled workers.

Hiring trained professionals such as high school and collegiate teachers, medical professionals and engineers from other countries would continue. This leaves the American aspirants what options when they are simply overthrown by foreign professional migrants by mere skills and experience?

Now, schools and universities that produce competent graduates are still abundant. But in the rate that kids are dropping out of school and with students finishing their degrees, the dropout population would overcrowd the educated ones.

On a mission to address this and at the same time promote awareness, American advocates such as Bill Gates and his wife Melinda Gates and Kevin Johnson have embarked on a campaign Stand Up. Recently on a joint step with CNN, Times Magazine, and the Stand Up campaign, the Oprah Winfrey Show (2006) featured a two part special report on the present situation of high school education systems in America. Through the report, they were able to show dismal situations of school facilities across America and especially on how and why many students are doing poorly in their school works. These are facts and underlying circumstances of which most Americans are not aware of or if not, apathetic of.

Education has become much more important in these technological ages where the economic state of the country will depend on the skills of its citizens. Education is valuable to a country's security and well being. In the American society where hate and discrimination is still existing, real education should be given to gain social improvement and in effect better societies.

As a supposed great nation with available resources, Americans should find it in themselves the heart and will to fight this imminent crisis; if not for themselves, then for their children's children. It is about time that Americans see what they should see and act upon it.



REFERENCES

Salvato, F. (2006). An accelerated curriculum of ignorance. Opinion Editorials.com.

PR News Today (2006). Students reading below grade level twice as likely to drop out of school, Reading intervention for struggling students in Grades 4-12 essential to addressing national crisis.

Posted by: Sarah S.

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