Problems with American Education System 

The United States education system is perfidious. The system is forcing students, who all have very different ways of thinking, to sit in a classroom and be taught the same way everyday. Any scientist can tell you that no two brains are the same. Teaching all of them the same way, is not going to work. If we were to change the system and customize the education, then every student would get a fair chance at learning and being able to understand the curriculum. While some people believe in today’s education system, most believe that it is outdated and unjust.

The United States education system is facing many problems. Noah Karvelis says, “We are truly in a state of crisis”. One problem being that “parents do not get involved enough” (Matthew Lynch 2). Teachers do not have enough time in the years a student is in school to teach them everything they need to know. Therefore, parents need to be more involved. If parents do not get involved, then the student will not be able to learn everything they need to know. These days, the demands on jobs and the over-dependence on schools, put higher-class to lower-class students at risk when it comes to the lack of parent involvement.

Academic dishonesty is nothing new. Technology brings a whole new level to cheating. Although it helps with research and writing papers, it also opens a whole new window to cheating. Fifty-one percent of students had said that they knowingly cheated. A Common Sense Media survey found that thirty-five percent of students had cheated via cell phone (Lynch 2). In some cases, some students did not understand that looking at their phones, was cheating. Since cheating through technology is not listed as a rule in many schools, students do not view their actions as unethical. Technological cheating was non existent ten years ago.

Another problem with the American school system is that, “we are still using the teacher training method of yesterday” (Lynch 3). Schools have not increadibly changed since they first started. Everything has been upgraded while teaching methods have remained the same. Technology is now more advanced than it has ever been. Kids are now less naive than they were due to technology. These days, teachers are getting students with useless information stuffed into their heads (Lynch 4). We are now in the 21st century and we cannot be using the same methods as we have been. Our support system much catch up with the current needs of the American workforce. Most millennials lack the skills they need to flourish in this economy. This causes the United States to be behind China and other countries, in education.

Today, in many schools there has been an input of per pupil spending. This forces schools to run low on staff due to the enrollment in the school. “As of the 2017-2018 school year, at least 12 states had slashed ‘general’ or ‘formula’ funding by 7 percent or more per student over the last decade” (“Center on Budget and Policy Priorities 3). Public school funding has been cut all over due to reckless tax cuts. “An exercise at reducing poverty should begin with monitoring, collating and consolidation” (“Poverty Data Among School Children” 2779). While being state and federal government funded, schools have the same brain power as your “local DMV” (Terry Heick 3).

Test scores were the primary judge if a school was succeeding or not. Because of that, tests became the purpose of education. The No Child Left Behind (NCLB) law demanded that schools generate higher test scores in basic skills (Diane Ravitch 18). Frederick J. Kelley once said, “These tests are too crude to be used and should be abandoned.” Kelley was the man who came up with standardized testing. He went back on his own thing because he realized how pointless they were. Students nowadays have more stress than ever, a main reason, being due to tests. The United States Education is a ‘C’ student. In 2017 the U.S. scored an average of 74.2, making us a C-minus and C-plus country (Stacy Decker 1). Schools were made to train people to work in factories for eight hours a day and were told what to think. We must compete to get an ‘A’, which determines product equality.

Inorder to ‘fix’ the system the education system must, stop giving meaningless tests, reduce the schools population, stop teacher evaluations and customize the system. “There used to be only one standardized test per year” (Anya Hollis 2). These days, we have many tests per year. These are pointless and only serve to give testing companies more money. If the school system were to stop giving students meaningless tests, they will become less stressed and more apt to learn.

Schools are overcrowded. A study by the National Center for Education states, “14 percent of the US schools exceed capacity”(3). The smaller the school is, the more involved students can be, thus making parent involvement less necessary; that way a teacher is able to be more interactive with the students. Students now need more attention then they ever did before. In such a way, making it harder for teachers to be effective.

Evaluating teachers is subjective. “Get rid of teacher evaluation tools” says Hollis (4). “Teachers are heroes that often get blamed” (“The People vs. The School System”). Most of the principles have never been teachers and do not know how a classroom runs. Thus, making them unqualified to judge a teacher on their performance and the performance of their students.

Any scientist can tell you that no two brains are the same. It is not good for a teacher to stand up and teach the same thing to students who think in all different ways. If we can customize cars, facebook pages, even t-shirts and shoes, then it is the education systems duty to do that for education. “While students maybe 20% of our population, they are 100% of our future” (“The People vs. The Education System”). If we were to change our education system to meet the needs of all students, we would be more successful. “The world has progressed. We now need people who think creatively, innovatively, critically, independently and with the ability to connect” (“The People vs. The Education System”). Students are not able to think in those ways because for eight hours a day being told what to think. We cannot think independently if we are being told what to think.

These solutions will work because, if they were to change the education system to meet the needs of students, we will be more successful. In Finland, they have shorter days, teachers make a decent wage, and they have no homework. They focus on collaboration instead of competition. Their education system our performs everyone (“The People vs. The School System”).

If the United States was to build more schools, the schools population would be smaller thus, making it easier for students to ask questions and would make parent involvement less necessary and parents would not have to worry about teaching their students things as well. nowadays, they need more attention then they ever did before. Thus making it harder for teachers to be effective. If you have a class of fifty to one-hundred students, it would be nearly impossible for a student to try to learn in that type of environment. There are many distractions. If they were to reduce the population in schools, students would be able to ask more questions and would be able to focus better.

There are some positives to the United States education system. One being the opportunities we have. United States universities are highly regarded around the world. Candidates with United States diplomas have a better chance at being picked by employers. “In a survey for top universities in the world from 2014, 40 out of 100 universities are located in the United States, 7 of which are in the top 10” (“We Make Scholars”). Because many universities want the best and brightest students, you have the opportunities to meet and speak with people from universities.

School availabilities around the world are best in America. It is available to everyone. Even student life is mostly on campus. Dormitories are also located there. Closely located to the campus are places where students and faculty can find necessary utilities, restaurants and cafes. Other places are not that lucky. Most children have to work and help provide for their families instead of going to school. The United States is number ten on the richest country board. Hence making it easier for children to attend school. If a child is unable to attend school, the state will get involved and take appropriate means to make sure a child attends school and receives education.

The United States education system is unfair. Children all over the states are failing and feeling useless and stupid. Albert Einstein once said, “Everybody is a genius. But if you judge a fish by its ability to climb a tree, it will live its whole life believing that it is stupid”. That is not true. There is a problem with the education system because every student is important. Math and science are just as important as art or dance. Extracurricular activities help build self-confidence, personal fulfillment, balance, and a strong sense of community. Continuing the teaching ways they are now, we will not have a bright future. We will have a future with people who think they do not know anything and feel they cannot do anything. The education system is perfidious and is failing students. If we change this, our future will be bright and creative.  

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