US Education System

I found the blog critiques of the US education system to be very interesting and thought provoking. http://jlewis45rmiblog.blogspot.com/2009/03/critique-public-education-system.html While I agree that our education system is lacking in some areas, I feel privileged to have received the education I have in my life. Our system lacks in creating bilingual students at a young age. It lacks in motivating students to do their very best along with staying in school as Jessica states. There are some areas that do not have as quality materials and teachers as other schools, but there will always be areas like that. There are bad areas in cities and states and unfortunately that is just the way it is. We can try to help as much as possible, but it is human nature that some are simply more motivated than others.

If education was like that of other nations or the same for everyone, I don't think you would have as many outstanding people. People need incentives to work harder. That is why when jobs are socialized and people get paid the same no matter how much they produce, everyone just produces what is required. I know when I was in high school our class ranking was provided at the bottom of our report card. I always wanted to compare mine with everyone else and see how I was doing. I always had to be the best. My motivation was the rankings and awards and knowing that I was doing my very best. While I agree that our education system could be improved in some areas, I have to also acknowledge the fact that the United States is the largest power in the world. We did not just get to that position by being slackers. We are obviously doing something right that we have outstanding leadership and technological advances that put us in that position. America has always been the "land of opportunity" and "the American Dream." In some countries, people do not even have the opportunity to receive an education at all. Some have to work at very young ages. The United States works through ministry programs and other philanthropic organizations to help provide educations to those nations. I think that would hardly be feasible if our own system was detrimental to our citizen's learning aptitudes.

This blog is difficult to respond to because I agree that we could use improvement, and it is impossible to ignore factual statistics that state the United States is below average in math and science studies, for example. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Education_in_the_United_States However, the United States has an extremely high literacy rate, comparatively: Literacy Rate It is difficult to crack down more on the education program. There are already so many standardized tests to ensure our students are reaching optimum levels. We go to school for long hours and then require homework. The United States also has a large education budget. Even individual states give scholarship incentives to students with good grades. For instance, with the Georgia Hope Scholarship, students with above a 3.0 GPA can go to school for free. I don't know how it would be possible to improve. Other schools get breaks in places such as Finland: "These breaks provide a clear contrast between Finnish schools and their recess-starved counterparts in the United States" Compare President Obama is focused on improving the education system: Obama for education.“It is time to give all Americans a complete and competitive education from the cradle up through a career,” Mr. Obama said. “We have accepted failure for too long – enough. America’s entire education system must once more be the envy of the world.” President Obama challenged teachers unions, and renewed his support for a merit-based system of payment. He also said adult Americans needed to take responsibility for improving their own education, in addition to improve the education of their children.

I have seen teachers who have not helped students in ways they should or have not taught classes as well as they should. I have seen students drop out of school and then do nothing with their lives. I have seen students fail classes and students with apathetic attitudes. Parents of students even have apathetic attitudes and don't help their children in school or even know what their children are doing in school. It is important that parents help their children decide what they want to be when they grow up and help their children pick colleges and find scholarships. I agree with the blog that an attitude adjustment is necessary. If we do not address this problem, the poor economic state our nation is in could continue. Or in the future, we could become a nation which lacks in human capital.

These reasons are why it is hard to ignore the fact that improvement is necessary in some areas. However, is this improvement feasible? I agree with all the aspects of improving motivation in students so we have more shining stars, but unfortunately there will always be those who do better than others. That is why we have CEOs of companies who make millions and lower down employees who make less. It is the way the world works, survival of the fittest.