America's public education system is extremely flawed. It is not even ranked in the top 10 countries in the world that have the best education systems. This could be due to many factors, one being the lack of funding of schools in certain areas, more specifically, those in the "lower end" cities and school districts. It amazes me how well off some schools are; there are schools that have brand new technology that is available for each and every student to use, while there are some schools that are still using textbooks that are decades old. For example, the state of Illinois is found to have the biggest funding gap in their school system, and it was one of the last states to have an education system whose funding relied almost entirely on property taxes. There seems to almost be a direct correlation between the funding of schools and the success rates of their students, where students in better schools are more likely to become successful in life compared to those in poorly funded schools. There needs to be funding programs that are primarily focused on funding the schools in poorer areas that have higher rates of poverty. This could hopefully open up opportunities for those who are less fortunate to become successful in life.
Another major flaw in the American public education system is the grading system. If you ask me, I have no idea how the grading system could change for the better, but I'm sure there are people out there who have better ideas of how the grading system should be, most likely. We are all given letter grades for each class in school, and those letters have a big enough impact on a student's life that it could determine what colleges they are eligible to go to, which also determines what kind of job they could get. This causes many students, not all, to prioritize grades over everything else in school, which is a major problem because there is typically more memorization and work in students than there is actual learning. While the education that we are receiving as of right now may not be the worst in the world, there definitely has to be some changes to improve our education, not only for us, but the future generations of America.
-Ian Iraheta
Mr. Headley stated in class a few days ago that education systems are better everywhere else because every school has the same exact funding and the reason we don't is because the Constitution allows the states to do whatever they want with education. I would say start with making education a federal problem but that would take a while so the fastest plan of action would be to create another system like common core that appeals to schools with lower funding, changes the grading system, and doesn't try to make everything about memorization.
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ReplyDeleteAs you mentioned, the American grading system has the ability to inspire students to prioritize and improve their grades. You mention that there are many students that rely on memorization in order to retain the information required to pass tests and classes, but I do not think that it is the worst thing a student can do. This way of studying helps the students know facts about the subject, students may have the tendency to forget or erase the information out of their mind once they are finished with the class or unit but I feel like the main ideas of the lessons will stay with the student.
ReplyDeleteI agree that grades are able to inspire students to work harder, but I also believe that grades have the ability to keep a student unmotivated. As you mentioned before, grades are important and are able to determine your future college and jobs. There are a handful of students who struggle due to issues outside of school and issues with self-motivation. There are times when students will give up because of their past grades, it makes it so these students are not able to reach their full potential and it will affect the college they get into and the jobs they will have. I believe that the American grading system should have a way to motivate students to constantly do their best regardless of their mistakes in the past.
I feel like it's not just the funding that's off, but the whole grading system and curriculum. I feel as if the items that are taught to us are very simplistic and people from other countries greatly surpass american students. The things that are taught in other countries are more in-depth and complex than what is taught in america. You have students who are required to learn 3 languages or even more in multiple parts of the world, along with their normal schooling that may require you to take a psychology or philosophy class to graduate, which is not exactly required in most american schools.
ReplyDeleteI also feel as if the teachers aren't exactly engaging our students enough or make them want to become educated or want to learn more. I feel that if there is a flaw in the education system, the student's will blame their low intellect on that flaw rather than on themselves for not studying hard enough or putting enough effort. This all correlates with the funding of schools because with better funding students are able to learn more relevant subjects and themes.
But lets also not forget about the grading scale that is presented in the US. The grading scale in the US varies vastly from the grading scale that is presented in other countries. In places in Europe the grading scale is skewed, making it a lower percentage to obtain a higher grade. In Egypt the requirement to get an A is a 75-100% and a 65-74% to get a B. In other areas such as Korea the grading scale is skewed in the opposite direction, making it more difficult to land an A or even a B. An 84-93% lands you in B range in Korea and anything below 70% is an F. These grading scales can put stress on the student and lead to suicide rates increasing in adolescents and lead to less motivation to get work done. But this also works in the opposite way. If we make the grading scale more lenient we can increase motivation to get more work done since that A grade seems more more likely to obtain. Stress also plays a big role in schooling and lowering the grading scale will play a substantial role in decreasing stress while still being cost-efficient.
The testing structure is not working because rather than strengthening children's education, it is more damaging. Students are engraved with the mentally that they need to pass tests; therefore, they do not deeply understand the subjects they are studying. Rather than giving students an opportunity to learn, the students are set on a path of demands of higher test scores.
ReplyDeleteFrom personal experience, I agree that our education system is flawed considering many of the factors you have stated. Funding for schools not only affects the students but the teachers as well which hinders their potential to teach us everything we need to know for the specific subject. For instance, the event that occurred last year concerning the low pay for teachers in our district urged them to stop helping their students with schoolwork during lunch or after school. Of course, I don´t know the full story, but I remember struggling with homework because my teacher was unable to help me during our free time.
ReplyDeleteOn the other hand, the grading system also affects many students´ work ethic as well as their outlook on life. The competition between students has increased immensely over the past few years. We work hard to get the best grades possible in order to be accepted into a decent college, but do grades really determine your intelligence? Grades, good or bad, have the ability to change the way students view themselves. I agree with Ian in that someone out there most likely has an idea of a way to improve our education system; however, we should start acting now to avoid risking the mentality of future children due to the negative effects of American education.
There is no doubt in my mind that what you said about our educational system is flawed is true, especially about the grading system not being accurate. However, I do believe that each individual letter grade is a precise representation on how students view that certain subject. Students usually have that one subject that they really hate or just flat out don't care for which influences their mindset into thinking that they don't have to try so hard on something that isn't going to be beneficial for their career path. This mindset can only lead to them doing the most minimal amount of work in order to pass. Although this doesn't happen to most people, I find myself being hesitant on checking my grades since I know that there is always that one subject that I know I should try to improve on. This feeling can always be overcome if the student changes everything that they are doing wrong and start putting in the effort in said subject.
ReplyDeleteIt is also important to note that instructors should base their assignments in view of the student's perspective. It is clear that students have a hard time balancing out the work for several difficult subjects. It would be really beneficial to our grading system if teachers gave out a reasonable amount of work in a reasonable amount of time. In doing so, students would have better results and the least amount of stress possible.
The grading system is for sure outdated and needs to be updated, standardize testing should not judge how intelligent a person is. Like Einstein said "If you judge a fish's ability to climb a tree, it will spend its whole life believing it is stupid". If a student thinks he will never be successful because of a test, there is no doubt the student will struggle in overcoming challenges in the future since they always have the thought of failing in the bak of their head.
ReplyDeleteI believe that a lack of funding is definitely a major issue in the schools across the United States. Out of the many factors that affect the quality of schools, it seems as if funding is the factor that affects the quality of education the most. Like you stated, the funding of a school directly correlates with the success rates of their students. I don't really think the grading system is very flawed. For the most part it is ok. However, it would be nice if there were some more leniency on what grade is assigned to each percentage. For example, I believe that if an A were to be determined as an 88% instead of a 90%, it would relieve stress faced by students approaching an A- or students that face the possibility of having their A- drop to a B+ by the end of the semester.
ReplyDeleteI agree that school work is more memory than learning. Half the time in classes I tend to forget the work we previously learn because there is a new topic to memorize for an upcoming test or quiz. On top of that, most of the information I will likely not use for the future. So am I really learning something if I don't utilize that knowledge for the future, or is it something just to know to get a good letter grade.
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