A Glance at Public Education Today
by Why we need to change public education.
The United States Education system today is failing. It is failing parents, it is failing teachers, and it is failing our students. The need for reform goes way past doing away with No Child Left Behind. The U.S. is in a societal state of flux, and the current educational system is trying to be all things to all people. In an effort to do this, educators and administrators have lost sight of why they are in public education, and have done a grave disservice to students. In a global world, the societal rule books have all been thrown out, and moral relativism has taken over.
In an effort for full disclosure, I am a teacher. I have been now for four years. It has been the four most demanding years of my life. One in which all the walls of idealism about the world have crumbled, and I have seen both the best and worst of humanity. If you want a true snapshot of the U.S., just spend a day or two in a public school. If only parents could or would do the same, they would see a mirror reflected back with harsh reality. You might ask, “What would we see?” They would see students sleeping in class, not bringing even the simplest of materials to class, a complete lack of respect for teachers, drug dealing, teenage sex (yes, on campus), and teachers and administrators looking the other way.
Now, some might say these things have always happened in public schools. To a certain extent, they would be right. There were always students who were not fit for the educational institution, whether it be because their interest lay elsewhere or they were simply too smart. Societal standards have shifted to such a degree today that it is almost impossible for teachers to teach. Kids are being raised by kids. One of my first parent conferences was with a parent of a sixteen year old. The mother walked in, and she was my age. It was very evident within the first few moments of the meeting that the parent was defending the child. The child’s problems were the school’s fault. Students today are apathetic, self centered, lacking common behavioral skills, and not performing to standards. Simply put, schools are being held accountable, and not the parents or students.
Teachers are put in a no win situation. The more referrals they send to an administrator, the more it appears the teacher does not have control – so why write them up? Administrators will appease the parents of any problem, right or wrong. It is as if the public education system is afraid; afraid to stand up for its students, afraid of discipline, afraid of parents, and afraid of public perception. Since when has perception changed so much that educators have become the “bad guys”? There isn’t an educator I know that doesn’t have the best interest of all their students at heart with every decision made.
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Post CommentRask Balavoine
On June 8, 2008 at 12:59 am
Scary stuff. The rot hasn’t set in that much in Ireland, just in some few schools and it probably won’t get too much further, but a form of parent contracts certainly helps, holding parents responsible for children’s behaviour etc.
Surautomatism
On June 8, 2008 at 6:03 pm
What people need to do is not only visit an American school but to visit a foreign school. Anybody who’s been to a school in France, China, Japan, and most of Western Europe knows how much better their education system is than ours.
burned out teacher
On June 8, 2008 at 11:50 pm
I, too, am disappointed in our school system(s). I’ve taught for about 8 years and have also taught in Japan. I do not agree that the system in Japan is better—just different. There, students were also sleeping in class, and they did not tend to ask questions because of cultural implications that would suggest the teacher did not explain the materially well. Anyway, despite my efforts, class there was far from dynamic and engaging (because I was teaching conversational English in an academic setting which placed great emphasis on writing skills). However, I did appreciate the fact that students tended to take more responsibility for their learning. And they also spent 10 minutes at the end of every day cleaning their classrooms, hallways, etc. This, if implemented in the U.S., might give more of a sense of ownership in the school. We do, as suggested above, need to learn from other places to try to get our schools up to snuff.
dood2020
On September 5, 2008 at 1:33 pm
It’s ironic for a teacher to write an article about the failing educational system, and, from experience, the attitude of students is pretty much the same in the USA as well as in Europe. Kids sleep, go to school high, stoned or drunk, don’t do any work, have no respect at all, etc.
Disregarding that, less people have trouble getting through school in the states as in some european countries, could be interpreted as: it’s harder/better in Europe. Or just too complicated.
What i do have a really big problem with, with the US educational system is its self-centeredness. Many many people have no idea about our planet. General knowledge is pretty much evolving around the states, not the world. Not only geography-wise, but also language wise….