Public School System Essay Example for Free

Public aim System EssayAbstr symboliseThe public domesticate transcription in America is a topic that is surrounded by great debate. There be many questions that surround this topic. The inquiry question for this paper was, is the public give instruction scheme impuissance to prep ar our children for the future? And, what solutions are available if the arranging is flunk? The methodology the researcher used in this paper was literature review, and he excessively conducted an interview with someone working in the field. In this paper the researcher explains how the public school remains is failing to prepare our children for the future. The paper similarly explains how the t to each oneing styles are bulge dated. The researcher overly explains the solutions that are already in place and the possible solutions for the future.IntroductionFor several decades, the public school system has been a topic of great debate. There are many questions surrounding this topic, su ch as Is the public schools system failing to prepare our children? Who should make the class? Who should make the policies? And what mathematical function and say do the parents countenance in their childrens education? These are just a few littleons of the questions that may come up with the topic of public education. This topic is important to me because of the diverse educational background I come from. I moolahed out my educational experience in regular(a) classes and then was moved to advanced classes and finally, after failing, I ended up at an alternative school. That is why I ask the question, is the public school system failing to prepare our children for the future, what are the problems, and if it is what is being done to fix it?Due to my educational background I do take that the public school system is failing to prepare our children. I also believe there are many contributing f answerors, such as, the school staff, the government, the teachers union, and even t he parents. I also believe that there are many ways to fix the system, like new union and staff rules, changing the curriculum, and involving more than educators than politicians when forming policies.This topic is important for all children in the U.S. public school system, because if the system is successfully improved, their instruction experience provide be greatly enhanced. It will also benefit the teachers, because they will have the hazard to truly serve the community rather than just deprivation to work. This has become a very complex topic but after reading the research ahead you will see that the answer is relatively simple.Review of LiteratureThere is an idea that our public schools are failing to prepare our children for the future. This future could be four year college, technical school or directly into the work place. It is the job of our public schools to prepare each student for all of these futures. However, it seems that the idea that their failing has become the reality and it is a concerning thought that America is producing children less prepared for the world than are other countries.The National Center for Education conducted a necessitate in 1995 involving students from forty one countries. They tested skills in math and science for students in fourth, eighth, and twelfth grades. What they found at the fourth grade level was that the students were supra the international average in mathematics and science. At the eighth grade level they found that the students scored below the international average in mathematics, but above the average in science. At the twelfth grade level they found that the students scored below the international average among the lowest of the participating nations. (Calsyn, Gonzales, Frase, 1999)This seems to be the trend with our students in America. They tend to level off instead of advancing like students in other nations. Part of this problem is due to the teaching that the students receive. This is de scribed in the 1995 deliberate by the National Center for Education eighth grade U.S. mathematics teachers typical goal is to teach students how to do something, while Japanese teachers goal is to stand by students learn how to do something and also understand mathematical concepts so that they can solve future problems. (Calsyn, Gonzales, Frase, 1999) Some teaching was said to be boring and out dated.The students some cartridge clips seem like drones listening to the person in the front of the room rather than grasping the unscathed idea. Mike OConner described in his interview. (OConner, 2012) The documentary Waiting for Superman also talked about the case of the bad teacher. Which, if your school has one, it was said that you would be stuck with it? This is mainly because of the union benefit called tenure that protects teachers from being laid-off for the wrong reasons, but also makes it very difficult and sometimes impossible to dismiss the bad teachers. (Guggenheim, 2010) Teachers are not the only problem and should not be the only source of blame.There are higher positions to the school system than just teachers such as principals, administrators, and city officials that all play a role in the failing system. The name Dependant teachers, Ineffective Principals, Failing Children describes the differences between having fair administrators and bad. The article goes on to say that if a school has a trusty administrator they will attract good teachers. Then it dialogue about bad administrators and their need for power and control. This in turn will attract teachers who have dependency needs and do not tolerate independence. (Muschel, Fall 1979) In other words, if you have bad leaders you get bad followers. This article also describes how through the use of rules, regulations, paperwork, and language an administrator can control the staff. They do this to give themselves job satisfaction, but it ultimately stops the teachers from effectively engagin g in the classroom. (Muschel, Fall 1979)The government officials also play a role in the way our schools lesson plans are laid out. The article Needed Educational Philosophy as a guide for Decision Making in the Public Schools touches on this. (Klein, springiness 1977) The article dialog about how the endeavors of our politicians change our schools curriculum. It also enjoins that the direction our realm is going in comparison with other nations changes our curriculum. One mannikin of this is during our endeavors to beat Russia into space our children were required to learn complex and abstract science and math disciplines. (Klein, Spring 1977)Another example of the politics behind education is the No Child Left Behind act of 2002. This act by congress domains that each state set up a standard that each student has to test at. It also gives the parents the right to pull a child out of a failing school and put them in a better one. In addition it holds the state accountable for its education. The article Conflicts over Directing the Education of Children Who Controls, Parents or School Officials, talks about this act. It says that the schools are more accountable for a students yearly success. It also states that the schools need to use researched based methods of teaching.It also talks about how the act is somewhat of a control of parental rights in the manner that it is up for the individual to seek education. Overall, it mainly talks about how the act should help improve students who are in economically disadvantaged areas, but does not touch on the failing children in the more economically placid areas. (Russo, 2005) Mike OConner also talked about the No Child Left Behind act in his interview. He mainly said that it is a good idea, but it is about twenty years too late. He said this because of the times we are in. He also described how this is the technology and data age, it is time we start teaching in that capacity, rather than make provisions tha t still support our old system. (OConner, 2012)One other problem which was touched on by the film Changing Education Paradigms. This problem was the fact that children are medicated for ADHA too much and too quickly. It was described that children now are being bombarded by information from every technological device around them. This, in turn, distracts them from the information on the blackboard, which appears boring. To deal with this the students are medicated to calm them down and making them pay attention. It also showed that the prescriptions are given more frequently as you head east across the states. (Robinson, 2010)That is just some of the problems with public education today. There are many more like attendance issues, and the childrens home environment. These are just some of the main points surrounding our public schools problems. Now it is time to address some of the solutions to these problems.As the problem of the failing public education system grew so did the dema nd for a solution. Educators and others came up with one solution which has mixed reviews. This was the conception of the alternative, or have schools. These schools are set up for the student to ultimately succeed in todays curriculum, with more ease and confidence.The article An Oasis of Hope the forefinger of cerebration Developmentally (McCarty Quirk, 2003) talks about how the public schools have placed some children in low quality, control based programs which give them limited outcomes. It goes on to say that these children need to be put in alternative programs that follow positive guidelines. These guidelines should follow these principles All children must have opportunities for success based on efforts which are celebrated by significant adults. All children need to be seen for their strengths. All children must have opportunities to develop qualities which follow a healthy developmental progression. All children have the right to live and learn in contexts relevant t o their real lives and dreams. (p. 106) The article also describes how to use these principals in the framework for alternative schools for surplus needs children. (McCarty Quirk, 2003)The idea of alternative and claim schools is in our own backyard of Milwaukee. Wisconsin ranks among the leaders in education, according to the article substitute(a) Education Programs in Milwaukee. (Howard, Summer 2003) The article states that, in 1990 the state of Wisconsin legislated mandatory alternative education programs for children at adventure of not graduating from high school. Howard states that the legislation set parameters that qualify the children as at risk such as one or more years behind their age group in the number of high school credits attained, normal truants, adjudicated delinquents, and parents. (Howard, Summer 2003)The article also says that by August fifteenth of each year the schools must have a plan in place for each student who is at risk. It goes on to describe the classes as a fifteen to one student to teacher ratio, which allows personalized time with each student. (Howard, Summer 2003) Howard also talks about three different alternative schools which are Silverspring Neighborhood Academy, Shalom High School, and Cornerstone Achievement Center. Each school has a different flak to the alternative setting, but they all share equal success with their students, according to the article. (Howard, Summer 2003)The video documentary Waiting for Superman is a great example of the successes of charter schools. This documentary talks about several schools across the country. Most of these schools are in the larger cities, but some are in the suburbs. It talks about the great success stories that each school has where the public sector is failing. It also stated that the students graduating from the schools shown were adequately prepared for college. The film also showed the demand for the schools in the failing districts, because the students had to be placed in a lottery just to get in. According to the film, al near all the students who attended the charter schools were successful and most went on to college.Another way the school system can improve is by completely restructuring the way the children are taught. According to Mike OConner, in his interview, the schools were designed to educate children fifty years ago. He states that the schools need to personalize learning and base the education on competency rather than credits. One example of this would be not having archaic technology bans such as cell phones and I Pads. Also, with the competency rather than credit program, a child could start school and finish at their own pase, rather than six years of elementary, two years of middle school, and four years of high school.An example of that is two students start their freshman year one student finishes school in three years, the other in five. Mike also says that part of the solution is pacing, relevancy, and refocusing o n creativity which will help keep children involved and help them develop their passions. This is the focal points of what he is stressful to do at his school. He also states that although these are great solutions, he does not see it at the state or national level yet. Additionally he thinks that if the school system does not act soon on these ideas, Americas dropout rate and failure rate will rise drastically. (OConner, 2012)DiscussionAs the research shows the public school system is failing to prepare our children. There are many contributing factors to this. The way I see it is there are too many people trying to be in charge. The schools are controlled by federal, state and local governments. First of all, none of these bodies are education experts. Second, each of these government bodies has their own interests in mind, not necessarily the well being of the children. Third, the three different bodies of government seldom see eye to eye with each other.This is why I think the s tate and local government need to step out completely in the areas of curriculum not in the areas of budgets. I think if this happened the school system will be on one united front, which would be a good start. They could make teaching a federal job then, and at that point they could abate the teachers union, and the teachers could still get union like benefits. With this they could make the teaching jobs more carrying out based. This would also abolish the idea of bad teachers and administrators, because if they have bad performance they would no longer be working in that field.That is just part of the problem. The bigger problem at hand is our outdated curriculum and teaching style. I experienced this, my whole life in school, until my senior year of high school when I was placed in an alternative program. The idea of alternative and charter schools is great, because it gives children a chance, and it promotes competition with the public sector. I think the charter schools are o n the right track, but if they do not keep continue with forward-looking ideas, they will be in the same situation as the public sector. I think the best way for all to benefit is to restructure the whole teaching curriculum and learning environment. I think we need to structure it as if our underway time was 2025 and not 2012, because if we do that we will not be starting out dated from the get go.ConclusionPublic education is an important role in our childrens lives. It is there to help them develop learning and life skills for the future, so that they may go on and play vital roles in society. It is unfortunate that the research shows that our current public school system is failing to prepare our children for the future. It also shows that there are many reasons for this such as, the government, the design of the curriculum and teaching styles, school staff, the parents, and, in some regard, the teachers union. There is hope however, the invention of the charter school is help ing children graduate and preparing them for college. There are also some acts that the government has put in place to have some right for the childrens success. It is hopeful because there are others out there trying to reshape our whole education system to benefit todays needs.Our current system is failing. We are behind in almost all subjects when compared to other nations. This is a scary thought when you think of a global economy. Our children are not as prepared as children in other countries to fulfill job needs on a global scale. This means that our children currently are less likely to have the skills to make the new inventions that will carry our nation into the future. This potential is that America, as a whole, will fall behind other nations in all aspects, and it could all be due to education. All of these are frightening thoughts and if we do not act quickly and make changes now it is only going to get harder.Education is one of the most important parts in building so ciety. In our country we are provided the opportunity to have somewhat remedy public education. Our system seems to be failing this failure provides a great opportunity. There are many ways to repair it and it is time that we stop travel with the issue, and start making leaps and bounds. If we start working together we can rebuild the corner stone to a successful society, which is education.ReferencesCalsyn, C., Gonzales, P., Frase, M. (1999). Highlights from TIMMS. Washington, D.C. U.S. Department of Education. Guggenheim, D. (Director). (2010). Waiting for Superman Motion Picture. Howard, T. (Summer 2003). Alternative Education Programs Milwaukee. Reclaiming Children and Youth , 121-123. Klein, D. S. (Spring 1977). Needed Educational Philosophy as a Guide for Decision-Makeing in the Public Schools. Education , 290-293. McCarty, B. C., Quirk, C. A. (2003). An Oasis OF Hope The Power of Thinking Developmentally. Reclaiming Children and Youth , 105-107.Muschel, I. (Fall 1979, Fal l). Dependent Teachers, Ineffective Principals, Failing Children. Education , 06-12. OConner, M. (2012, February 2). A Principals Point of Veiw. (D. Miller, Interviewer) Robinson, K. (Director). (2010). Changing Education Paradigms Motion Picture. Russo, C. J. (2005). Conflicts over Directing the Education of Children Who Controls, Parents or School Officials? The diary of Education , 27-40.