Today our public school system is failing, in more ways then one. The current public school system has been around for over 180 years, but the model has remained the same.
I will be talking about the top 3 reasons as to why the public school system is outdated and failing.
1. The Model Is The Same
How is it that all modern technology and ways of living have evolved to modern times, except the public educational system?
The public educational system is a crucial part of our world, teaching each upcoming generation how to work and improve our society. But if the public school system fails, then what are we left with?
The public educational system has had improvements and grown since 1839, but the basic model remains the same. There is one teacher in a classroom stuffed with roughly 20–30 kids around the same age.
“It is easier to land a man on the moon than to change the school system.”
― M.Z.Riffi — The Queen of Granada
Creativity is restricted and criticized, students are taught in a very strict and standardized way. Kids are not allowed to use or harness their inquisitive minds. One big part to analytical thinking and societal development is questioning how things work. Why does this work, when should it work, why does it only work at this time or that time, etc. But the public educational system stifles this and does not prioritize this important societal development in children.
Test, quizzes and examinations relies solely on memorization, repetition, and regurgitation. Tests infrequently use or harness the analytical mind in children. Students are trained to memorize answers, but to not understand answers. Because in the public school educational system it does not matter if your child understands what they are learning or understand the answers they are giving. They don not care as long as your child get the answer right on the test.
And this mindset and model in schools world wide has been the same for the past 180 years.
“You are yet to catch up with the real world if you’ve never studied any concepts outside the school syllabus or read any books beside the texts books school forced you to read. Most people are just programmed not educated”
― Nicky Verd
2. Very Little Benefit To Children
The real victims in all of this are the kids in the public school educational system. True there children who do thrive in the public school environment, but that is not the case for every student.
Every child is unique and different in their own wonderful way. So why is every unique and different child being taught the same exact way?
Today we know that their are mainly four learning styles, witch include: Visual learners, Auditory learners, Reading/Writing learners, and Kinesthetic learners. These are not definitive; as in that there is not exclusively on type of learner or another. A child could learn best with visual and auditory, or etc.
Also, as a child grows their learning style can change. Maybe in elementary school they were a auditory learner, but then when they went into middle school they changed to a kinesthetic learner.
But these four learning styles are not implemented in the public school system. So its easy to see why some children tend to struggle and be left behind. The public school system puts all students under the same umbrella when it comes to learning styles. No room for change or creativity.
According to Education Week (https://www.edweek.org/teaching-learning/the-latest-science-scores-are-out-the-news-isnt-good-for-schools/2021/05) they said,
“Fewer than 1 in 4 high school seniors and a little more than a third of 4th and 8th graders performed proficiently in science in 2019, according to national test results out this week.
The results are the latest from the National Assessment of Educational Progress in science. Since the assessment, known as “the nation’s report card,” was last given in science in 2015, 4th graders’ performance has declined overall, while average scores have been flat for students in grades 8 and 12.
“The 4th grade scores were concerning,” said Peggy Carr, the associate commissioner of the National Center for Education Statistics, which administers NAEP. “Whether we’re looking at the average scores or the performance by percentiles, it is clear that many students were struggling with science.
The percentage of 4th graders performing below the basic achievement level in science rose significantly in the last decade, to 27 percent, while the percentage at or above the “proficient” level fell in the same time, to 36 percent. (The proportions for grades 8 and 12 remained flat; a third of 8th graders were “below basic,” and slightly more were at or above proficient, while nearly twice as many 12th graders fell below basic as met the proficient benchmark, 41 percent to 22 percent, respectively.)
To put that in context, only a little more than a third of 4th graders could consistently explain concepts such as how forces change motion, how environmental changes can affect the growth and survival of animals or plants, and how temperature affects the state of matter.”
This is turning into a very big issue very quickly.
3. Teachers Are Leaving
For years now their has been a call to attention to the worsening teacher shortages. There has been a overall decline in enrollments for teacher preparatory programs.
The cause of these teacher shortages are low salaries, high student loans, reduced budgets, and increasing workloads. The result of this is then a very low teacher to student ratio.
Schools are struggling to find any teachers that will stay in their schools, let alone good teachers. Some states like Oklahoma are taking drastic measures to fight this emergency situation. They are allowing adults a short term “teacher” certificate to fill teachers in classrooms regardless of their education or experience.
Teaching positions are being filled recklessly by those who lack skills and experience in the classroom. There is a lack or consistency and quality coming into the public school system. The result of this is student achievements are negatively impacted greatly.
And not to mention that all of this is even worse in high-poverty district lines.
How can we expect our children to want to stay in school if even there teachers are leaving?
If the teachers can not stand to be in school due to the stress and workload how can we expect our children to work and thrive?
“The fact is, we need prisons that are more like schools, and schools that are less like prisons. But for this to happen, the teachers also need freedom.”
― Salvatore Striano, La tempesta di Sasà
