US Education Problems - Case Study

Introduction

The US education systems have a problem of forcing information down on students instead of simply breeding curiosity. There exist two types of students the first group consisting of those who want to learn and the second group who don't. The education system majorly focuses on the second group because they consist of the vast majority. Some people would argue that the state of the education system has plenty of room for improvement.

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On the other hand, developing the right plan requires more action than words. The education system should encompass both real-world events as well as big ideas to enable the realization of objectives. Problems are dynamic based on the point of view of who is labeling them, whether its parents, students or even educators. It seems obvious that the established education system is unable to meet the needs of a society that is evolving about the current global economic climate. The paper examines the problems facing the education system in a sociological view.

Funding

To begin with, the first major problem facing the education system is finances whereby, the press has produced millions of overpriced and overproduced books - the books that involve dense content not even suitable for a particular grade and come at a high price. The US economy continues to improve, but it still happens that students are leaving at or below the poverty level often have the highest dropout rates. On the social life, finances play a major role in that those students who get less sleep and food are less likely to perform optimally. Funds are also needed to enable the integration of technology in the education system to maintain the demands of the 21st century; such steps are expensive but necessary (Barr, 2018). Also, kid's health care reports that students are more technologically advanced than many teachers today. Students love technology so much that they get distracted from school work. This is seen with social media platforms becoming popular among young people hence putting instructors at a decided disadvantage - schools that are already financially strained to find it challenging to come up with funding to install computers and other forms of technology into the classroom. Once the forms of technology are brought to schools, it might lead the students away from class work. Some programs allow students to bring their own from home. This might cause inequalities among the students hence affecting their learning activities. Some students don't have internet at home. Such social issues bring about opportunity inequality among the diverse environment of schools. Understanding the impact that substance abuse has had on the lives of students can help reduce the problems in the education system.

Technology

Even with the advancement in technology, schools continue to teach without the aid of technology. Funding in the United States varies by state governments, those students from poorly funded schools often perform poorly on standardized tests compared to those from well-funded schools. Poor funding makes schools force students to buy new and updated textbooks for themselves, some students families' can't afford to purchase books. This is prevalent in public schools. Even with the abundance of information to be accessed for teaching most some schools still demand discipline and restrict out-of-the-box thinking. This leaves no or little room for the technological teaching methods and innovation within the classroom. If the world around changes and students do not know, then they find it hard to meet the demands of the non- traditional careers and the future of work. The current system teaches outdated skills which ignore the individual qualities and interests of students thereby failing to support students' strengths and passions. Enough funds should be allocated to enable the use of technology to advance the way students learn information because they allow for individualized learning and hence students become satisfied and productive. Children suffer through poorly-funded educational measures which dictate that student learn without the proper tutoring and resources.

Moreover, technology has made education synonymous with entertainment in many ways. Technology has given bullies more avenues to torment their victims; cyberbullying is visible from the number of student suicides associated with direct bullying events (Fatkullina, 2015). Parents and teachers, as well as administrators, are not sure on how to legally handle cyber bullying which affects the lives of students in the education process. The social life of children directly affects their productivity not only in school.

Capacity

Also, funding has forced some schools to close down while overcrowding others. The individual student experience is based on the size of the class, but at a time when children in schools need more attention than ever, overcapacity is making teachers less effective and giving students hard time learning. This still depends on funding to enable the training of teacher to handle better the specific requirements of the student population as well as the challenges posed by distance learning (Cole, 2017). Capacity enables the school system to facilitate programs such as stem which push for the girls to take on male-dominated career paths such as science, technology, math, and engineering. In addition to optimal capacity, parents need to get involved in the educational process of their children to give support not only to their children but also to the teachers. Fewer funds mean smaller staff fewer resources and ultimately lower number of services to students. The capacity of students also influences their attitudes and behaviors, as when students and many in a class apathy and disrespect are major problems that arise. This is because students feel that they can get away with anything.

A conflict of interest is that educators are trying to do two things at once. The first is to impart knowledge which they are paid to do, but the second thing they do is to inculcate progressive values and socialist ideology. One might wonder whether the knowledge of where France is can help the socialist cause hence making the entire school system a huge conflict of interest. This is because educators half-heartedly do their real job while serving their ideology. The two major conflicts of interest that are core problems for the US education system involves mainly money and ideology.

Conclusion

The US school system faces some problems most of which affect public schools today, but simply identifying the issues is half the battle. It is time that the parents, educators, and lawmakers come together to find solutions for the many problems. The school system ought to integrate technology and the imparting of ideologies into the school system to enable students to get wholly prepared for the future of work and have the relevant skill set. Moreover, equality should be promoted in the school system with resources being provided in good measure for all the schools (Yanushevsky, R. 2011). Programs should be enacted to ensure that even the children from low-income families get the standard education without discrimination whether directly or indirectly. In recent years budget cuts have created huge problems for public schools, but the nature of the problem does not matter as all of the problems are standing in the way of the US becoming globally competitive. Social problems including school violence and the dropout rate are made worse when students feel excluded from the school structure. Educators should understand the connections between teaching and other social issues of concern.

References

Barr, N., Chapman, B., Dearden, L., & Dynarski, S. (2018). Reflections on the US College Loans System: Lessons from Australia and England

Abstract: There is wide agreement the US student loan system faces significant problems. Seven million borrowers are in default and many more experience non-repayment - the stress of repayments faced by many students' results at least in part from the design of US student loans. Specifically, loans are organized like a mortgage, with fixed monthly repayments over a fixed period, creating a high repayment burden on ... (No. 18-02). Department of Quantitative Social Science-UCL Institute of Education, University College London.

Cole, M. (2017). Education, equality and human rights: issues of gender,'race,' sexuality, disability, and social class. Routledge.

Fatkullina, F., Morozkina, E., & Suleimanova, A. (2015). Modern higher education: problems and perspectives. Procedia-Social a nd Behavioral Sciences, 214, 571-577.

Yanushevsky, R. (2011). Improving education in the US: A political paradox. New York: Algora Pub.