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State
(and Future) of Education in the United States
By Aaron Mathis
Fundamentals of Communication Student
Edison State Community College
The United States is considered the most powerful and advanced country
in the world, yet we are only 15th in education. When looking at the
learning challenges of our youth regardless of what age, we also must
analyze the system that is responsible for their education. Our
education system has changed very little to accommodate the
ever-changing needs of its students. Nor does our education structure
accommodate the fundamental differences of age, gender, location, or
the social status of the student’s parents.
Our system is also set up to discourage those students who are not good
at test taking. IQ tests are set up in 7 different parts that differ in
the type of skill required to show ability. For instance, in spatial
reasoning in males is normally higher than in females, adversely men
show a disadvantage in verbal intelligence. Even among those of the
same gender, different areas of the test will radically change with
each student. Yet when socioeconomic circumstances are taken into
consideration the disparity is drastically reduced.
Age is an even bigger catalyst in the differences of educational
challenges. The female brain is said to be fully developed around age
25 where as males is about 30 years of age. The younger the person is
the more dependent upon that child’s surroundings and environment they
will be. Studies also show that a young child’s brain, when subjected
to stress and trauma, is drastically more affected than that of an
adult’s which will create behavioral differences. The challenges of
children at early ages changes due to socioeconomic conditions that
differ from one another. The summation of these findings is that a
fluid educational system is necessary accommodate the varying needs of
the students. Among the teachers I have personally talked to, and the
stories I have been able to read, indicates an inability of teachers to
step far outside of the rigid educational structure. Nor does it allow
the teacher to think outside of the box in terms of effective learning
methods.
The youngest of students from grades k through the 2nd grade have a
tremendous amount of energy, and keeping these students engaged and
entertained can be challenging. Students in these age groups are still
learning and developing coordination and language skills. Comprehension
of reading, writing, and mathematics are in the earliest stages.
Children from five years old to 7 years old are just now learning to
hold a pencil correctly and identify the larger of two numbers.
Typically, kindergarteners are now learning to count with their fingers
and in first and second grades starting to understand basic addition
and subtraction. When these skills are not adequately developed it can
produce negative outcomes in the child’s development throughout
adolescence and into adulthood. Family and/or socioeconomic status
plays a significant role in outcome of the children’s development and
is an accurate predictor of their achievements. Children from ages five
to eight experience stressors due to parental or poverty related
issues, predict a much higher probability of unemployment when moving
from adolescence to early adulthood. Specifically, those children with
negative parental situations will tend to view teachers in a negative
manner as well, due to them associating adults as the same.
Elementary students from grades three through five are starting to
learn different writing styles and are sharpening their grammar skills.
They will begin to move from the hands-on method to using a pencil and
paper to solve different math equations and problems. They will even
begin to use math as a tool for real world scenarios and apply it to
work with money. These students are now becoming aware of social
situations and status, begin to develop friendships and the feeling of
embarrassment. These elementary students though still quite energetic
are developing their minds and starting to focus better. Acquiring and
honing these skills is essential in the child’s over development in the
later years of school. When children are behind or inadequately
educated at this stage of their development have a higher tendency to
be held-back or need tutoring programs. If tutoring programs are not
established and the child is then held back the probability of the
student to drop out of school later down the road is greatly increased.
Children in middle school are now expected to have developed the
ability to do basic algebra, begin working with different types of
numbers including fractions and percentages. Middle schoolers are also
expected to be able to write things such as short essays and have
greatly increased their reading ability. They have also started to pay
attention to the way in which other students perceive them and are now
becoming vulnerable to peer pressure. Puberty, in girls, can
start as early as age 9 adding another element to the equation. Girls
going through puberty tend to have heightened emotions and start to
care more about how they are perceived by other boys in class. This age
in girls is where you start to see the average shift from girls in
school having higher academic scores to the boys.
With all the various challenges and the changes in these challenges in
different age groups it can be seen how easily a child can fall behind
without the proper guidance. Specifically, areas that struggle heavily
with poverty and crime, and how susceptible to violence children in
these areas become. Children in areas with these conditions are much
more likely to drop out of school or have lower levels of comprehension
in all areas or academics. Studies done by the Agency for Healthcare
Research and quality have shown that at age 25 adults without a high
school diploma can expect to die 9 years earlier than those who
graduated. The cause of such can be equated to the likelihood of
adolescence whom do not graduate are much more likely to take up a life
of crime that involves drugs and violence. Impacts on adults with lower
levels of education also show an increased likeliness to partake in
behaviors that are risky, specifically smoking and drinking. Even
diabetes in adults were 15 percent higher than those adults with a high
school education. Family’s that have had a history of inadequately
educated parents are much more likely to produce children with the same
outcomes. Children’s young minds are designed to adapt to their
surroundings so as a result are easily affected by how their parents
raise them making these areas even harder to fix once they fall into
these situations. Not only does this effect the people in these areas
but will also cause issues in the surrounding areas. Prisons in these
areas will be overpopulated and the tax rates for the state increase
where as property values in and around the areas decrease. When the
states are no longer able to support the massive amount of people who
need assistance it will then fall on the federal government. Welfare
programs become increasingly expensive in turn raising the income taxes
for the whole country.
STEM education has been a successful tool in getting the engagement of
young children from all different circumstances. STEM, short for
science, technology, engineering, and mathematics, has been labeled by
National Security as imperative to sustaining vibrant democracy. STEM
encourages children to play and investigate instead of giving
instruction. Increases in the academic success and continued success
have been seen in students that have gone through STEM at an early age.
Boys at a young age benefit greatly, as you see a large decrease in the
number of young boys that are diagnosed with ADHD and prescribed drugs
to help them focus. STEM teaching methods also aren’t solely based on
the score you get on a test, but the child’s willingness to engage in
the activity. Other countries such as Canada and South Korea both use
STEM education as their structure for teaching, both countries are in
the top 3 in the world education rankings.
In the United States we spend, on average, 16,268 dollars per student,
that is 51% more than the average of all other counties. Our student
loan debt is higher than car loan and credit card debt combined. Only
recently has the idea of, putting money away for school, become a
popular phrase by parents. Every year the US falls behind other
countries in graduation rates from the OECD, as well as become
increasingly dependent upon welfare and drugs. Much of this can be
traced back to failing education systems and increased crime and
poverty in America. With all the information that is available at our
fingertips, I think it is safe to say that we need to start
concentrating on educating our youth and less concerned about Donald
Trump’s latest tweet, or what someone said 10 years ago on Facebook.
Too much of the United states population is divided into separate
tribes and teams worried only about winning their argument. Until
Americans decide, TOGETHER, that this is more important dependence upon
welfare and drugs will increase out of our control and independence
will decrease into nothingness.
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