My thoughts on the American education system...

The American Education System

The American education system leaves a lot to be desired. When you think of a school, what comes into your mind? Most people would imagine teachers who love their jobs, students who want to learn, and course material that’s engaging and challenging. Instead we get teachers who hate their jobs, students who would rather be anywhere else, and course material that’s uninteresting and bland. This is especially true of our American high school education system.

            In my personal experience, I’ve had teachers tell me how frustrating and unrewarding it is to have their jobs. They complain about how their students deliberately disrespect them, and most have no desire to learn. In 2009 alone, there were over 60 high school teachers in the U.S that took their own lives due to depression. From this we can assume that some teachers must really not like their jobs at all. If teachers lack the enthusiasm needed to teach, how are students supposed to have any enthusiasm to learn?

            The fact is, most high school students would rather be anywhere else than in a classroom. Part of that is the lack of control in a classroom. More simply stated, students don’t have respect for their teachers. A typical teacher can spend up to ten minutes of their class time trying to get the class to focus, and another five minutes performing disciplinary actions on those students who don’t respond to the warnings. If our students aren’t paying attention in class, what is that doing to our country’s ratings for education? In the world, American students rank 25^th in math, 17^th in science, and 14^th in reading. These numbers are continually dropping, mostly due to the uninterested and unmotivated student body in America.

            It is becoming increasingly difficult to hold a classroom’s attention. Why? Boring, uninteresting course material. What do we need to make the classes more interesting? Money. However, money is being taken out of the school system’s budgets every year. Just this year, 2012, $7 million was cut from the kindergarten – twelfth grade school budgets. Classes are constantly being cut as well. Most of the classes that get cut are language classes, and art classes, which are some of the ones that students most enjoy. The classes that are being left alone are generally the core subjects. Without adequate money in the school system’s budget, how are we supposed to make classes more engaging for our students?

            The answer is: We’re not able to. How can we attempt to fix our school system when there is such a lack of motivation? Teachers don’t want to be in class, students don’t want to be in class, and the classes that aren’t being cut are boring as dirt! In order to make a drastic change in our school system, we need qualified, motivated teachers, and fun and engaging class material. If we were to have that, students would be happier and much more eager to learn. Not only would that boost our country’s ratings in education, but that would also ensure a better future for the students.  The American school system needs a lot of work, but once those changes are made, we’ll have a much better education system to offer our country’s students.